Philosophy – Mock Exam
What to study
Lesson 1 (all)
What is the definition of philosophy – love of wisdom (Philos + sofia)
What is analytic and what is speculative philosophy?
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Analytic – the sole purpose of philosophy is to analyse concepts, emphasizing
meaning over truth. The issue is not so much what is true but what it does
mean. Clarifying and defining. Analytic philosophy is descriptive meaning that
it describes what the case is.
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Speculative – yes to the meaning but we also be arriving at some principles
about the world. Speculative is prescriptive meaning we look at what the
case is but also what it should be.
What are some characteristics of philosophy
 Philosophy rarely deals with facts but concerned with value
 Philosophy is more often concerned with method than content
 One of the chief goals of philosophy is clarification eg. love is a vague word.
What do we mean by love?
 Philosophy examines and evaluates. Nothing is taken for granted
Lesson 2 (all)
What is the importance of philosophy? Just name two or three reasons.
1.
Examination and evaluation
2.
Clarification of thought
3.
Argumentation
4.
Systemization of knowledge
5.
Practical value
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Lesson 3
1. Name three main branches of philosophy and explain what they
are about
Metaphysics - Deals with matters of reality and existence.
Epistemology - Deals with the investigation of knowledge and truth claims
Axiology – Deals with what is value or what is goodness
2. Definition of logic
Logic reflects upon the nature of thinking itself. Philosophy is thinking
about things but Logic is how do we think about things. Logic is the tool or
methodology of doing philosophy. You cannot do philosophy without logic.
All branches depend on the laws of logic
3. Name one law of logic and explain what it is
The law of non-contradiction – something cannot both be and not be at the
same time and in the same respect.
The law of excluded middle – something either is or is not
The law of identity – Something is what it is
Lesson 4 (For the answers to these refer to your last test)
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Know the philosopher’s central theme
o Thales of Miletus
o Laozi
o Pythagoras
o Confucius
o Heraclitus
o Protagoras
o Socrates
o Plato
o Aristotle
o Diogenis
What did Protagoras mean by ‘man is the measure of all things’?
Evaluate this and give its weaknesses and strengths.
What is Aristotle’s syllogism. Give an example
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Lesson 5
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Socrates – Why and how he died?
Socrates accepted to be executed because his contemporaries did not want him
around, challenging their thoughts. He was given the choice of renouncing his
philosophy and being exiled OR to hold on to his ideas and die. He chose to die.
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What he meant by ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’
Socrates was a restless inquisitive seeker of truth who would question everything
from a complex to the simplest matters of reality and experience in order to learn
more about the world. By his quote he means that somebody who does not choose
to examine life, to ask the right questions to seek for answers, is not a person who is
getting the most out of life and therefore that life is not worth living.
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What is the Socratic method?
Socrates had a way of asking questions to his fellow Athenians on their beliefs and
slowly slowly with his questions showing them that they were wrong in what they
proposed.
Then he would proceed to tell them his perception of the truth. His method tests
out possible answers to a question, rejecting any inconsistencies in logic and he
slowly slowly approaches the truth
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Name two main works of Plato?
The Republic and the Allegory of the Cave
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What is the Republic about?
The Republic’ is the most complete statement of Socrates’ beliefs (or how Plato
presents those beliefs). It centers around the meaning of justice and with that in
view present a system of beliefs about reality and human society.
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Briefly describe and explain the Allegory of the Cave or the Ship
of Thesseus
The ship of Theseus paradox by the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch.
Plutarch writes of Theseus ( the founder-king of Athens) returning from a long
voyage at sea. Throughout the voyage, all of the old, decaying planks of wood
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the ship was made of were thrown overboard and replaced with new, strong
pieces of wood. By the time Theseus and his crew finally returned from their
ship, every piece of wood that the ship was made from had been replaced. This
leads to the question: Was the ship that they returned on the same ship that
they left on, even though it was made of completely different pieces of wood.
What if the ship still had one of the original pieces of wood in it? What if there
were two pieces of wood still in the ship? Would that change one’s answer?
Is our identity the same because of our structure? If that were the case, if you
were to lose a limb or even cut your hair, you wouldn’t be you anymore.
Is it because of your mind and feelings? If that were the case, are you no longer
yourself when you lose memories or have a change of heart?
Is it because of the parts we are made up of? Our history?
The ship of Theseus is really about identity and what makes us the people that
we are
The Allegory of the Cave
Plato has Socrates describe a gathering of people who have lived chained to the wall
of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected
on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to designate
names to these shadows. The shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing
reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the
cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality
at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen
by the prisoners.
The allegory may be related to Plato's Theory of Forms, according to which the
"Forms" (or "Ideas"), and not the material world of change known to us through
sensation, possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality. Only knowledge
of the Forms constitutes real knowledge.[1] Socrates informs Glaucon that the most
excellent must learn the greatest of all studies, which is to behold the Good. Those
who have ascended to this highest level, however, must not remain there but must
return to the cave and dwell with the prisoners, sharing in their labors and honors.
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What did Plato mean by the Theory of Forms
Plato divided the world into two :
The world of beings - Transcendent beyond space and time, unchanging world,
can only be perceived intellectually. This world stays the same. It is perceived in
our minds.
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And the world of becoming - In space and time, everyday world, constantly
changing and you perceive it with your senses.
The world of BEING is full of forms that are the causes of the particular things
in the world of BECOMING.
All things have essences/forms and these are located in the world of being. The
world of being is full of ideas.
This points to the belief in a world above space and time, a world of eternal and
absolute beings, corresponding to every kind of thing that there is and causing in
particular things their essential nature.
Lesson 7
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What are Francis Bacon’s four idols. Name and briefly explain them
These are the “idols of the tribe”, the tendency of human beings as a species (or
tribe) to generalize. False notions in our human nature that are common to
everyone. Eg. human nature forces people to seek out evidence that supports
their own conclusions, causes people to try to have things fit into patterns and
causes beliefs to be affected by what people want to believe.
Idols of the cave – the human tendency to impose preconceptions on nature
rather than to see what is really there. Eg. Some people may favor similarities
whereas others favor differences
Idols of the marketplace – our tendency to let social conventions distort our
experience. Eg. Words can have a variety of meanings, and people have the ability
to name and imagine things that do not actually exist.
Idols of theatre – the distorting influence of prevailing philosophical and
scientific dogma. He believed that philosophers weren’t any better than plays. To
him, sophistic philosophy like the work of Aristotle focused more on smart but
foolish arguments rather than the natural world.
Extra question
What is the prisoner’s dilemma and what can you learn from it?
In the traditional version of the game, the police have arrested two suspects and are
interrogating them in separate rooms. Each can either confess, thereby implicating
the other, or keep silent. No matter what the other suspect does, each can improve
his own position by confessing. If the other confesses, then one had better do the
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same to avoid the especially harsh sentence that awaits a recalcitrant holdout. If
the other keeps silent, then one can obtain the favorable treatment accorded a
state’s witness by confessing. Thus, confession is the dominant strategy for each.
But when both confess, the outcome is worse for both than when both keep silent.
The concept of the prisoners’ dilemma was developed by RAND Corporation
scientists Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher and was formalized by Albert W. Tucker,
a Princeton mathematician.
This dilemma makes us think about the rules by which we play in life. Do we look at
our self interest and that alone or do we look at the interests of others. Can we
achieve more by cooperating and not fighting each other? Do we need to redefine
everything in life?
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