Book Review
General Concepts
Thought Experiments
PhilPeople
Ethics
100
"Cogito, ergo sum."
René Descartes, Meditations.
100
Metaphysics is the study of what?
The nature of reality and existence.
100
In a traditional "trolley problem", a utilitarian such as Jeremy Bentham would advocate for which, harm reducing, action?
Pulling the lever. (Actively killing one person)
100
Which philosopher explored the concept of the evil demon theory?
René Descartes
100
Who in virtue ethics originated the concept “Eudamonia”?
Aristotle.
200
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Plato, Apology.
200
What style of thinking or argumentation is characterized by drawing a general conclusion from a set of specific observations?
Induction.
200
In a traditional "trolley problem", a deontologist such as Immanuel Kant would advocate for which action?
Not pulling the Lever.
200
Who authored A Vindication of the Rights of Women?
Mary Wollstonecraft.
200
What was the most highly valued principle of all, in Plato’s Republic?
Justice.
300
"What does not kill me makes me stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.
300
"Episteme" as in epistemology means what?
Knowledge.
300
Which thought experiment, proposed by Plutarch, asks whether an object that has all of its parts replaced remains the same object?
The ship of Theseus.
300
Which German philosopher divided experiencing the world into the “Present at hand” and “Ready to Hand”?
Martin Heidegger.
300
Which kind of virtue was posited by Shannon Vallor in her book “Technology and the Virtues”?
Technomoral virtue.
400
"We must always act in such a way that we can also will the maxim of our action to become universal law."
Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals.
400
Thomas Hobbes said that all of man’s voluntary acts are aimed at pleasure or self-preservation. Which ethical ideology does his idea follow?
Hedonism.
400
The “Colour Room” or “Mary’s Room” thought experiment argues in favour of the existence of what special kind of knowledge?
Qualia.
400
Which prominent twentieth century philosopher explored concepts regarding the relationship between power and knowledge via the institution of the prison?
Michel Foucault.
400
Which ancient Chinese philosopher is best known for his ideas about the Dao, or “the supreme principle”?
Laozi.
500
"Far from signaling a walling off of people from other living beings, cyborgs signal disturbingly and pleasurably tight coupling."
Donna Haraway, A Cyborg Manifesto.
500
What particular kind of state did Spinoza, Locke, and Hume think needed to accompany the cognitive imprint of an experience (or memory trace) in order to produce the phenomenon of remembering?
An affective state, or a feeling/emotion of pastness.
500
In destructive/reconstructive teleportation (i.e. you are scanned then disassembled at site A, and then assembled from new material at site B based on the scan), what theory would hold that what appears at site B is you even if a significant time has elapsed?
Closest continuation identity.
500
The panopticon, made famous in Michel Foucault’s work on disciplinary power, was in fact first conceived by which utilitarian philosopher?
Jeremy Bentham.
500
What ethical theorem for the just distribution of primary goods does John Rawls propose in A Theory of Justice?
The maximin theorem.