Deck 6: Knowledge and Skepticism

Question 1

Descartes had been disillusioned by his discovery that many of the alleged truths learned in his youth were

A) contrary to his religion.
B) true.
C) false.
D) beyond question.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Descartes says that, for all he knows, he may be

A) perfect.
B) a god.
C) infallible.
D) dreaming.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Descartes declares that an evil demon

A) could possibly be deceiving him.
B) could not possibly exist.
C) undoubtedly exists.
D) must exist if God exists.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Descartes argues against trusting the senses on the grounds that

A) they sometimes deceive him.
B) they never directly deceive him.
C) God allows sensory deception.
D) sense perception is indubitable.

Question 5

Descartes declares that he is a

A) body.
B) thing that thinks.
C) dream.
D) thing that cannot exist.

Question 6

Descartes reasons that the very fact that he is thinking shows that he

A) does not exist.
B) is not being deceived.
C) exists.
D) is dreaming.

Question 7

At first, Descartes supposes that everything he sees is

A) true.
B) false.
C) part of him.
D) undeniable.

Question 8

Berkeley asserts that existing and perceiving are

A) two distinct things.
B) both nonexistent.
C) one and the same thing.
D) imaginary.

Question 9

Berkeley insists that heat and cold are

A) illusions.
B) only sensations existing in our minds.
C) only things existing apart from our minds.
D) physical objects.

Question 10

Berkeley believes that sensible things cannot exist except in

A) a material universe.
B) absolute existence.
C) material substance.
D) a mind.

Question 11

Berkeley concludes that God exists because

A) material substance exists.
B) all sensible things must be perceived by him.
C) God perceives all things having absolute subsistence.
D) God is material substance.

Question 12

Locke's purpose is to inquire into

A) authoritative opinions about knowledge.
B) the structure and functions of the brain.
C) the origin and extent of human knowledge.
D) the essence of the soul.

Question 13

Locke asserts that all the components of reason and knowledge come from

A) experience.
B) memory.
C) the mind of God.
D) logic.

Question 14

Locke believes that we have nothing in our minds that did not come from

A) sensation and reflection.
B) reflection on innate ideas.
C) reason alone.
D) cultural memory.

Question 15

Locke draws a distinction between

A) primary and secondary colors.
B) internal and external feelings.
C) resemblances and similarities.
D) primary and secondary qualities.

Question 16

The difficulty of justifying the assumption that the future will be like the past is known as the problem of

A) science.
B) deduction.
C) induction.
D) incoherence.

Question 17

Knowledge that is gained independently of or prior to sense experience is called

A) a posteriori knowledge.
B) a priori knowledge.
C) scientific knowledge.
D) ad absurdum knowledge.

Question 18

Hume argues that the principle of induction can be neither an a priori truth nor a(n)

A) a priori falsehood.
B) a posteriori falsehood.
C) truth of mathematics.
D) a posteriori fact.

Question 19

Hume observes that to argue that the principle of induction can be established by experience is to

A) make a valid argument.
B) prove too much.
C) state the obvious.
D) beg the question.

Question 20

According to Hume, we rely on the principle of induction because it is

A) an established truth.
B) a habit of mind.
C) confirmed by science.
D) inductively proven.

Question 21

According to Hume, all our thought is restricted to manipulating the materials provided to us by

A) logic.
B) a priori knowledge.
C) theorems.
D) the senses and experience.

Question 22

Hume believes that propositions that are discoverable by the mere operation of thought are those regarding

A) matters of fact.
B) the knowledge of the sciences.
C) sensory relations.
D) relations of ideas.

Question 23

Hume says that all reasonings concerning matters of fact are founded on the relation of

A) a priori ideas.
B) propositions of certainty.
C) cause and effect.
D) logical ideas.

Question 24

The philosophical study of knowledge is known as

A) epistemology.
B) cognition.
C) metaphysics.
D) positivism.

Question 25

Knowing that something is the case is called _______ knowledge.

A) a posterior
B) propositional
C) a priori
D) moral

Question 26

Philosophers say that propositional knowledge has three necessary and sufficient conditions: To know a proposition, (1) you must believe it, (2) it must be true, and (3) you must have

A) no doubts about it.
B) good reasons for believing it true.
C) psychological certainty.
D) several knowledge sources.

Question 27

The view that we lack knowledge in some fundamental way is known as

A) positivism.
B) relativism.
C) cognitivism.
D) skepticism.

Question 28

The view that the truth about something depends on what persons or cultures believe is called ______ relativism.

A) cultural
B) cognitive
C) subjective
D) physical

Question 29

Locke rejected the notion of

A) empirical knowledge.
B) relations of ideas.
C) innate ideas.
D) sense data.

