Intro to Philosophy Ryan UNIT 2 STUDY QUESTIONS 1 Why did Descartes choose the method of doubt in order to determine what we can know Using this method what do we discover can be doubted What is the one thing incapable of doubt Explain why this is so How from this one bare fact can we use reason to show how we can know things external to our own minds 2 State Moore s proof of an external world What three conditions must any argument meet in order to be considered a sound argument and how does Moore justify that his argument does so What does Moore admit he has not been able to prove at the end of his argument Give one reason why this might be unsatisfactory and another as to why it could be satisfactory 3 What is the difference between direct and representational realism What does Russell mean by the distinction between appearance and reality Cite an example that demonstrates that what we perceive are appearances rather than realities Why according to Russell can t we rely on the testimony of others to discover the nature of realities State the cat argument Russell provides to show that we probably have at least some knowledge of the external world 4 Explain Hume s theory of sense impressions and the correlate that simple ideas combine into complex ideas How must they be related in order to do this What according to Hume does this tell us about the nature of the mind independent world Explain the inescapable oscillation this drives us to 5 How according to Kant do rationalism and empiricism each contribute to what has become the scandal of philosophy How do we combine elements of both in order in transcendental idealism to rescue objective knowledge knowledge of objects Pursuant to this explain the function of the following sensible conditions time and space intellectual conditions substance relation cause effect 6 Cite two problems with Kant s philosophy and how did Hegel correct them What does it mean to be sunken in sense and how did humans learn to expand the influence of intellect What three repeating phases drive Hegel s model of the advance of knowledge What are right and left Hegelians and how did they interpret both the advance of knowledge and the absolute differently 7 How was Hegel received in America and how did this differ from both right and left Hegelianism What is pragmatism cite two tenets central to it What are Peirce s three absolutely essential guiding principles and how do they interface in a circuit Define each of the following ways of fixing belief and cite a pro and con of it tenacity authority a priori scientific method 8 What is Dewey s Postulate of Immediate Empiricism and how does he use it to undercut the problem of the external world that plagues empiricism Sketch Dewey s method of inquiry and explain each of the following nonreflective experience problem hypothesis tools and data test object State the pragmatic theory of truth What does Dewey mean by the how and the what of inquiry 9 What according to Wittgenstein is Augustine s view of the connection between words and objects How does the example of the foreman and apprentice constructing a building suggest a more dynamic model What does Wittgenstein mean by language games How do old meanings create new ones by means of family resemblances 10 How does the M ori creation myth exemplify their inclination to personify natural phenomena How does this contribute to their holistic world view What is the Western view of the individual and how does M ori culture differ from this Name one way in which this non individualistic orientation may be advantageous and one potential disadvantage How does M ori ethics differ from traditional Western ethics 11 Explain Darwin s theory of evolution by variation and natural selection How was this appropriated by Nietzsche What is the will to power and how does it show that traditional philosophical concepts of human nature are not only wrong but backwards What are the master and slave moralities and how does a proper understanding of morality lead to a transvaluation of values UNIT II STUDY GUIDE 1 Be able to identify the following philosophers and their theories Rene Descartes G E Moore Bertrand Russell David Hume Immanuel Kant G W F Hegel C S Peirce John Dewey Ludwig Wittgenstein Friedrich Nietzsche 2 Understand the meaning of the following terms and concepts epistemology epistemological objectivism naturalism social relativism individual relativism the problem of the external world cogito ergo sum and Descartes deconstruction and reconstruction of knowledge direct versus representational realism appearance versus reality Russell s solution to the problem of the external world the correspondence theory of truth Kant s scandal of philosophy and the middle way between empiricism and rationalism by which Kant resolves it what Kant means by mind as the sensible and intellectual conditions of experience Hegel s criticisms of Kant the three phases of sense and intellect right and left Hegelianism and the different reception in America definition of pragmatism Peirce s account of guiding principles the three absolutely essential guiding principles Peirce s four ways of fixing belief Dewey s postulate of immediate empiricism the importance of nonreflective experience to avoiding the problem of the external world the movement of inquiry the pragmatic theory of truth the how and what of inquiry Wittgenstein versus the museum theory of meaning meaning as social language games family resemblances M ori kinship of persons and nature individualism versus non individualism M ori ethics Nietzsche s appropriation of Darwin the will to power master and slave morality the transvaluation of values
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