Deck 2: Pioneering Philosophers of Mind: Descartes,Locke,and Leibniz

Question 1

For Locke,the largest amount of human knowledge was of which type?

A) intuitive
B) demonstrative
C) sensitive
D) practical

Answer 1

sensitive

Question 2

Locke withheld publication of Two Treatises of Government and Essay Concerning Human Understanding for many years primarily because:

A) he was unable prove his hypotheses.
B) he felt it would be politically dangerous to publish them.
C) the Whig party did not support his ideas.
D) his employer Shaftesbury did not agree with them.

Answer 2

he felt it would be politically dangerous to publish them.

Question 3

Locke suggested ___________ as a metaphor for the human mind at birth.

A) a tabula rasa or blank slate
B) a white sheet of paper with no writing on it
C) a veined slab of marble
D) both a and b

Answer 3

both a and b

Question 4

Locke's Simple Ideas were defined as:

A) ideas based on primitive emotions.
B) ideas based on numerous combinations of thought.
C) ideas based exclusively on primary qualities.
D) ideas deriving from the earliest sensations and reflections occurring in an infant.

Question 5

Leibniz met and was impressed by the philosopher _________,whose pantheism held that _________.

A) Hume; God is an independent being that controls the universe
B) Spinoza; God is the entire universe
C) Hume; there is no God
D) Spinoza; there are many Gods

Question 6

Locke's initial purpose in writing his Essay Concerning Human Understanding was to discover:

A) how to evaluate differing religious doctrines.
B) what kind of correct knowledge the human mind was and was not capable of acquiring.
C) what kind of governmental system would produce the greatest general welfare.
D) what philosophical system was best supported by the new scientific research.

Question 7

Which two important mathematical discoveries were made by Leibniz as a young man in Paris?

A) binary arithmetic and the infinitesimal calculus
B) analytic geometry and the infinitesimal calculus
C) symbolic logic and functional trigonometry
D) binary arithmetic and analytic geometry

Question 8

All of the following are considered members of the "British associationist" tradition of mental philosophy except:

A) George Berkeley.
B) Richard Busby.
C) David Hume.
D) David Hartley.

Question 9

In Locke's terminology,sensory impressions such as sounds,colors,temperatures,tastes,and odors are called:

A) primary qualities.
B) secondary qualities.
C) sensitive qualities.
D) simple natures.

Question 10

When we recognize the difference (disagreement)between things,for example differentiating something black from something white,Locke would say we are using what type of knowledge?

A) intuitive knowledge
B) simple knowledge
C) complex knowledge
D) demonstrative knowledge

Question 11

Locke's Complex Ideas were defined as:

A) ideas produced when simple ideas are combined by the mind in varying combinations.
B) the resulting thoughts when simple ideas are broken down into their minute details.
C) impressions such as redness, loudness, coldness, or saltiness.
D) specific results of critical thinking and problem solving.

Question 12

For Locke,the primary qualities of objects:

A) truly exist within the objects themselves.
B) are imposed on objects by our senses.
C) are contrary to Descartes' "simple natures."
D) are the foundation of complex ideas.

Question 13

When Gottfried Leibniz first read John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding,what was his reaction?

A) He was impressed but felt that Locke's empiricism went too far.
B) He was impressed but felt that Locke's rationalism went too far.
C) He was disdainful and felt that Locke's reputation was greatly overrated.
D) He saw Locke as a naturally ally and began a fruitful correspondence with him.

Question 14

"Whig History" refers to:

A) a type of history that emphasizes cultural, social, and political contexts.
B) a type of history written by the victors that is celebratory in nature.
C) a type of history sympathetic only to liberal ideas.
D) a type of history that interprets the past strictly on its own terms.

Question 15

Who was an early scientist who initiated the practice of bringing together groups of investigators for scientific discussions?

A) John Locke
B) William Molyneux
C) Anthony Ashley Cooper
D) Robert Boyle

Question 16

Locke's version of the Social Contract Theory differed from that of his predecessor Hobbes in which way?

