Philosophy Unit Test: Study Guide
Unit 1: Intro:
What is Philosophy? -
def’ns (Quinton, Greeks, Pascal, Wikipedia etc.), guidelines for thinking philosophically
by Barcalow & Almond & Russell,
purpose/value of Phil. (ex. Hoekema, Russell, etc.)
How to evaluate/judge phil. positions: “Barcalow’s meatgrinder” & other “tools” (ex. Ockham’s Razor, etc.)
Area/Fields of Phil. – 6 – def’ns, typical “big questions” asked/explored
“The Matrix”: how/why philosophical? Proof?
Thought experiments – def’n, purpose, examples of, literal vs. philosophical meaning (ex. Ship of Theseus/
Wildfong’s Porsche, Bluenose II, etc.)
Early thinkers
– Thales, Pre-Socratics, Sophists – key ideas, project, method, conclusions, significance?
- Socrates/Plato – why so different? - Project, Method, Conclusions, Significance ?
- “All philosophy is but a footnote to Plato.” – meaning?
- Crito/Ion/ Apologia: Socratic Method, dialectic
Unit 2: Logic
Terms: logic, argument, premise(s), conclusion, syllogism, fallacy, valid vs. invalid, sound(ness), etc.
Logic puzzles:
examples, techniques employed to solve
Constructing syllogisms: rules, re-casting arguments, recognizing problems in construction, steps to follow in
evaluating validity, soundness, reasonableness
Deductive logic: def’n., types of syllogisms (3), formulae for building, “tells”, real world examples, warning signs
to watch for
“Argument Clinic”, “Witch Scene”
Inductive logic: def’n vs. deduction, types (3), examples to illustrate
“A Study in Pink”
Fallacies – def’n, Tree of Truth vs. Roots of B.S.
- main types (5), common examples of each type (11 in total), real world examples to illustrate
Unit 3: Metaphysics
Def’n: key questions to explore
“What’s Real/Reality? Positions: Idealism, Realism, Materialism, Hylomorphism,
Supernaturalism, Naturalism, Unified Reality Theory
cont’d...
: Taoism : key ideas, outlook, attitudes, behaviors, Lao Tzu, Tai Chi,
“Wu Wei Wu”, etc.
“What am I/We?”
Descartes: Meditations on First Phil., “Cogito, ergo sum.”, Dualism vs. Monism
Self: 4 theories of the Self, self-deception vs. self- knowledge
Personhood – Lt. Cmdr. Data, “The Measure of a Man”
- key Philosophers from text (ex. Locke, Warren, etc.) – requirements for
“personhood” & implications of your def’n
“What am I doing here?”
Heidegger: “Being & Time”, Das Sein, Das Nichts, Das Gerede, They Self,
Geworfenheit, Eigenlichtkeit vs. Uneigenlichtkeit
: School of Life Youtube clip – why spend time in graveyards?
“Plan and Planner? Theism vs. Atheism vs….?”
Supreme Being – “isms” (Deisim, Pantheism, etc.)
- arguments for (Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological,
Pascal, Leibniz, Aquinas’ “5 Proofs”, etc.)
- arguments against (Neitzsche, Marx, Sartre, Freud, Mackie,
science)
- Nietzsche’s response to “God is dead”?
“What Do I do Now? Anything? Nothing?”
Theist vs. Atheist answers (“Follow The Plan vs….?”)
Free Will? – Solomon article “Freedom and Responsibility”:
- fatalism, predestination (hard determinism), Newton’s “new” determinism,
The Conscious Stone, indeterminism, compatibilism (soft determinism),
“the anatomy of action”, free choice, Existentialism, role of education in
free choice
“What’s the Point? Meaning of Life?”
Nihilism - Schopenhauer’s, Kierkegaard’s, Camus’, Sartre’s responses to it
Absurdism & Suicide - Camus’ argument/answer to “THE fundamental
question of philosophy”
Myth of Sisyphus – why is Sisyphus a hero?
Blackburn article: transcendent vs. immanent meaning,
meaning of life vs. meaning for life, etc.
“I
Huckabees” – meanings, key scenes & connections to larger
metaphys. ideas, theories, thinkers
Unit 4: Epistemology
Def’n – typical questions asked, why epist. matters – practical examples (ex. Computer Chip case)
Opinion vs. True Belief vs. Justified true belief vs. Knowledge - requirements for
knowledge ?
– specific analogies to illustrate (ex. PM’s last name, rocks, yellow convertible,
etc.)
- a priori vs. a posteriori knowledge, direct vs. indirect knowledge, cont’d…
competence vs. propositional knowledge,
foundationalism vs. anti-foundationalism
Major schools: Rationalism vs. Empricism - key thinkers: Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Aquinas, Locke,
Hume – ideas on the process of “how do you come to know something ?”
Kant’s “unity of consciousness” theory, Phenomenalism, ASD/Asperger’s
Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences – types, examples
“Memento” – key scenes & connections to epist. ideas, theories
Truth: : 3 main theories (Correspondence, Coherence, Pragmatic, Non-Propositional Truth) –
Makinster’s lecture
: Fernandez-Armesto’s case on the necessity of search for truth
Unit 5: Ethics
Terms:
ethics, morality, ethical vs. un (non) – ethical, theories of action vs. theories of character
vs. theories of value, Golden Mean (Nicomachean ethics), Golden Rule of
Confucianism, moral dilemma, virtue, ethical absolutist vs. ethical relativist vs. ethical
universalist, categorical imperative, common good, situational ethics,
moral agent, consequentialist vs. non-consequentialist
Key questions, ethical perspectives on:
Thinkers/Schools:
Why do the right thing ?
What is a “good” life ?
What is a “good” person ?
What is the “right” thing to do ?
by
Buddhism, Confucianism/Taoism, Hedonism, Stoicism, Virtue Ethicist,
Existentialist, Divine Command Ethics, Utilitarianism (Rule vs. Act),
Kantian (Deontological) Ethicist, Egoist, Intuitionist, Post -Modernist
Seminars: Examples that can be used to illustrate application of ethical standpoints/schools/thinkers to
real world issues/controversies
Thinking/Acting Ethically: Kohlberg’s theory, “Sophie’s Choice”, Midgeley’s concerns, Harm Principle,
situational ethics (Fletcher)
“Waking Life” –applying specific aesthetic theories/isms/thinkers to specific parts of movie