Question 1

Does Kant agree or disagree with Hume's dictum that reason is the slave of the passions? Explain.

Accepted Answer

He disagrees. Reason, particularly in its form of the categorical imperative, can criticize and rule over inclinations or passions. As rational creatures, we are capable of acting according to the rule of reason.

Question 2

What is a maxim? What is the test for morally acceptable maxims?

Accepted Answer

A maxim is the subjective principle on which we act. Universalization is the test for moral acceptability. The question is: Could everyone act according to this maxim? Unless the answer is yes, the maxim is unacceptable and acting according to it would be immoral.

Question 3

Explain the famous Kantian dictum: "Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without concepts are blind."

Accepted Answer

Knowledge, Kant believes, is limited to what we could possibly experience. The reason is that the elements of thought-concepts-have no content in themselves; they are just functions for operating on a content in some way (structuring it, organizing it, classifying it . . .). Without some content supplied by sensibility, concepts have nothing to operate on and are empty forms. On the other hand, if all we have is the sensory content of impressions, there is no knowledge either-just a booming, buzzing confusion. Intuitions (sensations, impressions) need the structuring of concepts to produce knowledge-indeed, even to produce the experience of an objective world!

Question 4

The function of the categories is to

Accepted Answer

A)  construct an objective world. 
B)  illustrate how subjective all our opinions and beliefs really are. 
C)  serve as abstractions from sensible intuitions. 
D)  help the dove to fly in empty space. 
A)  construct an objective world. 
B)  illustrate how subjective all our opinions and beliefs really are. 
C)  serve as abstractions from sensible intuitions. 
D)  help the dove to fly in empty space.

Question 5

The illusions of speculative metaphysics

Accepted Answer

A)  arise because of the very nature of reason itself. 
B)  pertain particularly to the realm of phenomena. 
C)  can be avoided by proving the existence of God. 
D)  have nothing to do with the nature of the self. 
A)  arise because of the very nature of reason itself. 
B)  pertain particularly to the realm of phenomena. 
C)  can be avoided by proving the existence of God. 
D)  have nothing to do with the nature of the self.

Question 6

The aim of Kant's critique of reason is

Accepted Answer

A)  to demonstrate that reason can only be passion's slave. 
B)  to reveal the a priori conditions of knowledge. 
C)  to show, contrary to Hume, that the scope of possible human knowledge is unlimited. 
D)  to show, contrary to Descartes, that human knowledge is not possible. 
A)  to demonstrate that reason can only be passion's slave. 
B)  to reveal the a priori conditions of knowledge. 
C)  to show, contrary to Hume, that the scope of possible human knowledge is unlimited. 
D)  to show, contrary to Descartes, that human knowledge is not possible.

Question 7

Regarding freedom of the will, Kant says that

Accepted Answer

A)  we have no good reason to believe in it. 
B)  though all our actions, noumenally conceived, have causes, yet we may be phenomenally free. 
C)  morality would not be possible without it. 
D)  we are free whenever we are not hindered in doing something we want to do. 
A)  we have no good reason to believe in it. 
B)  though all our actions, noumenally conceived, have causes, yet we may be phenomenally free. 
C)  morality would not be possible without it. 
D)  we are free whenever we are not hindered in doing something we want to do.

Question 8

Why, according to Kant, are we so sure that every event has a cause?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why, according to Kant, are we so...

Question 9

You have borrowed $20 from an absent-minded friend. He has forgotten about it, and you are certain he will never remember. Moreover, your friend is well off and will never miss it; $20, however, means a lot to you.
Describe what considerations a Kantian would-and would not-urge you to consider in deciding whether to repay the debt.

Accepted Answer

A Kantian would urge you to consider the

Question 10

What am I? Descartes, Hume, and Kant all discuss this question. Imagine that you are Immanuel Kant. Writing as you think he would write, discuss the views of Descartes and Hume on mind/self/soul, and express what you think is the truth about this matter.

Accepted Answer

Descartes and Hume both had differing vi

Question 11

I am autonomous in the realm of morality in the sense that

Accepted Answer

A)  I am a legislator of the moral law for myself. 
B)  my morality may not be the morality of others. 
C)  what I want may not be what you want. 
D)  I cannot be in error about what is right for me. 
A)  I am a legislator of the moral law for myself. 
B)  my morality may not be the morality of others. 
C)  what I want may not be what you want. 
D)  I cannot be in error about what is right for me.

Question 12

Explain the idea of a synthetic a priori judgment, including both its semantic and its epistemological aspects. Why are these judgments puzzling?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the idea of a synthetic a...

Question 13

According to Kant, knowledge of our own nature

Accepted Answer

A)  is impossible in any sense. 
B)  is restricted to the way we appear in the realm of phenomena. 
C)  is made possible by the category of substance, the application of which to ourselves demonstrates that we are essentially souls, not bodies. 
D)  includes knowledge that we are free. 
A)  is impossible in any sense. 
B)  is restricted to the way we appear in the realm of phenomena. 
C)  is made possible by the category of substance, the application of which to ourselves demonstrates that we are essentially souls, not bodies. 
D)  includes knowledge that we are free.

