PHIL Unit 3

Kierkegaard thought who was a great example of a Knight of Faith (or his New Humanity)?

Abraham

Which of the forms of Utilitarianism is being criticized by the observation that Utilitarianism makes us do things that are otherwise morally absurd?

Act (Classical) Utilitarianism

Which of the following were reasons that economist, Dr. Walter Williams, gave in his video for why capitalism is moral? (Select all that apply.)

All financial exchanges are voluntary; there is no compulsion. Big corporations cannot hold any power that the people don't give them. We decide which companies thrive by who we purchase goods and services from. When the government gets involved, it can create some good, but always at the expense of others. Earning money requires us to serve our neighbors. The free market is not a zero-sum game. That is, money can grow. It's not like there's only so much in the pot and if I get more, you get less.

What is the word Kierkegaard used to describe our desperate, restless feelings in the face of unlimited choices without enough information?

Angst

Your instructor suggested that the video was wrong about applying Berkeley's thought to social reality. Why?

Because the "God" part of Berkeley's theory means that there is an objective reality in God's mind.

What did Nietzsche mean when he said, "God is dead"?

Because there isn't a God, there is no authority over human life, truth, values, etc.

According to Hobbes, what is the reason why we should obey even implicit contracts?

Because we reap the benefits of the contract, even if we didn't agree to the rules.

What is another name for Hobbes' Social Contract Theory?

Contractarianism

Which of the following would Nietzsche probably want you to do? (Select all that apply.)

Create your own morality. Take charge of your story (your "truth"), and make it good so that your own life can flourish. Create your own meaning.

What is it called when someone breaks the social contract?

Defection

Which of the following did Marx think we should do as a society?

Eliminate private property and the division of labor.

Which of the following is an analytic statement?

Employees are people who provide a service to an employer in exchange for money.

For which reason did Nietzsche think we should embrace envy?

Envy shows us what we really what and gives us the motivation to get it.

Soren Kierkegaard is sometimes called, The Father of _____________?

Existentialism

According to Hume, all feelings or passions are of equal value: there is no way to judge another's feelings

False

Being a Christian, Kierkegaard worked closely with the established Danish church, for which he had great respect.

False

Berkeley's philosophy believes that the world isn't real.

False

Berkeley's philosophy falls into solipsism (look it up in the book) because there is no way to guarantee a common world which we all share.

False

Descartes was ultimately pretty sexist, believing that women have nothing to contribute to intellectual conversation.

False

For Locke, the State of Nature is a "war of all against all" where it's "kill or be killed."

False

For Locke, the primary qualities are features of an object that we can sense with our senses such as color, sound, and smell.

False

Hobbes' psychology is very optimistic about human nature and happiness.

False

Hume loved his own education, and remained in close collaboration with his professors throughout his professional life.

False

Kierkegaard believed you can be married to, and passionately in love with, the same person at the same time, for life.

False

Kierkegaard's two categories of thought are Physical and Spiritual.

False

Marx believed that religion is necessary to a stable society.

False

Marx believes that, at least temporarily, we will have to install a king or dictator to run the society until we get reorganized.

False

Marx side with the owning group, the bourgeoisie.

False

Mill was a political thinker who believed in a strong Federal and State government, to protect people from themselves because people are often foolish.

False

Nietzsche hated Christianity but he sure loved alcohol!

False

Nietzsche's "Madman" is really pleased that society is finally understanding that there is no God.

False

The Principle of Utility is the measure of right and wrong for utilitarians, and it says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

False

There is not much evidence that Locke was right. His theory does not match contemporary scientific findings.

False

When Berkeley says that God created the world, he means what we usually mean--that God created minds and bodies in a physical world.

False

Which principles did Locke lay out in his Two Treatises on Government? (Select all that apply.)

Government exists to protect the rights of the people. All men are created equal. There are some basic rights that exist independent of government.

According to the video called If We Lose John Locke, We Lose America, what new beliefs in America have been replacing our older, Lockean beliefs? (Select all that apply.)

Government makes our rights; it is both our master and protector. People are not equal; they should be treated differently based on their group identity. Government should have almost unlimited power to do what is needed.

Which of the following statements are nonsense, according to Hume's Fork. (Select all that apply.)

Gravity will work next week when we launch that spaceship. Honesty is good. "I think, therefore I am as a continuous self. God does not exist.

Which of the following thought experiments did Descartes perform? (Select all that apply.)

He imagined that we could be dreaming the present moment. He imagined that our reason is deceived by an Evil Genius who rules the world.

Which of the following were influences on the development of Hobbes' social theory? (Select all that apply.)

His father's fight with a fellow clergyman The English Civil War

Hobbes' psychological egoism means what?

Humans always act in their own best interests; true altruism is impossible.

What is Berkeley's philosophy the most well-known form of?

Idealism

Which of the following were social outcomes of Hume's philosophy? (Select all that apply.)

Infusing skepticism into the Enlightenment project. Questioning the knowledge that religion and faith give. Questioning the knowledge that science gives. Separating matters of faith and religion from the intellectual realm.

