Deck 2: The Search for Ultimate Reality

Question 1

Descartes argued that understanding language can be used as a criterion for identifying genuine intelligence.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The position of functionalism is incompatible with the strong artificial intelligence position.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In Jeffrey Olen's story about the watch,the people who thought a gremlin caused the watch to move represent mind-body interactionists.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The strong AI thesis claims that it is possible for a computer to have cognitive states.

Question 5

Searle maintained that there is a difference between simulating cognition and duplicating it.

Question 6

René Descartes believed that someday machines would become intelligent.

Question 7

Philosophical questions about the nature of reality fall under the heading of metaphysics.

Question 8

René Descartes was more certain about the existence of his mind than the existence of his body.

Question 9

David Chalmers argued that physicalism is false.

Question 10

Identity theory claims that the mind is identical to a nonphysical substance that is separate from the brain.

Question 11

According to your text,the principle of Ockham's razor lends support to the dualist.

Question 12

Hugh Elliot's story of "Tantalus" was meant to illustrate the fact that are thoughts are the product of a nonphysical mind.

Question 13

Your text said that fundamental reality is that upon which everything else depends.

Question 14

John Searle's Chinese room argument attempted to refute physicalism.

Question 15

Descartes believed that the mind and body interact in the pineal gland.

Question 16

The functionalist denies that mental states are necessarily identical to brain states.

Question 17

The functionalist denies that mental states can function as the causes of behavior.

Question 18

Descartes's position on the mind-body issue is a form of metaphysical dualism.

Question 19

Metaphysical materialism is a form of dualism.

Question 20

According to your text,a metaphysical idealist is a person who is very optimistic.

Question 21

According to agency theory,event-causation describes events that are determined.

Question 22

The determinist believes that your actions would be perfectly predictable if one knew all the causes acting upon you.

Question 23

The two kinds of monism are

A) atheism and theism.
B) materialism and idealism.
C) empiricism and rationalism.
D) freedom and determinism.

Question 24

According to the compatibilist,we cannot be morally responsible for actions which are determined.

Question 25

The libertarian would agree with the compatibilist on the definition of "free actions."

Question 26

The compatibilist differs with the hard determinist over whether or not any of our actions can meaningfully be said to be free.

Question 27

Richard Taylor's agency theory is a form of libertarianism.

Question 28

The libertarian rejects the thesis of universal causation.

Question 29

To be a libertarian,one must deny that human actions are ever the result of previous causes.

Question 30

According to Sartre,"transcendence" refers to the fact that our lives are defined by the possibilities we face and the choices we make.

Question 31

Jean-Paul Sartre claims that the emotions we express are the result of our free choices.

Question 32

The principle of Ockham's razor says that we should

A) eliminate unnecessary entities in our theories.
B) shave off all beliefs that will not lead to the improvement of our soul.
C) make our definitions as sharp and precise as possible.
D) divide mental events and physical events into two separate categories.

Question 33

The hard determinist and the libertarian both agree that if our choices are inevitable,then there is no moral responsibility.

Question 34

All determinists believe that everything that happens in the world is the result of a benevolent,purposeful plan.

Question 35

Which of the following metaphysical issues was/were addressed by the ancient Greek philosophers?

A) the problem of permanence and change
B) the problem of appearance and reality
C) the nature of the self
D) all of the above.

Question 36

The compatibilist claims that we are not 100% determined in our behavior.

Question 37

The compatibilist claims that a voluntary action is one which lacks determining causes.

Question 38

Some determinists believe that it is God who determines all events.

Question 39

The hard determinists are claiming that only their behavior is determined,but they are making no claims about your behavior.

Question 40

The compatibilist claims that your desires,values,and motives play no role in explaining your behavior.

Question 41

Which of the following statements would a functionalist affirm?

A) A computer could never have mental states,because it lacks an immaterial mind.
B) To have mental states like ours,it is necessary to have a brain like ours.
C) We will never be able to eliminate mentalistic concepts from our psychological theories.
D) all of the above

Question 42

Which of the following were arguments which Descartes used to support his dualism?

