In this episode: A run-down of Descartes' response to the problem of scepticism, including an explanation of his wax analogy for the concept of physical objects, his argument for the possibility of physical objects and, inevitably, his argument for the existence of the external world. Also, some empirical crits as well as a bonus criticism from Amanda Bryant's paper 'Keep The Chickens Cooped: The Epistemic Inadequacy of Free Range Metaphysics'.

Also also, the typical weird analogies- this time relating to iced lattes (I know, shocker, an actual reference to coffee for once), a horse with a thousand legs, and Santa Clause being honestly? A questionable idea overall.

In this episode, I will be introducing the topic of scepticism- what it is, the differences between local and global scepticism, Descartes' three waves of doubt, Hilary Putnam's version of the brain-in-a-vat sceptical problem, and a whole bundle of examples from the media, with a focus on the truman show and a horror platformer video game rendition of Alice in Wonderland.

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Credit: At the very end of this episode I use audio from the following youtube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBO5aO6iJlk&t=1120s .

This podcast is non-monetized so I make no financial benefit from the use of this snippet but felt it responsible to point out that this audio does not belong to me and is the property of American McGee, thus if there is any issue with my use of the audio I am happy to rectify the episode and reupload as necessary. I use the audio in the same way that the YouTuber MNHStudios - to highlight the wonderful voice acting of Roger Jackson as the cheshire cat. Also, to emphasise a point about the importance of scepticism.

In this episode I'll be going over the criticisms of the arguments explained in the last three episodes, and along the way going on some rambles involving unwarranted relationship advice, ill-advised pet names, nerdy songs, how much it sucks when a good tv show ends, and getting covered with ants.

content warning: discussion of death [12:23-15:49]

In this episode I'll be going over the ontological argument- explaining what exactly 'ontology' is with reference to sandwiches, considering some context from Descartes' fourth meditation, considering what it means for something to be true by definition, explaining the idea of existence as a perfection with the help of a side ramble about greek myths, and hopefully helping you understand why Descartes says for God to exist, he's got to be (e e e e e e), perfect.

In this episode, I will be covering Descartes' Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, provided by him as an alternative argument for God's existence in case his empirical adversaries weren't already convinced enough by the first one. Can't knock him for being thorough. Also, references to Taylor Swift's eras tour as a surprisingly helpful analogy for a life divided into independent parts, too many mentions of the c-word (cause), and mild self-directed shade in the name of demonstrating that we definitely aren't responsible for our own existence, or it's maintenance.

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TIME STAMPS:

these changed in editing so, tbd and apologies! should be out soon.

In this episode I will be covering Descartes' Trademark Argument for the existence of God, as a way to attempt to prove the existence of the external world through reason alone- featuring surprisingly relevant rambles on the sims and a recent horror movie that got me spooked.

(New intro, outro and interlude done by: me, a failed musician in Carnap's eyes <3)

TIME STAMPS:

0:00 - intro + introductory babble (where the heck I've been, what I'm currently studying at uni)

8:38 - relevance of the cogito to this argument

13:44 - judgements and ideas

15:40 - CW! mildly spooky horror analogy w.r.t the film 'Tarot' (2024)

19:05 - the origins of ideas

22:10 - 'the cause must have as much reality as the effect' explanation + sims analogy

25:30 - where do we get our ideas of people and physical objects?

27:44 - could we have come up with the idea of God ourselves?

30:55 - where *does* the idea of God come from?

32:45 - breakdown of the trademark argument in standard form + episode conclusion

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In this episode I'll be going over the cogito argument- and also discussing hive minds, intrusive thoughts, and karen from mean girls.

CW: general discussion of intrusive thoughts- [tbd]

twitter: coffeenphilo

email: coffeenphilosophy@gmail.com

In this episode, we begin looking at Descartes' approach to reason as a source of knowledge by introducing the 'Intuition and Deduction Thesis', and considering the concept of clear and distinct ideas. I also ramble about my favourite little personality test, a strange intuitive connection between best friends, and a rather horrifying sci-fi story from the sixties that provides to be a perfect little sceptical scenario.