What was Kierkegaard's reaction when he "saw the world?"

Laughter

Which of the following are rights that Locke said we have from God, not the government? (Select all that apply.)

Liberty Health Life Property

Berkeley concludes which of the following. Select only one.

Locke's primary qualities are in the mind just like the secondary qualities are.

Which of the following are likely to be favored by the American political "Right"? (Select all that apply.)

Lower taxes on the theory that jobs are created when people spend more of their own money. Liberty and freedom from government control Less government intervention in individual lives.

Which reason did your instructor give for why Marxism might not work?

Marx got human nature wrong; he thought Capitalism would make people self-interested (or greedy), but really capitalism works because we are already self-interested.

Which of the following did Berkeley eliminate from his system?

Material substance

Other than being a philosophical thinker, what was Descartes' profession and contribution to human knowledge?

Mathematician

Which of the political philosophers that we've encountered is furthest to the American political "Right"?

Mill

Which type of moral theory focuses on rights and duties when making moral decisions?

Non-Consequentialism/Deontology

How did Mill think that the final judgment should be theoretically made when there are competing "goods" in a situation

Only those who know both of the two competing experiences can decide, and we should listen to them

Kierkegaard thought that WHAT cannot be thought; it just is?

Our existence

Although Locke became famous for his work in political philosophy, what profession did he actually study for?

Physician/Doctor

When Marx describes the alienation of labor, we get the sense that we feel like what on our jobs?

Prostitutes

What was Berkeley's profession?

Teacher and Bishop

What did Nietzsche mean by the idea of "lying creatively" or "lying nobly"?

Telling one's story to one's self in ways that are life affirming (positive).

What did Marx call the phenomenon when we don't work creatively for ourselves, but we work for the greed of others?

The Alienation of Labor

Which of the following is the meaning of "naive realism" as we are using it?

The belief that reality exists very much the way we perceive it through our five senses

Which of the following is a synthetic statement?

The grass is green and wet.

John Stuart Mill was concerned about what aspect of Bentham's utilitarianism?

The quality of pleasure (rather than just the quantity)

What did Marx think would happen to the temporary government, once society was reorganized and people were happy and functional?

The temporary government would wither; it would disband itself voluntarily.

Upon what other great American figure did Locke's writing have great influence?

Thomas Jefferson

The aim of Hume's work was largely what?

To demonstrate that feelings or passions are more important than reason.

What was the point of Descartes' thought experiments?

To demonstrate whether there is anything we CAN know with certainty.

What does Berkeley's famous phrase, "Esse est percipi" mean?

To exist means to be perceivable. Mind is at the bottom layer of reality

According to Hobbes, the reason we should cooperate with one another and with government is because the benefits of cooperation outweigh the benefits of total freedom.

True

Among Locke's first passionate issues (and earliest writings) was his belief that tolerating others' religions leads to less social chaos than having government try to control religion.

True

Der ubermensch is Nietzsche's vision of what his ideal person would be like.

True

Descartes ends up absurdly believing that the mind and body meet in the middle of the brain, in the pineal gland.

True

Descartes if very careful about what he publishes, and moves around a lot, because he is worried about the Church and the Inquisition and wanted to spare himself what Galileo had suffered.

True

Descartes uses his belief in Cogito ergo sum to demonstrate God's existence . . . at least to his own satisfaction.

True

Global Doubt is the idea that the entirety of reality is fake--maybe like God creating the world five minutes ago, or us living in the Matrix.

True

Hobbes believed it was a better trade-off to obey government (even a bad government) in order to avoid violence and bloodshed.

True

Hobbes is a materialist--believing that only physical bodies exist.

True

Hume ultimately became a pretty radical skeptic.

True

If Batman was a Utilitarian, he would kill the Joker.

True

Kierkegaard died before he was 45, as did most of his siblings, but having published an enormous number of books.

True

Marx seems to think that ultimately, the unrest caused by capitalism will cause an uprising against the government and an overthrow of society's systems.

True

Nietzsche believed that Christianity had been created by peasants at the end of the Roman Empire to help them embrace their sad circumstances.

True

Nietzsche believed that all "knowing" is really a sort of lying.

True

Nietzsche was trying to find a path between what he perceived as Christianity's "slave morality" and the lawlessness of atheism.

True

One good example of a subjective truth would be my own death.

True

One of the videos you watched holds that Berkeley's thought matters because it would mean that reality is subjective, which has implications for social reality and people's perspectives.

True

The Calculus of Felicity (or Hedonic Calculus) was a way to measure probably pain vs. probable pleasure.

True

The Problem of Induction is that we do not know what will happen tomorrow--so no empirical knowledge is ever completely certain.

True

The end result of Locke's Representative Realism is that it leaves us with an external world that we do not know much about.

True

The point of Descartes' "Dream Conjecture" is to suggest that reality might be different than we think it is.

True

The problem with the State of Nature is that people then have freedom, but not security.

True

According to Hume, causal relationships (where A causes B) are nonsense because . . .

We never actually observe A causing B. We only observe A, then B.