Module 5 - Foundations Of Western Philosophy: Foundations Of Modern Metaphysics And Empiricism Flashcards

1
Q

True or False: “Why are certain insects attracted to flowers in bloom” is an example of an observation/question?

A

true

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2
Q

True or False: A hypothesis is a conjecture, based on knowledge obtained while formulating the question, that may explain any given phenomenon or behavior.

A

true

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3
Q

Based on the question and hypothesis, a scientist or researcher will make a __________ that deduces the logical consequences of the hypothesis before the outcome is known. The prediction is a result you’d expect to get if your hypothesis or theory is accurate.

A

prediction

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4
Q

Experimentation/Testing: In this step, the scientist must develop suitable tests or experiments to ​​produce actual results that can be compared to the predicted results based on the _______.

A

hypothesis

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5
Q

After testing is complete, the collected results are analyzed and compared to the predicted results based on the hypothesis. The difference between expected results versus actual results will _______ or ________ the hypothesis and determine net steps in the process. As part of the data analysis step, evidence for other scientists or researchers may be incorporated.

A

validate, invalidate

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6
Q

According to Descartes, a belief can count as knowledge even if there is a slight chance it is wrong.

A

false

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7
Q

Why does Descartes initially think we must distrust our internal reasonings?

A

An evil demon could be manipulating our thoughts.

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8
Q

What is the name of the view according to which certain knowledge is unattainable and our epistemic lives are hopeless?

A

Cartesian Skepticism

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9
Q

Just when it seems Descartes has proved nothing at all can be known for certain, what famous declaration does he make?

A

“I think, therefore I am”

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10
Q

After doubting everything, Descartes thinks we can rebuild our knowledge upon the solid foundation of what?

A

clear and distinct perception

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11
Q

what is materialism?

A

The view that the universe is solely composed of physical, tangible, spatially extended objects

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12
Q

Hobbes was a determinist.

A

true

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13
Q

what is determinism?

A

The view that nothing happens in the universe by chance. All events are the necessary consequence of antecedent causes

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14
Q

what is egotism?

A

The view that humans, by nature, always seek some personal gain when acting voluntarily

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15
Q

As egotists, preprogrammed to pursue their personal desires, what three specific things do humans desire, according to Hobbes?

A

power, honor, and self preservation

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16
Q

For Locke, what were the two modes of experience?

A

sensation and reflection

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17
Q

John Locke was a fierce critic of materialism.

A

false

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18
Q

Locke believed that at birth the human mind was _________.

A

a blank slate

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19
Q

John Locke was a proponent of indirect realism.

A

true

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20
Q

what is an innate idea?

A

An idea that all people have from birth and need not be taught

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21
Q

According to epistemologists, what (at the least) is knowledge?

A

a justified, true belief

22
Q

Epistemic justification is not a necessary condition for knowledge.

A

false

23
Q

what is a priori justification?

A

A type of justification which we achieve via an internal process.

24
Q

what is a posteriori justification?

A

A type of justification we achieve wholly externally.

25
Q

Intuition is a source of a posteriori justification.

A

false

26
Q

Knowledge is attainable through clear and distinct perception alone. So, we should only make judgments on some subject when we are sure that our perception of the subject is clear and distinct, and withhold judgment otherwise. But how can we ever be absolutely sure that our perception is clear and distinct, given we are fallible reasoners?

A

God, being incapable of deceiving us, will guarantee that any time we think our perception is clear and distinct, it is.

27
Q

What kind of argument does Descartes give for God’s existence?

A

an ontological argument

28
Q

According to Descartes, the universe is composed of two fundamental substances. What are they?

A

mind and matter

29
Q

Many of Descartes’ contemporaries were materialists. What do materialists believe?

A

The universe is composed of entirely physical, tangible stuff.

30
Q

Descartes was a dualist. What do dualists believe?

A

The universe is composed of two fundamental substances, mind and matter.

31
Q

A crucial step in Hobbes’ political philosophy is a discussion of the state of nature. What is the state of nature?

A

A thought experiment in which humans are imagined to exist with no government powers regulating their behavior whatsoever

32
Q

According to Hobbes, people in the state of nature possess natural liberty. What is natural liberty?

A

The power to take and defend whatever resources you can using your own, individual powers.

33
Q

Hobbes famously said that man’s life in the state of nature would be…..

A

nasty, brutish, and short

34
Q

Given life in the state of nature would be so thoroughly miserable, Hobbes ultimately concludes that, to improve their lives, people should agree to surrender all their rights to whom?

A

an absolute sovereign

35
Q

Once people enter a social contract to surrender their natural liberties, what do they gain in exchange?

A

civil liberty

36
Q

John Locke was an indirect realist. What is indirect realism?

A

The view that perception is not direct but rather is mediated by the senses.

37
Q

Locke criticized direct realism as a naive doctrine. What is direct realism?

A

The view that we perceive objects in the world around us directly, exactly as they are.

38
Q

what is empiricism?

A

The view that all the mind’s ideas are originally furnished by experience

39
Q

Berkeley espoused idealism. What is idealism?

A

The idea that reality consists only of ideas

40
Q

Why does Berkeley worry that indirect realism ultimately leads to skepticism?

A

If we perceive everything indirectly, as mediated by our senses, we cannot verify whether our senses actually provide accurate information.

41
Q

One source of knowledge that rationalists generally accept, and empiricists generally reject, is innate ideas. What is an innate idea?

A

An idea that all people have from birth and need not be taught

42
Q

Rationalists and empiricists alike generally recognize deduction to be a source of a priori justification. What does it mean to ‘deduce’ something?

A

To infer, by means of a logical reasoning process that only produces absolutely certain results, that a conclusion is true

43
Q

Which is an example of a posteriori knowledge?

A

some tigers are white

44
Q

Which is an example of a priori knowledge?

A

all triangles have three sides

45
Q

what is rationalism?

A

The view that some specified domain of knowledge – perhaps even all knowledge – can only be gained a priori

46
Q

Which of the following is not one of Newton’s three laws of motion?

A

An opposite and an equal reaction will always force a body to discontinue itself from rest and/or motion;

47
Q

Newton’s work provided a physical basis for__________________, unified the physics of both celestial and terrestrial bodies into one set of laws, and synthesized two important components of the Scientific Revolution, the mechanical philosophy and the mathematization of nature.

A

Kepler’s laws of planetary motion

48
Q

The philosophical underpinnings of the Scientific Revolution were laid out by _________ in his Novum Organum (1620), or New Method.

A

Francis Bacon

49
Q

Rather than focus on known facts and using deduction to produce further understanding, a new breed of philosophers and scientists employed a(n) ____________ to obtain knowledge.

A

inductive approach

50
Q

Prior to the publication of Nicolas Copernicus’ publication of his mathematical calculations in On the Revolutions of Heavenly Bodies in 1541, the scientific community embraced a ___________ of the universe, stating that the Earth was at the center of the universe and that all celestial objects, including the Sun, revolved around it.

A

geocentric model