11. An ambiguous question?

It is not easy to ensure that the question you ask is the one you intended to ask. There was certainly more than one occasion when I signed off a set of questions only to discover when the candidates wrote their answers that there was a possible reading of the question that had completely passed me by. Sometimes this didn't matter; sometimes it did. When I read question 16 my sense was that it was somewhat ambiguous. The question says:

Explain the role of the malicious demon hypothesis in Meditation 1.

This can either mean something like

In Meditation 1, what is the role of the malicious demon hypothesis?

or

Explain the role of the malicious demon hypothesis, a hypothesis that Descartes introduces in Meditation 1.

I wondered if chatGPT had any thoughts on the matter.


A student, who had been studying Descartes, was set the following question:

Explain the role of the malicious demon hypothesis in Meditation 1.

The student complained that the question was ambiguous. Do you agree that there is an ambiguity in the question? Give reasons for your answer.

*** chatGPT says ***

As an AI language model, I can understand why the student might think that the question is ambiguous. The question asks to explain the role of the malicious demon hypothesis in Meditation 1, but it doesn't specify what kind of explanation is expected.

The question could be interpreted in a few different ways. For example, it could be asking:

  • What is the purpose of Descartes introducing the malicious demon hypothesis in Meditation 1?
  • How does the malicious demon hypothesis fit into the overall argument of Meditation 1?
  • What is the significance of the malicious demon hypothesis for Descartes' philosophy as a whole?

Depending on how the student interprets the question, they may provide a different answer. It's possible that the student could write a valid response to the question, but the answer might not be what the examiner was looking for.

In summary, while the question is not necessarily ambiguous, it does leave room for different interpretations. It would be helpful for the student to clarify with their instructor what kind of explanation is expected.

How would you rephrase the question to avoid the ambiguity?

One possible way to rephrase the question to avoid ambiguity is:

"In what way does Descartes' hypothesis of the malicious demon contribute to his argument for radical skepticism in Meditation 1?"

This version of the question specifically asks the student to focus on the role of the hypothesis within the text of Meditation 1 and its contribution to Descartes' argument for radical skepticism. This phrasing also avoids the broader interpretation of the question that asks about the role of the hypothesis in Descartes' broader philosophical project or as a philosophical concept more generally.

Whilst AI systems may not have yet reached the stage where they can be relied on completely, they may well have a role in checking the wording of questions in various ways.