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PHIL 1301 > Exam 3 Epistemology > Flashcards

Exam 3 Epistemology Flashcards

What is Reasonable?

1
Q

What is the purpose of Epistemology?

A

the study of human knowledge, its nature, its sources, its justification

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2
Q

Be able to “map out” the process of understanding our knowledge of the world from Plato to Kant (from the
Metaphysics/Epistemology chart: “Dualistic Thought”).

A
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3
Q

What are the two relationships between Metaphysics & Epistemology?

A

Metaphysics: functions as a test for metaphysical views
Epistemology: is the natural result of the metaphysical inquiry of the Ancients & Medievals

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4
Q

According to lecture what are the four (4) general approaches to explaining the difference between Knowledge and any merely “true belief”? (On exam, know just the names)

A

Normative answers: foundationalism & coherentism
Naturalistic answers: causes of beliefs
Skepticism: investigates the apparent inability for us to know
Virtue epistemology: investigates the proper approach and function of the human mind

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5
Q

According to lecture what are the six (6) Common Points of Rationalism? (On exam but it’s only asks for three)

A
  1. Reason is the primary or most superior source of knowledge about reality
  2. Sense experience is an unreliable and inadequate route to knowledge
  3. The fundamental truths about the world can be known a priori: They are either innate or self-evident to our minds
  4. Knowledge is possible
  5. Only through reason can knowledge be obtained
  6. Beliefs based on reason represent reality
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6
Q

According to lecture what are the three (3) Common Points of Empiricism? (On exam but only asks for one)

A
  1. The only source of genuine knowledge is
    sense experience
  2. Reason is an unreliable and inadequate route
    to knowledge unless it is grounded in sense
    experience
  3. There is no evidence of innate ideas within the
    mind that are known apart from experience
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7
Q

According to Lecture, Empiricists emphasize ________________________, while Rationalists emphasize
____________________________________ . (On exam memorize both)

A

confidence in sense experience
confidence in reason

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8
Q

According to Descartes, the mark of the Cogito is its _______________________ .

A

Clarity and distinctness - Descartes thinks he’s found here the criteria of knowledge.

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9
Q

What are Primary Qualities for Descartes & Locke? (On exam, memorize one of them)

A

Locke: properties of the objects themselves (i.e., solidity, extension, shape, motion, rest, and number) which are qualities inherent in the objects

Descartes: things or objects available to mathematics (because math is certain)

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10
Q

What are Secondary Qualities Descartes & Locke? (On exam, memorize one of them)

A

Locke: properties that affect our sense organs
but don’t exist independently of the objects (color, texture, etc.)

Descartes: Things available to the senses

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11
Q

Empiricism (on exam, just get the jist of it)

A

the philosophy that demands that all knowledge, except for certain
logical truths and principles of mathematics come from experience.

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12
Q

Rationalism (on exam)

A

the philosophy that is characterized by its confidence in reason,
and intuition, in particular, to know reality independently of experience

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13
Q

According to Locke our minds begin as a _______________________ and all knowledge comes from
_______________________ . (On exam just remember blank state)

A

blank state
experience

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14
Q

List and describe Locke’s three (3) categories of mental content: (in exam, just know the names)

A
  1. Sensation - data provided by the sense
  2. Ideas - our immediate perception of an object
  3. Quality - what we have called attribute (redness, roundness, etc)
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15
Q

What did George Berkeley mean by “to be is to be perceived” (esse est percipi) ?

A

George Berkeley means for something to exist, it needs to be perceived; if it cannot be perceived, then it cannot exist.

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16
Q

Hume takes _________________ to be the central idea of all reasoning (in exam)

A

causation

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17
Q

Hume’s fork is the idea that for a belief to be justified it must be either a ______________ or a __________________.

A

relation of ideas
matter of fact

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18
Q

What is “Hume’s Fork” and what is it supposed to demonstrate?

A

Hume’s Fork categorizes all human knowledge into two types:

  1. Relations of Ideas: These are logical and necessary truths (e.g., mathematics, geometry) that are true by definition (a priori) and independent of experience.
  2. Matter of Fact: These are empirical truths (e.g., cause and effect) that are contingent, based on observation, and verified through experience (a posteriori).

Humes Fork demonstrates that all knowledge must fit into one of these two categories. Anything outside of these cannot be justified or proven. It questions the validity of assumptions like causation and induction.

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19
Q

What is Kant’s solution to “Hume’s Fork”?

