Excelsior Intro To Philosophy Test

Front 1

What is philosophy?

Back 1

Greek word for love and wisdom.

Front 2

Ad hominem fallacy

Back 2

Argument is rebutted because person is attacking the person or character of the one making the argument.

Front 3

Begging the question

Back 3

This fallacy is committed when a person merely assumes what he or she is attempting to prove or when the premise of an argument actually depends upon its conclusion.

Front 4

Metaphysics

Back 4

The study of the ultimate characteristics of Reality or existence.

Front 5

Epistemology

Back 5

The study of knowledge,

Identifying and developing criteria and methodologies for what we know and why we know it.

Front 6

Ethics

Back 6

The study of morals and values and principles.

Front 7

Aesthetics

Back 7

The study of beauty, art, and taste.

Front 8

Logic

Back 8

The branch of philosophy that seeks to establish the rules of correct reasoning, clear understanding and valid arguments.

Front 9

Political and social philosophy.

Back 9

The study of social values and political forms of government.

Front 10

"Doing Philosophy"

Back 10

Involves thinking critically about unique areas of experience with which philosophy is concerned, areas that include the most fundamental questions and issues in human experience.

Front 11

Critical thinking

Back 11

The the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe.

Front 12

Equivocation fallacy

Back 12

The same word is used with two different meanings.Examples: Criminal actions are illegal, and all murder trials are criminal actions, thus all murder trials are illegal. (Here the term "criminal actions" is used with two different meanings.

Front 13

Appeal to popularity

Back 13

Using the popularity of a premise or proposition as evidence for its truthfulness.

Front 14

False dilemma fallacy

Back 14

Known as the either/or fallacy or the black/white. Occurs when we are asked to choose between two extreme alternatives without being able to consider additional options.

Front 15

Ignorance fallacy

Back 15

It asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proved false (or vice versa).

Front 16

Post hoc fallacy

Back 16

Based upon the mistaken notion that simply because one thing happens after another, the first event was a cause of the second event. Post hoc reasoning is the basis for many superstitions and erroneous beliefs.

Front 17

Slippery slope fallacy

Back 17

When a relatively insignificant first event is suggested to lead to a more significant event, which in turn leads to a more significant event, and so on, until some ultimate, significant event is reached, where the connection of each event is not only unwarranted, but with each step it becomes more and more improbable.

Front 18

Naturalistic fallacy

Back 18

When the conclusion expresses what ought to be, based only on actually what is more natural. Example :Homosexuality is morally wrong because, in nature, sex is used for reproduction.

Front 19

Denying the antecedent fallacy

Back 19

(also known as: inverse error, inverse fallacy)

Description: It is a fallacy in formal logic where in a standard if/then premise, the antecedent (what comes after the “if”) is made not true, then it is concluded that the consequent (what comes after the “then”) is not true.Logical Form:

If P, then Q.Not P.Therefore, not Q.Example #1:If it barks, it is a dog.It doesn’t bark.Therefore, it’s not a dog.

Front 20

Affirming the consequent

Back 20

Description: An error in formal logic where if the consequent is said to be true, the antecedent is said to be true, as a result.

Logical Form:If P then Q.Q.Therefore, P.Example #1:If taxes are lowered, I will have more money to spend.I have more money to spend.Therefore, taxes must have been lowered.

Front 21

Argument

Back 21

A form of thinking in which certain statements (reasons) are offered in support of another statement (a conclusion).

Front 22

Reasons or Premises

Back 22

Statements that support another statement (known as a conclusion), justify it, or make it more probable.

Front 23

Conclusion

Back 23

A statement that explains, asserts, or predicts on the basis of statements ( known as reasons or Premises) that are offered as evidence for it.

Front 24

Valid argument

Back 24

The reasons support the conclusion so that the conclusion follows from the reasons offered.

Front 25

Invalid argument

Back 25

An argument in which the reasons do not support the conclusion so that the conclusion does not follow from the reasons offered.

Front 26

Sound argument

Back 26

An argument that has both true reasons and a valid structure.

Front 27

Unsound argument

Back 27

An argument that has either false reasons or an invalid structure.

Front 28

Process of Critical thinking

Back 28

1. State initial point of view.

2. Define point of view more clearly.

3. Give example.

4. Explore origin of point of view.

5. Identify your assumptions (beliefs often unstated).

6. Support your point of view. (Reasons, evidence, arguments).

7. Consider other points of view.

8. Arrive at a conclusion, decision, solution, or prediction.

9. Consider the consequences.

Front 29

Socratic method

Back 29

Investigation of complex issues through a question and answer format instead of lectures.

