Final Quizs 5 - 8

Question 1

Descartes posited an “evil demon” that could deceive him about everything except . . .

Answer 1

that he exists.

Question 2

A priori argument is one that . . .

Answer 2

does not rely on observation.

Question 3

Theory of knowledge is called . . .

Answer 3

Epistemology

Question 4

An a posteriori argument is one that . . .

Answer 4

relies on observation

Question 5

Which of the following quotes is Descartes most famous for writing?

Answer 5

I think, therefore I am.

Question 6

Descartes claimed he was totally sure that he existed because . . .

Answer 6

even if his life is a dream, he must exist in order to have the dream

Question 7

When philosophers talk about someone being a skeptic, they usually have in mind someone who . . .

Answer 7

doubts to an extreme level.

Question 8

Mark all that apply.
Which of the following claims regarding the validity of the senses did Descartes make?

Answer 8

*You can never be certain an evil demon is not decieving you.
*You can never be completely certain that you are not hallucinating.
*You can’t be completely certain that you are not dreaming.

Question 9

The Meditations on First Philosophy is often said to be the founding work of __________ philosophy.

Answer 9

modern

Question 10

Descartes proposed that whenever he vividly and clearly perceives that something is true,

Answer 10

it is true and he is entitled to believe it with complete certainty.

Question 11

Descartes thought he could show that the evil demon story is false based on the fact that . . .

Answer 11

a perfect God would not allow an evil demon to deceive us like that.

Question 12

Descartes claimed that when he reflected on certain claims, such as “I exist” or “I am a thinking thing,” he felt compelled to believe because these perceptions were . . .

Answer 12

vivid and clear.

Question 13

The first premise of Descartes’s ontological argument was that whatever Descartes vividly and clearly perceives to be true is true. From this premise, he inferred that God exists. But, at the same time, when defending the reliability of vivid and clear perception, Descartes appealed to his theism. Philosophers have called this argument the . . .

Answer 13

Cartesian circle.

Question 14

Match the terms with the right definition.
Straw Man Fallacy
Red Herring Fallacy
Genetic Fallacy

Answer 14

Straw Man Fallacy - A misrepresentation of an opponent’s position that is then refuted.
Red Herring Fallacy - An argument that pretends to establish a particular conclusion but that really argues for something else entirely.
Genetic Fallacy - An argument that rejects another argument based on its origins rather than on its own merits.

Question 15

How do Lockean primary qualities differ from secondary qualities?

Answer 15

Ideas of primary qualities resemble the qualities themselves, whereas ideas of secondary qualities do not resemble the qualities themselves.

Question 16

What was Berkeley’s argument against Locke’s theory of indirect realism?

Answer 16

Ideas of primary qualities do not resemble the qualities of material objects, just like secondary qualities. Therefore, nothing about material objects can be known.

Question 17

The “argument from perspectival variation” is used to support . . .

Answer 17

indirect realism.

Question 18

Which of the following is/are included among Lockean secondary qualities? Pick all that apply.

Answer 18

Taste
Color

Question 19

Match the philosopher with the corresponding statement.
Locke
Berkeley

Answer 19

Locke - Material objects cause our perceptions.
Berkeley - God causes our perceptions.

Question 20

Which of the following is/are included among Lockean primary qualities? Pick all that apply.

Answer 20

Size
Rest

Question 21

Naïve representationalism claims that

Answer 21

setting aside occasional cases of illusion, the ideas generated in perception closely resemble the material objects they represent.

Question 22

Empirical evidence is used in which form of reasoning?

Answer 22

A posteriori reasoning.

Question 23

Match the philosopher with the corresponding statement.
Locke
Berkeley

Answer 23

Locke - Material objects exist outside of the mind.
Berkeley - There are no material objects. The only things that exist are minds and ideas.

Question 24

The fact that a bee’s vision is very different from human vision—for example, bee eyes are insensitive to red light—is a powerful objection against . . .

Answer 24

naïve representationalism.

Question 25

Which philosopher is famous for which saying? Match the philosophers with the right quotes.

Answer 25

Descartes - I think, therefore I am.
Berkeley - To be is to be perceived.
Locke - The ideas of the primary qualities of bodies resemble them, and their patterns really do exist in the bodies themselves.

Question 26

Indirect realism claims that . . .

Answer 26

we do not see objects themselves, but the mental images they produce.

Question 27

What was the social contract according to Hobbes?

Answer 27

An agreement to “lay down” natural rights and give absolute power to a sovereign.

Question 28

Why did Hobbes believe that the best form of government had a king as its sovereign?

Answer 28

To have a supreme power to impose peace on everyone.

Question 29

What did Hobbes mean by the “state of nature”?

Answer 29

That all individuals were naturally equal and free which in turn would result in violence.

Question 30

Rousseau favored a “civil religion” that accepted God, but concentrated on the sacredness of the social contract.

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Rousseau said that man . . .

Answer 31

was naturally good and was corrupted by society.

Question 32

Which of the following philosophers believed that in the state of nature individuals were so fearful that they avoided violence and war?

Answer 32

Charles Montesquieu

Question 33

What role did property play in Locke’s conception of voting rights?

Answer 33

Only adult male property owners should have the right to vote.

Question 34

Which of the following philosophers believed that the social contract was not a willing agreement but a fraud against the people committed by the rich?

Answer 34

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 35

What was the social contract according to Locke?

Answer 35

An agreement among the people and between the people and a sovereign.

Question 36

Montesquieu believed that . . .

Answer 36

as soon as man enters into a state of society a state of war commences.

Question 37

Who said the following? “Rational knowledge, as presented by the learned and wise, negates the meaning of life, yet the vast masses — humanity as a whole — recognize this meaning lies in irrational knowledge. And this irrational knowledge is faith, the very thing that I could not help rejecting.”

Answer 37

Leo Tolstoy

Question 38

Who said the following? “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

Answer 38

Albert Camus

Question 39

The story of a traveler trapped in a well is an illustration of the meaninglessness of life by . . .

Answer 39

Leo Tolstoy

Question 40

Who said the following?
“Death, therefore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us, seeing that, when we are, death is not come, and, when death is come, we are not.”

Answer 40

Epicurus

Question 41

Which of the following is accurate regarding Albert Camus?

Answer 41

He wrote the essay Myth of Sisyphus and is often associated with existentialism in society.

Question 42

What would Camus say to Tolstoy?

Answer 42

Faith is a distraction.

Question 43

What would Tolstoy say to an Epicurean?

Answer 43

The material things in life are a distraction.

Question 44

According to Camus, how could Sisyphus be happy living such a futile life?

Answer 44

He can experience freedom since he is able to see the absurdity of his life.

Question 45

In general, what do existentialists say about the meaning of life?

Answer 45

There is no meaning in life except what meaning we give it.