A) Hobbes saw the contract as a formal written document, whereas for Locke it was a more informal agreement between the government and the governed.
B) Locke saw the contract as a formal written document, whereas for Hobbes it was a more informal agreement between the government and the governed.
C) Locke's version assumed the contract was a more rational choice by the governed, who could break the contract under conditions of severe governmental abuse.
D) Locke's version assumed that the authority granted to the government by the governed was absolute, and had to be obeyed under all circumstances.

Question 17

Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding asserted that the mind:

A) is furnished with all of its ideas from experience.
B) is sometimes inactive.
C) is constantly active.
D) both a and b

Question 18

The hypothetical question of whether a man who was blind from birth but suddenly granted the gift of sight would immediately be able to distinguish a sphere from a cube without touching them was posed to Locke by _________,whose answer was ________.

A) Thomas Willis; no he could not
B) Gottfried Leibniz; yes he could
C) Gottfried Leibniz; no he could not
D) William Molyneux; no he could not

Question 19

Sensations such as redness,loudness,coldness,or saltiness were considered what type of ideas by Locke?

A) complex ideas
B) intuitive ideas
C) simple ideas
D) innate ideas

Question 20

Locke and Leibniz were alike in that both of them:

A) were trained as lawyers.
B) were trained as physicians.
C) were dependent on wealthy patrons.
D) both b and c

Question 21

Leibniz referred to the rules of arithmetic,the geometrical axioms,and the rules of logic as examples of what he called:

A) necessary truths.
B) rational monads.
C) primary qualities.
D) innate ideas.

Question 22

Which of the following is least consistent with Leibniz's conception of the universe?

A) It is composed of material particles in motion and their interaction with each other.
B) It is a hierarchically organized organic entity.
C) Its major features include continuity and change.
D) It is characterized by psychophysical parallelism.

Question 23

Leibniz proposed all of the following features of "minute perceptions" except:

A) they are characteristic of bare monads.
B) they can be responsible for unconscious motivational effects.
C) they are experienced only by animals and humans.
D) when aggregated in large numbers they can become conscious.

Question 24

Which of the following was one of Leibniz's favorite metaphors for the human mind at birth?

A) an unwound clock
B) a blank slate
C) an architect's plan
D) a veined slab of marble

Question 25

In Leibniz's New Essays on Human Understanding he likened his own position to that of ___________,and Locke's position to that of _________.

A) Plato; Socrates
B) Aristotle; Socrates
C) Aristotle; Plato
D) Plato; Aristotle

Question 26

Leibniz's conception of the mind-body relationship holding that monads do not mutually influence one another,but rather pursue independent but parallel and harmonious courses,is an example of:

A) Pantheism.
B) Interactive Dualism.
C) Psychophysical Parallelism.
D) The Psychophysical Law.

Question 27

Leibniz defined apperception as:

A) the process by which ideas are accompanied by self-awareness and interpreted in terms of underlying laws and principles.
B) the process by which sensations in consciousness are responded to in light of prior learning and experience.
C) the experiencing of two or more ideas, either simultaneously or in rapid succession.
D) the interconnection of associations of various neurologically mediated stimulus-response connections, reflexes, or conditioning.

Question 28

Leibniz's sentient monads are characteristic of __________________,while rational monads relate to ________________.

A) human beings; nonhuman organisms
B) nonhuman organisms; human beings
C) nonhuman organisms; all plants and animals
D) all plants and animals; nonhuman organisms

Question 29

Leibniz defined monads as:

A) units that contain within themselves directed energies or forces.
B) units that have capacities to perceive and register impressions of the rest of the world.
C) the ultimate units making up the universe.
D) all of the above

Question 30

Leibniz agreed with Locke that "There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses," with the exception of what?

A) the emotions
B) the intellect itself
C) the bare monads
D) both a and b