Philosophy Midterm Review Quizzes

Which of the following, if true, is a *sufficient* condition for passing this course?

Having an B average in the course after all grades have been recorded.

Suppose you are given the Standard Format of an argument in Reductio ad absurdum form. What do you know about this argument?

The argument is valid.

According to Descartes' *Meditation 2*, how do I know anything about things outside my mind (wax, trees, sky, my own hand)?

By the reason or intellect

The following argument is in standard format: 1. If there are fleas in the house, then the dog has fleas. 2. There are no fleas in the house. Thus, 3. The dog does not have fleas.

The conclusion is "The dog does not have fleas."

Jeremy Bentham, who was an important influence of J. S. Mill, thought that

a children's game like push-pin (or any other common activity) is as good as poetry (or any high culture activity), provided the quantity of pleasure is the same.

Utilitarianism is an agent-neutral moral theory, which means that

everyone has the same duties and aims, no matter what their personal interests or interpersonal relationships.

According to hedonism,

happiness (understood as pleasure and avoiding pain) is the highest good

The premises and the conclusion of an argument are

statements

Phenomenal states are

things like sensations, perceptions, and feelings.

In the theater of the mind, the puzzle is

What is the true nature of the projector?

In the lectures, morality is defined as "the rules government or society imposes on individuals."

False

Context: Olympic events must be sports. Suppose the point at issue is whether chess is a sport. Which of the following is the best Stipulative Definition for *Sport*?

A competitive activity governed by a well-defined set of rules and involving some physical skill.

Which of the following is a good Essential Definition (genus and difference) for Taco?

A dish consisting of a folded or rolled tortilla stuffed with a filling.

What is a moral principle?

A key premise in a moral argument.

"Slavery essentially involves treating a person as property, and treating a person as property means using their happiness to promote your own. Thus, slavery is always wrong." Which of the following moral principles does the above argument implicitly assume?

Always treat other persons as ends in themselves and never merely as a means to your own ends.

Suppose someone sitting in her car shoots a stranger who was walking toward her purposely in a poorly-lit parking lot. The stranger was more than 50 feet away but did reasonably seem threatening in the situation after not responding to her warning "I have a gun. Stop walking toward me or I'll shoot." By the IIAPR Principle discussed in class and given just these facts, which condition for morally permissible killing in self-defense does this most likely not meet?

Avoidance

Ethics studies a subset of the Normative Universe. Which of the following statements concern part of the Normative Universe.

Children should not talk with strangers.

What is the Golden Rule?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

"In the Trolley Problem 2 case ('Fat Man'), pushing the large man on the track to stop the train is to will the evil effect (killing the large man) as a means to the intended end (saving the five persons). Thus, a person pushing the large man onto the track would be acting impermissibly." What moral principle does the above argument use to support its conclusion?

Double-Effect

Logic is part of the larger philosophical study of knowledge called

Epistemology

Ethics is the study of how to make other people behave better.

False

When evaluating whether an argument is *sound*, focus on whether you believe the conclusion is *true*.

False

Philosophy often seems difficult because it focuses on second-order questions. Which of the following is a second-order question raised in our reading from Descartes?

How do I know that I know? (the problem of the criterion)

What conclusion does the wax argument in Descartes' *Meditation 2* aim to show?

I know my mind more clearly and distinctly than anything outside my mind.

One proposed necessary condition for morally justified killing in self-defense is imminence. Logically, what does this mean?

If a killing is not in response to and immediate threat, then it is not morally justified killing in self-defense.

What is the contrapositive of *If you get the job, then you are not a convicted felon*?

If you are a convicted felon, then you will not get the job.

The famous "I think, I exist," is offered as a self-evidently true statement. What is its importance to the argument of Descartes' *Meditation 2 (if sound)?

It is certain; it is true; it escapes doubts raised by *Meditation 1*; and it is known by reason (intellect) and not by the senses.

The study of philosophy includes Epistemology. What is Epistemology the study of?

Knowledge

Suppose someone claims that pornography should not be protected by the First Amendment. When asked to clarify, the person define pornography as "any sexually explicit material." Which of the following is a good counterexample testing this definition?

Medical textbooks and sex education textbooks would now count as pornography.

Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution states the eligibility requirements for serving as president of the United States: "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States. In logic terms, is being at least 35 years old a necessary condition, sufficient condition, both an necessary and sufficient condition, or neither a necessary nor sufficient condition, to be eligible to serve as President?

Necessary

Is submitting all graded assignments a *sufficient condition* for earning an A in our philosophy course? In other words, is this statement true: "If you submit all graded assignments, then you will earn an A in our philosophy course"?

No, it is not a sufficient condition.

Suppose Abe and Bob get in a verbal altercation at a theater over Bob's using a cell phone during the movie. After an exchange of increasingly angry words, Bob tosses a container of popcorn at Abe and threatens to punch him. (Bob is younger and far more physically fit than Abe.) Abe, feeling extremely threatened, responds by stabbing Bob with a pocketknife, killing him. By the IIAPR Principle discussed in class and given just these facts, which condition for morally permissible killing in self-defense does this most likely not meet?

Proportionality

The case of Private Ross McGinnis is offered as support for the claim that

Psychological egoism is false; genuine altruism is possible; people can act so that the benefits they receive are less than the value of their action for others; and jumping on grenades is unhealthy.

Background: On 2 July 2019, Nike ordered a recall of is July Fourth-themed Air Max 1 sneakers over concerns about it Betsy Ross flag logo. Critics such as Colin Kaepernick claimed the flag us offensive because it glorifies slavery and racism. What premise makes the following into a valid argument? 1. If a symbol is associated with slavery, then it is racist. 2. ?

The Betsy Ross flag is associated with slavery.

Background: On 2 July 2019, Nike ordered a recall of is July Fourth-themed Air Max 1 sneakers over concerns about it Betsy Ross flag logo. Critics such as Colin Kaepernick claimed the flag us offensive because it glorifies slavery and racism. Which of the following is a good counterexample against the definition and key premise, "If a symbol is associated with slavery, then it is racist"?

The KKK burned crosses but most people don't regard the cross as a racist symbol.

Given the definition of murder from the lecture, which of the following are ground for claiming a killing is not a murder?

The killer did not directly intend the action leading to the killing; the killer had a morally sufficient excuse; the killing was not the killing of a person; and the killing was indirect or accidental.

One proposed necessary condition for morally justified killing in self-defense is reasonableness. What does this mean?

The killing must meet the conditions of innocence, imminence, avoidance, and proportionality in the view of both the person acting and a reasonable person (subjectively and objectively)

Consider the following essential definition: "A ball is a round object used for playing a game." What is the best criticism of this definition?

Too narrow: Some balls, like a football, would not count as balls because they are not round.

An essential definition usually gives both a necessary and a sufficient condition for what the thing is. Example: The essential definition "A human being is a rational animal" means "If something is a human being, then it is both rational and an animal" and "If something is both rational and an animal, then it is a human being."

True

Cogito ergo sum means "I think, therefore I exist."

True

If Deontology is a true moral theory, then Virtue theory must be false.

True

In an argument, the statement for which reasons are offered is the *conclusion*.

True

Radical Skepticism is the theory that knowledge is impossible.

True

Some moral principles are false.

True

The fallacy of equivocation involves using a term in more than one meaning within an argument.

True

When evaluating an argument, focus on the premises and the logical form.

True

What second-order metaphysical question needs be answered in order to connect murder to the moral permissibility of elective abortion?

What is a person?

Suppose a film critic reasons as follows: "Since *Inception* has an ending open to several plausible but inconsistent interpretations, it is not a good film." In standard format, the argument looks like thus: 1. If a film has an ending open to several plausible but inconsistent interpretations, then it is not a good film. 2. *Inception* has and ending open to several plausible but inconsistent interpretations. Thus, 3. *Inception* is not a good film. From the standpoint of logic, what kind of statement is "*Inception* is not a good film"?

conclusion

The normative universe is populated by

every sort of duty, right, obligation and permissibility, moral and otherwise

According to the argument of the radical skeptic,

you know nothing about a world outside of your mind.

The Evil Demon Hypothesis from *Meditation 1* (as well as the *Matrix* and *Inception* thought experiments) aims to show that

you know nothing about a world outside of your mind.