Deck 15: The Pragmatists: Peirce and James

Question 1

Pragmatism is an American strain of __________ thought.

A) democratic
B) Hegelian
C) empiricist
D) rationalist

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to pragmatism, the truth of a belief is synonymous with __________.

A) its correspondence to reality
B) the practical results of accepting it
C) how it comports with religious belief
D) its logical implications

Answer 2

B

Question 3

__________ is the founder of pragmatism.

A) James
B) Clifford
C) Dewey
D) Peirce

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Pragmatism was in part a reaction to__________.

A) traditional metaphysical philosophizing
B) radical empiricism
C) skepticism
D) utilitarianism

Question 5

__________ is the view that our claims to knowledge may turn out to be false.

A) Pragmatism
B) Utilitarianism
C) Fallibilism
D) Evidentialism

Question 6

According to Peirce, the meaning of a concept is equivalent to __________.

A) its use
B) its real-world effects
C) its reference
D) its verification conditions

Question 7

According to Peirce, a true belief is one that __________.

A) corresponds to reality
B) is logically consistent with all other beliefs
C) is beneficial to human life
D) is destined to be agreed upon by all competent investigators

Question 8

Some critics have taken issue with Peirce's view of truth on the grounds that it __________.

A) is impractical
B) is possible to devise multiple hypotheses to account for the same evidence
C) conflicts with current scientific practice
D) is inherently relativistic

Question 9

__________ is the view that we are justified in believing something only if it is supported by evidence.

A) Pragmatism
B) Utilitarianism
C) Fallibilism
D) Evidentialism

Question 10

James's notion of truth involves __________.

A) practical consequences for individuals
B) reasonable consensus
C) rational certainty
D) scientific instrumentation

Question 11

For James, a __________ is a true choice between opposing beliefs.

A) legitimate option
B) real option
C) genuine option
D) powerful option

Question 12

For Peirce, the __________ is the only satisfactory way to fix belief.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 13

According to James, a __________ option is an option that reflects alternatives that could possibly be actualized.

A) forced
B) live
C) momentous
D) precipitous

Question 14

A __________ option is unavoidable.

A) forced
B) live
C) momentous
D) precipitous

Question 15

A __________ option is one that really matters.

A) forced
B) live
C) momentous
D) precipitous

Question 16

James asserts that, absent evidence but confronted with a genuine option, we have the right to let our __________ nature decide.

A) rational
B) passional
C) empirical
D) emotional

Question 17

James repudiates __________.

A) fallibilism
B) evidentialism
C) live options
D) empirical evidence

Question 18

James says that a genuine option is __________.

A) true
B) momentous but not forced
C) live but not momentous
D) forced, live, and momentous

Question 19

James maintains that the desire for a certain kind of truth can __________.

A) change nothing
B) never help create a fact
C) bring about that truth's existence
D) have no religious significance

Question 20

According to James, religion says essentially two things: __________ and __________.

A) God exists; we are better off believing that God exists
B) God exists, God is good
C) the best things are eternal; God is eternal
D) the best things are eternal; we are better off believing that eternal things are best

Question 21

Some detractors have criticized James's argument for the religious hypothesis on the grounds that __________.

A) the religious hypothesis does not really present us with a forced option
B) it is wrong to believe anything upon insufficient evidence
C) the claims of religion can be decided by argument and evidence
D) the religious hypothesis does not really present us with a momentous option

Question 22

Fallibilism is a(n) __________ thesis.

A) epistemological
B) metaphysical
C) logical
D) ethical

Question 23

The __________ is a method of fixing belief whereby one refuses to be unsettled by contrary evidence.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 24

The __________ is a method of fixing belief whereby one looks to traditional sources of information.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 25

The __________ is a method of fixing belief whereby one is guided by one's own reason.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 26

The __________ is a method of fixing belief whereby one uses independent measures, fundamental hypotheses about the world and about the human condition.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 27

Peirce thinks that __________ undermine(s) the method of tenacity.

A) "social impulse"
B) authoritarian regimes
C) censorship
D) people's urge to be free

Question 28

The method of authority is based on our natural propensity to __________.

A) avoid groups
B) live in and organize groups
C) live solitary lives
D) never question authority

Question 29

Many philosophers have practiced the __________ method, but since there is so much variety in what they claim is "agreeable to reason," the method is less objective than it should be.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 30

Although it aims at fixing belief, the __________ invites disagreement.

A) a priori method
B) method of science
C) method of tenacity
D) method of authority

Question 31

Pragmatism is the doctrine that the meaning of a belief is equivalent to the real-world effects of accepting it.

Question 32

A pragmatist explicates the meaning of terms according to their use or the user's dispositions to act.

Question 33

A pragmatist explicates the meaning of terms according to their correspondence with reality.

Question 34

Peirce criticized traditional metaphysics.

Question 35

James thinks that one's religious belief need not be supported by verifiable evidence.

Question 36

James thinks that belief in God is dependent on evidence.

Question 37

According to James, the method of science is the only acceptable way to fix a belief.

Question 38

According to James, answers to moral questions must always await sensible proof.

Question 39

Evidentialism is the view that we are justified in believing something only if it is practical to do so.

Question 40

Peirce's notion of truth involves reasonable consensus.

Question 41

James's notion of truth involves scientific instrumentation.

Question 42

James thinks our passional nature must decide "a genuine option that cannot by its nature be decided on intellectual grounds."

Question 43

For Peirce, the method of authority is the only satisfactory way to fix belief.

Question 44

A momentous option is a an option that reflects alternatives that could possibly be actualized.

Question 45

A forced option is unavoidable.

Question 46

A momentous option is one that really matters.

Question 47

James asserts that, absent evidence but confronted with a genuine option, we have the right to let our passional nature decide.

Question 48

James calls the decision to believe or not to believe in a divine reality the religious hypothesis.

Question 49

James says that a genuine option is live, forced, and momentous.