PHILOSOPHY 101
MIDTERM #2 PRACTICE EXAM
INSTRUCTOR: WILBURN
SPRING 2008
TRUE/FALSE. MULTIPLE CHOICE AND SHORT ESSAY
Chapter 3 - Freedom and Determinism
True/False
1. Democritus, Lucretius, and Epicurus, were some of the earliest proponents of determinism. (T)
2. According to hard determinism, if nothing that people do were up to them, they still would
sometimes deserve our respect, admiration, gratitude, disdain, resentment, or other such attitudes.
(F)
3. According to the authors, modern science proves that every event has a cause. (F)
4. According to the authors, some events on the subatomic level are believed by scientists to be
uncaused. (T)
5. According to the authors, we cannot understand the world unless we assume that every event
has a cause. (F)
6. According to the authors, if indeterminism were true, free actions would be inexplicable. (T)
7. According to soft determinism, our belief that every event has a cause conflicts with our belief
that humans have free will. (F)
8. Traditional compatibilists would maintain that the actions of a kleptomaniac are just as free as
those of an ordinary thief. (T)
9. According to Frankfurt’s hierarchical compatibilism, a person can act freely even if their
second-order volitions are not up to them. (T)
10. According to the libertarian (agent causation theorist), it is possible to deliberate without
assuming that we have free will. (F)
11. In the final opinion of the authors, determinists have shown that all statements attributing an
action to an agent are reducible to statements describing causal relations between physical events.
(F)
1
12. According to libertarians, if all of the events leading up to your decision were repeated, it
would be possible for you to choose otherwise. (T)
13. According to Hierarchical Compatiblism, you are not responsible for your actions if they are
externally constrained. (F)
14. Traditional Compatibilists are considered Soft Determinists. (T)
15. John B. Watson was able to produce any desired behavior in animals and humans through
conditioning. (F)
16. D'Holbach argues that the past is fixed while the future is open to many possible outcomes. (F)
17. Laplace's Superbeing knows the exact future of the entire universe. (T)
18. For libertarians, real freedom consists in being able to act or choose differently in exactly the
same situation with exactly the same causal history. (T)
Multiple Choice (Correct answers are marked with an asterisk.)
19.
*
20.
*
D’Holbach’s hard determinism claimed that humans are
a.
fundamentally free.
b.
not free at any one instant of their lives.
c.
free in some situations and not free on other occasions.
d.
none of the above.
Martin Gardner’s random bombardier thought experiment shows that
a.
uncaused events in the micro world can never affect the macro world.
b.
causal determinism in the micro world is reflected in the macro world.
c.
uncaused events in the micro world can affect the macro world.
d.
none of the above.
21.
Who said, “…he is free to do a thing, that may do it if he have the will to do it, and may
forbear if he have the will to forbear”?
a.
John Locke.
b.
Walter Stace.
c.
Thomas Reid.
*
d.
Thomas Hobbes.
Richard Taylor’s ingenious physiologist thought experiment shows that
a.
traditional compatibilism is a sound theory of free action.
*
b.
traditional compatibilism must be wrong because actions can be caused by
someone’s will and be externally unconstrained and still not be free.
c.
traditional compatibilism must be wrong because some actions need not be caused
by the will.
22.
2
d.
traditional compatibilism is a valid theory of free action.
23.
According to the authors, Hierarchical compatibilism is superior to traditional
compatibilism because
a.
it can explain why those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders do not act
freely even thought their actions are internally caused and are not externally constrained.
b.
it can explain why animals are not usually considered to have free will.
c.
it provides an insight into why free will is such a valuable thing.
*
d.
all of the above.
24.
Thomas Reid’s libertarianism (agent-causation theory) maintained that compatibilism is
mistaken because
a.
compatibilism is a form of materialism.
b.
causal determinism and free will are two facets of the same thing.
*
c.
being able to do otherwise if you choose otherwise is not sufficient for free will, for
you may not be able to choose otherwise in the first place.
d.
none of the above.
25.
In the final opinion of the authors, the fact that our actions are intentional and that
intentionality cannot be reduced to physical or functional properties supports the idea of
a.
hard determinism.
*
b.
agent causation.
c.
event causation.
d.
indeterminism.
26. Hard Determinists reject which premise of the following argument?
P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
P2: Every event has a cause.