Front 30

Apology by Plato

Back 30

Apology is believed to be the most authentic account that has been preserved of Socrates' defense of himself as it was presented before the Athenian Council. ... It appears to record, in many instances, the exact words used by Socrates while on trial.

Front 31

Bertrand Russel - The problems of Philosophy

Back 31

This book builds on Russell's innovative idea of sense-data as the primary fact of experience, from which we logically construct other ideas about knowledge.

Front 32

Anamnesis

Back 32

The idea that knowledge is remembering.

Front 33

Plato

Back 33

Believed that truth could not be discovered through the senses, but by thought.

Front 34

Aristotle

Back 34

Believed truth could be learned only through the senses. To understand the reality of objects, one would have to understand the function of the object. The difference between humans and other things is the ability to act accordingly to reason, something only humans can do. A person is the sum of the cultivated choices he has made (virtues).

Front 35

4 ways Aristotle believed come into being.

Back 35

1. Material: what things are made of.

2. Formal: describes the form that they take."matter"

3. Efficient: the"triggering" action that sets the thing in motion.

4. Purpose: the ultimate purpose for which a thing exists..

Front 36

What was the charge against Martin Luther King Jr that landed him in jail?

Back 36

Protesting

Front 37

According to Descartes, what is the essence of the self?

Back 37

Thinking

Front 38

Soft determinism

Back 38

School of thought, that holds human action may be considered free if it is internally driven rather than externally driven.

Front 39

William Clifford on beliefs

Back 39

Beliefs are not a private matter. They are a sense of common property, and that we have a duty to form them responsibly.

Front 40

According to Judaism, whom did God enter into a covinent with?

Back 40

Abraham

Front 41

Who wrote "The will to believe"?

Back 41

William James

Front 42

According to Siren Kierkegaard, what is "Leap of Faith"?

Back 42

Letting go of our attempts to prove God's existence by rational means.

Front 43

William James

Back 43

Founded Philosophy of Pragmatism.

Wrote "The will to believe".

We are entitled to rely on our "passional natures" to choose to believe when we don't have conclusive evidence.

Front 44

Plato's forms

Back 44

They are Eternal and not a part of this changing life.

Front 45

William Clifford

Back 45

Wrote "The ethics of belief"

Evidentialism = demands sufficient evidence

All beliefs have to be supported by sufficient evidence to be accepted.

Front 46

John Hick

Back 46

God Can allow some evil.

"If God formed us to always be morally right, then we wouldn't be considered genuinely free.

Front 47

Blaine Pascal

Back 47

"Pascal's Wager"

Best to choose to believe in God because in the end if there is a God them you will have eternal life and happiness.

Front 48

Who wrote "why I am not a Christian"?

Back 48

Bertrand Russell

Front 49

This philosopher argues that the high level of order in the world is proof of an intelligent designer...God. The design argument.

Back 49

William Paley

He uses the analogy of a watch to argue that the universe must have a creator.

Front 50

Saint Thomas Aquinas

3rd Article: Whether God exists

Back 50

Everything in the Universe appears to be a possibility.

At some point it didn't exist.

But because the Universe does exist, it's rational to assume that there is a being that is a necessary, that being is God.

Front 51

What is David June's position on reason?

Back 51

The idea of human reason was presumptuous and misguided.

He felt reality & human nature should be based on experience rather than logic (empirical means).

Front 52

Entelechy

Back 52

The realization potential.

The supposed vital principle that guides the development & functioning of an organism.

Front 53

Aristotle idea of entelechy.

Back 53

Derives from the Greek for "having an end in itself".

Captures the unique purpose and urge of a thing to achieve it's purpose in life or actualize what it is made for.

Front 54

What view holds that all events are brought about by previous events (according to universal casual laws) and that human freedom is a an illusion?

Back 54

Hard Determinism

Front 55

Opposite of Hard Determinism

Back 55

Libertarianism

Front 56

Libertarianism

Back 56

How that humans are able to make authentic free choices that are not determined by previous events according to universal casual laws.

There is meaningful sense that though we made one choice, we could have done otherwise.

Front 57

This philosopher defines the mind in terms of behavior that is presented in the world.

