Discourse on the Method book club questions

1. 1.

   Descartes' method begins by questioning everything you believe. Have you ever applied that kind of radical self-examination to your own convictions? What held up, and what didn't?

2. 2.

   The cogito — I think, therefore I am — is the most famous single sentence in philosophy. Does it seem like a genuine discovery or a tautology to you?

3. 3.

   Descartes was careful not to publish certain scientific conclusions because he feared the fate Galileo had suffered. What does that tell you about the relationship between radical thought and social constraint?

4. 4.

   The mind-body problem that Descartes established — how can an immaterial mind cause anything in a material body? — is still unresolved. Is it a genuine problem, or a problem created by the wrong assumptions?

5. 5.

   Descartes says we should accept only what we clearly and distinctly perceive. Is 'clear and distinct perception' a reliable criterion? What about things that feel certain but turn out to be wrong?

6. 6.

   He wrote this for a general audience, not other philosophers. What is gained or lost when philosophy is made accessible to non-specialists?

7. 7.

   The argument that a good God would not deceive us about the external world has struck most subsequent philosophers as circular. Does it seem circular to you? Does that matter for the project?

8. 8.

   Descartes tore down his intellectual house to rebuild on a secure foundation. Is that kind of systematic reconstruction ever possible, or do we always build on prior assumptions we can't fully examine?

9. 9.

   The scientific method as we practice it descends partly from Descartes. How does his four-step method compare to how you actually solve difficult problems?

10. 10.

    What would be the equivalent of the evil demon hypothesis today — the most disorienting possibility you could imagine that undermines ordinary certainty?

11. 11.

    Descartes says he trained in the best schools and found only confusion and contradiction. Is that still a fair description of formal education in some domains?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.