Deck 3: Pioneering Philosophers of Mind: Descartes, Locke, and Leibniz

Question 1

According to Descartes's physics,the entire physical universe is made up of

A) fire, air, water, and earth.
B) invisible particles of "fire," invisible particles of "air," and visible particles of material "earth."
C) material particles separated by void.
D) several kinds of elementary atoms that could combine to form an almost infinite variety of different compounds.

Answer 1

invisible particles of "fire," invisible particles of "air," and visible particles of material "earth."

Question 2

Descartes accounted mechanistically for emotional influences on behavior by postulating

A) currents and "commotions" in the reservoir of animal spirits.
B) learned reactions to external stimuli.
C) variations in the intensity with which stimuli strike the senses.
D) an "emotional" soul.

Answer 2

currents and "commotions" in the reservoir of animal spirits.

Question 3

In Descartes's theory of the reflex mechanism,stimuli are transmitted to the brain by means of __________,and responses are initiated by __________.

A) columns of "light" particles; the dispersion of heat to the proper muscle
B) hydraulic pressure in a sensory nerve; hydraulic pressure in a motor nerve
C) tugs and pulls on filaments through nerves; the flow of animal spirits through the nerves and into the muscles
D) hydraulic pressure in the fluid within the nerve; tugs on the filaments within the nerves, connected to the muscles

Answer 3

tugs and pulls on filaments through nerves; the flow of animal spirits through the nerves and into the muscles

Question 4

When Descartes found he could doubt everything except the reality of his doubting itself,he gained immediate reassurance of the

A) trustworthiness of his senses.
B) immortality of his soul.
C) reality of his rational mind.
D) existence of the material world.

Question 5

According to Galileo,the characteristics of material particles-shape,quantity,and motion-were called

A) primary qualities.
B) secondary qualities.
C) innate qualities.
D) rational qualities.

Question 6

The hydraulically operated mechanical statues at St.Germain were important to Descartes because

A) the mythological scenes they represented directed his attention toward important psychological problems.
B) they suggested the idea that animal bodies could be understood mechanistically as automata.
C) they inspired him to construct some experimental hydraulic models of his own.
D) they suggested the idea that blood constantly circulates through the body.

Question 7

In the Treatise of Man,Descartes provided mechanistic explanations for all the following functions EXCEPT

A) reason.
B) memory.
C) sensation.
D) imagination.

Question 8

Descartes's mathematical invention,which integrated algebra and geometry,is called

A) analytic geometry.
B) Cartesian analysis.
C) differential calculus.
D) dioptric.

Question 9

The only "simple natures" Descartes discerned when he applied his method to the analysis of the physical world were the concepts of

A) subjects and objects.
B) sensations and perceptions.
C) minds and bodies.
D) extension and motion.

Question 10

Descartes believed that animals were

A) identical to humans in most essential qualities.
B) mechanical automata, lacking consciousness.
C) psychologically similar to human beings, except less complicated.
D) so different from human begins as to be worthless as scientific subjects.

Question 11

Where did Descartes localize the most important interactions between the body and the soul?

A) throughout the brain
B) throughout the body
C) in the pineal gland
D) nowhere, because they cannot interact in space

Question 12

Since Descartes's time,research has shown that

A) his theory of the body's mechanism was prophetically right in most respects.
B) his mechanistic theories were almost completely nonsense.
C) his theory of bodily mechanism was wrong in details but highly productive in its general implications.
D) the body and mind do interact in the middle of the brain.

Question 13

Descartes believed that the

A) body usually dominates the mind.
B) mind usually dominates the body.
C) body really is the mind.
D) body and mind interact and mutually influence each other, with neither always dominating.

Question 14

The first rule of Descartes's method,providing the equivalent of the geometric axioms,was to

A) doubt everything.
B) keep precise records of all observations.
C) systematically manipulate one variable at a time.
D) proceed deductively by syllogistic reasoning.

Question 15

Galileo defined secondary qualities as

A) qualities that do not reside inherently in matter but arise only after the primary qualities impinge on the human senses.
B) qualities that reside inherently in matter, such as shape, quantity, and motion.
C) the only two properties of physical phenomena that could not be further analyzed or doubted.
D) qualities that are inherently innate.

Question 16

The ideas that young Descartes had at Ulm,which transformed his life and really started him on his vocation as a philosopher and scientist,were primarily about

A) the reflex.
B) the mind-body dichotomy.
C) a method for obtaining knowledge.
D) the passions.

Question 17

Descartes believed that concepts such as "unity," "infinity," or "perfection," which cannot be represented by single sensory impressions,were which of the following?

A) abstractions created out of many different sensory experiences
B) innate ideas of the rational soul
C) illusions having no basis in reality
D) reverberations in nerves continuing after the cessation of sensory impressions

Question 18

Descartes hypothesized that the state of __________ occurs when the brain is relatively emptied of animal spirits,so that its nerve fibers are slack and only infrequently capable of transmitting stimulation.