Question 14

The supreme principle of morality, Kant tells us,

Accepted Answer

A)  depends on the will of God. 
B)  is different for each rational individual, since we are all autonomous choosers of the morally good. 
C)  is universally accepted. 
D)  forbids applying rules to others we don't apply to ourselves. 
A)  depends on the will of God. 
B)  is different for each rational individual, since we are all autonomous choosers of the morally good. 
C)  is universally accepted. 
D)  forbids applying rules to others we don't apply to ourselves.

Question 15

The categorical imperative

Accepted Answer

A)  is true in the same way that "Bachelors are unmarried" is true. 
B)  tells us that if we want to be happy, we should respect the rights of others. 
C)  bids us universalize all synthetic a priori principles. 
D)  forbids manipulation of others for our own purposes. 
A)  is true in the same way that "Bachelors are unmarried" is true. 
B)  tells us that if we want to be happy, we should respect the rights of others. 
C)  bids us universalize all synthetic a priori principles. 
D)  forbids manipulation of others for our own purposes.

Question 16

What is will, according to Kant? What is a good will? What makes a good will good?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is will, according to Kant? What...

Question 17

According to Kant, a good will is one that

Accepted Answer

A)  wills according to the dictates of one's society. 
B)  wills to do its duty. 
C)  obeys only hypothetical imperatives. 
D)  is heteronomous. 
A)  wills according to the dictates of one's society. 
B)  wills to do its duty. 
C)  obeys only hypothetical imperatives. 
D)  is heteronomous.

Question 18

How does Kant's Copernican revolution address the problem of skepticism?

Accepted Answer

Immanuel Kant's philosophical approach,

Question 19

Descartes, Hume, and Kant all have something to say about whether human beings can be free in their actions. Describe what it is in the new science that makes this a pressing question, and then sketch the line that each takes on human freedom.

Accepted Answer

The new science of the 17th and 18th cen

Question 20

Synthetic a priori judgments, Kant tells us, are

Accepted Answer

A)  knowable only in virtue of experience. 
B)  true in virtue of the fact that their denials are contradictory. 
C)  the only way of knowing things in themselves. 
D)  a reflection of the structure of a rational mind. 
A)  knowable only in virtue of experience. 
B)  true in virtue of the fact that their denials are contradictory. 
C)  the only way of knowing things in themselves. 
D)  a reflection of the structure of a rational mind.

Exam 19: David Hume: Unmasking the Pretensions of Reason

Does Kant agree or disagree with Hume's dictum that reason is the slave of the passions? Explain.

What is a maxim? What is the test for morally acceptable maxims?

Explain the famous Kantian dictum: "Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without concepts are blind."

The function of the categories is to

The illusions of speculative metaphysics

The aim of Kant's critique of reason is

Regarding freedom of the will, Kant says that

Why, according to Kant, are we so sure that every event has a cause?

What am I? Descartes, Hume, and Kant all discuss this question. Imagine that you are Immanuel Kant. Writing as you think he would write, discuss the views of Descartes and Hume on mind/self/soul, and express what you think is the truth about this matter.

I am autonomous in the realm of morality in the sense that

Explain the idea of a synthetic a priori judgment, including both its semantic and its epistemological aspects. Why are these judgments puzzling?

According to Kant, knowledge of our own nature

The supreme principle of morality, Kant tells us,

The categorical imperative

What is will, according to Kant? What is a good will? What makes a good will good?

According to Kant, a good will is one that

How does Kant's Copernican revolution address the problem of skepticism?

Descartes, Hume, and Kant all have something to say about whether human beings can be free in their actions. Describe what it is in the new science that makes this a pressing question, and then sketch the line that each takes on human freedom.

Synthetic a priori judgments, Kant tells us, are

Before Philosophy: Myth in Hesiod and Homer

Philosophy Before Socrates

Appearance and Reality in Ancient India

The Sophists: Rhetoric and Relativism in Athens

Reason and Relativism in China

Socrates: to Know Oneself

The Trial and Death of Socrates

Plato: Knowing the Real and the Good

Aristotle: The Reality of the World

Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi: Virtue in Ancient China

Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics: Happiness for the Many

Jews and Christians: Sin, Salvation, and Love

Augustine: God and the Soul

Philosophy in the Islamic World: The Great Conversation Spreads Out

Anselm and Aquinas: Existence and Essence in God and the World

From Medieval to Modern Europe

René Descartes: Doubting Our Way to Certainty

Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley: Materialism and the Beginnings of Empiricism

Immanuel Kant: Rehabilitating Reason Within Strict Limits

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Taking History Seriously

Kierkegaard and Marx: Two Ways to Correct Hegel

Moral and Political Reformers: The Happiness of All, Including Women

Friedrich Nietzsche: The Value of Existence

The Pragmatists: Thought and Action

Ludwig Wittgenstein: Linguistic Analysis and Ordinary Language

Martin Heidegger: The Meaning of Being

Simone De Beauvoir: Existentialist, Feminist

Postmodernism: Derrida, Foucault, and Rorty

Physical Realism and the Mind: Quine, Denne

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