Question 1

Hume was a __________.
A) strict rationalist
B) strong idealist
C) innate idealist
D) skeptic
E) feminist

Accepted Answer

Hume was a skeptic, meaning he doubted the possibility of certain knowledge or absolute truth in many areas. He specifically applied this skepticism to areas such as causation, induction, and metaphysics.

Question 2

Descartes declares in his first meditation that a good God would not deceive him and since God is good, it must be a __________ deceiving him.
A) bad God
B) aneurysm
C) devil
D) evil genius
E) hypnotist

Accepted Answer

Descartes concludes that rather than a bad God, it must be an evil genius or powerful deceiver that is responsible for his misperceptions and doubts about reality. He uses this as a starting point to begin doubting all his beliefs and establish a foundation of knowledge based on indubitable truths.

Question 3

Descartes applied a philosophical technique of __________.
A) methodological doubt
B) empiricism
C) foundationalism
D) boring, silly writing
E) clear and distinct ideas

Accepted Answer

Descartes applied the technique of methodological doubt, which involves rejecting any belief that can be doubted or criticized, in order to arrive at certain, indubitable knowledge. This approach is central to his philosophy and is evident in works such as Meditations on First Philosophy. While Descartes did emphasize the importance of clear and distinct ideas, foundationalism, and other concepts, the technique of methodological doubt is the most closely associated with his method.

Question 4

Before he introduced the evil deceiver, Descartes's dream argument had shown that __________.
A) I can doubt all of the information of my senses
B) I can doubt mathematical truths and extension
C) I think, therefore I am
D) the mind is a thinking thing
E) substance can be better known than quality

Accepted Answer

Descartes's dream argument showed that our sensory experiences can be deceiving and therefore cannot be fully trusted as a source of knowledge. This leads to the realization that we can doubt all of the information of our senses.

Question 5

__________ suggested that life is like a text, and the purpose of our lives is to understand that text.
A) Hume
B) Aristotle
C) Kant
D) Heidegger
E) Dilthey

Accepted Answer

The idea that life is like a text and the purpose of our lives is to understand that text is a central theme in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Heidegger believed that human existence (Dasein) is inherently meaningful, but that this meaning is often hidden from us by the distractions of everyday life. To live authentically, we must engage in a process of self-discovery and interpretation, in which we come to understand the deeper meaning of our existence and the world in which we live. This process is akin to reading and interpreting a text, hence the analogy between life and a text.

Question 6

"I think, therefore I am" served Descartes as __________.
A) a truth he cannot doubt
B) a merely grammatical remark
C) an aeschylean point from which to attack the sciences
D) a logical but not epistemological truth
E) the foundation of all skepticism

Accepted Answer

"I think, therefore I am" was Descartes' famous assertion that served as the foundation of his philosophy. It is a truth he cannot doubt because in order to doubt anything, one must exist and have the ability to think. Therefore, the fact that one is able to think and doubt proves one's existence, according to Descartes.

Question 7

According to Quine, epistemology is a subset of what scientific study?
A) biology
B) chemistry
C) psychology
D) physics
E) quantum physics

Accepted Answer

Quine argued that epistemology should be naturalized and considered a part of empirical science, particularly psychology, as it deals with how humans acquire knowledge.

Question 8

Descartes used the wax argument to prove that __________.
A) we know mental things with greater clarity and distinctness than material things
B) we know bodily things with greater clarity and distinctness than mental things
C) universals are predicated of particulars
D) identity may change over time
E) objects are vague

Accepted Answer

In the wax argument, Descartes argues that even though the properties of wax change when it is melted and reshaped, we still recognize it as the same substance because we perceive it with our minds, not just our senses. Therefore, Descartes claims that we know mental things (such as the essence of the wax) with greater clarity and distinctness than material things (such as its shape and texture).

Question 9

__________ was a continental rationalist.
A) Hume
B) Aristotle
C) Descartes
D) Russell
E) Peirce

Accepted Answer

Continental rationalism is a philosophical movement that originated in continental Europe (hence the name) in the 17th century. René Descartes is considered one of the pioneers of this movement along with Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. They emphasized reason and innate ideas over sensory experience and empiricism. Therefore, Descartes is the correct answer as he was a major continental rationalist.

Question 10

Prior to the wax argument, Descartes used his "dream argument" to show that __________.
A) mathematical truths cannot be doubted
B) God existed
C) esse est percipi (to be is to be perceived)
D) almost anything could be doubted
E) God is no deceiver

Accepted Answer

Descartes used the dream argument to show that almost anything could be doubted, including our perceptions and beliefs about the physical world. This argument helped set the stage for his larger project of seeking a firm foundation for knowledge that could not be doubted.

Question 11

__________ proposes eliminating the idea "analytic truth" and recognizing community-wide acceptance as a more useful criterion of truth with respect to such statements?
A) Loke
B) Berkeley
C) Hume
D) Quine

Accepted Answer

This idea is proposed by W.V. Quine in his paper "Two Dogmas of Empiricism." Quine argues that the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements is untenable and that all statements are ultimately dependent on our empirical experiences. He proposes that the criterion of truth for any statement should be its coherence with a broader set of beliefs and practices accepted by a given community.

