Deck 7: The Problem of Skepticism and Knowledge

Question 1

Can we be certain that the way the world appears corresponds to the way it really is? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Not Answer.

Question 2

Does knowledge require certainty? Why or why not?

Answer 2

Not Answer.

Question 3

How does Descartes try to close the gap between appearance and reality? Is he successful? Why or why not?

Answer 3

Not Answer.

Question 4

What is the Cartesian circle? Is there a way out? What is it?

Question 5

How does Berkeley try to close the gap between appearance and reality? Is he successful? Why or why not?

Question 6

How would Berkeley deal with this question: If a tree fell in a forest an no one was around to hear it, would it make a sound?

Question 7

Is it inconceivable for something to exist unconceived? Why or why not?

Question 8

What is the traditional analysis of knowledge? Why has it come to be viewed as inadequate?

Question 9

Is having undefeated justified TRUE belief enough to have knowledge? Why or why not?

Question 10

Is having suitably caused TRUE belief enough to have knowledge? Why or why not?

Question 11

Is having reliably produced TRUE belief enough for having knowledge? Why or why not?

Question 12

Is having TRUE belief that tracks the truth enough to have knowledge? Why or why not?

Question 13

Is having justified TRUE belief that provides the best explanation for the justifying evidence enough to have knowledge? Why or why not?

Question 14

Berkeley's famous dictum is

A) I think, therefore I am.
B) The unexamined life is not worth living.
C) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
D) To be is to be perceived.

Question 15

Berkeley's Inconceivability of the Unconceived thought experiment attempts to show that

A) the notion of a material object is self-contradictory.
B) primary qualities are independent of secondary qualities.
C) our sensations are caused by material objects.
D) objects exists independently of perception.

Question 16

The view that there is only one correct way of representing the world is called

A) absolutism.
B) relativism.
C) subjectivism.
D) minimalism.

Question 17

Zeno's Paradox of Bisection thought experiment is intended to show that

A) sense experience shows that motion and change exist.
B) logic shows that motion must exist.
C) motion involves a logical contradiction and therefore cannot exist.
D) the way the world seems is an accurate reflection of how it is.

Question 18

Descartes' Dream Argument thought experiment is intended to show that

A) sense experience is a reliable source of knowledge.
B) we all exist in a dream world.
C) we can acquire knowledge through our senses.
D) we can't acquire knowledge through our senses.

Question 19

Descartes' Evil Genius thought experiment is intended to show that

A) because we can't be certain that we're not in the grip of an evil genius, we can't acquire knowledge through the senses.
B) sometimes we can acquire knowledge through the senses.
C) an evil genius exists and is constantly deceiving us.
D) because we can often be certain that we're not in the grip of an evil genius, we can acquire knowledge through the senses.

Question 20

Unger's Mad Scientist thought experiment is intended to show that

A) a mad scientist that controls our minds right now cannot possibly exist.
B) because you can't be sure you're not at the mercy of a mad scientist right now, sense experience can't be a source of knowledge.
C) when we're sure no mad scientist exists, we can have knowledge through sense experience.
D) sense experience can be a source of knowledge.

Question 21

Gettier's Guy in Barcelona thought experiment is intended to show that

A) it's possible to know some propositions but not others.
B) justified TRUE belief is sufficient for knowledge.
C) justified TRUE belief is not sufficient for knowledge.
D) knowledge does not require justification.

Question 22

The Demented Mrs. Grabit thought experiment is intended to show that

A) a version of the defeasibility theory is a slight improvement over the standard account.
B) some versions of the defeasibility theory are adequate.
C) all versions of the defeasibility theory are unfounded.
D) a version of the defeasibility theory is unfounded.

Question 23

Goldman's Fake Barns thought experiment is intended to show that

A) some forms of the causal theory of knowledge are adequate.
B) the causal theory of knowledge is inadequate.
C) some barns may be fake.
D) knowledge is suitably caused TRUE belief.

Question 24

Lehrer's Human Thermometer thought experiment is intended to show that

A) in at least some cases, knowing requires simply having correct information.
B) reliably produced belief is knowledge.
C) knowledge is reliably produced TRUE belief.
D) in at least some cases, knowing seems to require more than just having correct information.

