PHI 111-Test 4 Flashcards
What questions do metaphysicians ask?
Is reality one or many? What is the nature of reality? What is time and space?
What questions do epistemologists ask?
What is knowledge? What is truth? Can we have genuine knowledge?
True or False: Plato and Aristotle believe that reality consists of two “worlds”
False, Plato believes in the existence of two “worlds”.
For Plato reality consists of two “worlds”; name them…..
World of Becoming. The World of Being.
What is rationalism?
View that reason is the primary source of all knowledge and that only our reasoning abilities can enable us to understand sense experience and reach accurate conclusions
What is empiricism?
Sense experience is the primary source of all knowledge and that only a careful attention to sense experience can enable us to understand the world and achieve accurate conclusions
What is materalism?
All aspects of the universe are composed of matter and energy and can be explained by physical laws
What is dualism?
Remember “twoism”. Dualism is the view that reality consist of two primary substances. First, there is the material substance (physical body) and, second, the immaterial substance (mind or soul). These two substances make up the self.
What are the Branches of Philosophy?
Metaphysics = study of reality
Epistemology = study of knowleddge
Ethics = study of right and wrong
Political and Social Philosophy = study of what is just in society
Aesthetics = study of what counts as art and what is beautiful
Logic = the study of critical thinking through inductive and deductive logic
True or False: Rationalists argue the primary way of acquiring knowledge is through sense experience.
False, empiricists argue this
Which group (empiricists or rationalists) argue that we enter the world with innate knowledge?
Rationalists
For Plato, where does ultimate reality reside:
1) Imagination; 2) Sense experience; 3) Reason; 4) Forms
4) Forms
What is Heraclitus famous for?
“All is Change” and “Change Alone is Unchanging”
Who was famous for saying “To be is to be perceived?”
Berkeley
Who said that the knowledgeable world is constructed by the faculties of the mind?
Kant
Who argued we are born with a intellectual “blank slate” or Tabula Rasa?
Locke
Who said there is NO reality outside the mind?
Berkeley
Who were the 3 great British empiricists?
Locke, Berkeley, and Hume
According to Kant, the world we construct is what “world?”
Phenomenal world
For Hume, the logical conclusion of empiricism is……..
Skepticism
Was Berkeley a rationalist or an empiricist?
Empiricist
True or False: Locke was an empiricist, but at the same time, argued we only have direct access to the ideas in our minds caused by external objects.
True
Who claimed that the forms reside in physical objects?
Aristotle
Who argued “certain knowledge” came through the method of doubt?
Descartes
Who said all knowledge come from experience?
Locke
Who said all justifiable beliefs must be justified by experience?
Hume
Who’s view leads to solipsism, the view that only I exist and everything else is a creation of my mind?
Berkeley
Who argued that, as a philosopher, he was committed to radical skepticism?
Hume
What are the primary qualities?
The “properties” of objects that reside in the objects (such as size, shape, weight), independent of our perceptions of the object
What are the secondary qualities?
Properties that do not reside within the objects themselves but instead are the power of objects to produce sensations in our mind (such as color, smell, texture, and taste)
Who argued that all of our fundamental knowledge is derived through reason?
Descartes
What did Kant argue was the only basis for knowledge?
Experience
What did Descartes hope to prove with his method of doubt?
Knowledge is possible
Who argued that genuine knowledge is recollected through an examination of our innate ideas?
Plato
What is skepticism?
A school of though that casts doubt on the possibility of achieving genuine knowledge. It includes positions such as doubting all assumptions until proven true, or claiming that no knowledge is possible in any circumstances. (Good thing the skeptic “knows” this much! ;))
Who argued that we construct reality with our reason, based on our experiences?
Kant
Who believes that emotions ought to play a role in our understanding of the world?
Jaggar
Whats the best way to explain Descartes’ method of doubt?
1st, Purpose and Overall Goal. 2nd, Explain His Steps in His Method. 3rd, Explain His Conclusions
For Kant the actual world is the…
“Neumonenal word”
The reason why Descartes’ Method of Doubt was so important was because…
The only way one can have knowledge is if they are absolutely certain. There cannot be a shred of “doubt”.
What is transcendental Idealism?
Human experience of things is similar to the way they appear to us. (There is a major subjective nature to this idea). There is a self that unifies (transcends) our experience of the world.
Why was Immanuel Kant so upset about Hume’s theory?
Hume’s radical doubt leads to skepticism about all knowledge, including science and ethics.
According to Hume’s epistemology, we become _______________ agents.
Passive
According to Kant’s epistemology, we become _______________ agents.
Active
What is the “$5 term” for Kant when it comes to knowledge gain primarily through reason?
A priori (“knowledge BEFORE experience”).
What are some pieces of knowledge that Kant would argue we have BEFORE experience?
A priori truths include 1) Mathematics, 2) arithmetic, 3) logic, 4) Knowledge of the ‘self’, 5) The possibility of free will, 6) Moral principles, 7) The existence of God
Which of the following philosophers believe in God: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume?
Descartes, Locke, and Berkeley.
Which of the following philosophers used God as the foundation for their knowledge of reality? Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume?
None of the above.
What is subjective idealism?
Subjective Idealism is the belief that only ideas and conscious minds have actual existence.
Name the four levels of reality for Plato:
1) Imagination 2) Perception 3) Lower Forms 4) Higher forms
Philosophy is the best subject in the whole wide world.
True