C:. There are no free actions.
a. P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
b. P2: Every event has a cause.
c. Both Premises
*d. Neither Premise
27. Incompatibilists reject which premise of the following argument?
P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
P2: Every event has a cause.
C:. There are no free actions.
*a. P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
b. P2: Every event has a cause.
c. Both Premises
d. Neither Premise
3
28. Causal determinism is the belief that ______.
*a. every event has a cause.
b. all events are completely disconnected from each other.
c. an effect cannot have more than one cause.
d. some events are uncaused.
e. all events are uncaused
29. According to the textbook, what is riding on the answer to the problem of free will and
determinism?
*a. moral and legal responsibility
b. the existence of God
c. the solution to the creation vs. evolution debate
d. justifying legitimate political authority
30. Hard determinists believe that
*a. there are no free actions.
b. many of our actions are free.
c. very few of our actions are free.
d. all of our actions are free.
e. causes play no role in human actions.
31. Which theory does the Merchant in Baghdad story illustrate?
*a. Fatalism
b. Hard Determinism
c. Traditional Compatibilism
d. Libertarianism
e. Hierarchical Compatibilism
32. Fatalism is the _____.
*a. idea that the future is fixed regardless of what we do.
b. idea that the future is open and uncertain.
c. fear of death.
d. study of death.
e. none of these
33. Which of God's attributes may initially seem to undermine free will?
*a. omniscience
b. omnibenevolence
c. none of these
4
d. immutability
34. In Samuel Butler's Erewhon, people who commit crimes are
a. enslaved by the families of the victims.
b. executed by the police without a trial.
c. put on public display at the zoo.
d. stoned to death.
*e. treated in hospitals.
35. Psychologists call the process of reinforcing certain behaviors using punishments and rewards
______ conditioning.
*a. operant
b. classical
c. selective
d. discipline
e. retreat
36. Sociobiologists believe that our behavior can be explained in terms of
a. political struggles.
*b. natural selection.
c. economic pressures.
d. social influences.
e. none of these
37. John Hick argues that hard determinism
a. is correct
*b. is self-refuting.
c. is a rational belief.
d. is the basis for intellectual freedom.
38. Indeterminists reject which premise of the following argument?
P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
P2: Every event has a cause.
C:. There are no free actions.
a. P1: If every event has a cause, then there are no free actions.
*b. P2: Every event has a cause.
c. Both Premises
d. Neither Premise
5
39. Quantum Mechanics holds that the behavior of _______ are uncaused events.
*a. subatomic particles
b. genes
c. igneous rocks
d. Martian soil
e. extinct species
40. Martin Gardner's random bombardier thought experiment shows that
a. uncaused events in the microworld can never affect the macroworld.
b. all macro events are the product of micro causes.
*c. uncaused events in the microworld can affect the macroworld.
d. the macro must be causally determined.
e. Geiger counters are causally determined time-keeping devices.
41. Causal indeterminism is the view that
a. all events have causes.
*b. some events are uncaused.
c. some events have more causes than we can find.
d. every event has only one cause.
e. every event has multiple causes.
42. William James, the leading proponent of indeterminism, defines free actions as
a. internally caused.
b. not externally constrained
*c. uncaused.
d. caused by the self.
e. sufficiently caused.
43. Taylor's Unpredictable Arm thought experiment shows that
a. we are responsible for our actions no matter what.
b. our actions are best explained as electromagnetic activity.
*c. we can't be held responsible for uncaused behavior.
d. even uncaused actions can be predicted.
44. A reflex differs from an action in that it lacks ____.
*a. intention
b. implications
c. impulse
d. reversibility
6
45. The view held by Hobbes that the world is composed entirely of matter in motion is called
____.
*a. materialism
b. fatalism
c. pluralism
d. unitarianism
e. catastrophism
46. Traditional Compatibilists believe that free actions have ____ causes.
*a. internal
b. external
c. no
d. supernatural
47. Locke's Trapped Conversationalist thought experiment provides an example of an action that is
a. externally constrained
b. caused by the will
c. unfree according to traditional compatibilism
*d. all of these
48. In Taylor's Ingenious Physiologist thought experiment, the agent's
*a. desires have planted in his will by someone else
b. actions are externally constrained
c. actions are not caused by his will
d. none of these
49. A direct cause of an action is called a _____ cause.
*a. proximal
b. distal
c. constrained
d. conjuncted
50. Frankfurt's decision inducer thought experiment shows that
*a. one can be held responsible for an action even if one couldn't do otherwise.
b. not every event has a cause.
c. desires are produced by external forces.
d. genetics plays a stronger role than environment in forming our character.