Question 25

According to Bertrand Russell, when we look at an apple we are directly aware of

A) the apple itself (material object).
B) a certain smell, feel, color, and so on (sensations).
C) dream states caused by the mind of God.
D) original sin.
E) none of these.

Question 26

What kind of knowledge is knowing what it's like to be in pain?

A) performative
B) propositional
C) acquaintance
D) intuition

Question 27

What kind of knowledge is knowing that snow is white?

A) performative
B) propositional
C) acquaintance
D) intuition

Question 28

What kind of knowledge is the ability to ride a bicycle?

A) performative
B) propositional
C) acquaintance
D) intuition

Question 29

The theory that talk of all things is reducible to talk of sensations.

A) perceptionism
B) phenomenalism
C) direct realism
D) representative realism

Question 30

The theory that nothing comes between our perception of the world and the world itself.

A) perceptionism
B) phenomenalism
C) direct realism
D) representative realism

Question 31

The theory that sensations are caused by external objects and that some of those sensations resemble the qualities of those objects.

A) perceptionism
B) phenomenalism
C) direct realism
D) representative realism

Question 32

According to ___, knowledge depends on factors outside of the knower's mental life.

A) internalism
B) externalism
C) both of these.
D) neither of these.

Question 33

According to ___, knowledge depends on justification that is part of the knower's mental life.

A) internalism
B) externalism
C) both of these.
D) neither of these.

Question 34

According to Locke, ____ qualities can be sensed by more than one sense.

A) primary
B) secondary

Question 35

Which of the following wouldnot be considered a primary quality by Locke?

A) sound
B) solidity
C) figure
D) extension
E) mobility

Question 36

According to the standard account, the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge are all of the following except

A) justification.
B) belief.
C) truth.
D) intuition.

Question 37

In this chapter, philosophical skepticism is defined as the doctrine that we have no knowledge of

A) mathematics.
B) the external world.
C) anything.
D) all of these.
E) our own thoughts.

Question 38

According to rationalists, the only source of knowledge of the external world is

A) reason.
B) sense experience.
C) meditation.
D) intuition.

Question 39

Cognitive subjectivism fails because it

A) does not take into account one's beliefs.
B) is self-refuting.
C) has no criterion for identifying truth.
D) makes truth objective.

Question 40

Descartes' Dream thought experiment shows that

A) we can't be certain we are dreaming right now.
B) we can control all of our thoughts.
C) dreams are easily distinguished from waking reality.
D) our senses can be trusted.

Question 41

Descartes' Evil Genius and Unger's Mad Scientist thought experiments show that

A) thoughts can be implanted in your mind.
B) all knowledge must come through the senses.
C) we are awake all the time.
D) there is more evil than good in the world.

Question 42

The one thing that Descartes cannot doubt is that

A) he exists.
B) an evil genius exists.
C) the external world exists.
D) he has a physical body.

Question 43

What epistemic principle does Descartes' use to bridge the gap between appearance and reality?

A) the principle clarity and distinctness
B) the principle of sufficient reason
C) the principle of alternate possibilities
D) the principle of the excluded middle

Question 44

Descartes attempts to justify his epistemic principle by proving the existence of

A) God.
B) an evil genius.
C) dreams.
D) a mad scientist.

Question 45

The process ofinterpreting sense data is known as

A) sensation.
B) perception.
C) realism.
D) the analysis of knowledge.

Question 46

The argument from illusion is a counterexample to

A) direct realism.
B) representative realism.
C) phenomenalism.
D) skepticism.

Question 47

Gettier's thought experiments show that the standard account of knowledge is inadequate because

A) none of these.
B) it's possible to not have knowledge even if all of the conditions are met.
C) it's circular (begging the question).
D) because it specifies too many conditions.
E) it minimizes the role of intuition.

Question 48

The defeasibility theory adds a further condition to the standard account of knowledge, namely, that

A) no other evidence (TRUE statements) could undermine your original justification.
B) the belief be a private one.
C) it ignore irrelevant evidence (all FALSE statements).
D) your evidence (TRUE statements) be defended by scientific principles.