A

His concept of synthetic a priori judgments.

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20
Q

____________ and ____________ believed that there are no substances.(on exam)

A

Berkeley and Hume

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21
Q

For Descartes, clear and distinct propositions are the criteria for ____________. (Exam)

A

Knowledge.

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22
Q

Empiricism is the philosophical theory that asserts _________________________________.

A

All knowledge, except for certain logical truths and principles of mathematics, comes from experience.

23
Q

What does the professor believe is the fundamental distinction between Rationalism & Empiricism?

A

Sadler believes the fundamental distinction between Rationalism & Empiricism is the source of knowledge. Rationalism asserts that knowledge is derived from reason and innate ideas, while Empiricism claims knowledge comes from sensory experience.

24
Q

Descartes coined the expression ________. (On exam know it’s Descartes)

A

Cogito ergo sum

25
Q

Justified true belief is often advanced as a candidate for a definition of ____________. (On exam)

A

knowledge.

26
Q

a posteriori (on exam)

A

knowledge as a result of experience

27
Q

a priori (on exam)

A

knowledge without experience

28
Q

Appearance

A

The way something seems to us through our senses.

29
Q

Causal theory of perception (on exam)

A

The theory that perception is caused by external objects interacting with our senses.

30
Q

Causation

A

Causation to be the central idea of all reasoning, that is, all attempts to connect separate ideas together in a single belief.

31
Q

Cause (in exam)

A

The view that our experiences (our sensations and ideas) are the effects of physical objects acting upon our sense organs.

32
Q

cogito ergo sum

A

I think, therefore, I am.
I am a thinking being (since doubtful as body)
- The body is divisible, but we cannot conceive of
half a mind
– Certainty lasts only as the thinking
– The Wax inspected by the mind is known as
one substance.

33
Q

Effect (in exam)

A

A result or outcome caused by a particular action or event.

34
Q

Epistemology

A

The study of human knowledge, its nature, its sources, and its justification

35
Q

Idea

A

A thought, concept, or mental representation of something.

36
Q

Idealism

A

The belief that reality is fundamentally mental or immaterial.

37
Q

Impressions

A

Sensory experiences or perceptions that form the basis of knowledge.

38
Q

Innate ideas (in exam)

A

Ideas that are “born into the mind,” knowledge that is “programmed” into us from birth and does not need to be learned.

39
Q

Intuition

A

Immediate knowledge of the truth without the aid of any reasoning and without appeal to experience.

40
Q

Justification

A

An attempt to defend a position or an act, to show that it is correct (or at least reasonable).

41
Q

Perception (exam)

A

A kind of knowledge, sense experience.

42
Q

Memory

A

The mental process of storing, retaining, and recalling information.

43
Q

Necessary Condition

A

A condition that must be true for another statement to be true.

44
Q

Primary qualities

A

Locke: Properties of the objects themselves (solidity, extension, shape, motion, rest, and number), which are qualities inherent in the objects.

Decart: Properties available to mathematics

45
Q

Quality

A

Aspect of a thing that gives us knowledge

46
Q

Secondary qualities

A

Locke: Properties that affect our sense organs but don’t exist independently of the objects (color, texture, etc.)\
- Substance is “we know not what”

Decart: Objects available to the senses
* Heat, color, odor, taste, & sound

47
Q

Sensation

A

The experimental result of the stimulation of a sense organ, for example, seeing red, hearing a ringing noise, smelling something burning. The simplest of mental phenomena.

48
Q

Skepticism

A

A philosophical belief that knowledge is not possible and that doubt will not be overcome by valid arguments.

49
Q

Substance

A

“we know not what”

50
Q

Subjective idealism (in exam)

A

The view that only ideas and mind exist and that there are no substances, matter, or material objects.

51
Q

Sufficient condition

A

A condition that guarantees the truth of another statement.

52
Q

Tabula rasa

A

Blank state

53
Q

Prompt: Explain to me the relationships between epistemology and metaphysics. (Two of them)

A

Metaphysics influences Epistemology: Our views on the nature of reality (metaphysics) shape what we believe can be known and how knowledge is acquired (epistemology). For example, if we believe reality is mind-independent, we may trust sensory perception as a reliable source of knowledge.

Epistemology tests Metaphysics: How we acquire knowledge influences our understanding of reality. Epistemological theories can validate or challenge metaphysical claims, such as whether we can know the existence of things beyond our experience.

PHIL 1301 (6 decks)

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