A) depression
B) passion
C) reflection and memory
D) sleep and dreaming

Question 19

Descartes hypothesized that when the pineal gland is moved by eddies and currents in the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds it,

A) it causes all the nerves in the brain to be more open to the passage of animal spirits.
B) the soul becomes conscious of a passion.
C) the soul becomes conscious of an innate idea.
D) the body is immediately set into motion.

Question 20

According to Descartes's theory of visual perception,the

A) mind's conscious perception bears no necessary relationship to the real observed object.
B) mind's conscious perception is a nearly perfect replica of the real observed object.
C) relationship between perception and object is inconsequential, so long as mechanical action is initiated.
D) conscious perception is an inverted, double copy of the observed object.

Question 21

Descartes believed that the passions were the

A) conscious experiences of the body's emotions.
B) unconscious experience of the body's emotions.
C) consciousness of a separation between the mind and body.
D) body's unconscious reaction to emotions before they became conscious.

Question 22

In Locke's terminology,sensory impressions such as sounds,colors,temperatures,tastes,and odors are called

A) primary qualities.
B) secondary qualities.
C) sensitive qualities.
D) simple natures.

Question 23

Locke's and Leibniz's careers were alike in that both of them were

A) trained as lawyers.
B) trained as physicians.
C) dependent on wealthy patrons.
D) independently wealthy.

Question 24

For Locke,the primary qualities of objects

A) truly exist within the objects themselves.
B) are imposed on objects by our senses.
C) are contrary to Descartes's "simple natures."
D) are the foundation of complex ideas.

Question 25

Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia had an important intellectual friendship with Descartes and,while she was highly impressed by Descartes's writings,she disagreed with him on

A) how the immaterial mind and the material body interacted.
B) his theory of doubt.
C) the importance of the reflex in his theory of mind.
D) his theory of emotion.

Question 26

All of the following are considered members of the "British associationist" tradition of mental philosophy EXCEPT

A) George Berkeley.
B) Richard Busby.
C) David Hume.
D) David Hartley.

Question 27

When Gottfried Leibniz first read John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding,what was his reaction?

A) He was impressed but felt that Locke's empiricism went too far.
B) He was impressed but felt that Locke's rationalism went too far.
C) He was disdainful and felt that Locke's reputation was greatly overrated.
D) He saw Locke as a natural ally and began a fruitful correspondence with him.

Question 28

Locke's initial purpose in writing his Essay Concerning Human Understanding was to discover

A) how to evaluate differing religious doctrines.
B) what kind of correct knowledge the human mind was and was not capable of acquiring.
C) what kind of governmental system would produce the greatest general welfare.
D) what philosophical system was best supported by the new scientific research.

Question 29

Locke's version of the Social Contract Theory differed from that of his predecessor Hobbes in which way?

A) Hobbes saw the contract as a formal written document, whereas for Locke it was a more informal agreement between the government and the governed.
B) Locke saw the contract as a formal written document, whereas for Hobbes it was a more informal agreement between the government and the governed.
C) Locke's version assumed the contract was a more rational choice by the governed, who could break the contract under conditions of severe governmental abuse.
D) Locke's version assumed that the authority granted to the government by the governed was absolute and had to be obeyed under all circumstances.

Question 30

Locke withheld publication of Two Treatises of Government and Essay Concerning Human Understanding for many years primarily because

A) he was unable prove his hypotheses.
B) he felt it would be politically dangerous to publish them.
C) the Whig party did not support his ideas.
D) his employer Shaftesbury did not agree with them.

Question 31

Locke suggested a __________ as a metaphor for the human mind at birth.

A) tabula rasa or blank slate
B) mechanical statue
C) veined slab of marble
D) mechanical calculating machine

Question 32

Who was an early scientist who initiated the practice of bringing together groups of investigators for scientific discussions?

A) John Locke
B) William Molyneux
C) Anthony Ashley Cooper
D) Robert Boyle

Question 33

Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding asserted that the mind is

A) furnished with all of its ideas from experience.
B) like a veined slab of marble.
C) constantly active.
D) full of innate ideas.

Question 34

Locke's Complex Ideas were defined as

A) ideas produced when simple ideas are combined by the mind in varying combinations.
B) the resulting thoughts when simple ideas are broken down into their minute details.
C) impressions such as redness, loudness, coldness, or saltiness.
D) specific results of critical thinking and problem solving.

Question 35

When we recognize the difference (disagreement)between things,for example differentiating something black from something white,Locke would say we are using what type of knowledge?

A) intuitive knowledge
B) simple knowledge
C) complex knowledge
D) demonstrative knowledge

Question 36

For Locke,the largest amount of human knowledge was of which type?

