Question 1

Shapiro argues that in Elisabeth's correspondence with Descartes, Elisabeth's main challenge is to move Descartes to think more carefully about what issue?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Shapiro argues that in Elisabeth's correspondence with...

Question 2

Elisabeth argues that a substance dualist must hold that no matter what condition the body finds itself in-if, for example, a person has fainted-the mind should still be able to exercise its power of thought. Why is this an important issue for substance dualism?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Elisabeth argues that a substance dualist must...

Question 3

Explain Elisabeth's implication that there are certain limits to or conditions on the soul's autonomy. Does Descartes agree with Elisabeth?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Elisabeth's implication that there are certain...

Question 4

Explain Shapiro's suggestion that "we can read Elisabeth as here working towards an intermediary position, one between the substance dualism she originally identified with Descartes's own and the materialism which she then seemed to take to be the only alternative."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Shapiro's suggestion that "we can read...

Question 5

Explain why Shapiro thinks that Elisabeth is arguing the following: "For maintaining that thought is an autonomous activity does not require us to claim that it is an independent substance; we need not think of thought as an entity subsisting in and by itself."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain why Shapiro thinks that Elisabeth is...

Question 6

Explain what Shapiro means when she claims that "if Elisabeth does indeed want to maintain that the condition of the body enables the soul to be rational, I do not see how she can maintain that the soul is immortal."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain what Shapiro means when she claims...

Question 7

What does "epiphenomenalism" mean, and how does it figure in Shapiro's arguments?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does "epiphenomenalism" mean, and how does...

Question 8

Why does Shapiro argue that "The passions thus provide just the right sort of context for Elisabeth's making the point she does about the soul-body union. They serve to illustrate her thesis about the relation between mind and body"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does Shapiro argue that "The passions...

Question 9

James says, "I believe that ____________, when once it has evaporated to this estate of pure diaphaneity, is on the point of disappearing altogether. It is the name of a nonentity, and has no right to a place among first principles."

Accepted Answer

James is referring to consciousness, suggesting that once it becomes completely transparent or diaphanous, it is close to disappearing and lacks substance or foundational importance.

Question 10

James says about consciousness, "Let me then immediately explain that I mean only to deny that the word stands for ___________, but to insist most emphatically that it does stand for ___________."

Accepted Answer

James denies that consciousness stands for an entity, but he insists that it stands for a function.

Question 11

James says, "There is, I mean, no aboriginal stuff or quality of being, contrasted with that of which material objects are made, out of which our thoughts of them are made; but there is a function in experience which thoughts perform, and for the performance of which this quality of being is invoked. That function is ..."

Accepted Answer

James is discussing the role of "thoughts" in our experience and says that there is no aboriginal stuff or quality of being that these thoughts are made of, but rather they serve a function. He then goes on to explain that this function is "knowing." Therefore, the best choice is D.

Question 12

James says, "My thesis is that if we start with the supposition that there is only one primal stuff or material in the world, a stuff of which everything is composed, and if we call that stuff _______________ , then knowing can easily be explained as a particular sort of relation towards one another."

Accepted Answer

James is proposing that if everything is composed of one primal material or substance, then knowing can be explained as a particular relation towards each other. The term he uses to refer to this primal material is "pure experience."

Question 13

According to James, "a given undivided portion of experience, taken in one context of associates, play the part of a knower, of a state of mind, of consciousness, while in a different context the same undivided bit of experience plays the part of a thing known, of an objective content. In a word, in one group it figures as a _________, in another group as a ________."

Accepted Answer

James is highlighting the dual nature of experience, which can be both the subject (thought) and the object (thing) depending on the context in which it is considered.

Question 14

James says, "The _________ and the ________ operations form curiously incompatible groups. As a room, the experience has occupied that spot and had that environment for thirty years. As your field of consciousness it may never have existed until now."

Accepted Answer

The use of the terms "room" and "environment" suggest a physical space, while the reference to "your field of consciousness" implies a mental operation. Therefore, the incompatible groups are physical and mental operations. Choice C best reflects this dichotomy.

Question 15

James says, "So far, all seems plain sailing, but my thesis will probably grow less plausible to the reader when I pass from __________ to __________, or from the case of things presented to that of things remote."

Accepted Answer

James is referring to the transition from discussing concrete sensory experiences (percepts) to abstract ideas and theories (concepts). This can make his thesis less plausible to readers who are not familiar with or accept these abstract ideas.

Question 16

James says, "As __________ we say that the experience represents; as __________ it is represented. What represents and what is represented is here numerically the same; but we must remember that no dualism of being represented and representing resides in the experience per se."

Accepted Answer

James is distinguishing between the subjective experience and the objective representation of that experience. He notes that they are numerically the same, but emphasizes that there is no dualism between the two within the experience itself. The terms "material" and "formal" are not used in this context, and "relational" and "informal" do not accurately capture James's distinction between subjectivity and objectivity. While James touches on the difference between noumena (things as they are in themselves) and phenomena (things as they appear to us), this is not the primary focus of the quote.

Question 17

James says, "If the world were then and there to go out like a candle, it would remain truth absolute and objective, for it would be ______________, would have no critic, and no one would ever oppose the thought in it to the reality intended."

Accepted Answer

"The last word" is the phrase that best fits the sentence, as it means something that is final and can't be argued against. The statement is saying that in the absence of anyone to criticize or oppose it, a truth would be objectively and absolutely true. The other options, such as "metaphysical" or "deus ex machina," do not fit the context of the sentence. "A free spirit" may imply subjectivity and the potential for opposing views.

Question 18

James says that "___________ is only a collective name for all these sensible natures, and save for time and space (and, if you like, for 'being') there appears no universal element of which all things are made."

Accepted Answer

The quote suggests that the term being referred to is a collective name for sensible natures and that there is no universal element except for time and space, making experience (choice C) the most fitting term. The other options are not mentioned or relevant in the context of the quote.

Question 19

James says, "I believe that metaphysics, when once it has evaporated to this estate of pure diaphaneity, is on the point of disappearing altogether. It is the name of a nonentity, and has no right to a place among first principles."

Accepted Answer

The answer of James says, "I believe that metaphysics, when...

Question 20

James says about consciousness, "Let me then immediately explain that I mean only to deny that the word stands for an entity, but to insist most emphatically that it does stand for a function."

Accepted Answer

James is saying that he does not believe consciousness is an entity, but rather a function.

Quiz 5: René Descartes Mind and Body