Question 1

If a statement (such as "There is no airport in Tulsa")is "contingently false," I can imagine that, under different circumstances, the statement could be true.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

According to John Locke, the human mind at birth

Accepted Answer

A) is a blank tablet ( tabula rasa ). 
B) comes furnished with innate ideas. 
C) has a clear and distinct idea of God. 
D) is already in possession of philosophical knowledge. 
A) is a blank tablet ( tabula rasa ). 
B) comes furnished with innate ideas. 
C) has a clear and distinct idea of God. 
D) is already in possession of philosophical knowledge.

Question 3

One problem with the correspondence theory of truth is that it assumes

Accepted Answer

A) we have innate ideas of the truth. 
B) there is an objective truth, but we can't know it. 
C) there is no objective truth. 
D) we can know or gain access to the world apart from our own knowledge of it. 
A) we have innate ideas of the truth. 
B) there is an objective truth, but we can't know it. 
C) there is no objective truth. 
D) we can know or gain access to the world apart from our own knowledge of it.

Question 4

Describe Descartes's method of doubt, and give the steps by which he reasoned his way to something he regarded as indubitable.

Accepted Answer

Descartes resolved to doubt everything,

Question 5

In Quine's view, knowledge is holistic, and not a collection of piecemeal observations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Kant overcomes skepticism, rejecting the two-world hypothesis, when he claims that

Accepted Answer

A) the world we know is just the world of our experience, nothing beyond or external to it. 
B) we cannot know the world. 
C) there is no mind, only the world. 
D) all ideas of the world are perceptions of God. 
A) the world we know is just the world of our experience, nothing beyond or external to it. 
B) we cannot know the world. 
C) there is no mind, only the world. 
D) all ideas of the world are perceptions of God.

Question 7

Until recently, most philosophers have believed that if there is an answer to any philosophical question (or any other question of knowledge), it is either an empirical truth based on experience or an a priori truth that is both necessary and a product of reason.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Define relativism.

Accepted Answer

Relativism is the claim that what is tru

Question 9

If the French philosopher Michel Foucault was correct, then any form of knowledge is a historical matter, relative to a particular time and place and rooted in what works to the advantage of those in power .

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

When Nietzsche said that " t here is no truth," he was really arguing

Accepted Answer

A) that all interpretations of the world were equally valid. 
B) that no interpretations of the world had validity. 
C) against the correspondence theory of truth. 
D) against the coherence theory of truth. 
A) that all interpretations of the world were equally valid. 
B) that no interpretations of the world had validity. 
C) against the correspondence theory of truth. 
D) against the coherence theory of truth.

Question 11

In a given situation, it is rational to accept as true what the best available evidence and the most careful thinking indicate to be true.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

While statements such as "There is a coffee cup here on the table" and "There is gravity between any two masses" seem to be based on experience, the second statement differs from the first because ​

Accepted Answer

A) it is true, while the first is false. 
B) coffee cups are made of elements, and gravity is not 
C) it requires a much more complicated process of confirmation than the first. 
D) it corresponds to facts, while the second does not. 
A) it is true, while the first is false. 
B) coffee cups are made of elements, and gravity is not 
C) it requires a much more complicated process of confirmation than the first. 
D) it corresponds to facts, while the second does not.

Question 13

Rationalists and empiricists can both agree that

Accepted Answer

A) experience alone can give us   philosophical truths. 
B) reason alone can give us philosophical truths. 
C) some truths can be arrived at through experience and reason. 
D) no truths can be arrived at through reason. 
A) experience alone can give us   philosophical truths. 
B) reason alone can give us philosophical truths. 
C) some truths can be arrived at through experience and reason. 
D) no truths can be arrived at through reason.

Question 14

Suppose that scientific theories A and B are equally supported by the evidence and that both fit equally well with our other beliefs.   If you embraced the pragmatic theory of truth, you could still say A is true if it

Accepted Answer

A) corresponded to the facts. 
B) could be more easily tested and encouraged further experimentation. 
C) corresponded to our religious beliefs. 
D) helped us solve the "two-world hypothesis." 
A) corresponded to the facts. 
B) could be more easily tested and encouraged further experimentation. 
C) corresponded to our religious beliefs. 
D) helped us solve the "two-world hypothesis."

Question 15

What is truth and how do we come to know it?   Your essay should address the most common categories of truth (empirical and necessary); why both statements with philosophical content ("Life is meaningful")and presuppositions of knowledge ("The world exists")don't seem to fit into either category; and how rationalists and empiricists address truth.   It should also discuss the correspondence, coherence, and pragmatic theories of truth.

Accepted Answer

Truth is a concept that has been debated

Question 16

To call something a "sunset" is to see it in the light of a certain false astronomical theory.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Briefly distinguish between rationalism and empiricism.