A) intuitive
B) demonstrative
C) sensitive
D) practical

Question 37

The hypothetical question of whether a man who was blind from birth but suddenly granted the gift of sight would immediately be able to distinguish a sphere from a cube without touching them was posed to Locke by__________,whose answer was __________.

A) Thomas Willis; no he could not
B) Gottfried Leibniz; yes he could
C) Gottfried Leibniz; no he could not
D) William Molyneux; no he could not

Question 38

Legend has it that Descartes did much of his best thinking

A) in the library.
B) during long walks on the moors.
C) in bed.
D) while debating others.

Question 39

Locke's Simple Ideas were defined as

A) ideas based on stupid or misleading associations.
B) ideas based on numerous combinations of thought.
C) ideas based exclusively on primary qualities.
D) one's earliest ideas based on elementary sensations such as redness or coldness.

Question 40

Descartes's Treatise on the Passions of the Soul (1649)was highly influenced by his correspondence with

A) Marin Mersenne.
B) Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia.
C) Galileo.
D) William Harvey.

Question 41

In Leibniz's New Essays on Human Understanding he likened his own position to that of __________ and Locke's position to that of __________.

A) Plato; Socrates
B) Aristotle; Socrates
C) Aristotle; Plato
D) Plato; Aristotle

Question 42

Which two important mathematical discoveries were made by Leibniz as a young man in Paris?

A) binary arithmetic and the infinitesimal calculus
B) analytic geometry and the infinitesimal calculus
C) symbolic logic and functional trigonometry
D) binary arithmetic and analytic geometry

Question 43

Match the publication with its author.
Descartes

A)An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
B)New Essays on Human Understanding
C)Discourse on Method

Question 44

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
intuitive knowledge

A)knowledge obtained through deductive reasoning
B)knowledge obtained through patterns of sensory experiences
C)knowledge obtained through perceptions that are immediately obvious and true

Question 45

Match the description with the appropriate element of Descartes's philosophy.
animal spirits

A)clear yellowish fluid that fills the brain cavities
B)conscious awareness of one's emotions
C)ideas that derive from the nature of the thinking soul itself
D)properties of physical phenomena that could not be analyzed or doubted

Question 46

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
demonstrative knowledge

A)knowledge obtained through deductive reasoning
B)knowledge obtained through patterns of sensory experiences
C)knowledge obtained through perceptions that are immediately obvious and true

Question 47

Which of the following was one of Leibniz's favorite metaphors for the human mind at birth?

A) an unwound clock
B) a blank slate
C) an architect's plan
D) a veined slab of marble

Question 48

Leibniz referred to the rules of arithmetic,the geometrical axioms,and the rules of logic as examples of what he called

A) necessary truths.
B) rational monads.
C) primary qualities.
D) innate ideas.

Question 49

Match the description with the appropriate element of Descartes's philosophy.
simple natures

A)clear yellowish fluid that fills the brain cavities
B)conscious awareness of one's emotions
C)ideas that derive from the nature of the thinking soul itself
D)properties of physical phenomena that could not be analyzed or doubted

Question 50

Leibniz met and was impressed by the philosopher__________,whose pantheism held that__________.

A) Hume; God is an independent being that controls the universe
B) Spinoza; God is the entire universe
C) Hume; there is no God
D) Spinoza; there are many Gods

Question 51

Match the publication with its author.
Locke

A)An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
B)New Essays on Human Understanding
C)Discourse on Method

Question 52

Match the description with the appropriate element of Descartes's philosophy.
passions

A)clear yellowish fluid that fills the brain cavities
B)conscious awareness of one's emotions
C)ideas that derive from the nature of the thinking soul itself
D)properties of physical phenomena that could not be analyzed or doubted

Question 53

Match the description with the appropriate element of Descartes's philosophy.
innate ideas

A)clear yellowish fluid that fills the brain cavities
B)conscious awareness of one's emotions
C)ideas that derive from the nature of the thinking soul itself
D)properties of physical phenomena that could not be analyzed or doubted

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT part of Leibniz's definition of monads?

A) They are units that contain within themselves directed energies or forces.
B) They are units that have capacities to perceive and register impressions of the rest of the world.
C) They are the ultimate units making up the universe.
D) They are infinitely divisible into ever smaller parts.

Question 55

Leibniz defined apperception as the

A) process by which perceptions are accompanied by self-awareness and interpreted in terms of underlying laws and principles.
B) process by which sensations in consciousness are responded to in light of prior learning and experience.
C) experiencing of two or more ideas, either simultaneously or in rapid succession.
D) combination or association of two simpler ideas into a more complex one.

Question 56

Match the publication with its author.
Leibniz

A)An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
B)New Essays on Human Understanding
C)Discourse on Method

Question 57

Leibniz's sentient monads are presumably dominant in __________,while rational monads reside in __________.

