Phil midterm 1

Question 1

what 2 conditions does Theatetus suggest are necessary conditions for knowledge?

Answer 1

1) that something is true judgment
2) free of mistakes

Question 2

how does Socrates convince Theatetus that these two conditions aren’t sufficient for knowledge?

Answer 2

• He says that true judgment does not equal true knowledge
  -says that with the 2 current conditions in place, it is still possible to persuade someone to form a decision without having true knowledge

Question 3

what does Theatetus suggest as the missing condition of knowledge?

Answer 3

-it needs to be true judgment with an account to = knowledge

Question 4

what level of certainty does Astell require for legitimate belief?

Answer 4

-she is a high-standards person and requires a lot of evidence to be certain

Question 5

why does Astell require this level of certainty?

Answer 5

-because she says that we can attain knowledge only by affirming those ideas that are clear and distinct

Question 6

what level of certainty does Descartes require for his beliefs? why?

Answer 6

-he is a high-standards person and requires a lot of evidence
-because he believes perception is not 100% reliable and that he has been done wrong in the past by not having enough evidence

Question 7

how do dreams support Descartes’s main conclusion about his beliefs?

Answer 7

-Dreams support his argument because he can convince /prove that you can’t know whether you are dreaming or awake, therefore proving that you can’t know if something is knowledge or not because you do not know what state you were in when you acquired it, and for it to be knowledge according to him, you must be awake

Question 8

what step of Descartes dreaming argument can Shepard be taken as denying?

Answer 8

-she claims that his first premise is false- (everything you can experience while awake you can experience in a dream)

Question 9

what is Shepard’s argument that the dreaming argument is wrong?

Answer 9

-she says- you can’t have the experiences you are having right now in a dream/while dreaming
-she thinks our experiences come ordered

Question 10

what makes Descartes worry that he must even doubt that there are things such as colors, and shapes, or that 2+3=5?

Answer 10

-he claims that all beliefs are formed using various methods, and if you form a belief like 2+3=5 using a certain method and then form another belief with that method and it turns out to be false, then you have to get rid of all your beliefs you had made using the same method because they now also could be wrong

Question 11

what is the difference between reductionism and non-reductionism about personal identity?

Answer 11

-reductionism: the self and personal identity are constituted by other features

-non-reductionism: the self/personal identity is not constituted by other features

Question 12

what is the difference between qualitative and numerical identity?

Answer 12

qualitative:
-sharing all features
-a is identical to b if they all have features in common

numerical identity:
-a is numerically identical to b when a=b
-ex. 1 thing, 2 names- Clark Kent/Superman

Question 13

what is the physical view of personal identity?

Answer 13

-you are the same as your body
-you are the same person at another time iff you have the same crucial body parts (brain)
-where your body goes, you go

Question 14

what does Locke mean when he says personal identity is a forensic notion?

Answer 14

-part of his memory view
-you are the same person at an earlier time iff you remember being that person/ doing what they did

Question 15

in what does Locke think personal identity consists and why?

Answer 15

-in consciousness, because that’s where our memories are/we are

Question 16

what objection to Locke’s view is Cockburn responding to?

Answer 16

-The Prince and Cobbler objection

Question 17

how does Cockburn respond to that objection?

Answer 17

-she defends Lockes’ view and argues that personal identity is not solely based on the continuity of the same body, but on the continuity of the same consciousness

Question 18

according to Cockburn, how can we be sure that infants aren’t born with implicit thoughts?

Answer 18

-she thinks that if they were born with implicit thoughts their behavior would be more consistent from an early age but they arent
-we can prove this by observing their behaviors and from it we can see that what they display seems to be based on their experiences

Question 19

what examples does Reid invoke against Locke’s view and how does this example work?

Answer 19

-the brave officer example
-goes against Lockes’ idea that you are the same person as someone in the past iff you remember being that person and doing what they did
ex goes:
-as a young boy he was flogged for stealing apples from an orchard, as a young man he captured the enemy flag in battle, then, as an old general he received an award
-young man = young boy because he remembers doing what the young boy did
-old general= young man for same reason
-old general does not = young boy because he does not remember doing what the young boy did

Question 20

in what does Reid think our personal identity consists and why?

Answer 20

-says its based on the sameness of a person and believes this because personal identity is self evident

Question 21

what is humes conception of the self?

Answer 21

-the self is a collection of impressions, experiences and perceptions
-not constant
-ever changing

Question 22

why does hume hold this view?

Answer 22

-because of his bundle theory and his empiricist approach