LHP (Even Number’s) Test Questions and Answers to Philosophy Test 1

Thanks for posting this, Chance. Give yourself a couple of bonus bases tomorrow. 

But I'll reiterate to the class: I have NOT vetted the answers here, and in any case the best preparation for Thursday's exam is to re-read and think about the assigned texts that address the questions. -jpo

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·         Chapter 1:

2. What theory is Plato's story of the cave connected with? Do you think some or all humans are naturally, in some allegorical sense, stuck in a cave?

 

Answers:

 2.This story of the cave is connected with what’s come to be known as Plato’s Theory of Forms.

 

·         Chapter 2

2. What philosophical difference between Plato and Aristotle is implied by The School of Athens? Whose side are you on, Plato's or Aristotle's?

 

4. What reliance is completely against the spirit of Aristotle's research? Are there any authorities you always defer to? Why or why not?

 

Answers:

2. Plato’s philosophy is directed towards thinking about the abstract concept of a thing rather than directly observing it directly to understand its true nature. Whilst Aristotle’s philosophy is practically the opposite, he is intrigued by most things physical, and he believes by observing an object is how one can learn about the object’s nature. This is shown by Plato pointing upwards to the world of the Forms; in contrast, Aristotle is reaching out towards the world in front of him.

 

4. Truth by Authority is completely against Aristotle’s research, because his methods were investigation, research and clear reasoning, thus authority proves nothing on its own.

 

·         Chapter 3

2. Why did Pyrrho decide never to trust his senses? Is such a decision prudent or even possible?

 

4. How did Pyrrho think his extreme skepticism led to happiness? Do you think there are other ways of achieving freedom from worry (ataraxia)?

 

Answers

2.     2.Pyrrho decided to never trust his senses because our senses can be wrong, such as in the dark a figure could appear to be a fox yet only be a cat in reality. That decision is not prudent in most cases although it is very interesting to note that our senses are not what reality actually is.

 

4.     4.Pyrrho thought that one should free themselves from desires and not care how things turn out, since unhappiness comes from not getting what you want.

 

 

·         Chapter 4-5

2. How is the modern meaning of "epicurean" different from Epicurus's? Do you consider yourself epicurean in either sense of the term?

 

4. How did Epicurus respond to the idea of divine punishment in the afterlife? Is the hypothesis of a punitive and torturous afterlife something you take seriously, as a real possibility? Why or why not?

 

6. Why did Cicero think we shouldn't worry about dying? Is his approach less or more worrisome than the Epicureans'?

 

8. What does the author say might be the cost of stoicism? Is it possible to be stoical but also appropriately compassionate, caring, sensitive to others' suffering, etc.?

 

Answers:

1

2.     2. Epicurean refers to someone who enjoys the expensive/fancy aspects of life, while Epicurus strictly renounced the finer aspects of life.

3.       

4.     4. Epicurus argued that the god’s exist apart from us and are not interested in punishing us after death, perhaps because they did not even care to watch our lives to begin with.

5.       

6.      6.Cicero believed that the soul lived for ever, so that old people shouldn’t worry about dying. Cicero’s attitude was that we should both accept the natural process of growing older and recognize that the attitude we take to that process need not be pessimistic. Since Cicero’s attitude was focused on doing the most with the life you have, I believe it is less worrisome than the Epicureans view.

7.       

8.      8.Unfortunately, though, even if you manage to calm your emotions, you may find that you have lost something important. The state of indifference championed by the Stoics may reduce unhappiness in the face of events we can’t control. But the cost might be that we become cold, heartless, and perhaps even less human. If that is the price of achieving calm, it may be too high.

 

·         Chapter 6-8

2. What does Boethius not mention about himself in The Consolation of Philosophy?

 

4. What uniquely self-validating idea did Anselm say we have?

 

6. What was Aquinas' 2nd Way?

 

Answers:

2.      2.He was an early Christian

3.       

4.     4. That everyone has their own idea of what God is even if they do not believe in God then with that Ontological argument that proves God exists.

5.       

6.      6.The First Cause Argument, an argument which, like much of Aquinas’ philosophy, was based on one that Aristotle had used much earlier. Like Anselm, Aquinas wanted to use reason to provide proof for God’s existence. The First Cause Argument takes as its starting point the existence of the cosmos – everything that there is. Look around you. Where did everything come from? The simple answer is that each thing that exists has a cause of some kind that brought it into being and made it as it is. Take a football. That is the product of many causes – of people designing and making it, of the causes that produced the raw materials, and so on. But what caused the raw materials to exist? And what caused those causes? You can go back and trace that. And back and back. But does that chain of causes and effects go on back forever?

 

·         Chapter 9-10

2. Machiavelli's philosophy is described as being "rooted" in what? Does your own experience confirm his appraisal of human nature and what's "realistic"?

 

4. Life outside society would be what, according to Hobbes? Do you think your neighbors would threaten your survival if they could get away with it?

 

6.Hobbes did not believe in the existence of what? Do you? Why or why not?