Question 49

Goldman's Fake Barn thought experiment shows that

A) the world is a collection of random causes.
B) all of the objects that surround us are illusory.
C) a caused TRUE belief is not sufficient for knowledge.
D) future perceptions can correct past mistakes.

Question 50

According to the explanationist theory of knowledge, the justification for knowledge must be sustained by

A) all of the relevant propositions.
B) lucky guesses.
C) an external process.
D) God.

Question 51

When justifying evidence is said to be truth-resistant, it resists the contravening of

A) TRUE propositions.
B) FALSE propositions.
C) God.
D) intuition.

Question 52

The correspondence theory of truth says

A) a claim is TRUE when someone believes it to be true.
B) a claim is TRUE when it works.
C) a claim is TRUE when it coheres with other beliefs.
D) a claim is TRUE when the world is as it says it is.

Question 53

The pragmatic theory of truth says

A) a claim is TRUE when someone believes it to be true.
B) a claim is TRUE when it works.
C) a claim is TRUE when it coheres with other beliefs.
D) a claim is TRUE when the world is as it says it is.

Question 54

"FALSE knowledge" is

A) what we believe but cannot prove.
B) what we learn in psychology.
C) what we learn in religion.
D) a contradiction is terms.

Question 55

Descartes' "evil genius" could make Descartes doubt everything EXCEPT

A) the fact that God exists.
B) the fact that he is doubting.
C) the fact that he is sleeping.
D) the fact that he is a human being.

Question 56

How does Descartes explain the fact that we sometimes make errors in judgment?

A) our imagination is more powerful than our will.
B) our understanding is more powerful than our will.
C) our imagination is more powerful than our understanding.
D) our will is more powerful than our understanding.

Question 57

Philosophically speaking, why does Descartes need to prove that God exists?

A) to explain the existence of the world.
B) to explain the existence of evil.
C) to guarantee the truth of his sensations.
D) to guarantee that the Evil Demon does not exist.

Question 58

Hume claims that we can't justify induction by appeal to experience because

A) that would assume what we're trying to prove.
B) that would be a fallacious appeal to authority.
C) the principle that the future will resemble the past is self-contradictory.
D) the principle that the future will resemble the past doesn't follow from any other principle.

Question 59

Hume claims that we can't justify induction by appeal to reason or logic because

A) that would assume what we're trying to prove.
B) that would be a fallacious appeal to authority.
C) the principle that the future will resemble the past is self-contradictory.
D) the principle that the future will resemble the past doesn't logically follow from any more basic principle.

Question 60

Berkeley's view about matter is that

A) it is the cause of our sensations.
B) it is the object of our desires.
C) it is impossible for matter to exist.
D) it is not impossible for matter to exist.

Question 61

Consider the following two statements: "I am thinking about a tree that no one is thinking of" and "I am thinking that there's a tree that nobody is thinking of."

A) The second is self contradictory but the first is not.
B) The first is self contradictory but the second is not.
C) Neither is self contradictory.
D) Both are self contradictory because they mean the same thing.

Question 62

According to Berkeley, placing your cold left hand and your warm right hand in a lukewarm bucket of water proves that

A) water can be both hot and cold simultaneously.
B) water cannot be both hot and cold simultaneously.
C) the warmth and cold I feel are in the water.
D) the warmth and cold I feel are not in the water.

Question 63

Descartes method of doubt is designed to reveal,

A) what we believe.
B) what we know.
C) what we fear.
D) what we hope.

Question 64

The Cartesian Circle consists in the fact that Descartes

A) proves the existence of his mind by using logic and uses logic to prove the existence of his mind.
B) proves the existence of God by using clear and distinct ideas, and uses clear and distinct ideas to prove the existence of God.
C) uses sense experience to prove that we have knowledge of the external world and uses the external world to prove that our sense experience is true.
D) uses dreams to prove that we can't trust our senses and uses our senses to prove that we are dreaming.

Question 65

Which of the following is the best example of sense-data?

A) a thought.
B) a mind.
C) a patch of color.
D) a ball of string.