Back 57

Gilbert Ryle

Front 58

In David Hume's dialogue,

What argument does Philo make against the existence of God?

Back 58

The existence of an infinite and benevolent God is inconsistent with the evils that mankind experiences..

Philo argues that we can infer from various evils and that there is not an infinite perfect God.

Front 59

St. Anselm's Ontological argument of what would happen if we assume that God exists only in the mind?

Back 59

Then God would not be the being so great that non greater could be conceived.

God's existence must be necessary, not contingent (subject to chance)... Therefore God must exist.

Front 60

What do the shadows in the cave represent for Plato?

Back 60

The appearances we encounter in everyday life.

Front 61

According to Bhagavad Gita, how does one become completely liberated?

Back 61

By surrendering completely to God.

This path is described in part 2 of the Upanishads.

Front 62

Consequent:

Back 62

The propositional component of a conditional proposition whose truth is conditional; or simply put, what comes after the “then” in an “if/then” statement.

Front 63

Antecedent:

Back 63

The propositional component of a conditional proposition whose truth is the condition for the truth of the consequent; or simply put, what comes after the “if” in an “if/then” statement.

Front 64

Which statement would a phenomenologist accept?

Back 64

I live in my body.

Front 65

What is the name of the view that truth consists in the practical consequences that beliefs have?

Back 65

The pragmatic truth.

Hint 65

This theory rejects the notion that truth is a matter of correspondence with some separate reality.

Front 66

The coherence theory of truth

Back 66

This theory holds that the truth of a belief is a matter of its relationship to other beliefs.

Front 67

The constructivist theory of truth.

Back 67

This theory holds that truth is to be understood in terms of the concrete personal and social context in which truth occurs.

Front 68

Correspondence theory of truth.

Back 68

This theory holds that a true belief maps or matches up with some part of reality.

Front 69

Which statement would George Berkeley defend?

Back 69

We perceive nothing but ideas.

Front 70

Why did David Hume believe that all factual reasoning is based on the relationship between cause and effect?

Back 70

Because without this relationship, one can't reason beyond the evidence of memory and the senses.

Front 71

Which philosopher asserts that the mind actively structures experience?

Back 71

Immanuel Kant

Front 72

What best describes Karl Popper's criticism of David Hume?

Back 72

Hume was too quick to accept that scientific inference is merely a psychological fact.

Front 73

What is an example of a purely conceptual understanding?

Back 73

Cause

Front 74

Which theory claims that scientific truths are hypothesis destined to be superseded?

Back 74

Kuhn's theory of science.

Front 75

What is skepticism?

Back 75

The theory that casts doubt on the possibility of achieving knowledge.

Front 76

In Justice, Gender and family, Okinawa criticizes the moral theory of which philosopher?

Back 76

Okin was particularly critical of Rawles ideas of the original position.

Front 77

Examples of ethical caring (as apposed to natural caring) as characterized by Neil Noddings?

Back 77

Caring for a person who is on the other side of town that has no home.

Caring for someone who attempted to rob a house and is now injured.

Front 78

Why does Aristotle believe that the interests of the state must be prior to the interests of the individual?

Back 78

Because people need an ordered social existance to achieve their full potential.

Hint 78

Aristotle believed that humans can only achieve their full potential through their social existance, and this is what it means for the interests of the state to be prior to the interests of the people.

Front 79

Which philosopher posited the ideas of inalienable rights to life, liberty and the property which later informed the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights?

Back 79

John Locke

Front 80

What term best describes a conflict between moral principles?

Back 80

Dilemma

Front 81

Which describes Jeremy Bentham's principal of utility?

Back 81

Always act to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Front 82

In Plato's Euthyphro, what was defined as "that which is pleasing to the Gods"?

Back 82

Piety

Hint 82

Impious:

Not pleasing

Front 83

Which philosopher said..

Over himself,over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign?

Back 83

John Stuart Mill

Hint 83

Mill said this on Liberty

Front 84

Ayn Rand was a passionate opponent of which philosophical doctrine?

Back 84

Altruism

Hint 84

Altruism is evil because it does not define a code of moral values.

Front 85

What characterizes Aristotle theory of ethics?

Back 85

Virtue based

Front 86

Which ideas were developed by Friedrich Nietzsche?

Back 86

The death of God.

The will to power.

The overman.

Front 87

In Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, Kant criticizes the thinking of which philosopher?

