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Philosophy > First Exam > Flashcards

First Exam Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 5 major branches of philosophy?

A
  1. Epistemology
  2. Logic
  3. Metaphysics
  4. Ethics
  5. Aesthetics
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2
Q

What is epistemology?

A

It is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge.

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3
Q

What is it that epistemology questions?

A

It questions what knowledge is and how it is acquired, and the extent to which knowledge relevant to any subject can be acquired.

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4
Q

What is logic?

A

It is the study of correct reasoning.

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5
Q

What is metaphysics?

A

It is the study of the most general features of reality, such as existence, time, reality, etc.

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6
Q

What is ethics?

A

Ethics is concerned with the question of the best way to live and the question of whether this question can be answered.

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7
Q

What is aesthetics?

A

The study of art and beauty

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8
Q

Who was Thales and what did he propose?

A

He is the father of Western philosophy and he proposed that water is the essence of all things.

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9
Q

Who is Anaximander and what did he propose?

A

He was a pre-Socratic philosopher who said that Thales’ theory of water was too specific, and that instead the essence of all things was the “boundless.”

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10
Q

What is the time frame of pre-Socratic Philosophy?

A

About 600-450 BCE

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11
Q

Who was Anaximenes and what did he propose?

A

He was a pre-Socratic philosopher who said air is the essence of all things.

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12
Q

Who was Heraclitus and what did he propose?

A

He was a pre-Socratic philosopher who said that the universe is constantly changing. He said fire is the essence of all things.

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13
Q

Who was Socrates?

A

He is the father of moral philosophy; less interested in science and more in morality than previous philosophers.

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14
Q

What is Socrates’ most famous line?

A

“The only thing that I know is that I know nothing.”

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15
Q

What was Socrates’ encounter with the Oracle at Delphi like?

A

The Oracle said no one in Athens was smarter than Socrates. He didn’t believe it, so he questioned many “wise” people only to discover they were not as wise as they thought. The fact that Socrates was aware of his ignorance in fact made him the wisest.

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16
Q

What is the Socratic method?

A

A form of inquiry and discussion between individuals based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas.

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17
Q

What is the “Allegory of the Cave” about?

A

It is to compare “the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature.”

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18
Q

Describe a visual image of the “Allegory of the Cave.”

A

People are chained and have been staring at a wall their entire lives. They watch shadows projected at the wall by a fire. This is their reality.

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19
Q

What would it be like to be freed from the chains in the “Allegory of the Cave?”

A

Plato says that a philosopher is like a prisoner who has been freed from the chains and realizes that the shadows are not actually reality. He can perceive the true forms of reality better than the prisoners.

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20
Q

Who does the burden of proof rest on?

A

Whomever is making the claim.

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21
Q

What are the 5 main theological arguments from class?

A
  1. Ontological
  2. Cosmological
  3. Teleological
  4. Moral argument
  5. Problem of pain
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22
Q

What is a theist?

A

One who believes in god(s).

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23
Q

What is monotheism?

A

Belief in one god (the Abrahamic religions, for example).

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24
Q

What is polytheism?

A

Belief in many gods (like Hinduism).

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25
Q

What is deism?

A

Belief in a non-personal, non-intervening god.

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26
Q

What is atheism?

A

Non-belief in god.

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27
Q

What is agnosticism?

A

When one doesn’t know and doesn’t care if there is a god.

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28
Q

What is an “a priori” argument?

A

An argument based upon pure reason; can be known without an appeal to experience.

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29
Q

What is an “a posteriori” argument?

A

An argument based upon observation or experimental data.

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30
Q

What are Ontological arguments?

A

“The family of arguments that attempt to show that the very concept or idea of god implies his reality.”

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31
Q

What argument from does St. Anselm’s ontological argument take?

A

Reductio Ad Absurdam

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32
Q

What is St. Anselm’s definition of “god?”

A

“That than which nothing greater can be conceived.”

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33
Q

What is St. Anselm’s ontological argument? (5 parts)

A
  1. Suppose that God exists in the mind but not in reality.
  2. It is greater for a thing to exist in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone.
  3. So if God exists only in the mind and not in reality, then a greater being than god could be thought of.
  4. But this is impossible, for god is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
  5. Therefore, god exists in the mind and in reality.
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34
Q

What is the problem with the Ontological argument?

A

Existence is not a property; existence is that upon which all properties depend.

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35
Q

What are Cosmological Arguments?

A

“The family of arguments that attempt to infer the existence of god from the existence of the cosmos or universe.”

36
Q

What are St. Aquinas’ 5 ways to prove god exists?

A
  1. Argument from Motion
  2. Argument from Efficient Causes
  3. Argument from Possibility and Necessity
  4. Argument from Gradation of Being
  5. Argument from Design
37
Q

What is the Argument from Motion?

A

With everything in the universe in motion, something had to get it moving in the first place. That was god.

38
Q

What is the Argument from Efficient Causes (Cosmological)?

A

As in the case of motion, nothing can cause itself, and an infinite chain of causation is impossible, so there must be a First Cause, called God.

39
Q

What is the Argument from Possibility and Necessity?

A

Many things may exist or not exist and are all finite (contingent beings). It is impossible for everything to be contingent. Therefore, there must be a being whose existence is not contingent (this is god).

40
Q

What is the Argument from Gradation of Being?

A

There are varying degrees of perfection, and that perfect must have a pinnacle. This we call god.

41
Q

What is the Argument from Design (Teleological)?

A

Everything acts towards an end. Some objects are unintelligent, but still move towards an end. This intelligence that moves them is god.

