PHILOSOPHY: Metaphysics Quiz

Question 1

Ontology

Answer 1

The area of metaphysics that studies that nature of being and reality.

Question 2

Taoism

Answer 2

A mystical philosophy. Taoism views that human reason is incapable of grasping the ultimate nature of reality, as well as the related view that language is inadequate to describe reality.

Question 3

Ultimate truth

Answer 3

The truth about the ultimate empty nature of reality that is experienced by someone completely enlightened, such as Buddha.

Question 4

Dualism

Answer 4

The view that reality consists of two different kinds of things or properties (minds and matter). There are 3 types of dualism: interactionist substance dualism, property dualism, and epiphenomenalism.

Question 5

Interactionist substance dualism

Answer 5

Holds that reality consists of two different types of substances: thinking things (ex. mind) and things that take up space (ex. brains or cars). These substances casually interact with each other.

Question 6

Property dualism

Answer 6

Holds that reality consists of some kind of physical thing that produces both physical and mental properties (such as beliefs, desires, and feelings)

Question 7

Epiphenomenalism

Answer 7

Holds that states of mind are merely by-products of physical states of the brain. These states of mind have no influence on physical states.

Question 8

Idealism

Answer 8

Views reality as mental, intelligent, or thought-like. Reality is shaped by the mind, consciousness, and ideas, rather than material objects.

Question 9

Monism

Answer 9

Reality is ultimately one unified thing (matter or mind). Materialists consider this one thing to be entirely material, idealists consider it to be entirely mental, and neutral monists believe it is neither material nor basic, but rather something more basic.

Question 10

Subjective facts

Answer 10

Facts that can only be accessed from the point of view of the experiencer. (Ex. you have to be a bat to understand what it is like to be a bat)

Question 11

Materialism

Answer 11

Holds that reality consists of matter.

Question 12

Objective facts

Answer 12

Facts that can be accessed and observed from more than one point of view. (Ex. bats have black wings)

Question 13

Form

Answer 13

Abstract, perfect, unchanging concepts or ideals that transcends time and space, and exist in the realm of Forms. Concepts like roundness, beauty, or goodness are Forms. Individual objects like a round ball, a beautiful girl, or a good person in the physical realm are different examples of the Forms.

Question 14

Ultimate reality

Answer 14

Conventional reality is what we experience in everyday life. It is populated by familiar objects, events, and properties, which we take for granted. Ultimate reality, by contrast, is emptiness—the emptiness of all things, including all those things that populate conventional reality.

Question 15

Substance

Answer 15

A thing, rather than an event or a process, that supports changing properties. For example, a tree is a substance that possesses properties like height, colour, and shape. The tree exists independently, while the properties depend on the tree for their existence. While the properties might change (ex. a tree’s leaves turning colour), the underlying substance (the tree itself) remains the same. There are 2 types of substances: extended substances and thinking substances.

Question 16

Extended substances

Answer 16

Essence is to take up space (matter)

Question 17

Thinking substances

Answer 17

Essence is thought (mind)

Question 18

Essence

Answer 18

Refers to the fundamental nature or intrinsic quality of something that makes it what it is. It represents the core attributes that define an entity and distinguish it from other entities.

Question 19

Eliminative materialism

Answer 19

Holds that all our talk about thoughts, beliefs and desires is deeply mistaken and full of confusion. With the progression of science, common sense will eventually be eliminated and replaced by the technical terminology of science. Just like science replaced ideas like “witchcraft” with explanations like “disease,” eliminative materialism suggests that future science might replace ideas like “belief” with more accurate descriptions of brain processes.

Question 20

Qualia

Answer 20

The private feeling of what it is like to have a sensation; to understand a conscious experience you have to feel it for yourself, from the inside.

Question 21

New mysterianism

Answer 21

There are and always will be unsolved problems because of the way that the human mind is structured. We might never fully figure out how the mind and consciousness work, not because the answers don’t exist, but because our brains aren’t equipped to understand them. For example, just as a dog cannot be expected to solve the problems about space, the human species cannot be expected to understand how the universe contains a mind and matter in combination.

Question 22

Agent intellect

Answer 22

The Agent Intellect, a perfect being or the mind of God, is a model for the mind’s perfection and the key to its ultimate happiness.

Question 23

Identity theory

Answer 23

Holds that mental events such as thoughts are identical to physical events in the brains. (Ex. A thought like “I want a cookie” is identical to the specific chemical activity in the brain)

Question 24

Functionalism

Answer 24

The mind is to the brain as software is to hardware. Just as there are many kinds of computer hardware that can run the same computer program and perform the same functions, so there are many kinds of brains that can support the same thoughts and perceptions.