Deck 1: Philosophical Questions

Question 1

Both important decisions and trivial incidents can inspire philosophical questions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Some psychologists,such as B.F.Skinner,believed that there are no such things as "minds," but that people do nothing more than "behave," which is just moving their bodies and making sounds according to certain stimulations from the environment.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

It is impossible that only one person should know the meaning of a word in English; a word has meaning in English,because English speakers agree basically on its meaning.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In the ancient Greek tragedy Iphigenia,the warrior Agamemnon assured victory in the Trojan War by sacrificing one innocent child.

Question 5

It is impossible to imagine societies in which people are happy and prosperous,while not being free.

Question 6

The point about imagining whether we'd step into the "happiness box" is to show that we might be dreaming even if think we are awake.

Question 7

Descartes' approach to philosophy was to doubt everything until he could prove it to his own satisfaction.The first premise of his philosophy was

A) that God exists.
B) the indubitability of his own existence.
C) that the world exists.
D) that other people exist.

Question 8

Philosophy,very often,proceeds through

A) faith.
B) making a series of statements,without supplying underlying reasons.
C) disagreement.
D) achieving universal consensus.

Question 9

Scientists tell us that we are right when we believe that ordinary material objects,like chairs,are solid objects.

Question 10

Unlike his contemporary,Pelagius,Augustine thought it was more important to have faith than to do good works.

Question 11

If you pinch yourself and feel it,that's sure proof that you are not dreaming,but are indeed awake.

Question 12

An important philosophical question is whether a good person (one who does no evil and does everything he or she is supposed to do)would necessarily be happy.

Question 13

Libertarians appear to embrace determinism because they believe that when a soldier panics,he has in some sense chosen to panic and should be held responsible for his actions.

Question 14

Rene Descartes' philosophical method was based on a clear authority structure which one already knows is reliable.

Question 15

His respect for the laws and his own sense of honor were so strong that Socrates decided the most important thing for him to do would be to show his belief in his own principles by dying for them.In this respect,he is like

A) Nathan Hale.
B) Descartes.
C) St.Augustine.
D) Jesus Christ.

Question 16

It is sometimes suggested that what makes human beings unique is that,unlike cows or mosquitos,

A) we have sensation.
B) we are reflective.
C) we are biologically alive.
D) we lack a purpose.

Question 17

The point behind philosophical questions in general is to teach us how to arrive at answers that are so clear and convincing that we will cease our questioning.

Question 18

The old quip,"There are no atheists in foxholes," seems to mean that when faced with death,we all search for some ultimate source of support.

Question 19

The philosopher Socrates did not willingly go to his death,because he believed he had the right to life.

Question 20

St.Augustine and Pelagius argued about whether

A) it is more important to believe in God or to do good works.
B) God exists.
C) there is a soul.
D) animals can be saved.

Question 21

Why aren't good people necessarily happy?

Question 22

Pick one of the sixteen questions raised in Chapter One that intrigues you,and write an essay thatanswers the question in your own terms.
Make sure you (a)construct an argument,with supporting reasons for your answer,and then in the spirit of the discussions of each of these questions,(b)raise one point that either presents an opposing argument to your point of view,or develops an alternative response to the question.

Question 23

If there are no guarantees of ultimate reward and punishment,

A) then it still does not follow that there are no reasons to be good.
B) then there can be no reason to do good.
C) then the Ancient Greeks were right when they claimed God does not exist.
D) then life is meaningless.

Question 24

Scientists tell us that the chair

A) is a solid material object.
B) is a solid material object,existing in six dimensions.
C) is a spiritual substance,existing in our minds.
D) is an enormous complex of invisible particles,atoms,and molecules.

Question 25

What is the point of the question "Should you step into the "happiness box?" Give an example.

Question 26

Writing up a list of virtues is a way of

A) understanding whether one is free or not.
B) trying to prove that one is or is not dreaming.
C) trying to prove there is a mind.
D) seeing what we value in ourselves and what kind of a person we think is ideal.

