Exam Flashcards
When And Where Did The Formal Study of Philosophy Begin?
It began as a discipline in early Greece, about the 6th century BCE. Many people suggest that Greek philosophy had a strong influence on western thoughts.
What Was Thomas Hobbes’ View of Our Nature?
Thought that humans are born self-interested, only looking out for themselves. He wrote Leviathan, describing human life as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”. This means the absence of a state of political authority maintaining law and order, members of society being completely self-interested, would be in a constant state of war with each other. With those circumstances, humans could not live civilized lives. Humans would be unable to protect even their most basic interests, realizing that people agree to submit to the authority of a state.
What is Existentialism? How Does it Relate to The Story of Sisyphus?
There is only free will. People are scared of the pressure. People try to blame it on the cards they were dealt. In this view, you are to blame. The story of Sisyphus states that Sisyphus was a self interested king, he died a few times. When he died he tricked the Greek Gods and stayed alive. Eventually the gods got mad enough and condemned him for eternity to push a boulder up a hill, when he got to the top, it would fall back down. Some philosophers felt that this wasn’t meaningless for him, he took meaning out of his life.
Describe John Locke’s Views on Personal Identity.
Personal identity is hard to define. He felt that we are the same person from one point to the next on the consciousness basics. It is our conscious awareness of being ourselves that gives us personal continuity. We experience life and create our memories from the same conscious point of view making us the same person over time. If we were re-born we would not be the same person without our memory. Our brain changed but our consciousness stayed the same. People with amnesia are not the same person and should not be punished as such. It would be like pushing a twin for something the other did.
Explain The Ship of Theseus And Identify How it Relates to Personal Identity?
The Ship of Theseus was a large boat that was going on a long and difficult journey. They brought all the parts of the ship with them to replace parts of the ship if it broke. By the time it landed in the port, it had used a lot of the replacement parts. The question then remains is it still the Ship of Theseus. It does not have the same parts as it did when it left, so is it the same ship. This relates to personal identity because is it the essence of the ship or the physical parts that make the ship the Ship of Theseus. Some feel that it is the essence of the ship, the memories and feeling. But some say it’s the physical part that makes the ship the ship.
Who Was Ken Parks, And What Did His Story Have to do With Personal Identity?
Ken Parks was a man who had a problem with sleep walking. He would perform complex things when he was asleep, completely unaware. One night when he was asleep, he drove 20 kilometers to his in-laws house and killed them. He drove away and woke up covered in blood, he did not know what he had done but he knew it was bad. He went straight to the police and told them he was sleepwalking and though he did not know what he did, he knew it was bad. During the trail he was acquitted of the crime because he was not the same person asleep as he was awake. He said he was completely unaware of what he did during sleepwalking so it was not really him. It was compared to a person who had a twin that committed a crime and the one that did not was charged. This has to do with personal identity because what makes a person, is it their body or their sense of consciousness. If someone’s body committed the crime while they were not in control is it really them? Should they be charged?
What Were Michael Tooley’s Views on Personhood?
Michael born 1941 in Australia believes that small children should not be considered people as they have no self awareness. They still have rights but should not be seen as people. As they are not complex enough. A person is only a person when they are self aware.
What Did Descartes Say About God or Metaphysics?
He believed that universals could be achieved through logical deduction. He felt that there were only three types of substances; mind, body, and God.
What Did Spinoza Say About God or Metaphysics?
He believed that there was only one substance which should be called “God or Nature,” of which thought and extensions were corresponding attributes.
What Did Leibniz Say About God or Metaphysics?
He concluded that there was not one good substance but infinitely many.
In What Way Did Einstein Compare The World to a Watch?
Einstein felt that the universe is like a watch we cannot open. We can see and theorize how the hands moved, but we can never open it up and know for sure.
Identify The Metaphors From The Allegory of The Cave as They Relate to us.
There were these people that could only see the cave wall and what was projected on it by people. One of the people in the cave left and came back to tell everyone what they saw. No one believed him because they had only seen their reality. The first level of reality contains the forms. This reality is completely impervious to time itself and will never change. The second level is our perceived world as we live in it today. Everything around us is constantly changing. The third level of reality is nothingness. This reality speaks for itself in that it is absolutely nothing.
Define The Ontological Argument
by St. Anselm.
God is the being greater than which cannot be conceived.
To exist is greater than not to exist.
God either exists or does not exist. (tautology)
Assume that god does not exist.
In that case a being just like god in all respects except “existing” is conceivable.
Such a being would be greater than god.
However that is impossible by definition (see #1)
Therefore the assumption must be false (see #4)
Therefore god exists
Define The The Cosmological Argument
St. Thomas Aquinas.
There exist things which are caused
Nothing can be the cause of itself
There cannot be an infinite regress of causes
Therefore there exists an uncaused first cause
The word god means uncaused first cause
Therefore god exists
Define The The Theological Argument
William Paley.
Human artifacts are produced by intelligent design
The universe resembles human artifacts
Therefore the universe is (probably) a product of intelligent design
But the universe is vastly more complex and large than human artifacts
Therefore there is probably a very powerful and intelligent designer who designed the universe
Why Does a Taoist Feel That Water is Strong?
It goes with the flow because fighting against the stream is futile. It can also passively move mountains and erode rocks. Water knows how to deal with issues without being confrontational.
How Did Karl Marx View Religion?
He felt religion was the opium of the people and they would flock to a leader to remove the burden of freedom. People feared their own free will so they needed something to guide them to take the responsibility of free will away from them.
What Did Kierkegaard Say About Logic And Faith?
Faith has truths that logic cannot prove. He felt that trying to use logic to prove everything was impossible and that you have to trust that there is a God and miracles happen, these cannot always be proved.
How Should One Live a Good Life According to Jeremy Bentham?
He felt happiness and pleasure were interchangeable. Happiness is a passing feeling rather than something more deep and lasting. A good life is one full of happiness.You could determine a good life mathematically, pleasure subtract pain. Not all pleasures are the same.
Why Did Kant Feel That Virtues Were Not Enough to Live a Good Life?
A combination of virtues and happiness are needed. It was both natural and necessary that humans should be happy. Happiness comes from what people do, and they have an inclination to be happy and are naturally drawn to it. Duty will guarantee lasting happiness. Good things should be done out of inclination to do good rather than to feel good. People not only need to acquire virtues but exercise those virtues in ways that are consistent with carrying out their moral duties.
