March 6th Exam (Units 6 and 7)

Question 1

Wittgenstein Metaphysics (8)

Answer 1

• He was a 20th century philosopher who wrote about language
• Solves philosophy’s problems, as philosophy is just a misinterpretation of language
• Language is like a box of tools
• Language is perfect, all though some people deform it

Two classes of Sentences:
- Prepositions that don’t make sense (the speaker should shut up)
- Prepositions that do make sense (well-constructed and relating to science)

His book help developed neopositivism, which views science of the only valid source of knowledge.

Religion, ethics or aesthetics and other metaphysics have their own creative mystique that can not be expressed through language

Question 2

Metaphysics of Aristotle (8)

Answer 2

• Realist ancient Greek philosopher
• In Aristotle’s metaphysics, all things tend to spontaneously fill a purpose
• Movement: a change from a being of potential to a being of action (Aristotelian idea)

Substances: those that exist by themself
Accidents: those that exist in one another

• Four Causes of an Object: material cause, formal cause, efficient cause and final cause
• Essence: the characteristics that a thing has by itself, and that makes it what it is and not something different
• Telos: the purpose or final goal of an object (ex. cutting for a knife)
• Aristotle thought through reality was constituted by individuals, things in our sensible world
• Categories are different dimensions of reality which correspond to ways of being such as substance, quality, quantity, relationship, action etc.

Question 3

Jean-Paul Sartre (7)

Answer 3

• Existentialist 20th century French philosopher
• a man is responsible for what he is (his essence)

Existentialism: essence has priority over existence
- considers freedom to be the most important characteristic of people
- freedom is a fundamental reality and is a unique feature of human beings

Being-in-itself: things with a specific fixed essence, such as animals

Being-for-itself: free and conscious; humans

Question 4

Nietzsche Vitalism (6)

Answer 4

• A vitalist and nihilist German philosopher
• Affirms the importance of life and understands individual experience as full of intensity and fulfillment
• the higher human beings (supermen), and those who belong to the herd (slaves)

Hatred: sexist
- anti-Christianity (reflects slave morality)
- other philosophers (history of philosophy is a grave error)
- hated metaphysics (belittles everything and makes all seem sad, rejection of metaphysics affirms the fullness of life

Question 5

Aristotle Syllogisms

Answer 5

Syllogisms - drawing a new conclusion from two given pieces of information

Example
1. Mice are puny
2. Stewart is a mouse
Therefore, Stuart is puny

Question 6

P, S and M

Answer 6

P is the major term that predicts the conclusion
M is the middle term that connects the two given pieces of information but is not in the conclusion
S is the subject of the conclusion

Mice (M) are puny (P)
Stewart (S) is a mouse (M)
Therefore, Stuart (S) is puny (P)

Question 7

Deductive Syllogisms

Answer 7

Syllogisms uses deductive reasoning from two pieces of information to draw a conclusion

Question 8

Aristotle Invention

Answer 8

Aristotle invented all logic, logical analysis and dialectic, with his book Organon, meaning instrument

Question 9

Hegel’s Philosophy (7)

Answer 9

• German idealist philosopher
• a dialect on the continuous change of reality caused by confrontation between opposing elements
• true reality is immaterial and is formed by what he called “Spirit,” which is pure reason

3 parts of Hegel’s dialectic idea:

thesis is an intellectual proposition

the antithesis the reaction/discussion of the thesis

the synthesis solves the conflict between the thesis and antithesis by forming a new proposition

this struggle pushes humanity through

Question 10

Spinoza (5)

Answer 10

• A 17th century determinism Dutch philosopher
• believed that everything we do is predetermined and inevitable and that the feeling of freedom comes from ignorance
• all of reality is composed of a unique substance has many different attributes or aspects
• human beings can only appreciate extension and thought.
• matter and consciousness seem to be different, but are actually the same as there is only one reality

Question 11

Descartes (3)

Answer 11

• French Rationalist philosopher
• doubted metaphysics and applied a radical method of questioning absolutely everything, called Cartesian methodical doubt
• he did not however doubt his own existence, “I think therefore I am”

Question 12

Agnosticism

Answer 12

philosophical current that believes it is impossible to get an answer to the question of the existence of God

Question 13

Panteism

Answer 13

philosophical doctrine that identifies God with everything that exists

Question 14

The Change

Answer 14

change from a being of potential to a being of action (Aristotle)