Introduction Flashcards
What is philosophy?
a. A Greek cultural value
b. Advice from history’s sages
c. A statement of personal beliefs
d. The love of wisdom
d. The love of wisdom
What do philosophers do?
a. Philosophers help train people for skilled careers after college.
b. Philosophers seek universal agreement once and for all about life’s ultimate questions.
c. Philosophers waste time on unimportant questions, time that should be spent solving real problems that can be solved.
d. Philosophers reason carefully and logically about big questions of truth, reality, justice, and the meaning of life.
d. Philosophers reason carefully and logically about big questions of truth, reality, justice, and the meaning of life.
In addition to the four main areas of philosophy (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social, and political philosophy), what else do philosophers study?
a. Medicine, environment, business, and law
b. Ontology, aesthetics, physiology, and science
c. Logic, axiology, aesthetics, and ontology
d. Axiology, physics, logic, and business
c. Logic, axiology, aesthetics, and ontology
What area of philosophy asks questions such as: What is the relationship between mind and body? Do we have free will? Does God exist?
a. Metaphysics
b. Epistemology
c. Ethics
d. Axiology
a. Metaphysics
When philosophers inquire into governmental authority, power, social status, democracy, and how social institutions affect people, they are doing what?
a. Social and political philosophy
b. Moral philosophy
c. Philosophy of right and wrong, good and bad
d. Political science
a. Social and political philosophy
In philosophy the study of knowledge—its definition, origin, nature, and value—is called what?
a. Skepticism
b. Epistemology
c. The search for truth
d. Metaphysics
b. Epistemology
If you undertake specialized study of the values and moral problems in medicine, business, the environment, or technology, you are studying what branch of philosophy?
a. Logic
b. Ethics
c. Social and political philosophy
d. Epistemology
b. Ethics
Skeptic, utilitarian, cynic, saint, mother, warrior, trickster—these are all examples of what?
a. Archetypes, or representatives of what we should avoid becoming
b. Archetypes, or a basic type of philosophical position
c. Archetypes, or a fundamental, original model of a type
d. Archetypes, or ideal types we should strive for
c. Archetypes, or a fundamental, original model of a type
That friend who always responds to your claims with doubts, refusing to believe anything you say until they see, smell, or taste it for themselves, is exemplifying what philosophical archetype?
a. The cynic
b. The skeptic
c. The warrior
d. The trickster
b. The skeptic
How would someone who embodies the archetype of the utilitarian likely decide whether to be a vegetarian?
a. They would consult the sage wisdom of past philosophers.
b. They would universalize the principle that everyone should be a vegetarian, finding no contraction in such a principle.
c. They would experience a variety of diets for themselves and figure out which gave them the most personal pleasure.
d. They would figure out how much pleasure they get from eating animals in comparison to the amount of pain the animals suffer.
d. They would figure out how much pleasure they get from eating animals in comparison to the amount of pain the animals suffer.
How are archetypes different from stereotypes?
a. An archetype is always good, something we should aspire to be like, but a stereotype is always bad, something we should avoid.
b. An archetype is a fancy sounding synonym for stereotype; they mean roughly the same thing.
c. An archetype represents one of a handful of ways humans respond to universal experiences, whereas a stereotype distorts a type of person through oversimplification.
d. An archetype is a specific outlook on philosophy, named for the founder of the school, whereas a stereotype could apply to types of people and beliefs beyond philosophical viewpoints.
c. An archetype represents one of a handful of ways humans respond to universal experiences, whereas a stereotype distorts a type of person through oversimplification.
Jaclyn, Amir, and Karuko just left their Introduction to Ethics class, and they were discussing the idea of monogamous and polyamorous relationships. Jaclyn asserted, “Monogamy is not for everyone, and people shouldn’t be judged for pursuing relationships with many lovers!” Amir replies, “I strongly disagree, in my culture, marriage is expected, and even preferable because it offers stability for future families.” If Karuko wanted to employ relativism as a position in this discussion, how would she likely respond?
a. “Amir is right. The future of humanity rests on the ability to find true love and participate in monogamous marriage.”
b. “Neither Jaclyn nor Amir is correct because it is dependent on the person and context. To evaluate this case, we must understand where people are coming from.”
c. “Jaclyn is correct that polyamory is morally acceptable. We can see that so many marriages result in divorce, often after infidelity. Monogamy is not for everyone.”
d. “It doesn’t matter what Jaclyn or Amir think. The only ‘right’ thing to do in any case, is for me to figure out what is best for me.”
b. “Neither Jaclyn nor Amir is correct because it is dependent on the person and context. To evaluate this case, we must understand where people are coming from.”
Professor Hicks posed a question to the class, “Does anyone have a belief that you are unwilling to change?” Many students raised their hands. Some students even listed what their beliefs were that they were unwilling to change. Professor Hicks explained that if you are unwilling to have your beliefs challenged, you are likely to run into error without a proper investigation of facts and objections. What specific type of error will you be committing?
a. The error of intuitive thinking
b. The error of enlightenment
c. The error of the skeptic
d. The error of stereotyping
b. The error of enlightenment
What is the difference between wisdom, knowledge, and belief?
a. Knowledge and belief are both subjective mental states, whereas wisdom comes from training and exploration of theoretical knowledge.
b. Knowledge is a strong belief that over time becomes wisdom.
c. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgements based on experience and virtue, whereas knowledge is based on truth and training. Beliefs are the least reliable because they do not have to be true.
d. Beliefs are more valuable than knowledge or wisdom because they involve a person’s mental states. Knowledge requires rigorous training, and if you succeed at gaining knowledge, you can one day become wise or have wisdom.
c. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgements based on experience and virtue, whereas is based on truth and training. Beliefs are the least reliable because they do not have to be true.
Can a person have false knowledge?
a. Maybe. It does seem self-contradictory, but if a person moves through the world with a false belief it, over time, becomes knowledge.
b. No. You can have false beliefs, but not false knowledge because knowledge requires truth.
c. Yes. In fact, false knowledge is everywhere in the media; it is called “Fake News.”
d. Yes. If you have a longstanding belief that is untrue, you have false knowledge.
b. No. You can have false beliefs, but not false knowledge because knowledge requires truth.