 

Answers:

 

2.Machiavelli’s philosophy was not specifically mentioned to be “rooted” in anything, what it does mention is that he had cynicism in how he viewed things. How he views most humans to be untrustworthy and greedy.

 

4. In Hobbes’ memorable description, life outside society would be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’.

6. Hobbes did not believe in the soul. Soul meaning an esoteric eternal being that which we are comprised of but is eternal but somehow only begins its existence when we are born then becomes eternal.

 

 

 

·         Chapter 11-12

2. Did Descartes claim to know (at the outset of his "meditations") that he was not dreaming? Do you ever think you might be?

 

4. Pascal's best-known book is _____.  Do you like his aphoristic style?

 

6. Pascal thought if you gamble on God and lose, "you lose ______." Do you agree?

 

 

Answers:

 

1.    2.  When he reaches his conclusion about god and that he must exist he believes in conclusion that means that this world does exist.

3.    

4.    4.Pascal’s best-known book, his Pensées (‘Thoughts’), was pieced together from fragments of his writing and published in 1670 after his early death at the age of 39. It is written in a series of beautifully crafted short paragraphs. No one is completely sure how he intended the parts to fit together, but the main point of the book is clear: it is a defense of his version of Christianity.

5.       

6.      6.Not only might you lose your chance of bliss in heaven, but you might end up in hell where you will be tortured for the whole of eternity.

 

·         Chapter 13-14

2. If god is _____, there cannot be anything that is not god; if _____, god is indifferent to human beings. Is that how you think about god?

 

4. According to John Locke, all our knowledge comes from _____; hence, the mind of a newborn is a ______.  If Locke's right, what do you think accounts for our ability to learn from our experiences?

 

6. Locke's articulation of what natural rights influenced the U.S. Constitution? Do you think it matters if we say such rights are discovered rather than invented?

 

           

Answers:

1.                 

2.      2.If god is infinite, there cannot be anything that is not god; if you discover something in the universe to not be god, god is indifferent to human beings.

3.       

4.     4. All our knowledge comes from our experiences; hence the mind of a newborn is blank.

5.       

6.      6.His view that we have a God-given right to life, freedom, happiness and property influenced the founding fathers who wrote the United States Constitution.

 

·         Chapter 15-18

2. What made Berkeley an idealist, and an immaterialist? Are you one, the other, both, neither?

 

4. What was Berkeley's Latin slogan? Do you think existence depends upon being perceived?

 

6. What English poet declared that "whatever is, is right," and what German philosopher (with his "Principle of Sufficient Reason") agreed with the poet? Does this imply that nothing is ever wrong or bad? Is it really possible or reasonable to believe this?

 

 

8. What 1755 catastrophe deeply influenced Voltaire's philosophy? Do you have a philosophical perspective on natural catastrophes that makes rational and moral sense of them?

 

10. Did Hume think the human eye is so flawless in its patterned intricacy that, like Paley's watch, it constitutes powerful evidence of intelligent design? Why would an omnipotent designer design a flawed organ?

 

12. Rousseau said we're born free but everywhere are in ____, but can liberate ourselves by submitting to what is best for the whole community, aka the _______. Are we all more free when we act not only for ourselves but for the good of the whole community (world, species)?

 

Answers:

2.     2.  He was an idealist because he believed that all that exist are ideas; he was an immaterialist because he denied that material things – physical objects – exist. Generally I am neither because I aim to be as scientific as possible because that is how the world is fascinating to me. Although deep down I have no idea if anything is real and to be honest nobody can prove to me that they are not a figment of my imagination. Which might be another reason why I hold science so dear because I need there to be governing laws of the universe and me be able to understand them for my reality to exist.

4. Berkeley summed up this strange view in Latin as ‘Esse est percipi’ – to be (or exist) is to be perceived. I really do not have a complete answer either way if existing requires being perceived or not. 

6.  English poet Alexander Pope. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

8.      8. In 1755 one of the worst natural disasters of the eighteenth century occurred: the Lisbon earthquake that killed more than 20,000 people. This Portuguese city was devastated not just by the earthquake, but also by the tsunami that followed, and then by fires that raged for days.

9.       

10.    10. No he disagrees saying even if you reach the conclusion that something very powerful made the human eye, you don’t have evidence to say that it was all-powerful. The eye has some flaws.

11.   

12.  12.‘Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains,’ The General Will is whatever is best for the whole community, the whole state. When people choose to group together for protection, it seems that they have to give up many of their freedoms.

 

·         Chapter 19-23

2. What was Kant's great insight? Is this a credible form of "armchair philosophy"? Or does it also depend on experience?

4. Kant said you should never ___, because ___. Kant called the principle that supports this view the ____ _____.  Have you ever violated this principle? If so, do you regret it?

 

6. Who created a thought experiment that seems to refute Bentham's view of how pleasure relates to human motivation? Would you opt for the machine? Why or why not?

8. What Kantian view did Hegel reject? What would Kant say?

10. What "blind driving force" did Schopenhauer allege to pervade absolutely everything (including us)? Could anyone really know that?

