Choose one of the following topics, and write a short paper (maximum 5 pages typed, double-spaced, with generous margins) on the topic.
1. Critically examine Locke’s central claims about the identity of persons through time and the arguments he offers in support of them.
2. Describe and critically evaluate Berkeley’s heat-pain/sweet-pleasure argument.
3. Berkeley appeals to cases of sensory variability in defense of his claim that the qualities we immediately perceive are mind-dependent. Describe and critically evaluate his argumentative strategy.
4. Describe and critically evaluate Berkeley’s Master Argument.
5. Berkeley thinks his arguments in favor of the mind-dependence of secondary qualities readily extend to primary qualities. Describe and critically evaluate his argumentative strategy for establishing that primary qualities are also mind-dependent.
6. Describe and critically evaluate Hume’s views on the origins of our causal beliefs.
