Question 1

Nozick claims that only experiences matter to us.

Accepted Answer

Nozick argues against the idea that only experiences matter through his thought experiment of the "experience machine," suggesting that we care about more than just our experiences, such as actually doing certain activities and being certain kinds of people.

Question 2

In order to establish any firm and lasting knowledge, for Descartes, what must he do?
A) Trust in his senses
B) Prove that God exists
C) Consider what he can know if he assumes that God exists
D) Find something certain and indubitable that can act as a foundation for whatever one knows

Accepted Answer

Descartes believed that in order to establish firm and lasting knowledge, he must find something certain and indubitable that can serve as a foundation for all other knowledge, famously expressed as "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am).

Question 3

What kind of knowledge does the possibility that he is dreaming raise doubts about, for Descartes?
A) Knowledge gained from or through the senses
B) Knowledge about universals
C) Mathematical knowledge
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Descartes' dream argument primarily raises doubts about the reliability of sensory knowledge, as dreams can mimic sensory experiences, making it difficult to distinguish between dream and reality.

Question 4

Descartes finds reason to doubt everything because . . .
A) It is possible that he is dreaming.
B) It is possible that there is an evil demon deceiving him about everything.
C) Sometimes his senses are mistaken.
D) He has limited mental capacities.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Descartes finds reason to doubt everything because...

Question 5

Which of the following best describes why Descartes concludes he must exist?
A) Descartes doesn't think he must exist
B) God exists
C) He has a body
D) He thinks

Accepted Answer

Descartes concludes he must exist because he is able to think, encapsulated in his famous statement "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am").

Question 6

According to Descartes, which of the following best describes the soul?
A) A body
B) Spiritual essence
C) A thinking thing
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Descartes famously described the soul as a "thinking thing" (res cogitans), emphasizing the mind's ability to think and reason as distinct from the physical body.

Question 7

For Descartes, how are physical objects, like wax, grasped?
A) Through the senses
B) They are given to us through God's will
C) Through the understanding
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Descartes argues that physical objects are grasped not through the senses but through the understanding. In his wax argument, he demonstrates that the properties of wax can change with heat, yet we still recognize it as wax, indicating that it is the mind, not the senses, that truly understands the essence of wax.

Question 8

Which of the following is not a type of idea, according to Descartes?
A) Innate ideas
B) Ideas we get from outside of us
C) Ideas we produce
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Descartes only recognized three types of ideas: innate ideas, ideas that come from outside (adventitious ideas), and those that we invent or produce ourselves. The question's phrasing suggests an option not recognized by Descartes, but all listed types are indeed categories he acknowledged.

Question 9

For Descartes, what is more perfect . . .
A) cannot come from what is less perfect.
B) can come from what is less perfect.
C) can only be known by something equally perfect.
D) can't be known by something less perfect.

Accepted Answer

Descartes' principle of causality asserts that the cause of something must contain at least as much reality as its effect. Therefore, something more perfect cannot originate from something less perfect, as the cause must have at least the same degree of perfection as its effect.

Question 10

According to Descartes, when is the will most free?
A) When it isn't certain about what to choose
B) When it has many options, none of which it must choose
C) When it is certain about what to choose
D) Our wills are not free, according to Descartes

Accepted Answer

Descartes believed that the will is most free when it is certain about what to choose, as this reflects a clear and distinct perception of the truth, allowing the will to align with reason.

Question 11

What is the source of our error, for Descartes?
A) An evil demon that deceives us
B) Impatience
C) The fact that there is no God to make things certain for us
D) Extending the will beyond the scope of our understanding

Accepted Answer

Descartes believed that error arises when the will extends beyond the understanding, leading us to make judgments without clear and distinct perceptions.

Question 12

Descartes is looking for an indubitable foundation for all of his knowledge.

Accepted Answer

Descartes sought an indubitable foundation for knowledge in his method of doubt, aiming to find a truth that could not be questioned. This led to his famous conclusion, "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), which he considered an unquestionable foundation.