7
51. second-order desires are directed on ____.
a. persons
b. objects
c. states of affairs
*d. first-order desires
52. According to Frankfurt, the second-order desires which one decisively identifies with and
wants to act on are called
a. first-order desires
*b. second-order volitions
c. third-order desires
d. impulses
e. decision inducers
53. According to Hierarchical Compatibilism, which of Frankfurt's addicts acts freely?
*a. happy addict
b. wanton addict
c. unwilling addict
d. all of them
e. none of them
54. Hierarchial compatibilism explains why
a. drug addicts and people suffering from obsessive-compulsive do not act freely
b. animals do not have free will
c. people sometimes do not feel in control over their lives
*d. all of these
e. none of these
55. Michael Slote's Hypnotized Patient thought experiment shows that
*a. it is logically possible that our second-order desires are not our own.
b. first-order desires always conflict with second-order desires.
c. second-order desires are always under our own control, even under hypnosis.
d. we can be de-programmed of our first-order desires.
8
Chapter 4 - The Problem of Personal Identity
True-False
56. Two things are numerically identical when they have the same number of parts. (F)
57. The soul theory essentially maintains that souls are immortal. (F)
58. Scientists cannot explain why near-death experiences have caused some people to have the
sensation of leaving their bodies. (F)
59. According to animalism, a person who has undergone split brain surgery is still the same
person as before. (T)
60. Our bodies may contain atoms that once belonged to another human being. (T)
61. Resurrection is theoretically possible according to animalism. (T)
62. According to Locke, the identity conditions for persons are the same as for any mass of matter. (F)
63. Qualitative identity is a sufficient condition for numerical identity. (F)
Multiple Choice
(Correct answers are marked with an asterisk.)
64. According to St. Paul, a resurrected body in the afterlife will have all of the following qualities
except:
a. spiritual
b. imperishable
c. powerful
d. glorious
*e. transparent
65. If two things are numerically identical, then they
a. have the same number of parts.
*b. are one and the same thing.
c. are immutable.
d. must have different qualities.
9
e. are similar, but unrelated.
66. Which of the follow is an accidental property of a textbook?
*a. red cover
b. pages
c. words
d. binding
e. none of these
67. ______ conditions are those conditions that must be met in order for something to retain its
numerical identity over time.
*a. identity
b. quantitative
c. mathematical
d. relational
e. fixed
68. Properties: Enclosed plane geometric figure, Three exterior sides, and Interior angles add up to
180 degrees.
All of these are ______ properties of a triangle.
a. accidental
*b. essential
69. An essential property of a bicycle is
a. horn
b. red paint
c. reflectors
*d. two wheels
e. banana seat
70. According to Locke, what is essential for living organisms, such as oak trees, to retain their
identity over time is their:
*a. functional organization
b. soul
c. atoms
10
d. cells
72. Locke argued that answering the problem of personal identity is important for ____.
*a. moral responsibility
b. psycho-therapy
c. evolution
d. salvation
e. physics
73. The problem of personal identity is a species of the problem of _____.
*a. change
b. relativism
c. naturalism
d. evolution
e. creationism
74. The question of personal identity is a(n) _____ question.
*a. metaphysical
b. epistemological
c. aesthetic
d. theological
e. axiological
75. Locke’s Tale of the Prince and the Cobbler thought experiment shows that:
*a. persons are not identical to their bodies because of the possibility of body switches.
b. the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.
c. corruption occurs on all levels of society.
d. personal identity is irrelevant to moral responsibility.
e. a person is identical to his or her own body.
76. According to soul theory, souls are not:
a. located in space
b. material
c. perceivable
d. linked to any observable characteristics
11
*e. all of these
77. According to Hume's theory of meaning, a term is meaningful only if the ideas it stands for are
derived from:
*a. sensations
b. the Bible
c. theorems
d. physics
e. pre-cognition
78. Leibniz’s King of China thought experiment shows that
a. having the same body is a necessary condition for being the same person.
