Deck 2: Appearance and Reality

Question 1

The "problem of the external world" is the problem of whether there exists one's own mind and its images.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Descartes hypothesized an evil demon to keep himself from doing sinful things.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The theory of direct realism is that we are in direct contact with private images coming to us from the external world.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

David Hume argues that we are not conscious of a Self.

Question 5

Nick Bostrom uses the phrase "post-human" to indicate a world in which everything has regressed to an early stage of evolution.

Question 6

The problem of solipsism is the problem of whether there exists

A) one's own mind.
B) one's own ideas.
C) an external world.
D) None of the above

Question 7

One difference between "Add Some More Boils" and "Why Don't You Just Wake Up" is that in "Add Some More Boils"

A) there is no external world.
B) there is an external world.
C) there are no minds.
D) None of the above

Question 8

John Locke believed that when we are awake the images/ideas we receive from the external world

A) completely resemble qualities of objects in that world.
B) partially resemble qualities of objects in that world.
C) have no resemblance to qualities of objects in that world.
D) None of the above

Question 9

George Berkeley believed in the existence of

A) God, minds, and physical objects.
B) minds and physical objects but no God.
C) God, minds, and no physical objects.
D) None of the above

Question 10

Which theory below denies the existence of one's own mind?

A) Subjective idealism
B) Representative realism
C) Solipsism
D) None of the above

Question 11

Which theory denies that we always perceive physical objects by means of mental images?

A) Indirect realism
B) Representative realism
C) Direct realism
D) None of the above

Question 12

Which of the following theories accords with the views of George Berkeley?

A) Direct realism
B) Representative realism
C) Subjective idealism
D) solipsism

Question 13

"My bewilderment is such that it is almost able to convince me that I am sleeping." This quotation is from

A) Plato.
B) Descartes.
C) David Hume.
D) Nick Bostrom.

Question 14

"One can easily imagine millions of individuals running thousands of variations on hundreds of themes, each containing billions of simulated individuals." This quotation is from

A) Plato.
B) Descartes.
C) David Hume.
D) Nick Bostrom.

Question 15

"Such qualities which in truth are nothing in the objects themselves but powers to produce various sensations in us by their primary qualities." This quotation is from

A) Wittgenstein
B) John Locke.
C) David Hume.
D) Nick Bostrom.

Question 16

"I may venture to affirm the rest of mankind that they are nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions." This quotation is from

A) Descartes.
B) John Locke.
C) George Berkeley.
D) David Hume.

Question 17

Wittgenstein's private language argument has been used as an argument against

A) direct realism.
B) representative realism.
C) solipsism.
D) None of the above

Question 18

To say that the mind is "substrate independent" is to say that it

A) is independent of other minds.
B) can be simulated very easily.
C) needn't be made from biological tissue.
D) None of the above

Question 19

"How can I be dreaming? Just now, I asked my friend if I was dreaming and she said 'No.'" The problem with this argument is that

A) my friend might be tricking me.
B) my friend may be part of my dream.
C) my friend may not understand philosophy.
D) None of the above

Question 20

Descartes's cogito is an attempt to prove that

A) God exists.
B) the mind exists.
C) an evil demon exists.
D) the external world exists.

Question 21

The idea of the brain in the vat is to challenge

A) our belief that there is external world.
B) our belief that we know what the external world is like.
C) our belief that we have a mind.
D) None of the above

Question 22

Perceptual illusions have convinced many that

A) our minds don't really exist.
B) people are trying to fool us all the time.
C) we can't be perceiving physical objects directly.
D) None of the above

Question 23

George Berkeley claimed that our everyday images of objects came from

A) the objects themselves.
B) God.
C) our own minds.
D) None of the above

Question 24

Which theory denies the existence of other minds?

A) Subjective idealism
B) Representative realism
C) Direct realism
D) None of the above

Question 25

Find a favorite science fiction film or story that deals with the themes discussed in this chapter. Explain how those themes play out in the fiction.

Question 26

Do you think you can know that you are not a brain in a vat or a character in a computer simulation? Explain your answer in detail.

Question 27

Present your own views on the morality of someone running computer simulations evolving conscious characters who face a great deal of suffering.

Question 28

Summarize Wittgenstein's private language argument.

Question 29

Summarize the view called "direct realism" and explain why so many thinkers have rejected it.

Question 30

How does the assumption of substrate independence figure into Bostrom's analysis of whether or not we're living in a computer simulation?