Accepted Answer

Rationalism is a broad designation for a

Question 18

The truth or falsity of empirical statements like "There is no airport in Tulsa"

Accepted Answer

A) is contingent. 
B) is necessary. 
C) can only be known by God. 
D) is unknowable. 
A) is contingent. 
B) is necessary. 
C) can only be known by God. 
D) is unknowable.

Question 19

Descartes tried to doubt everything in order to ​

Accepted Answer

A) become closer to God. 
B) verify empiricism. 
C) prove that nothing is true. 
D) prove that some things are indubitable. 
A) become closer to God. 
B) verify empiricism. 
C) prove that nothing is true. 
D) prove that some things are indubitable.

Question 20

According to William James, whether an explanation was more useful or promising than the available alternatives was irrelevant to its truth.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

If a statement (such as "There is no airport in Tulsa")is "contingently false," I can imagine that, under different circumstances, the statement could be true.

According to John Locke, the human mind at birth

One problem with the correspondence theory of truth is that it assumes

Describe Descartes's method of doubt, and give the steps by which he reasoned his way to something he regarded as indubitable.

In Quine's view, knowledge is holistic, and not a collection of piecemeal observations.

Kant overcomes skepticism, rejecting the two-world hypothesis, when he claims that

Until recently, most philosophers have believed that if there is an answer to any philosophical question (or any other question of knowledge), it is either an empirical truth based on experience or an a priori truth that is both necessary and a product of reason.

Define relativism.

If the French philosopher Michel Foucault was correct, then any form of knowledge is a historical matter, relative to a particular time and place and rooted in what works to the advantage of those in power .

When Nietzsche said that " t here is no truth," he was really arguing

In a given situation, it is rational to accept as true what the best available evidence and the most careful thinking indicate to be true.

While statements such as "There is a coffee cup here on the table" and "There is gravity between any two masses" seem to be based on experience, the second statement differs from the first because

Rationalists and empiricists can both agree that

Suppose that scientific theories A and B are equally supported by the evidence and that both fit equally well with our other beliefs. If you embraced the pragmatic theory of truth, you could still say A is true if it

To call something a "sunset" is to see it in the light of a certain false astronomical theory.

Briefly distinguish between rationalism and empiricism.

The truth or falsity of empirical statements like "There is no airport in Tulsa"

Descartes tried to doubt everything in order to

According to William James, whether an explanation was more useful or promising than the available alternatives was irrelevant to its truth.

Philosophical Questions

The Meaning of Life

God

The Nature of Reality

Self

Freedom

Morality and the Good Life

Justice and the Good Society

Beauty

Non-Western Philosophy

Filters

Exam 5: The Search for the Truth

If a statement (such as "There is no airport in Tulsa")is "contingently false," I can imagine that, under different circumstances, the statement could be true.

According to John Locke, the human mind at birth

One problem with the correspondence theory of truth is that it assumes

Describe Descartes's method of doubt, and give the steps by which he reasoned his way to something he regarded as indubitable.

In Quine's view, knowledge is holistic, and not a collection of piecemeal observations.

Kant overcomes skepticism, rejecting the two-world hypothesis, when he claims that

Until recently, most philosophers have believed that if there is an answer to any philosophical question (or any other question of knowledge), it is either an empirical truth based on experience or an a priori truth that is both necessary and a product of reason.

Define relativism.

If the French philosopher Michel Foucault was correct, then any form of knowledge is a historical matter, relative to a particular time and place and rooted in what works to the advantage of those in power .

When Nietzsche said that " t here is no truth," he was really arguing

In a given situation, it is rational to accept as true what the best available evidence and the most careful thinking indicate to be true.

While statements such as "There is a coffee cup here on the table" and "There is gravity between any two masses" seem to be based on experience, the second statement differs from the first because ​

Rationalists and empiricists can both agree that

Suppose that scientific theories A and B are equally supported by the evidence and that both fit equally well with our other beliefs. If you embraced the pragmatic theory of truth, you could still say A is true if it

To call something a "sunset" is to see it in the light of a certain false astronomical theory.

Briefly distinguish between rationalism and empiricism.

The truth or falsity of empirical statements like "There is no airport in Tulsa"

Descartes tried to doubt everything in order to ​

According to William James, whether an explanation was more useful or promising than the available alternatives was irrelevant to its truth.

Philosophical Questions

The Meaning of Life

God

The Nature of Reality

Self

Freedom

Morality and the Good Life

Justice and the Good Society

Beauty

Non-Western Philosophy

Filters

While statements such as "There is a coffee cup here on the table" and "There is gravity between any two masses" seem to be based on experience, the second statement differs from the first because

Descartes tried to doubt everything in order to