Deck 19: David Hume: Unmasking the Pretensions of Reason

Question 1

The aim of Kant's critique of reason is

A) to demonstrate that reason can only be passion's slave.
B) to reveal the a priori conditions of knowledge.
C) to show, contrary to Hume, that the scope of possible human knowledge is unlimited.
D) to show, contrary to Descartes, that human knowledge is not possible.

Answer 1

to show, contrary to Descartes, that human knowledge is not possible.

Question 2

Synthetic a priori judgments, Kant tells us, are

A) knowable only in virtue of experience.
B) true in virtue of the fact that their denials are contradictory.
C) the only way of knowing things in themselves.
D) a reflection of the structure of a rational mind.

Answer 2

a reflection of the structure of a rational mind.

Question 3

The illusions of speculative metaphysics

A) arise because of the very nature of reason itself.
B) pertain particularly to the realm of phenomena.
C) can be avoided by proving the existence of God.
D) have nothing to do with the nature of the self.

Answer 3

arise because of the very nature of reason itself.

Question 4

Concepts, according to Kant, are

A) faint copies of impressions.
B) one and all a priori.
C) like rules for operating on some given material.
D) the only things guaranteeing knowledge of things in themselves.

Question 5

The function of the categories is to

A) construct an objective world.
B) illustrate how subjective all our opinions and beliefs really are.
C) serve as abstractions from sensible intuitions.
D) help the dove to fly in empty space.

Question 6

According to Kant, knowledge of our own nature

A) is impossible in any sense.
B) is restricted to the way we appear in the realm of phenomena.
C) is made possible by the category of substance, the application of which to ourselves demonstrates that we are essentially souls, not bodies.
D) includes knowledge that we are free.

Question 7

According to Kant, a good will is one that

A) wills according to the dictates of one's society.
B) wills to do its duty.
C) obeys only hypothetical imperatives.
D) is heteronomous.

Question 8

The supreme principle of morality, Kant tells us,

A) depends on the will of God.
B) is different for each rational individual, since we are all autonomous choosers of the morally good.
C) is universally accepted.
D) forbids applying rules to others we don't apply to ourselves.

Question 9

The categorical imperative

A) is true in the same way that "Bachelors are unmarried" is true.
B) tells us that if we want to be happy, we should respect the rights of others.
C) bids us universalize all synthetic a priori principles.
D) forbids manipulation of others for our own purposes.

Question 10

Regarding freedom of the will, Kant says that

A) we have no good reason to believe in it.
B) though all our actions, noumenally conceived, have causes, yet we may be phenomenally free.
C) morality would not be possible without it.
D) we are free whenever we are not hindered in doing something we want to do.

Question 11

I am autonomous in the realm of morality in the sense that

A) I am a legislator of the moral law for myself.
B) my morality may not be the morality of others.
C) what I want may not be what you want.
D) I cannot be in error about what is right for me.

Question 12

Kant says that a dove cannot fly in empty space; symbolically understood, this means:

Question 13

How are concepts like functions?

Question 14

Explain the idea of a synthetic a priori judgment, including both its semantic and its epistemological aspects. Why are these judgments puzzling?

Question 15

Explain the famous Kantian dictum: "Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without concepts are blind."

Question 16

Why, according to Kant, are we so sure that every event has a cause?

Question 17

In what way does Kant's claim that being is not a real predicate undercut the ontological argument-for instance, Descartes' third argument for God's existence?

Question 18

If Descartes is rightly called a rationalist and Hume an empiricist, how would you describe Kant?

Question 19

What is a maxim? What is the test for morally acceptable maxims?

Question 20

What is will, according to Kant? What is a good will? What makes a good will good?

Question 21

How does Kant use the distinction between things and persons in expressing the supreme principle of morality?

Question 22

Does Kant agree or disagree with Hume's dictum that reason is the slave of the passions? Explain.

Question 23

Kant says that he has found it necessary to deny knowledge to make room for faith. Knowledge of what? Faith in what?

Question 24

How does Kant's Copernican revolution address the problem of skepticism?

Question 25

Kant says he was shaken by David Hume's analysis of causation. He calls it "Hume's problem." What was there about this analysis that awoke Kant from his "dogmatic slumber," and how does Kant think he has solved the problem?

Question 26

Descartes, Hume, and Kant all have something to say about whether human beings can be free in their actions. Describe what it is in the new science that makes this a pressing question, and then sketch the line that each takes on human freedom.

Question 27

What am I? Descartes, Hume, and Kant all discuss this question. Imagine that you are Immanuel Kant. Writing as you think he would write, discuss the views of Descartes and Hume on mind/self/soul, and express what you think is the truth about this matter.

Question 28

You have borrowed $20 from an absent-minded friend. He has forgotten about it, and you are certain he will never remember. Moreover, your friend is well off and will never miss it; $20, however, means a lot to you.
Describe what considerations a Kantian would-and would not-urge you to consider in deciding whether to repay the debt.

Question 29

Explain how Kant thinks that morality, the laws of which are legislated by each person for himself or herself, can nevertheless be objective.