A) I can doubt my body,but not my mind.
B) The mind is conscious,but physical things cannot be conscious.
C) One part of reality is made up of physical substances;the other part is spiritual substances.
D) all of the above

Question 43

The significance of the account about Phineas Gage was that

A) he had extra-sensory perception that could not be explained by science.
B) changes in his body produced no changes in his mental life.
C) his mind was able to overcome the limitations of his body.
D) damage to his brain caused a change to his personality.

Question 44

The term "folk psychology" is used by the physicalist to

A) ridicule the attempt to explain human experience in terms of beliefs,desires,and fears.
B) refer to the science of reducing mental events to brain events.
C) describe the legitimate science of explaining the growth and functioning of social groups.
D) refer to that part of human psychology that is independent of the brain.

Question 45

René Descartes's version of dualism is known as

A) eliminativism.
B) physicalism.
C) interactionism.
D) idealism.

Question 46

The Turing Test is an attempt to determine

A) the level of intelligence of an average human being.
B) whether or not a computer has achieved intelligence.
C) whether or not a particular mental state is produced by a particular brain state.
D) when it is ethical to use computers to make important decisions.

Question 47

Marvin Minsky defended the position represented by

A) the strong AI thesis.
B) Cartesian dualism.
C) John Searle's Chinese room argument.
D) Edgar Allen Poe's attack on machine intelligence.

Question 48

According to your text,Descartes's compromise was an attempt to reconcile

A) the scientific and religious views of the world.
B) the Roman Catholic and the Protestant churches.
C) Platonic and Christian views of the soul.
D) rationalism and empiricism.

Question 49

The text referred to the type of freedom we have when our actions are not limited by external forces or obstacles as

A) circumstantial freedom.
B) metaphysical freedom.
C) existential freedom.
D) moral freedom.

Question 50

"Multiple realizability" refers to

A) people who have many different personalities.
B) the claim that there are many different kinds of realities.
C) the claim that there are multiple and equally correct views of reality.
D) the fact that the same pattern can be embodied in different physical media.

Question 51

Which of the following statements would a functionalist affirm?

A) Mental states are defined in terms of the causal role they play.
B) Mental states are not defined in terms of the underlying substance in which they are found.
C) Mental states can cause both other mental states and bodily states.
D) all of the above

Question 52

Which of the following is a criticism the physicalist makes of dualism?

A) The dualist cannot adequately explain where mind-body interaction takes place.
B) The dualist cannot explain how mind-body interaction takes place.
C) Dualism violates the principle of the conservation of energy.
D) all of the above

Question 53

In your text,the position defended by Jerry Fodor was

A) identity theory.
B) eliminativism.
C) functionalism.
D) dualism.

Question 54

Which one of the following is a version of physicalism?

A) dualism
B) interactionism
C) identity theory
D) idealism

Question 55

John Searle's Chinese room argument attempts to show that

A) computers are capable of translating foreign languages into English.
B) computers will never be able to simulate conversations.
C) it is likely that computers will someday be as intelligent as humans.
D) passing the Turing Test is not a sufficient criterion for intelligence.

Question 56

The position that claims that the terms "beliefs," "thoughts," and "desires" refer to nothing at all is called

A) identity theory.
B) eliminativism.
C) dualism.
D) idealism.

Question 57

According to Jeffrey Olen's essay,the identity theorist claims that pain is

A) identical to a particular kind of brain event.
B) identical to a kind of nonphysical object.
C) identical to a kind of nonphysical event.
D) a mysterious phenomenon which cannot be explained by any of the philosophies of mind.

Question 58

According to David Chalmers,consciousness

A) cannot be reduced to or explained in terms of physical processes.
B) is not a fundamental feature of reality.
C) and subjective experiences do not exist.
D) can be identified with and reduced to physical processes in the brain.

Question 59

R.Buckminster Fuller's answer to the question "What's a man?" illustrates the position of

A) physicalism.
B) dualism.
C) idealism.
D) interactionism.

Question 60

The area of metaphysics that asks the question "What is most fundamentally real?" is called

A) epistemology.
B) metaphysical realism.
C) ontology.
D) philosophy of science.

Question 61

Discuss two of the reasons why the physicalists think that dualism is implausible.