Question 27

Suppose Mary is a determinist,but continues to insist that she has "free choice." What would you say in response to her?

Question 28

By pondering the question of whether you should step into the "happiness box," you will learn about

A) how to become happy.
B) what you value.
C) whether you are free or not.
D) whether you are good or not.

Question 29

About five hundred years ago,Copernicus was one of the first people to question the belief that

A) the sun moved around the earth.
B) the earth moved around the sun.
C) humans evolved through biological evolution.
D) the world was created by God.

Question 30

Why would it be wrong simply to equate "reality" and what is most true with what is most evident to our senses?
Give an example.

Question 31

If all of the philosophical questions in Chapter One share a common thread,it is that answering them

A) requires you to articulate what you believe about yourself and the world.
B) requires that you articulate a clear reason for believing in God.
C) requires you to articulate what you believe about yourself and the world.
D) requires you to articulate a theory of the mind and body.

Question 32

In Plato's Symposium,Diotima argues that

A) philosophy is the nearest thing to immortality that a mortal can attain.
B) human beings,like the gods,are immortal.
C) procreation is the nearest thing to immortality that a mortal can attain.
D) humans seek immortality in vain.

Question 33

We already admit the rule to not kill other people has exceptions.If,then,we encounter a band of cannibals that has long practiced the custom of killing and eating the weakest among them,then

A) we should probably repeal our own rule proscribing killing.
B) we should endorse their actions as justifiable exceptions.
C) we can condemn their actions because we believe that killing is always wrong.
D) we can't condemn their actions because we believe that killing is always wrong.

Question 34

Why,in the absence of a social consensus that the earth moves around the sun,would we have a hard time knowing that the opposite is true?

Question 35

Why did Socrates go willingly to his death?

Question 36

Pick one of the sixteen questions from Chapter One and interview two to four people (family,friends,acquaintances,fellow workers,etc.)about how they would answer the question.
Try to be active in the interview process-for example,ask them questions like "What do you mean by that?"
"Why do you believe that?"and "Why is that important?" Be sure to take notes or to record the interviews.
Then write an essay describing what you learned about your interviewees' beliefs and values.
Highlight points of agreement and disagreement between them.
Finally,what did you learn about your own philosophical convictions through this experience.

Question 37

One apparent difference between minds and physical things is that

A) minds can be directly observed by anyone,but physical things cannot.
B) minds cannot be directly observed by anyone,but physical things can.
C) minds are unchanging,but physical things can change.
D) minds can change,but physical things can't change.

Question 38

Pick one of the sixteen questions from Chapter One,and construct a fictional dialogue in which two or more people engage in a discussion about what the question means,and why.
Have fun with the dialogue,but try to make the conversation a genuine,probing discussion.Have the respondents (one of whom can be you-or Socrates!)ask one another questions like "What do you mean by that?"
"Why do you believe that?"and "Why is that important?"
As you write the dialogue,try to feel the issue out and see what viewpoint seems the strongest and why.
The dialogue can end with mutual agreement between the participants,or with the participants agreeing to disagree.

Question 39

Why can't you simply know directly that other people have minds,as well as bodies?

Question 40

People who believe that a person is always responsible for his or her actions,even if he or she seems forced into them,

A) are relativists.
B) are determinists.
C) are libertarians.
D) believe there is "causal gap" in nature.

Question 41

Reread the questions from Chapter One,and look for interrelationships between two or more of them.
Focus on whether what you think about one question (e.g.,the question about the "happiness box")has implications for what another question (e.g.,the free choice question)might mean,or how one might answer it.
Do you have to answer one question before answering the other?
Write an essay in which you describe the results of your investigation.

Question 42

Write your own question and attempt to answer it.
Make sure you (a)construct an argument,with supporting reasons for your answer,and then (b)raise one point that either presents an opposing argument to your point of view,or develops an alternative response to the question.