Philosophy: its nature and methods (key terms)
What is a premise?
A statement or claim in support of a conclusion that forms part of an argument.
Name two of God's necessary attributes.
omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternal, omnibenevolence
remember
What does it mean for a belief to be justified, according to empiricism (a foundationalist theory of justification)
Empiricism says that a belief is justified when it is based on direct experience.
What is Michaels' first name?
Meredith
True or false: a valid argument can have only 1 premise and a conclusion.
False: there must be at least two premises for an argument to be valid. (One could be an implied premise, however)
Aquinas presents four cosmological arguments for the existence of God. What does a cosmological argument focus on?
God as the first cause of the universe.
True or false: Michaels says that our body is what gives us personal identity.
False
is this an example of the coherentism or reliabilism as a theory of justification?
Tom, 45, believes that dolphins are mammals and not fish because his Grade 3 teacher told him.
Reliabilism
Which philosopher was put to death for corrupting the youth by talking about philosophy?
Socrates
What makes an argument valid?
A valid argument is one in which the conclusion must be true if the premises are true (so the logic of the argument 'works').
Paley presents a teleological argument for the existence of God. What do teleological arguments focus on?
The purpose, intention or design of the universe.
Hume's view of a person is that we are only ever a momentary __________ of perceptions.
bundle
Who wrote, "Truth happens to an idea"?
William James
Which philosopher 'predicted' a Trump presidency almost 20 years before it happened?
Richard Rorty
What does it mean for an argument to be evaluated as sound?
A sound argument is one where it is valid and all parts are true.
How did Gaunillo challenge Anselm's ontological argument with a reductio ad absurdum?
Gaunillo said that if it's true that something must exist because I can conceive of it being perfect, and I can conceive of a perfect island, then by Anselm's logic a perfect island must exist, too (which is absurd).
Why is Locke's theory of personal identity circular?
Locke assumes that it is 'me' in my memories.
What are Rorty's two types of people, epistemically?
Those who seek objectivity and those who seek solidarity
Which Unit 1 philosopher was Scottish?
David Hume
What is a counter-example and how is it used in evaluating arguments?
An example that challenges a claim by showing that something else is true, or that the claim is not universal. Used to challenge the truth of premises.
Why does Kant reject Descartes' premise in his version of the ontological argument that 'existence is a perfection'?
Kant says that existence does not add anything to a concept; it is not a characteristic of something and so to say that something exists does not add anything to our understanding of the concept. It can only be an a posteriori observation.
What role does memory play in creating the illusion of personal identity, according to Hume?
Memory produces the relation of resemblance between current perceptions and past perceptions. The resemblance makes us think that we are the same person in both.
What is a particular, according to Plato?
An instantiation of a Form
Which two Unit 2 philosophers have the title 'Saint'?
Aquinas and Anselm