Back 87

Hume

Hint 87

Kant disagreed with Hume's assertion that genuine knowledge of anything isn't possible and called it "a scandal in philosophy".

Front 88

Which philosopher uses the idea of free will as the foundation for ethics and as the source of all value?

Back 88

Simone de Beauvoir

Front 89

According to Karl Marx who shapes the political and social ideas of a given society?

Back 89

Those who control the means of production within the society.

Front 90

Which theorists was an ethical relativist?

Back 90

Ruth Benedict

Front 91

Which philosopher said, "Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign"?

Back 91

John Stuart Mill

Front 92

If you want to go to graduate school, then you should take the GRE. What does this statement illustrate?

Back 92

Hypothetical imperative

Front 93

Which Philosopher uses the idea of free will as the foundation for ethics and as the source of all value?

Back 93

Simone de Beauvoir

Front 94

According to the ethical absolutist, which perceived wrong annot be the subject of a meaningful moral judgement under ethical relativism?

Back 94

ethnic genocide

Front 95

What is the name given to Bertrand Russel to the perceived qualities of matter such as colors sound and textures?

Back 95

sense-data

Front 96

Traditionally the ultimate goal of Western Philosophy is to attain what?

Back 96

wisdom

Front 97

Which branch of Philosophy addresses the question how should one behave?

Back 97

ethics

Front 98

What must be true when a person believes they know something?

Back 98

They think the belief is accurate.

Front 99

What is a fallacy?

Back 99

an error in reasoning

Front 100

According to Rene Descartes, what is the essence of the self?

Back 100

a thinking thing

Front 101

Which of the four causes best accounts for a things essence or nature?

Back 101

Formal Cause

Front 102

Which rule of thought hold that human action may be considered free if it is internally rather than externally driven?

Back 102

soft determinism

Front 103

He recognizes only material needs.

Back 103

According to Bertrand Russell, what is the prejudice of the practical man?

Front 104

Which action characterizes "doing philosophy" but not "having a philosophy"?

Back 104

writing

Front 105

Which branch of philosophy is most concerned with answering the question, "What can be known?"

Back 105

epistemology

Front 106

According to David Hume's problem of induction, what can never be known?

Back 106

whether the sun will rise tomorrow

Front 107

According to the "Letter from Birmingham Jail," by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which statement best explains why a law is just?

Back 107

It is in harmony with the moral law.

Front 108

What does René Descartes think is shown by the possibility of an "evil genius" that manipulates the mind?

Back 108

Applying the method of doubt to everything will eventually show what is certain

Front 109

Which best supports science's claim to truth?

Back 109

makes accurate predictions.

Front 110

Why did John Locke believe that "Universal consent proves nothing innate"?

Back 110

He believed that universal consent to a truth could occur even if there were no innate idea. Locke did not believe that innate ideas were logically impossible.

Front 111

Which statement best describes Immanuel Kant's idea of causality?

Back 111

It is a concept by which we organize experience.

Front 112

Which statement best describes feminist epistemology?

Back 112

Knowledge is interdependent upon both data and theory.

Front 113

Which statement best describes phenomenology?

Back 113

the world of experience.

Front 114

If John Locke's empiricism is correct, how is logical principle known?

Back 114

People know them from observation and experience. One of Locke's primary goals was proving that we have no innate ideas.

Front 115

Process theologians attempt to resolve the problem of evil by giving up which belief?

Back 115

God's omnipotence

Hint 115

Process theologians argue that God is limited in power. God is part of the universe and can influence the course of events, but God did not create the universe and so is limited by its prior nature.

Front 116

Which text holds that the true nature of reality cannot be described or named?

Back 116

the Tao Te Ching

Front 117

How does St. Thomas Aquinas reason for the existence of God?

Back 117

things move.

Front 118

"We know where man comes from: other men and women! We need not believe in a God!" How would William Paley likely respond to this argument?

Back 118

This explanation is not satisfactory, because it does not explain the design of the parents.

Front 119

In The Will to Believe, William James identified which three kinds of options?

Back 119

living/dead
forced/avoidable
momentous/trivial

Front 120

Immanuel Kant's view of the self was primarily inspired by his desire to refute the views of which empiricist philosopher?

Back 120

Hume

Front 121

Why are Muslims required to pray five times a day?

Back 121

Frequent praying helps remind one to make Allah a central part of every day.

Front 122

Why would Heraclitus have believed that real knowledge is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain?

