Descartes describes his method in the meditations as one of doubting his sensations and inherited ideas until he gets to something certain: his own existence as a thinking thing. hume, on the other hand, doubts conceptual abstractions that lack a basis in sensory impressions; thus, he deems the "self" nothing more than a "bundle of perceptions" to which we attach "i think." how do these two philosophers differently employ skepticism in their arguments?

like many students at university, you may be unhappy about the results you attain in exams. you may feel that even with all you are doing there must be something more -- or different-- you could be doing to get better grades. we have all at some time or other heard of that student who only studies a couple of hours for final exams and scores a's every time. we stand in awe of those who seem to breeze through without undue effort and seem to need very little in the way of studying to nail an exam. the reasons for success, in what i think are the vast majority of cases, are less esoteric than many students think: successful students consistently apply a series of productive strategies with view to attaining clearly identified learning and grade goals throughout the academic term.