Question 66

Which ideas resemble their causes?

A) ideas of primary qualities.
B) ideas of secondary qualities.
C) ideas of mathematical qualities.
D) ideas of formal qualities.

Question 67

To say that you know that there is life on other planets necessarily implies that you believe there is life on other planets, that you have reasons to back up your belief, and that:

A) life on other planets is perhaps vastly different from what we are used to.
B) you can trust your senses when you see extraterrestrial life forms.
C) you have experienced life on other planets personally.
D) there is, in fact, life on other planets.

Question 68

In the correspondence theory of truth, the proposition "There is a cat on the mat" is true only if:

A) I think there is a cat on the mat.
B) it is reasonable to think that there is a cat on the mat.
C) there is a cat on the mat.
D) everyone in the room believes that there is a cat on the mat.

Question 69

After noting that we sometimes have been deceived by our senses, Descartes argues that sense experience cannot serve as the basis for knowledge because:

A) sense experience is never accurate.
B) the concept of doubt is derived from sense experience.
C) science depends on sense experience.
D) we cannot be certain that our sense experience is accurate.

Question 70

Descartes argues that the cogito (I think, therefore I am) can serve as the foundation for our knowledge of the external world because it:

A) provides an indubitable principle on which all other claims of knowledge can be based.
B) is accepted by everyone.
C) is backed by reason.
D) is backed by sense experience.

Question 71

Which of the following is an a priori proposition?

A) All material objects are extended (that is, they take up space).
B) Some material objects have a greater mass than others.
C) All material objects are empirically observable.
D) Some material objects are living creatures.

Question 72

In calling the mind a "tabula rasa," Locke wants to emphasize that all knowledge, even knowledge of mathematical truths, is based on solely on:

A) innate ideas.
B) experience.
C) formal training or education.
D) language.

Question 73

"The particular bulk, number, figure, and motion of the parts of fire or snow are really in them, whether anyone's senses perceive them or not; and therefore they may be called real qualities, because they really exist in those bodies. But light, heat, whiteness, or coldness, are no more really in them than sickness or pain is in manna bread." In this passage Locke locates the distinction between primary and secondary qualities in the difference between:

A) the parts of bodies that we cannot sense and the parts that we can sense.
B) qualities of bodies that exist independently of sensation and qualities that rely on sensation.
C) the power to perceive things in our own bodies and the power to perceive things in other bodies.
D) those qualities that no one ever perceives and those qualities that we always perceive.

Question 74

In his critique of Locke, Berkeley notes that primary qualities (e.g., solidity, extension, motion/rest) cannot legitimately be distinguished from secondary qualities (e.g., colors, scents, sounds) because:

A) primary qualities exist in the mind of God, whereas secondary qualities exist only in human minds.
B) primary qualities depend for their existence as much on minds as do secondary qualities.
C) neither primary nor secondary qualities exist in any mind (finite or infinite).
D) primary qualities of things are known a posteriori, whereas secondary qualities are known a priori.

Question 75

Berkeley suggests that his theory prevents the skeptic from denying the existence of God, because in Berkeley's philosophy, God is needed to explain:

A) the cause of our sensations.
B) the difference between primary and secondary qualities.
C) the existence of material objects.
D) the existence of material properties.

Question 76

In order to avoid Hume's conclusion that we cannot know that every event has a cause, Kant argues that we can know that all events, even those in the future, will have causes because:

A) our belief that future events will have causes is guaranteed by God.
B) our belief that future events will have causes is recognized by every culture.
C) we can experience something as an event only if our minds bring it under the category of cause.
D) we can experience causation just like we can experience color.

Question 77

According to the "problem of induction" identified by Hume, we cannot use induction to show that the future will resemble the past because

A) generalizations based on past experiences are flawed.
B) induction assumes that the future will resemble the past.
C) the world is constantly changing.
D) change is an illusion.

Question 78

Cognitive cultural relativists claim that truth is socially constructed by each culture.

Question 79

According to Berkeley, we can never bridge the gap between appearance and reality.

Question 80

Cognitive subjectivists claim that truth is objective and independent of any one's beliefs.