 

Answers:

2.      2.His great insight was that we could, by the power of reason, discover features of our own minds that tint all our experience. Sitting in an armchair thinking hard, we could make discoveries about reality that had to be true yet weren’t just true by definition: they could be informative. This is absolutely a credible form of armchair philosophy, he is saying by sitting and thinking we ca gleam answers so yes! Even if contemplating over experimental data it is still thinking about the world within the confines of your thoughts so it appears to me to be armchair philosophy.

4.      4.Kant said you should never lie because it is morally wrong. Categorial Imperative, which is an order instructing you what your duty is.

5.       

6.        6. Robert Nozick. I would not opt to use the machine in fear of addiction to it.

7.       

8.     8. Hegel came to reject Kant’s view that noumenal reality lies beyond the phenomenal world. I feel like Kant would say something similar to how can we know what we do not know.

9.       

10.  10.Reality has two aspects. It exists both as Will and as Representation. Will is the blind driving force that is found in absolutely everything that exists.

 

·         Chapter 24-27

2. What view did Mill defend in On Liberty? Is that view consistent with his criticisms of Bentham?

 

4. Who did Bishop Wilberforce debate at Oxford in 1860? What do you think of his response to the Bishop on the matter of ancestry?

 

6. What scientific developments since Darwin's time establish evolution by natural selection as more than just a theory or hypothesis? What does it take to turn a theory into something more?

 

8. Why is faith irrational, according to Nigel Warburton? Do you agree?

 

10. Why was Karl Marx angry? How did he think the whole of human history could be explained? DId he have a point?

 

12. What did Marx call religion? Was he being unfair?

 

 

Answers:

2.      2. In 1859 he published a short but inspiring book defending his view that giving each person space to develop as they saw fit was the best way to organize society. That book is called On Liberty and it is still widely read today.

4.      4. Prejudices that you can’t really defend.

6.      6. Genetics, for example, has given a detailed explanation of how inheritance works. We know about genes and chromosomes and about the chemical processes involved in passing on particular qualities. The fossil evidence today is also far more convincing than it was in Darwin’s day. For all these reasons the theory of evolution by natural selection is much more than ‘just a hypothesis’: it is a hypothesis that has a very substantial weight of evidence in its support.

7.       

8.      8. Søren Kierkegaard, most of his writing was about choosing how to live and the difficulty of knowing that your decision is the right one. He must had loved her very much to not want her to share in his gloomy life.

9.       

10.  10. For Kierkegaard, the subjective point of view, the experience of the individual making choices, was all-important. Karl Marx took a broader view. Like Hegel, he had a grand vision of how history was unfolding and of the forces driving it. Unlike Kierkegaard, he saw no hope whatsoever of salvation through religion.

11.   

12.  12. Each person would contribute whatever they could to society, and society in turn would provide for them: ‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’ was Marx’s vision. By taking control of factories, the workers would make sure that there was enough for everyone to have what they needed. No one need go hungry or without suitable clothing or shelter. This future was communism, a world based on sharing the benefits of co-operation.

 

·         Chapter 28-30

2. Who said truth is what we would end up with if we could run all the experiments and investigations we'd like to? (And what's a word his name rhymes with?) What does it imply about the present status of what we now consider true

4. What 20th century philosopher carried on the pragmatist tradition? What did he say about the way words work? Does his approach seem reasonable to you? 

6. Where did Nietzsche think Christian values come from? What do you think about that?

8. How did Nietzsche differ from Kant but anticipate Freud? Is rationality less available to us than we think?

10. The "talking cure" gave birth to what? Have you had any direct experience with it, or any other form of "talking cure"?

12. What was Karl Popper's criticism of Freudian psychoanalysis? Do you agree

            Answers:

2.     2. C.S. Peirce, it is pronounced purse so hearse could rhyme with his last name. That for something to be true it has to have tangible evidence to support it.

4.     4. Richard Rorty said words allow us to cope with the world, not copy it. He declared that ‘truth is what your contemporaries let you get away with’ and that no period of history gets reality more nearly right than any other. The meaning words have will change over time along with their interpretation. Rorty presumably believed that there was no correct interpretation of it in the same way that there’s no ‘right’ answer about whether the hunter was circling the squirrel as it scrambled round the tree. His approach seems reasonable and logical to me, to a spectrum of concepts though. Meaning that just because many things said by people can be interpreted several ways does not mean everything can. Moreover, even if words can be interpreted in most situations does not mean they are all not to be trusted.

6.     6. He thought they came from the slaves and poor envying the aristocrats so they made values directly opposite of the aristocrats and ones that would benefit themselves more.

 

DISCLAIMER

·         ALL answers have a 90% accuracy rating, so use your own judgment to trust them!

·         Some answers have been directly copied from text, while others are summations of text.

·         I omitted most of my opinions from the answers since each subjective question can only be answered by the individual. Some I felt explained the answer more precisely.

·         The remaining answers to Chapters 28-30 are missing because I have yet to get that far as of making this document. As well as Chapters 31-33 questions have not been posted yet.

·         Lastly, I apologize about the formatting, the blog site does not seem to accept word documents (or I did not find it) so I had to copy and paste onto here which did not go great.