A) plants; higher animals
B) animals; human beings
C) everything in the universe; human beings
D) all plants and animals; God

Question 58

Leibniz proposed all of the following features of "minute perceptions" EXCEPT

A) they are characteristic of bare monads.
B) they can be responsible for unconscious motivational effects.
C) they are experienced only by animals and humans.
D) when aggregated in large numbers, they can become conscious.

Question 59

Which of the following is least consistent with Leibniz's conception of the universe?

A) It is composed of material particles in motion and their interaction with each other.
B) It is a hierarchically organized organic entity.
C) Its major features include continuity and change.
D) It was partly inspired by a view through a microscope.

Question 60

Leibniz agreed with Locke that "There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses," with the exception of what?

A) the emotions
B) the mind itself
C) the bare monads
D) imagination

Question 61

Match the description with the appropriate element of Leibniz's theory of monads.
rational monads

A)form material objects when clustered together
B)controls and contains the entirety of the universe
C)possess capacity for simple perception
D)the soul or mind of human beings

Question 62

Match the definition with the philosophical term.
apperception

A)basic units of the universe conceived as energetic and purposeful entities with ca-pacity for awareness
B)ideas consciously experienced and rationally analyzed in terms of underlying principals and laws
C)innate principles for analyzing experiences logically and mathematically
D)extended particles and motion,conceived as the most elementary properties of physical phenomena

Question 63

Match the female correspondent with the philosopher.
Leibniz

A)Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham
B)Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
C)Sophie the Countess Palatine and Sophie Charlotte

Question 64

Match the achievement with the philosopher.
Locke

A)developed analytic geometry
B)developed infinitesimal calculus
C)served as physician to Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper

Question 65

Match the description with the appropriate element of Leibniz's theory of monads.
bare monads

A)form material objects when clustered together
B)controls and contains the entirety of the universe
C)possess capacity for simple perception
D)the soul or mind of human beings

Question 66

Match the philosopher with the term with which he is associated.
interactive dualism

A)Benedict Spinoza
B)George Berkeley
C)René Descartes
D)Thomas Hobbes

Question 67

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
sensations

A)experiences of objects in the external world
B)experiences of the mind's own operations
C)ideas that come from basic sensations or reflections
D)the linking together of similar or contiguously experienced ideas

Question 68

Match the philosopher with the term with which he is associated.
social contract

A)Benedict Spinoza
B)George Berkeley
C)René Descartes
D)Thomas Hobbes

Question 69

Match the achievement with the philosopher.
Leibniz

A)developed analytic geometry
B)developed infinitesimal calculus
C)served as physician to Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper

Question 70

Match the female correspondent with the philosopher.
Locke

A)Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham
B)Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
C)Sophie the Countess Palatine and Sophie Charlotte

Question 71

Match the description with the appropriate element of Leibniz's theory of monads.
sentient monads

A)form material objects when clustered together
B)controls and contains the entirety of the universe
C)possess capacity for simple perception
D)the soul or mind of human beings

Question 72

Match the achievement with the philosopher.
Descartes

A)developed analytic geometry
B)developed infinitesimal calculus
C)served as physician to Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper

Question 73

Match the female correspondent with the philosopher.
Descartes

A)Lady Damaris Cudworth Masham
B)Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
C)Sophie the Countess Palatine and Sophie Charlotte

Question 74

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
reflections

A)experiences of objects in the external world
B)experiences of the mind's own operations
C)ideas that come from basic sensations or reflections
D)the linking together of similar or contiguously experienced ideas

Question 75

Match the philosopher with the term with which he is associated.
British associationism

A)Benedict Spinoza
B)George Berkeley
C)René Descartes
D)Thomas Hobbes

Question 76

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
association of ideas

A)experiences of objects in the external world
B)experiences of the mind's own operations
C)ideas that come from basic sensations or reflections
D)the linking together of similar or contiguously experienced ideas

Question 77

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
sensitive knowledge

A)knowledge obtained through deductive reasoning
B)knowledge obtained through patterns of sensory experiences
C)knowledge obtained through perceptions that are immediately obvious and true

Question 78

Match the description with the appropriate element of Leibniz's theory of monads.
supreme monad

A)form material objects when clustered together
B)controls and contains the entirety of the universe
C)possess capacity for simple perception
D)the soul or mind of human beings

Question 79

Match the description with the appropriate element of Locke's philosophy.
simple ideas

A)experiences of objects in the external world
B)experiences of the mind's own operations
C)ideas that come from basic sensations or reflections
D)the linking together of similar or contiguously experienced ideas

Question 80

Match the philosopher with the term with which he is associated.
pantheism

A)Benedict Spinoza
B)George Berkeley
C)René Descartes
D)Thomas Hobbes