Ethics midterm

It is difficult for humans to use reason because of emotional and psychological obstacles. "Group Think" can stop the rational exploration of arguments against your view, since we like to insulate ourselves with people who believe the same things. Because of this, we must be very careful when we think we have the truth and we are unaware of the arguments against our view. John Start Mill said the #1 reason why we should know our opponents' arguments better than our own is because they might have the truth and we might be wrong.

true

Philosophy is also a practical, instrumentally valuable means to many ends (goals). In fact, everyone uses philosophy all day long and it is a second-order discipline since every discipline in the academy (physics, chemistry, sociology, history, etc.) philosophical assumptions.

true

Four Branches of Philosophy: Ethics, Logic, Metaphysics, and Epistemology Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy involved in the study of _______.

ultimate reality (e.g. whether or not immaterial minds/souls exist, the existence of moral properties like good and evil, free will, when living human organisms become things of value, etc.)

Our word "metaphysics" is derived from a Greek term meaning "the books which come after the physics" regarding the writings of _______________ (whom the medievals called, "The Philosopher").

Aristotle

Which of the following is not a question of metaphysics?

Can we have knowledge without absolute proof or absolute certainty?

Like psychology, ___________________________ is both a descriptive and a prescriptive discipline. In other words, it tells us what is the case, and it tells us what should be the case with regards to knowledge and justification for beliefs.

Epistemology

Postmodernism or Post-Structuralism is a worldview that is an enemy to philosophy since it denies logic and reason are real things and it denies that truth (meta-narratives) exist. So, everyone believes things as a result of non-rational causes (race, economic status, parents, language, culture, movies, biases, bigotry, sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia, etc.) and not for rational reasons. Also, all philosophical arguments should be ignored and the psychological reasons why people believe things should be discovered. All humans just try to force their "narrative" on others because there is no truth or meta-narrative. Which philosopher influenced this view?

Friedrich Nietzsche

The branch of philosophy known as ethics covers three areas. Choose the area that it does not cover below.

Informal Fallacies (e.g. Red Herring, Ad Hominem, Straw Man, False Dilemma, etc.)

This nineteenth-century philosopher was an atheist who thought that humans were completely determined by economic forces (not free will choices). He also thought that humans invented God because of economic oppression by the rich. His ideas also led to the death of over 150 million people in the 20th Century in countries like Russia, Cambodia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Laos, Vietnam, and some in Africa. Who is this famous philosopher who thought religion was the "opium of the people" (or a drug invented by humans to get through life)?

Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)

You are trying to understand the behavior of your significant other or your child You are trying to see if you have enough money in your account to buy a Big Mac You are trying to figure out why there is a traffic jam. You are a juror thinking through the evidence to see if the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt In all of these cases, which branch of philosophy is being used in every case?

Logic

"Does a non-physical/immaterial mind or soul exist?" is a __________________________ question.

Metaphysical

What philosophers call, _________________, is the same area of study that Aristotle called "first philosophy."

Metaphysics

If you think that individuals can make serious philosophical progress (even if the truth is not found) by finding out what is false, you believe in this _____________________.

Minimal Goal of Philosophy

"According to [the melancholy Dane], _______________, what philosophy can give us is self-understanding. Self-understanding involves knowing who I really am apart from the masks I present to others, the social roles I fulfill, or the labels and descriptions imposed on me by my society and my peers. It also involves understanding my beliefs and values . . . [Self-understanding] is something we are often tempted to avoid. It is much easier to be complacent, to be self-satisfied, and to stick with beliefs that are comfortable and familiar than to be painfully and fully honest with ourselves and to subject our deepest convictions to examination." --William F. Lawhead

Soren Kierkegaard (19th Century Danish Philosopher). Christian existentalist Author of Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death.

It's possible for a valid argument to have false premises. Why?

Validity is about the structure of an argument. If the conclusion follows from the premises, the argument is valid.

Which of the following questions is least likely to be asked while studying metaphysics?

When is testimony (by an eye witness or a scientist) most reliable for providing good evidence for a conclusion (e.g. the guilt/innocence of a murder suspect, or the truth/falsity of a theory of quantum mechanics)?

One way we can silence the free speech of others and eliminate true philosophy is to use the postmodernist (or post-structuralist) trick of deconstruction or finding non-rational reasons to explain away an argument. For instance, "Ignore that argument he just gave for a wall--he just wants to build a wall because he is a rich, white, racist." What is another name of this kind of attack that we see every day in this country?

ad hominem - circumstantial

A(n) _________________ in the philosophical sense is a set of statements in which one or more of the statements attempt to provide reasons or evidence for the truth of another statement. In other words, a(n) ________________________ consists of reasons to believe some claim.

argument

_______________________________ is a criterion that considers how well the various parts of a theory "hang together."

coherence

The following is a(n) __________________ claim: "Technological advances in an science should always be encouraged by society."

ethical

The hard sciences (viz. chemistry and physics) cannot answer philosophical questions, in principle. Science and technology cannot determine the difference between a good action and a bad action. In addition to logic, what branch of philosophy is needed to determine the difference between a right action and a wrong action?

ethics

For most epistemologists (philosophers who focus on the science of knowledge), knowledge is the same as wisdom.

false

The distinction between instrumental value and inherent value has been discussed since the time of Plato's Republic. It can apply to everything humans value (e.g. the value of human organisms and dentists). The value of pursuing knowledge or wisdom for its own sake is known as its ____. This is the opposite of having simply __________ value.

intrinsic value; instrumental

Philosophers don't argue so much about whether particular things exist, but about what _______________ of things exist.

kinds

In the branch of philosophy known as logic, informal fallacies are discussed. Which of the following is not a fallacy in logic?

modus ponens (If p, then q. p. Therefore, q.)

The view that there are one or more universal moral principles or values that are valid for all people in all places (or at least have shown up in one place in history), is known as which of the following?

moral objectivism

If I am reading Plato or listening to a family member speak, and I am on the fence (50/50) about interpreting them as being coherent or incoherent, if I choose to assume the coherent explanation what am I using?

principle of charity

Your instructor, Hammons, believes that all of us can discuss the "taboo" topics of religion and politics if we follow the example of the Stoics, Epicureans, and Christian Paul in Acts 17 and use _________________________________.

sharp minds and tender hearts with each other

Which famous Ancient Greek philosopher stated, "the unexamined life is not worth living," in Plato's Apology?

socrates

The author of Miracles (which contains a famous argument against the ability for a materialist/physicalist to rationally believe in atheism, C.S. Lewis, expressed this minimal goal of philosophy with the following quote:

"Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."

Metaphysics, in modern philosophy, refers to ________________________________

the study of the most fundamental principles of the nature of things.