Question 62

According to agency theory,the two kinds of causes are

A) scientific causes and divine causes.
B) deterministic causes and random,indeterministic causes.
C) event-causation and agent-causation.
D) deterministic physical causes and deterministic psychological causes.

Question 63

Sartre uses the term "bad faith" to refer to

A) a lack of religious belief.
B) our attempt to deny our freedom and responsibility for who we are.
C) the circumstances of our lives that govern how we act.
D) our failure to accept what is inevitable and meant to be.

Question 64

By definition,the compatibilist believes that _________ and __________ are compatible.

A) science/religion
B) universal causation/metaphysical freedom
C) hard determinism/moral responsibility
D) determinism/free will

Question 65

In comparing (1)Gandhi fasting because he wanted to free India and (2)a man starving in the desert,Walter Stace says

A) in both cases the action was caused and,hence,not free.
B) in (1)his action was uncaused and free and in (2)it was caused and not free.
C) in (1)his action was caused and free and in (2)it was caused and not free.
D) in (1)his action was uncaused and not free and in (2)it was caused and not free.

Question 66

Set out,in a series of steps,one of Descartes's arguments for mind-body dualism.Which premise do you think is the weakest? Why? What are some other ways the argument could be criticized?

Question 67

The determinist says that the activity of deliberation occurs when

A) our will is suspended between two causes that pull us in opposite directions.
B) our behavior is free from any determining causes at all.
C) we are determined to act in one way,but the will freely struggles to act in another way.
D) we are determined to act in one way,but our reason struggles to overcome the causes acting on us.

Question 68

Concerning the behavior of the criminal,the hard determinist would say

A) the criminal behavior was the inevitable result of previous causes.
B) the criminal cannot be held morally responsible for his or her behavior.
C) the criminal should receive psychological treatment,not punishment.
D) all of the above

Question 69

The hard determinist and the libertarian both believe that

A) compatibilism is true.
B) incompatibilism is true.
C) universal causation is true.
D) we have moral responsibility.

Question 70

The position that claims we have metaphysical freedom is

A) hard determinism.
B) compatibilism.
C) incompatibilism.
D) libertarianism.

Question 71

Which of the following is a criticism the hard determinist would make of the libertarian?

A) The libertarian believes in the absurd position of incompatibilism.
B) Libertarianism is in conflict with the scientific view of the world.
C) The libertarian believes in the problematic universal causation thesis.
D) all of the above

Question 72

According to your text,one of the three arguments used to support libertarianism is the argument from

A) the necessity of universal causation.
B) religious experience.
C) the compatibility of freedom and determinism.
D) deliberation.

Question 73

The compatibilist claims that a free action is an action which

A) is impossible.
B) lacks both a physical and a psychological cause.
C) requires one to have metaphysical freedom.
D) has,as its immediate causes,psychological states in the agent.

Question 74

The libertarian and the compatibilist both believe that

A) universal causation is true.
B) we have metaphysical freedom.
C) we have moral responsibility.
D) we can be determined and free.

Question 75

A compatibilist would claim that if a formerly upright citizen chooses to become a criminal,this shows that

A) people sometimes make free choices that are not determined by their personality.
B) persons can never be held morally responsible for their actions.
C) internal and external causes acted to determine the person's behavior differently than it was determined previously.
D) human behavior is too complex to know if we are free or determined.

Question 76

Jean-Paul Sartre refers to those events in our past that we cannot change as our

A) facticity.
B) transcendence.
C) determining causes.
D) behavioral antecedents.

Question 77

Benedict Spinoza is an example of which of the following positions?

A) determinism
B) dualism
C) agency theory
D) libertarianism

Question 78

According to Sartre,what is the significance of the fact that you were born a certain gender?

A) You are determined to act and think a certain way because of biological causes.
B) You are conditioned to act and think a certain way by society.
C) This fact has no significance until you assign meaning to it.
D) One's gender has no significance because there is one basic,human nature that governs us all.

Question 79

What happened to Phineas Gage that is relevant to the mind-body issue? Which position could use this account as ammunition? How so?

Question 80

What are the similarities between identity theory and eliminativism? How do they differ?