PHIL exam 2

Question 1

What is Rationalism

Answer 1

emphasizes the role of reason and innate ideas. This is the view that regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge.

Question 1

What is Empiricism

Answer 1

asserts that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience, observation, and perception of he external world.

Question 2

What are innate ideas

Answer 2

these are concepts, principles, or knowledge that are believed to be present in the human mind from birth or from he very early sages of development, without being acquired through sensory experience. examples include: the idea of God, the idea of mind, and the idea of body.

Question 3

What is methodological doubt/skepticism

Answer 3

Involves a systematic process of doubting or questioning all beliefs and assumptions as a method for acquiring knowledge.

Question 4

What is formal reality

Answer 4

refers to the degree of reality that an entity has within its own nature or concept. Descartes proposed that there are varying degrees of formal reality, with finite substances having less formal reality than the infinite substance, which possesses the highest degree of formal reality.

Question 5

What is objective reality

Answer 5

anything that exists as it is independent of any conscious awareness of it

Question 6

What is representationalism

Answer 6

This is a theory of perception of knowledge in philosophy of mind and epistemology. It says that our perception of the external world is mediated by mental representations or mental states, and these mental representations are the immediate objects of perception, rather than the external objects themselves.

Question 7

What are Descartes’ 3 arguments for the existence of God

Answer 7

Infinite, Perfection, and Ontological

Question 8

What is Descartes’ infinite argument

Answer 8

Descartes’ infinite argument begins by considering the idea of God as an infinitely perfect being. Descartes argues that he, as a finite and imperfect being, could not have generated the idea of infinite being on his own. The idea of God’s infinity is beyond his finite capacities. The idea of an infinite being must have been caused by an actual infinite being, God himself.

Question 9

What is Descartes Perfection argument

Answer 9

Descartes’ perfection argument considers the concept of perfection and concludes that there must be a perfect being to serve as the cause of this idea. He argues that his own imperfections and limitations make it impossible for him to be the source of the idea of a perfect being. The idea of a perfect being must have been placed in his mind by God.

Question 10

What is Descartes’ ontological argument

Answer 10

This argument begins by considering the nature of God as a supremely perfect being. Descartes claims that existence is a perfection or attribute of a perfect being. Since the idea of God represents a supremely perfect being, and since existence is a perfection, Descartes argues that God must exist. If God didn’t exist, he would not be supremely perfect, which is a contradiction.

Question 11

What is substance for Descartes?

Answer 11

Descartes’ mind-body dualism says that these two substances are different in nature, with the mind and body having distinct attributes and properties. Mind is distinct from body and can exist independently of it. Body is the substance of the physical world including all material objects.

Question 12

What is substance for Leibniz?

Answer 12

Leibniz says that substances are immaterial monads that make up the fabric of reality. Monads are distinct, self-contained entities that possess their own unique set of perceptions or experiences. He held that all substances are immaterial, non-physical entities.

Question 13

What are primary qualities

Answer 13

properties of an object that are independent of any observer, such as solidity extension, motion, number and figure.

Question 14

What are secondary qualities?

Answer 14

incorporate sensory responses in their conditions of application, so that the idea of a perceiver is built into their nature.

Question 15

What is the Mechanistic Worldview?

Answer 15

This is a perspective that views the natural world as a system governed by deterministic, cause-and-effect relationships, with an emphasis on reductionism, natural laws, and objectivity.

Question 16

What are Leibniz’s seven principles of primary truths

Answer 16

1. The principle of Identity
2. The principle of Contradiction
3. The principle of the Excluded Middle
4. The principle of Sufficient Reason
5. The principle of Perfection
6. The principle of Pre-established Harmony
7. The principle of Continuity

Question 17

What is the principle of Identity

Answer 17

States that if two things are the same in every respect then they are the same thing.

Question 18

What is the principle of contradiction

Answer 18

contradictory propositions cannot both be true at the same time in the same sense.

Question 19

What is the principle of the excluded middle

Answer 19

asserts that for any proposition either that proposition is true or its negation is true.

Question 20

what is the principle of sufficient reason

Answer 20

suggests that there is an explanation or cause for every fact or event.

Question 21

what is the principle of perfection

Answer 21

Believed that the actual world is the best of all possible worlds. He argues that God would create the best possible universe and thus the actual world is a reflection of this perfection.

Question 22

What is the principle of pre-established harmony

Answer 22

proposed that the mind and body are synchronized in a pre-established way. There is no direct interaction between the, but they appear in harmony due to God’s divine plan.

Question 23

what is the principle of continuity

Answer 23

suggests that there are no abrupt or arbitrary discontinuities in nature. It emphasizes the idea of gradual change and development in the universe.

Question 24

What is the best of all possible world argument?

Answer 24

God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good. God’s attributes include knowing everything, being all-powerful, and being perfectly good. God created the universe. Therefore, the universe, as created by God, must be the best of all possible worlds.

Question 25

What is the Complete Individual Concept

Answer 25

and exhaustive account of every single property of each substance

Question 26

What is idealism generally?

Answer 26

a philosophical perspective that posits that reality, in some fundamental sense, is mental or immaterial in nature, and that a material world, including the physical objects and events we perceive, is dependent on or derived from mental or spiritual phenomena.

Question 27

What is idealism for Leibniz

Answer 27

Leibniz’s idealism is known as his monadology. Monads are immaterial, indivisible, non-extended, and windowless substances. Each monad represents a unique and distinct perspective on the entire universe, and they reflect the principle of sufficient reason.

Question 28

what is Pre-established Harmony

Answer 28

the idea that every individual substance, or monad, in Leibniz’s metaphysical system has been preordained by God to act in a way that it appears to interact and influence other substances without any direct causal connection.

Question 29

what is parallelism

Answer 29

a term often used interchangeably with pre-established harmony to describe the same concept in Leibniz’s philosophy. Highlights the idea that mental and physical events occur in parallel, without one causing the other.

Question 30

What are impressions

Answer 30

involve the senses and are vivid and direct

Question 31

What are ideas

Answer 31

involve mental images of things like memories. Less vivid than impressions.

Question 32

what is The Copy Principle

Answer 32

states that our ideas are ultimately derived from our impressions. In other words, every thought or mental representation we have can be traced back to a more immediate, vivid, and forceful mental sate, which Hume calls an impression.

Question 33

what are relations of ideas

Answer 33

refer to propositions or statements that are known through reason and do not depend on sensory experience for their justification. include things such as 2+2=4 or all bachelors are unmarried.

Question 34

What are matters of fact

Answer 34

refer to propositions or statements that are known through empirical observation and experience. They are not necessarily true and could be otherwise.

Question 35

What is constant conjunction

Answer 35

the observation that events or phenomena often occur together in a regular and consistent manner.

Question 36

What is necessary connection

Answer 36

we do not directly observe any necessary connection between events in the world. While we may observe constant conjunction, we do not have access to necessary, causal link that necessitates the effect from the cause. our idea of necessary connection is not derived from our sensory experiences but is a product of our custom or habit.

Question 37

What is the third species of philosophy

Answer 37

deals with human nature and the study of human behavior, passions, and moral principles. It encompasses inquiries into human psychology, ethics, aesthetics, and the study of human society and the principles that govern human interactions.