Choose one (1) of the three (3) reading selections from the list of topic choices below. The focus is on brief but important primary source material written by major authors. Read the selections as identified with each topic below. Write a four to five (4-5) paragraph essay (250 words minimum) which analyzes the “surprise ending” of the reading selection.

Topic Choices

• Reading selection from Descartes’ Discourse on the Method (Part IV). Descartes begins with a proof of one basic conclusion and ends with a proof of something much grander. Remember to focus on the surprise and point of realization, not the details of the philosophical argument. Read Part IV of the Discourse on the Method located at http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/descartes1637.pdf (then scroll down to Part 4, pp. 14-18). This is only four or five (4 or 5) pages of the larger work.