Question 12

Kant believed that we __________ our experience in the sense that we provide rules and structures according to which we experience objects.
A) discover
B) transcend
C) constitute or "set up"
D) imagine

Accepted Answer

Kant's philosophy involves the idea that our minds play an active role in structuring our experience of the world. He believed that we "constitute" objects and experiences by providing rules and structures, rather than simply discovering them as they exist independently of our perceptions.

Question 13

According to __________, the things of the world are nothing other than ideas in the mind of God.
A) Locke
B) Berkeley
C) Hume
D) Kant

Accepted Answer

This is a central tenet of Berkeley's philosophy, which he referred to as idealism. He argued that material objects only exist because they are perceived by a conscious observer, and that ultimately all reality is mental or spiritual in nature.

Question 14

Which two disciplines did Kant weave together into a single cohesive philosophy?
A) Rationalism and logic
B) Empiricism and aesthetics
C) Rationalism and empiricism
D) Aesthetics and logic

Accepted Answer

Kant's philosophy combined elements of both rationalism and empiricism, as he argued that knowledge was derived both from reason and from experience. This synthesis is reflected in his distinction between the analytic and synthetic a priori, which he saw as combining logical deduction with experiential insight.

Question 15

According to Kant what does not exist "out there", independent of our experience?
A) objects
B) God
C) Time and Space
D) color

Accepted Answer

According to Kant, time and space are not actual features of the external world, but rather are part of the perceptual and conceptual framework that we bring to our experiences of the world. Objects, color, and even God are seen as existing independent of our experience by Kant.

Question 16

An inference from one statement to another according to a set of rules of inference is called __________.
A) an induction
B) a deduction
C) a syllogism
D) a categorical imperative

Accepted Answer

The description given fits the definition of deduction, where one statement (or premise) logically leads to another statement (or conclusion) based on a set of rules of inference. Induction involves reasoning from specific examples to generalizations, while a syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning that uses two premises and a conclusion. Categorical imperative is a term from ethics that relates to moral obligations.

Question 17

What type of reasoning did Locke advocate as the best method for making generalizations from experience?
A) Abductive
B) Deductive
C) Inductive
D) Intuitive

Accepted Answer

Locke advocated for inductive reasoning as the best method for making generalizations from experience. Inductive reasoning involves drawing conclusions from specific observations or examples to form a generalized statement. For example, observing that every cat you've ever seen has fur can lead to the generalized statement that all cats have fur. This method of reasoning is based on empirical evidence and is the foundation of the scientific method.

Question 18

Which is not one of Kant's critiques?
A) The Critique of Pure Reason
B) The Critique of Practical Reason
C) The Critique of Judgment
D) The Critique of Pure Intuition

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which is not one of Kant's critiques?
A)...

Question 19

Hume refuses to accept the existence of __________.
A) God
B) rational thought
C) matter
D) emotion

Accepted Answer

Hume argues that we cannot prove the existence of God through reason or experience.

Question 20

__________is the belief that there are different rules for different people and therefore different truths.
A) relativism
B) skepticism
C) absolutism
D) atheism

Accepted Answer

Relativism is the belief that truth and morality are relative to the individual or culture, and there are no absolute or universal standards. This means that there can be different rules for different people, and therefore different truths. Skepticism, on the other hand, is the questioning of accepted beliefs and claims, while absolutism holds that there are absolute and universal standards of truth and morality. Atheism is the lack of belief in a deity or deities.

Quiz 3: Truth Knowledge

Hume was a __________.

Descartes declares in his first meditation that a good God would not deceive him and since God is good, it must be a __________ deceiving him.

Descartes applied a philosophical technique of __________.

Before he introduced the evil deceiver, Descartes's dream argument had shown that __________.

__________ suggested that life is like a text, and the purpose of our lives is to understand that text.

"I think, therefore I am" served Descartes as __________.

According to Quine, epistemology is a subset of what scientific study?

Descartes used the wax argument to prove that __________.

__________ was a continental rationalist.

Prior to the wax argument, Descartes used his "dream argument" to show that __________.

__________ proposes eliminating the idea "analytic truth" and recognizing community-wide acceptance as a more useful criterion of truth with respect to such statements?

Kant believed that we __________ our experience in the sense that we provide rules and structures according to which we experience objects.

According to __________, the things of the world are nothing other than ideas in the mind of God.

Which two disciplines did Kant weave together into a single cohesive philosophy?

According to Kant what does not exist "out there", independent of our experience?

An inference from one statement to another according to a set of rules of inference is called __________.

What type of reasoning did Locke advocate as the best method for making generalizations from experience?

Which is not one of Kant's critiques?

Hume refuses to accept the existence of __________.

__________is the belief that there are different rules for different people and therefore different truths.