Question 1

For Arendt, "it is decisive that the experience of the eternal, in contradistinction to that of the immortal, has no correspondence with and cannot be transformed into any ________ whatsoever."

Accepted Answer

Arendt emphasizes that the experience of the eternal, unlike that of the immortal, cannot be converted into any form of activity. This distinction highlights the unique nature of the eternal as beyond practical or actionable experience.

Question 2

According to Arendt, "Immortality means having a mind as well as a body."

Accepted Answer

Arendt's concept of immortality is more closely associated with the lasting impact of one's actions and deeds in the public realm, rather than having a mind and a body.

Question 3

Arendt says, "This is immortality: to move along a rectilinear line in a universe where everything, if it moves at all, moves in a cyclical order."

Accepted Answer

Hannah Arendt did not make this statement about immortality and rectilinear movement in a cyclical universe. This concept does not align with her philosophical inquiries, which are more focused on the nature of power, totalitarianism, and the human condition.

Question 4

Arendt claims that human mortality and individual life arise out of biological life

Accepted Answer

Arendt argues that human mortality and our ability to lead individual lives with unique stories and experiences are distinctly human qualities that arise out of our biological nature as mortal beings.

Question 5

According to Arendt, by being active humans can leave traces behind and attain a kind of immortality of their own.

Accepted Answer

According to Arendt, through their actions, humans can create an enduring legacy and achieve a form of immortality.

Question 6

According to Arendt, experience of the eternal is different; it is a "kind of death, and the only thing that separates it from real death is that it is not final because no living creature can endure it for any length of time."

Accepted Answer

Arendt argues that the experience of the eternal is a form of death that separates itself from real death by not being final because no living creature can endure it for a long time.

Question 7

Arendt says that the moment someone "sits down to write his thoughts he ceases to be concerned primarily with eternity and shifts his attention to leaving some trace of them. He has entered the vita activa [active life] and chosen its way of permanence and potential immortality."

Accepted Answer

Arendt argues that writing is a form of the vita activa (active life) in which the writer seeks to leave a trace of their thoughts for potential immortality, shifting their attention away from concerns of eternity.

Question 8

For Arendt, "it is decisive that the experience of the eternal, in contradistinction to that of the immortal, has no correspondence with and cannot be transformed into any activity whatsoever."

Accepted Answer

According to Arendt, the experience of the eternal is not equivalent to any activity and cannot be transformed into any activity.

Question 9

How does Arendt justify her claim that "Immortality means endurance in time"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How does Arendt justify her claim that...

Question 10

How does Arendt distinguish between "immortality" and "eternity"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How does Arendt distinguish between "immortality" and...

Question 11

Explain in detail the difference between the active life and the contemplative life.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain in detail the difference between the...

Question 12

Explain Arendt's meaning when she says that the experience of the "eternal" is a "kind of death, and the only thing that separates it from real death is that it is not final because no living creature can endure it for any length of time." Do you agree with Arendt?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain Arendt's meaning when she says that...

Question 13

Why does Arendt claim that "it is decisive that the experience of the eternal, in contradistinction to that of the immortal, has no correspondence with and cannot be transformed into any activity whatsoever"? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does Arendt claim that "it is...

Question 14

Hawley says there is "a widespread suspicion that science cannot really contribute to metaphysics, and that scientific findings grossly _____________ metaphysical claims."

Accepted Answer

The phrase "scientific findings grossly" suggests that science could possibly contribute to metaphysics but is limited in its ability to fully determine or support metaphysical claims. Therefore, the best choice is underdetermine, which means scientific findings cannot provide enough evidence to fully determine a metaphysical claim. The other options (B, C, and D) suggest a stronger rejection or preconceived bias against metaphysics, which is not implied in Hawley's statement.

Question 15

Hawley relates that "One widely-discussed example is the apparent conflict between the special theory of relativity (STR) and __________, the view that only what is present exists."

Accepted Answer

The apparent conflict discussed in the passage is between special theory of relativity and presentism, which is the view that only what is present exists.

Question 16

According to Hawley, "Unless we can believe that there is no absolute fact of the matter as to what exists, it looks as if we shouldn't identify what exists with what is simultaneous with now. Thus presentism is ..."

Accepted Answer

Hawley is arguing against presentism, stating that it should not be identified with what is simultaneous with now because there may be absolute facts about what exists beyond the present moment. Therefore, presentism is false.

Question 17

Hawley explains that "In order to investigate the relevance of science to metaphysics, I will assume that metaphysics is ..."

Accepted Answer

Hawley is stating his assumption that metaphysics is possible in order to investigate its relation to science.

Question 18

Hawley says, "I will take it that metaphysical claims may be __________ even when they are not subject to empirical confirmation or disconfirmation."

Accepted Answer

According to Hawley, metaphysical claims may still be meaningful even if they cannot be verified or falsified through empirical observation.

Question 19

Hawley explains that the term "__________________" is understood to mean something like "consistent with our beliefs about what we observe" or even "consistent with the truth about what we observe."

Accepted Answer

The phrase "consistent with our beliefs about what we observe" or "consistent with the truth about what we observe" suggests that the term being defined has to do with observations and empirical evidence, making "empirically adequate" the most appropriate choice.

Question 20

Hawley says that "Scientific ________, as I shall understand it here, is the view that there are cases where the involvement of a claim about an unobservable entity in an empirically successful scientific theory provides reason to think that the claim is true."

Accepted Answer

Hawley is defining scientific realism, which holds that unobservable entities posited by scientific theories are likely to exist in reality, as they provide explanatory power for empirically successful scientific theories. Scientific skepticism would doubt the existence of unobservable entities, while scientific idealism and relativism hold different views on the nature of reality and knowledge.

Quiz 3: Plato the Divided Line and the Cave