42
Q

What is the Moral Argument?

A
  1. If God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist.
  2. Objective moral values do exist.
  3. Therefore, God exists.
43
Q

What is the Problem of Pain argument?

A
  1. If God exists, then he is perfectly good and all-powerful.
  2. If God is perfectly good, he wants to eliminate innocent suffering.
  3. If God is all-powerful, he can eliminate innocent suffering.
  4. However, innocent suffering does exist.
  5. Therefore, it is not the case that god exists.
44
Q

What is the Watchmaker Argument?

A

That a complex design (a watch in this case) must have a designer.

45
Q

What is ethical subjectivism?

A

It is the view that an action is morally right or wrong dependent upon one’s own (dis)approval of it.

46
Q

What is cultural relativism?

A

It is the view that beliefs are relative to the individual within his own social context. (Like Nazi Germany or China’s one-child policy)

47
Q

What are the 3 types of knowledge?

A
  1. Knowledge by acquaintance
  2. Skill (riding a bike or learning a language)
  3. Truth Claims (“My car is white.”)
48
Q

What type of knowledge is epistemology interested in?

A

Truth claims, also known as “propositional knowledge”

49
Q

What is a proposition?

A

A statement that makes a claim about reality and possesses truth value (T or F).

50
Q

What is Plato’s definition of “knowledge?”

A

It is justified, true belief.

51
Q

According to Plato, knowledge is tripartite in nature. What are those 3 things?

A
  1. Belief
  2. Truth
  3. Justification
52
Q

What is rationalism?

A

The theory that reason is the primary source of knowledge and truth, not sensation.

53
Q

What is empiricism?

A

The theory that all human knowledge arises from sensation and experience, not innate concepts.

54
Q

When was Descartes alive?

A

1596-1650

55
Q

What was Descartes aiming to do?

A

He wanted to construct a system of knowledge that possessed the same level of certainty you find in mathematics.

56
Q

What is Foundationalism?

A

The doctrine that beliefs derive justification from certain basic beliefs.

57
Q

Why did Descartes doubt everything?

A

He needed a starting point that could not be doubted, and he rejected both his senses and mathematics.

58
Q

What was the only thing Descartes was certain of?

A

He was only certain that he existed: “I think, therefore I am.”

59
Q

Who was the founder of empiricism? Who took over later on?

A

John Locke, David Hume

60
Q

What are the tenets of Locke’s empiricism?

A

He believed the mind is a blank slate and that the basis of knowledge is experience

61
Q

What are the two forms of experience, according to Locke?

A

Sensation and reflection

62
Q

How are sensation and reflection connected?

A

All of our ideas come to us via our 5 senses and our mind creates ideas by connecting that which our senses perceive.

63
Q

What are some examples of simple ideas?

A

Whiteness, hardness, sweetness, red, round

64
Q

What are some examples of complex ideas?

A

Sugar cubes, red balls

65
Q

According to Hume, where does the notion of causality (cause and effect) come from?

A

Cause and effect comes from our observation of one thing leading to another, without there being any universality behind these relations.

66
Q

What is Hume’s hierarchy of causality? (4 things)

A
  1. Causality
  2. Self
  3. Substance
  4. God
67
Q

According to Kant, what were the two parts of the mind and what did they represent?

A

Form (rationalism) and content (empiricism)

68
Q

What was Kant’s synthesis?

A

Combining rationalism and empiricism, Kant argued that the mind determines the form of what we perceive.

69
Q

What is an argument?

A

A set of statements, some of which–the premises–are supposed to support the remaining statement–the conclusion.

70
Q

What is truth value?

A

The truth of falsehood of a statement.

71
Q

What is an argument form?

A

The framework of an argument which results when certain portions of the component statements are replaced by symbols.
Ex: “If Q, then P.”

72
Q

What is an argument instance?

A

What results when the symbols of an argument form are filled in.
Ex: “If he does this, then that happens.”

73
Q

What is a deductive argument?

A

An argument that is intended to provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion.

74
Q

What is an inductive argument?

A

An argument that is intended to increase the probability of its conclusion.

75
Q

When is an argument deductively valid?

A

When it is NOT possible for ALL the premises to be true AND the conclusion false (meaning it is truth preserving).

76
Q

When is an argument deductively sound?

A

When it is deductively valid AND all its premises are true.

77
Q

Validity deals with the what of an argument?

A

Structure

78
Q

Soundness deals with the what of an argument?

A

Validity and whether the premises are true

79
Q

An argument must be ____ to be ____.

A

Must be VALID to be SOUND.

80
Q

What is a modus ponens argument?

A

It means “mode that affirms.”
If P, then Q.
P.
Q.

81
Q

What is a modus tollens argument?

A

It means “mode that denies.”
If P, then Q.
Not Q.
Not P.

82
Q

What is a disjunctive syllogism?

A

Either P or Q.
Not Q.
P.

83
Q

What is a hypothetical syllogism?

A

If P, then Q.
If Q, therefore R.
Therefore, if P, then R.

84
Q

What is a reductio ad absurdam?

A

Assume P (deduce a contradiction)
Q.
Not Q.
Not P.

85
Q

P and Q represent what in an argument?

A

P=antecedent, Q=consequent

86
Q

What is a fallacy?

A

It is any mistake in reasoning.

87
Q

What are 6 common fallacies?

A
  1. Denying the antecedent
  2. Affirming the consequent
  3. Arguing in a circle (begging the question)
  4. Ad hominem (“against the man”)
  5. Straw Man
  6. False Dilemma

Philosophy (2 decks)

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