Question 1

What is rationality?

Accepted Answer

Rationality means "thinking and acting in accordance with reason",or,thinking with reasons,good reasons.What is a "good reason"?
 If thinking is based on "facts," then the facts must be well confirmed,not simply hearsay or wild guesses.If thinking is based upon deductive reasoning,then the reasoning must be valid.

Question 2

It's commonplace to regard science as the most authoritative form of knowledge,and as the royal road to truth about the world.
But when you begin to think more carefully about science,the picture gets more complicated.
Write an essay in which you explore what it means to call science a form of knowledge.
Your essay should address: kinds of truth; the relations between observation,hypotheses and theory; the theory-dependent nature of some facts; the challenge of understanding how scientific theories can be true,in any sense; the strengths and success of science; and the creationism-science debate.

Accepted Answer

Requires students to apply frameworks in epistemology to science and creationism-science debate.

Question 3

What justifies my belief "the cat is on the mat" is

Accepted Answer

A)   just the singular fact that the cat is on the mat.
B)   my innate ideas of cats and mats.
C)   whether uttering this statement "feels right" to me.
D)   an array of visual and sensory evidence,as well as the coherence of that belief with many other beliefs I have. D

Question 4

Philosophers and scientists agree that if a statement is true,then it corresponds to the facts.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

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 6

Explain what Kant means by saying something is a synthetic a priori truth.Give an example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain what Kant means by saying something...

Question 7

The "two world assumption"

Accepted Answer

A)   states that there are two worlds: the world of being and the world of becoming.
B)   states that there are two worlds: the "outer," physical world,and the "inner" world of our experience.
C)   states that there are two worlds: the Godly and the human.
D)   is an example of a necessary truth.

Question 8

The concept that "75 x 3 = 225" seems to be true

Accepted Answer

A)   because it corresponds to facts in the world.
B)   despite the fact that it doesn't correspond to any facts in the world.
C)   because Pythagoras is right: numbers are the most basic kind of reality.
D)   because we have innate ideas of numbers in our minds.

Question 9

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 10

Descartes concluded that the world must exist

Accepted Answer

A)   before he proved that God existed.
B)   before he proved that he existed.
C)   after he first proved that God existed.
D)   because,from the start,it could not be doubted.

Question 11

The Principle of Universal Causality states that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Rationality is purely a matter of thinking and understanding.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

If the linguistic determinism of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf is correct,then even people who speak different languages share a basic understanding of the world.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Rationality depends on coherence within our reasons and beliefs.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

What does it mean to be rational,and why should someone try to be rational? Your essay should link rationality with the three theories of truth explored in this chapter.
Specifically,it should address how the concept of rationality incorporates coherence and pragmatic approaches to truth,as well as a revised version of the correspondence theory of truth.
It should discuss the meaning and import of relativism,especially the simplistic version of relativism which says that truth is subjective: 
In what respects is relativism true? 
In what respects false? 
It should address the intellectual and practical motivations a person might have in being rational.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does it mean to be rational,and...

Question 16

What is skepticism? 
What sorts of things are skeptics skeptical about?
How does skepticism emerge from the philosophies of Descartes and Hume?
What is "the two world assumption," and how is skepticism linked to this hypothesis? 
How does Kant attempt to overcome skepticism? 
Is he successful?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is skepticism? 
What sorts of things...

Question 17

Some philosophers of science,on the basis of such considerations,have argued that there are no facts as such because

Accepted Answer

A)   the external world may or may not exist.
B)   all facts are equally true.
C)   facts get interpreted according to theories.
D)   theories get interpreted according to facts.

Question 18

Tautologies like "Boys will be boys" seem to be true,even though they don't tell us anything about the world.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Briefly explain Quine's concept of the "inscrutability of reference."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly explain Quine's concept of the "inscrutability...

Question 20

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)   are unknowable.

Exam 5: The Search for Truth

What is rationality?

What justifies my belief "the cat is on the mat" is

Philosophers and scientists agree that if a statement is true,then it corresponds to the facts.

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.

Explain what Kant means by saying something is a synthetic a priori truth.Give an example.

The "two world assumption"

The concept that "75 x 3 = 225" seems to be true

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

Descartes concluded that the world must exist

The Principle of Universal Causality states that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

Rationality is purely a matter of thinking and understanding.

If the linguistic determinism of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf is correct,then even people who speak different languages share a basic understanding of the world.

Rationality depends on coherence within our reasons and beliefs.

What is skepticism? What sorts of things are skeptics skeptical about? How does skepticism emerge from the philosophies of Descartes and Hume? What is "the two world assumption," and how is skepticism linked to this hypothesis? How does Kant attempt to overcome skepticism? Is he successful?

Some philosophers of science,on the basis of such considerations,have argued that there are no facts as such because

Tautologies like "Boys will be boys" seem to be true,even though they don't tell us anything about the world.

Briefly explain Quine's concept of the "inscrutability of reference."

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