Question 13

When wax melts, according to Descartes, it ceases to remain the same thing-its identity changes.

Accepted Answer

Descartes argued that even when wax melts and its properties change (shape, texture, smell), it remains the same piece of wax. He used this example to illustrate that the essence of physical objects is not grasped through the senses but through the intellect.

Question 14

For Descartes, God must exist.

Accepted Answer

Descartes argued for the existence of God through his ontological argument, stating that the idea of a perfect being (God) must have a cause, and only a perfect being could be the cause of such an idea, thus concluding that God must exist.

Question 15

Descartes holds that our minds are to a sailor as our bodies are to a ship.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Descartes holds that our minds are to...

Question 16

Descartes argues that we don't necessarily exist as thinking things just because we think.

Accepted Answer

Descartes famously argued "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), asserting that the act of thinking is proof of one's existence as a thinking thing.

Question 17

According to DeRose and Warfield, skeptical hypotheses are meant to explain
A) how an evil demon could be deceiving you right now.
B) how to know that something is true with absolute certainty.
C) how we might be wrong about what we think we know.
D) how knowledge is possible for finite creatures like us.

Accepted Answer

Skeptical hypotheses, such as the possibility of an evil demon deceiving us, are used to illustrate how we might be mistaken about our beliefs and what we think we know. They challenge the certainty of our knowledge by presenting scenarios where our perceptions and understandings could be fundamentally flawed.

Question 18

After presenting her hypothesis, the skeptic may begin by asserting that
A) we can't rule out her hypothesis.
B) her hypothesis is possibly true.
C) we don't know that her hypothesis is false.
D) any of the above.

Accepted Answer

Each option represents a way a skeptic might begin to engage with a hypothesis, emphasizing uncertainty or the possibility of the hypothesis being true without outright endorsement.

Question 19

Skeptical arguments are meant to show that
A) everything we think we know is false.
B) certain skeptical hypotheses are probable.
C) our beliefs about the external world are unreliable.
D) we don't know what we ordinarily take ourselves to know.

Accepted Answer

Skeptical arguments typically aim to demonstrate that our usual claims to knowledge, especially about the external world, are not as secure as we think. They challenge the justification of our beliefs, suggesting that what we ordinarily take ourselves to know may not actually constitute knowledge.

Question 20

According to the "Aw, Come On!" response, skeptical arguments are
A) farfetched, ridiculously weak, and unthreatening.
B) logically invalid.
C) not really arguments at all but mere assertions.
D) sound.

Accepted Answer

The "Aw, Come On!" response suggests that skeptical arguments are seen as farfetched, ridiculously weak, and unthreatening, implying they are not taken seriously.

Quiz 3: Knowledge and Reality

Nozick claims that only experiences matter to us.

In order to establish any firm and lasting knowledge, for Descartes, what must he do?

What kind of knowledge does the possibility that he is dreaming raise doubts about, for Descartes?

Descartes finds reason to doubt everything because . . .

Which of the following best describes why Descartes concludes he must exist?

According to Descartes, which of the following best describes the soul?

For Descartes, how are physical objects, like wax, grasped?

Which of the following is not a type of idea, according to Descartes?

For Descartes, what is more perfect . . .

According to Descartes, when is the will most free?

What is the source of our error, for Descartes?

Descartes is looking for an indubitable foundation for all of his knowledge.

When wax melts, according to Descartes, it ceases to remain the same thing-its identity changes.

For Descartes, God must exist.

Descartes holds that our minds are to a sailor as our bodies are to a ship.

Descartes argues that we don't necessarily exist as thinking things just because we think.

According to DeRose and Warfield, skeptical hypotheses are meant to explain

After presenting her hypothesis, the skeptic may begin by asserting that

Skeptical arguments are meant to show that

According to the "Aw, Come On!" response, skeptical arguments are