HU2700: Exam 2
Spring, 2003
Answer the following questions. Read all directions and questions carefully. Illegible
answers will receive no credit.
Part I. Fill-in-the-blank: For each of the following sentences, find the item in the
attached list that best completes the sentence. Note that not all items in the list will be
used. Some items may be used to answer more than one question. Give your answers by
writing the letters corresponding to the correct answers to the questions—1. a, 2. bb, etc.
Write your answers in the space provided on the last page of the exam questions (2 points
each)
1. According to Locke, at birth the mind is a(n) ________ containing no ideas.
2. Ideas that exist in the mind from birth are ________ ideas.
3. The area of philosophy that is concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of
knowledge is ________.
4. The view that there is an external world that we perceive and that exists
independently of our perception of it is ________.
5. The view that determinism is not inconsistent with the existence of free will and
moral responsibility is ________.
6. Kant’s name for objects as they are constituted in our sensory experience is
“________”.
7. Hume’s name for the more lively perceptions is “________”.
8. The view that knowledge of the world is impossible is ________.
9. According to Kant, knowledge is a combination of content and ________.
10. The view that reality is fundamentally mental or spiritual in nature is ________.
11. According to Locke, properties of an object that inhere in the object itself (rather
than in our perception of it) are ________ qualities.
12. The view that every event is the inevitable consequence of antecedent events is
________.
13. The view that the source of all our knowledge of the world is sensory experience
is ________.
14. The images or sensory impressions that are the immediate contents of sensory
experience are called “________” by Hume.
15. The view that reason alone provides us with significant knowledge of the world is
________.
16. Knowledge whose source is sensory experience is ________ knowledge.
17. The view that reality has more than one fundamental component is ________.
18. The ________ says that a machine achieves human intelligence if we are unable
to distinguish its responses from those of human beings.
19. The view that because determinism is false, free will exists is ________.
20. The view that all of reality is fundamentally material or physical is ________.
Part II. Answer one question from each of the 3 following groups of questions (for a total
of 3 questions). Indicate clearly which questions you are answering. Make your answers
concise but complete. Avoid irrelevant discussion. Say exactly what you mean. Do not
expect the grader to interpret your writing or to “read between the lines.” Write your
answers on separate sheets (20 points each)
Group A
1. State in detail one of the main arguments against materialism. (Hint: The
conclusion of the argument should be “Materialism is false.”) Explain precisely
how the argument is supposed to work. Is the argument valid? Why or why not?
Be specific. [Reminder: A valid argument is one for which it is inconceivable
that both the premises are all true and the conclusion is false.]
2. State in detail one of the main arguments against dualism. (Hint: The conclusion
of the argument should be “Dualism is false.”) Explain precisely how the
argument is supposed to work. Is the argument valid? Why or why not? Be
specific.
Group B
3. What exactly is the problem of personal identity? What are the four main
theories of the self? Pick one of those theories and state the main considerations
supporting and denying that theory. Be specific.
4. Pick either determinism, libertarianism, or compatibilism. State one of the main
arguments supporting that view. (Hint: The conclusion of the argument should
be “Determinism/libertarianism/compatibilism is true.”) Then state one of the
main arguments denying that view. (Hint: The conclusion of the argument
should be “Determinism/libertarianism/compatibilism is false.”) Be specific.
Group C
5. Compare and contrast the epistemological theories of Locke, Berkeley, and
Hume. For each of the three, explain in detail why he was an empiricist. Did
they disagree about our knowledge of the continued existence of ordinary
physical objects? If so, explain in detail the nature of their disagreement.
6. How did Hume’s epistemological views led to skepticism? Explain in detail.
What sorts of things was he skeptical about? How did Kant attempt to avoid
Hume’s skeptical conclusions? Explain in detail.
Name _______________________
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
a posteriori
a priori
analytic
antirealism
behaviorism
Berkeley, George
body
Buddhism
bundle of
perceptions
category
causality
clear and distinct
ideas
compatibilism
consciousness
content
contingent
continued existence
continuity
Copernican
revolution in
knowledge
t.
u.
v.
w.
Descartes, Rene
determinism
dualism
eliminative
materialism
x. empiricism
y. epistemology
z. external
aa. form
bb. functionalism
cc. Hume, David
dd. idealism
ee. identity theory
ff. impressions
gg. innate
hh. Kant, Immanuel
ii. libertarianism
jj. Locke, John
kk. materialism
ll. memory
mm. metaphysics
nn. mind
oo. mind-body
problem
Answers to Part I Questions:
1. ____
6. ____
11. ____
16. ____
2. ____
7. ____
12. ____
17. ____
3. ____
8. ____
13. ____
18. ____
4. ____
9. ____
14. ____
19. ____
5. ____
10. ____
15. ____
20. ____
pp.
qq.
rr.
ss.
tt.
uu.
vv.
ww.
xx.
yy.
zz.
aaa.
bbb.
ccc.
ddd.
eee.
fff.
ggg.
hhh.
iii.
jjj.
no-self view
noumena
perceptions
personal identity
phenomena
pineal gland
primary
rationalism
realism
reason
reductionism
secondary
self
sense data
skepticism
solipsism
soul
synthetic
tabula rasa
thought experiment
transcendental
idealism
kkk. Turing test