*b. having the same soul is not a sufficient condition for personal identity.
c. money and power do not buy immortality.
d. resurrection requires that the physical body not be cremated.
e. the body can be sold, but the soul belongs to God.
79. Which of the following is not consistent with animalism:
a.
judgments of personal identity are based on physical features.
b.
identical persons have identical bodies.
c.
identical persons have identical histories.
*
d.
identical bodies never change.
80. Reid's Brave Office and Senile General thought experiment shows that Locke's theory of
personal identity violates the principle of ______.
*a. transitivity
b. excluded middle
c. parsimony
d. uncertainty
e. relativity
81. A memory that you can consciously recall is called ____ memory.
*a. direct
b. indirect
c. evidential
d. veridical
e. non-veridical
12
82. A memory of an event that either didn't happen or that was not caused by the event it records is
a ____ memory.
a. real
*b. apparent
c. imposter
d. virtual
e. echo
83. Sydney Shoemaker tries to escape the circularity objection to memory theory by utilizing the
concept of ____-memories.
*a. quasi
b. pseudo
c. semi
d. linear
e. foundational
84. The desire for the Astros to win the World Series is called a ____ desire.
a. communal
b. social
c. personal
*d. impersonal
e. relative
85. According to the insufficiency objection to memory theory, our personal identity is determined
by our memories and our ____.
a. souls
b. bodies
c. brains
*d. desires
e. all of these
86. Patients who have undergone split brain surgery:
*a. develop two separate spheres of consciousness
b. rarely live longer than a week
c. are unable to look into a mirror
d. lose their emotions
13
e. have vivid and uncontrollable dreams
87. Which theory of personal identity rules out any sort of splitting?
*a. nonbranching
b. closest continuer
c. imperisible
d. sungular
e. thread
88. The numerical identity of a thing cannot depend on facts about other things. This is known as
the ______ principle.
*a. only X and Y
b. noncontradiction
c. excluded middle
d. uncertainty
e. parsimony
Essay Questions:
80. Does reflective common sense show that causal determinism is true?
Answer: No, it doesn’t, for at least two reasons. For one thing, even if we couldn’t make
intuitive sense of the world, that might only mean that the world is, in fact, incomprehensible to
creatures like us. For another thing, quantum mechanics (on at least one prominent reading)
provides an unprecedented understanding of nature, but without the assumption of causal
determinism.
81. What is Frankfurt’s decision inducer thought experiment? How does it attempt to undermine
the traditional understanding of responsibility?
Answer: In this thought experiment, we envision Black, who is able to effectively overrule any
decision that Jones may make, by forcing Jones to do his bidding. However, we further imagine
that Black never has to show his hand because Jones consistently makes the choices that Black
prefers him to make. The point of this thought experiment is that, even though Jones’s couldn’t
have done otherwise even if he had chosen to do otherwise, he is still responsible for his actions.
This supposedly shows that the second condition traditional compatibilism is flawed because it
isn’t necessary for free action.
82. What is the libertarian argument for free will?
14
Answer: (1) We all engage in deliberation.
(2) When we deliberate, we automatically assume that we have free will.
(3) Thus, it must be a common-sense belief of ours that we have free will.
83. What is Locke’s soul switch thought experiment? How does it attempt to undermine the soul
theory?
Answer: In this thought experiment, we are asked to envision one person’s spiritual substance
suddenly containing your own? The point of the thought experiment is that personal identity
seems to track one’s psychology (thoughts, feelings, memories), rather than one’s substance
(even one’s spiritual substance, if there is such a thing).
84. What does Locke mean by “In this personal identity is founded all the Right and Justice of
Reward and Punishment”?
Answer: He means that without personal identitity over time our ascriptions of praise and blame
would be unintelligible, since we can only praise or blame a person for things which have been
done by him or her at a previous time.
85. What, if any, puzzling phenomena or aspects of human individuality do souls explain?
Answer: The authors argue (quoting John Hick) that souls explain no puzzling aspects of
human individuality, at least to the extent that it explains nothing that cannot be more simply
and satisfactorily explained by considerations of heredity and environment. The authors use this
observation to support the claim that we should not believe in souls because their postulation
has no real explanatory value.
15