Philosophy 302 (Great Philosophers)
Midterm study sheet – Midterm, March 10, 2015
Short answer questions. The following is a list of many of the key terms and concepts we
have discussed so far in class. Use this list to prepare for the short answer section of the
midterm. There will be 10 short answer questions on the exam, of which you are to
answer 8 (5 points each).
Categories
Subjects and predicates
Potentiality - actuality
Four causes
Unmoved mover
Types of soul
Primary substance
teleology
virtue and vice
intellectual and moral virtue
self-sufficiency (happiness)
necessary/contingent existence
one substance
God is Nature
Spinoza on final cause/miracles
mathematics and imagination
freedom
God’s power is his essence
ratio of motion/rest
parallelism
what can a body do?
free will
Essay question. Two of the following three will be on the midterm. You are to write an
essay on one of the two (60 points).
1. In the Categories Aristotle distinguishes between primary and secondary
substance. What is this distinction and how does it lay a foundation for the
arguments Aristotle will later make in his Physics and Metaphysics? Note: there is
more than one correct way to go about addressing these questions (just be sure to
be clear and explicit in your discussions).
2. In many ways Spinoza falls in line with traditional conceptions of God, but then
he takes a sharp turn away from the tradition. In this essay set forth both the
traditional understanding of God and then detail how Spinoza both adheres to and
breaks from this tradition. In the context of this essay, explain why Spinoza would
argue that his philosophy is actually more faithful to the glory of God than
traditional accounts are.
3. In a controversial move in Part II of his Ethics, Spinoza argues that we have no
free will. What is his argument for this claim? What are some of the objections to
Spinoza’s position and how does he respond to them? Finally, how does Spinoza
account (or how do you think he would account) for the belief we have in our
possession of a will that is free?