Question 30

Berkeley called _______ "a manifest repugnancy."

A) the doctrine of rationalism
B) empiricism
C) relativism
D) the concept of a material object

Question 31

Hume's strict empiricism leads naturally to

A) rationalism.
B) skepticism.
C) relativism.
D) inductivism.

Question 32

Empiricism is the view that

A) knowledge of the empirical world is impossible.
B) scientific knowledge is the most reliable kind of knowledge.
C) knowledge of the empirical world comes solely from sense experience.
D) knowledge of the empirical world comes from reason alone.

Question 33

According to Kant, we can have a priori knowledge about relations like cause and effect because

A) if we didn't, God would be a deceiver.
B) our minds impose such relations onto our sense experience.
C) all necessary relations can be known a priori.
D) cause and effect are primary qualities which truly represent objects.

Question 34

Plato claims that when we gain knowledge of the forms, we are

A) recalling what we knew in a previous life.
B) using reason to learn something new.
C) using sense data to discover a priori truths.
D) relying on the principle of induction.

Question 35

Descartes says there are very few ways that we can tell whether we are dreaming.

Question 36

Descartes says that because it is possible that an evil genius is deceiving him, he can never know that he himself exists.

Question 37

According to Descartes, only beliefs that are certain can count as knowledge.

Question 38

Descartes concludes that there is no way out of his deep skepticism.

Question 39

Descartes declares that he does not know with certainty that he is.

Question 40

Descartes concludes that he is a thing that breathes.

Question 41

For Descartes, the statement "I am, I exist" is necessarily true every time he utters it.

Question 42

Hume believes that external objects resemble internal perceptions.

Question 43

Berkeley does not believe in material substance.

Question 44

Berkeley thinks that the sweet or bitter taste of food is inherent in the food itself.

Question 45

Berkeley is willing to accept the conventional distinction between primary and secondary qualities.

Question 46

Berkeley denies that sensible things have any real existence.

Question 47

Locke says that a primary quality is one that is utterly inseparable from a body.

Question 48

Locke claims that secondary qualities are in the objects themselves.

Question 49

According to Locke, primary qualities of bodies are in no way resemblances of those bodies.

Question 50

According to Locke, all knowledge begins with sensory experience.

Question 51

Hume's argument shows that science should stop relying on the principle of induction.

Question 52

Empirical evidence can show that the principle of induction is true.

Question 53

The principle of induction can be justified a priori.

Question 54

Hume refuses to use the principle of induction in his daily life.

Question 55

Locke accepts the view that we have innate ideas about metaphysical truths.

Question 56

Locke argues that even if there were particular truths that all men agreed on, that fact would not prove the existence of innate ideas.

Question 57

Hume thinks that causes and effects are discoverable by reason.

Question 58

Hume divides the content of the mind into ideas and impressions.

Question 59

According to Hume, custom alone renders our experience useful to us.

Question 60

Empiricists claim that we come to know even logical and mathematical truths through sense experience.

Question 61

Descartes claims that if he perceives something clearly and distinctly, he can know it with certainty.

Question 62

Like Hume, Locke also accepts a radical skepticism about the external world.

Question 63

Descartes thinks that only propositions that are beyond all doubt can be considered knowledge. Do you agree with this? Do we know things that are not beyond all possible doubt? Explain.

Question 64

Briefly explain cognitive relativism and its different varieties. How would cognitive relativism make knowledge more easily attainable? Do you find cognitive relativism plausible? Why or why not?

Question 65

What reasons does Locke give for rejecting the notion of innate ideas? According to Locke, what is the difference between primary and secondary qualities?

Question 66

Briefly explain the difference between rationalism and empiricism. Which view do you find more plausible? Why?

Question 67

How does Berkeley try to show that all we ever experience is ideas? Critique his argument.

Question 68

Why is Hume skeptical about metaphysical issues?

Question 69

Do you think, as Descartes says, we can know some facts about the world without using our senses? Why or why not? Do you think John Locke's theory is more plausible than Descartes's? Explain.

Question 70

Why can't the principle of induction be justified empirically or a priori? If the principle of induction cannot be proven, does that mean we can't trust the findings of science? Why or why not?

Question 71

What is Eve Browning Cole's argument against some postmodernist theories of knowing?

Question 72

What is Kant's constructionist theory of knowledge? Is it plausible that we, in effect, constitute the world? Why or why not?

Question 73

Locke argues that we know that external objects are real because the theory that they exist is the best explanation for the sensations we have. Is this a plausible argument? Explain.

Question 74

Following Locke, apply an inference-to-the-best-explanation argument to the notion that we are all now living in the Matrix. According to this argument, is it plausible that we are in the Matrix?