Back 122

because everything is always in a state of change

Front 123

According to feminist philosophers, what is the main repressive social force that interferes with a person's ability to think independently?

Back 123

patriarchy

Hint 123

In general, feminist philosophers believe that many of the repressive forces that erode an individual's psychological autonomy are patriarchical, originating from men in male-dominated societies.

Front 124

What is the relationship between matter and form in Aristotle's philosophy?

Back 124

Form and matter are united and can be separated only in thought, not in reality.

Hint 124

This is Aristotle's view. He believed that forms cannot exist separately from matter, and that we can only distinguish them by thought.

Front 125

Which statement best characterizes Gilbert Ryle's behaviorism?

Back 125

The human self has a tendency to act a certain way in certain circumstances.

Front 126

According to Jean Grimshaw, which issues have been central to feminist thinking?

Back 126

independence

Hint 126

According to Grimshaw, "Issues about women's autonomy have been central to feminist thinking and action."

Front 127

Which best describes Baron d'Holbach's view of human action?

Back 127

All human action is determined by outside events.

Front 128

How did Plato make an example of the slave boy?

Back 128

to show that sophisticated knowledge is already within us.

Front 129

How does René Descartes believe that one should treat a doubt?

Back 129

as if it were false

Hint 129

Descartes thinks we should consider all beliefs as false until we can find beliefs we are certain of.

Front 130

What did Friedrich Nietzsche mean when he said, "God is dead"?

Back 130

The concept of an almighty entity has been replaced by modern consciousness.

Hint 130

Nietzsche believed that the concept of an all-powerful entity was being eroded by modern consciousness, scientific progress, and the increasing faith in humankind's abilities to solve problems without divine intervention.

Front 131

Who argues that virtually all religious institutions, and the societies they are situated in, are patriarchal?

Back 131

Mary Daly

Hint 131

Daly defends the thesis that religion (and all of society) is patriarchal.

Front 132

"There are no universal moral values. Morality varies from culture to culture."

Back 132

relativism

Front 133

Which statement is true regarding the political philosophies of both Plato and Aristotle?

Back 133

Both advocated government predicated on the concept of justice.

Front 134

What did Jean-Paul Sartre write?

Back 134

"We are condemned to be free."

Front 135

Which philosopher used the example of a person condemned by the gods to eternally push a rock up a hill in order to illustrate his position on the meaning of life?

Back 135

Albert Camus

Front 136

According to Friedrich Nietzsche, which best describes the übermensch or "overman"?

Back 136

one who fully expresses the will to power

Front 137

What were the three stages that Søren Kierkegaard distinguished in his Three Stages on Life's Way?

Back 137

aesthetic
ethical
religious

Front 138

Who wrote On Liberty?

Back 138

John Stuart Mill

Front 139

A driver picks up a hitchhiker one day without thinking about it, even though the driver typically does not stop for such persons. How would Aristotle evaluate this action?

Back 139

The action is not a moral one because it was impulsive.

Front 140

According to Immanuel Kant, what is the difference between a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge?

Back 140

A posteriori knowledge is knowledge gained from experience, whereas a priori knowledge is gained independent of experience.

Front 141

Which philosopher criticized the idea that people voluntarily enter into social contracts, asserting instead that they are destined to social life in a state of subjugation?

Back 141

David Hume

Front 142

The concept of apatheia or calmly accepting what is due to cosmic determination is a central idea in which school of thought?

Back 142

stoicism

Front 143

The story of Abraham and Isaac is used to illustrate which ethical theory?

Back 143

Divine Command theory

Front 144

How would Plato describe the non-virtuous person?

Back 144

Such a person is either intemperate, unwise, or cowardly.

Front 145

Which statement best describes the theory of ethical subjectivism?

Back 145

"What feels right, is right. What feels wrong, is wrong."

Front 146

What does a deontologist consider to be central to ethics?

Back 146

duty

Front 147

Which philosopher argued that selfishness is a virtue and altruism is a vice?

Back 147

Ayn Rand

Front 148

Which philosopher was also a psychiatrist who promoted the study of values as a branch of philosophy?

Back 148

M. Scott Peck

Hint 148

M. Scott Peck wrote The Road Less Traveled and was an authority on the relationship between religion and science.

Front 149

The idea that gender is intrinsically unjust and discriminates against women plays a central role in the political thinking of which philosopher?

Back 149

Susan Moller Okin