The phrase, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind, was intended to convey a respect for what mankind thinks. Opinions are biases indulged by mankind inside their thought-matrices. Mankind is the species known as Homo Sapiens Sapiens.
Answer:
2. that Gary is absorbed in reading his comic book
Explanation:
B. This Monday, I danced with Dolly.
Rene Descartes was a French mathematician wherein he was coined to be the "Father of Modern Philosophy." He was famously credited to the line "I think, therefore I am" in which he was the leading figure in the development of mechanistic sciences. In addition, the excerpt most likely conveys the Descartes used a modest tone.