Question 1

Descartes' method can be used for proving what you already know.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 2

Descartes raises the possibility of the existence of an "evil genius" in order to demonstrate that:

Accepted Answer

A)   a non-deceiving God exists.
B)   he might be deceived even when he reasons that 2+3=5, or that a square has four sides.
C)   he can infer his existence from the fact that he is thinking.
D)   not every "genius" is morally good.
E)   beliefs obtained from the senses are uncertain. B

Question 3

According to Descartes' method of doubt, we can't be certain that the moon isn't made of cheese.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 4

The "epistemological turn" was completed when Hume published his Essay Concerning the Human Understanding.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Descartes' method of doubt tells us to:

Accepted Answer

A)   doubt everything except truths of arithmetic and logic.
B)   accept nothing that is not beyond a reasonable doubt.
C)   accept only those beliefs that don't contradict what we already know.
D)   accept only those beliefs that can be deduced from things we already know.
E)   accept only what can be known with absolute certainty.

Question 6

Descartes starts the application of his method of doubt by:

Accepted Answer

A)   making an inventory of all his beliefs.
B)   positing the existence of an "evil genius."
C)   considering the certainty of each of his beliefs, one by one.
D)   attacking the foundations of all of his current beliefs.
E)   inferring his existence as a thinking thing.

Question 7

A key assumption of the Cogito Argument is that, when a proposition is asserted, someone must exist to make this assertion.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Kant believes that the categories allow us to know the world as it really is.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Descartes says we must doubt something if there is one chance in a billion that it's false.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

The first indubitable truth Descartes discovers in the Meditations is that:

Accepted Answer

A)   he exists, though he's not sure what he is.
B)   he exists, and is identical with his body.
C)   an all-powerful God exists.
D)   it's false that 2+3=5.
E)   an evil, deceiving "genius" exists.

Question 11

Descartes knows, by the end of the second Meditation, that he exists as a human with a body and soul.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Kant believed that the categories are innate in the human mind.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

The idea that the mind enters the world as a tabula rasa was first put forward by:

Accepted Answer

A)   the empiricist John Locke.
B)   the rationalist René Descartes.
C)   Plato.
D)   modern psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud.
E)   None of the above

Question 14

Hume believes there could be events that have no causes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

The "epistemological turn" began with Descartes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The two basic epistemological problems raised by Descartes were:

Accepted Answer

A)   the Cogito Argument and the tabula rasa.
B)   the problem of knowledge and the problem of belief.
C)   the problem of certainty and the problem of the sources of knowledge.
D)   empirical problems and rational problems.
E)   justification and reason.

Question 17

According to Locke, words that don't correspond to ideas in our minds are meaningless.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

"Either 7 is odd, or 7 is not odd," is an example of the Law of Contradiction.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Kant held that the central fact of our existence was consciousness.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

To say that an argument is valid means:

Accepted Answer

A)   its conclusion is true.
B)   it's widely accepted.
C)   its premises are plausible.
D)   its conclusion follows from its premises.
E)   Both A and D

Exam 2: Theory of Knowledge

Descartes' method can be used for proving what you already know.

Descartes raises the possibility of the existence of an "evil genius" in order to demonstrate that:

According to Descartes' method of doubt, we can't be certain that the moon isn't made of cheese.

The "epistemological turn" was completed when Hume published his Essay Concerning the Human Understanding.

Descartes' method of doubt tells us to:

Descartes starts the application of his method of doubt by:

A key assumption of the Cogito Argument is that, when a proposition is asserted, someone must exist to make this assertion.

Kant believes that the categories allow us to know the world as it really is.

Descartes says we must doubt something if there is one chance in a billion that it's false.

The first indubitable truth Descartes discovers in the Meditations is that:

Descartes knows, by the end of the second Meditation, that he exists as a human with a body and soul.

Kant believed that the categories are innate in the human mind.

The idea that the mind enters the world as a tabula rasa was first put forward by:

Hume believes there could be events that have no causes.

The "epistemological turn" began with Descartes.

The two basic epistemological problems raised by Descartes were:

According to Locke, words that don't correspond to ideas in our minds are meaningless.

"Either 7 is odd, or 7 is not odd," is an example of the Law of Contradiction.

Kant held that the central fact of our existence was consciousness.

To say that an argument is valid means: