Question 1

Zagzebski says, "When we reflect, we realize that we have no non-circular way to tell that our faculties have anything to do with the way the world is, so either we turn our pre-reflective trust into reflective trust, or we become ..."
A) skeptics.
B) atheists.
C) metaphysicians.
D) animistic.

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski is saying that when we reflect on our own faculties, we cannot find a non-circular way to verify that they accurately convey the way the world is. This uncertainty could lead us to become skeptics about our ability to know anything about the world.

Question 2

According to Zagzebski, "The point of __________ is to increase the trustworthiness of our faculties, but we can only do that by using those same faculties in an especially careful and directed way."
A) skepticism
B) empiricism
C) reflection
D) argumentation

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski is arguing that in order to increase the trustworthiness of our faculties (our cognitive processes and abilities), we need to engage in reflection. This means using our faculties (such as reasoning, memory, perception) in a careful and directed way to evaluate and improve our own cognitive abilities. While skepticism, empiricism, and argumentation can all be important aspects of critical thinking and epistemology, Zagzebski specifically emphasizes the value of reflective self-evaluation for developing trustworthy beliefs.

Question 3

According to Zagzebski, "The natural end of belief is ..."
A) doubt.
B) truth.
C) opinion.
D) disagreement.

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski argues that the natural end of belief is truth, as belief aims at representing reality accurately.

Question 4

Zagzebski says, "What I mean by epistemic conscientiousness is ..."
A) the act of gathering empirical evidence.
B) changing belief into opinion.
C) creating a valid deductive argument from strong premises.
D) doing reflectively what we do unreflectively.

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski defines epistemic conscientiousness as the act of doing reflectively what we do unreflectively.

Question 5

Zagzebski claims that, "The human community has developed norms of reasoning by reflection upon the connection between what we do cognitively and what we later, upon reflection, judge as successful. These norms have been codified into rules. The human community has also identified intellectual traits that we reflectively judge make us more successful at getting truth-or reaching other epistemic ends, such as understanding. We call these intellectual ..."
A) standards of action.
B) virtues.
C) calibrations.
D) metrics.

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski is referring to virtues, which are intellectual traits that make us more successful at achieving epistemic ends such as understanding or getting truth.

Question 6

Zagzebski says, "My view is that getting to the truth through the reflective use of our faculties is __________________________ than getting to the truth through the unreflective use of our faculties."
A) more of a slippery slope
B) better at achieving certainty
C) likely to fail more often
D) a higher level epistemic state

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski is suggesting that using our reflective faculties to arrive at truth is a higher level epistemic state than using unreflective faculties. This implies that reflective use of our faculties is better than the unreflective use of our faculties.

Question 7

Zagzebski says, "I propose that knowledge is the epistemically ..."
A) conscientious attainment of truth.
B) will to believe.
C) desire to achieve certainty.
D) correct path to spirituality.

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski proposes that knowledge is the epistemically conscientious attainment of truth, meaning that true knowledge is achieved through diligent and careful inquiry that leads to justified true beliefs. This aligns with the traditional view of knowledge in epistemology. The other options (B, C, and D) do not accurately reflect Zagzebski's proposal.

Question 8

According to Zagzebski, "a conscientious person has general epistemic self-trust. The phenomenon of epistemic circularity means that either a reflective person must have self-trust or succumb to ..."
A) dialectical materialism.
B) rationalism.
C) skepticism.
D) holism.

Accepted Answer

According to Zagzebski, epistemic circularity occurs when a person's beliefs are used as evidence for those same beliefs. A reflective person who does not have self-trust will succumb to skepticism, as they will be unable to justify their beliefs without using their previous beliefs as evidence. Therefore, the best choice is C - skepticism.

Question 9

Zagzebski tells us that, "a situation in which a person forms a true belief on the basis of simple perception or memory or testimony, and does so automatically, with no reflection," is called ...
A) "rule of thumb."
B) "easy knowledge."
C) "fallacious knowledge."
D) "soft determinism."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski refers to this situation as "easy knowledge," where the person acquires true belief without much effort or reflection. The other options are not relevant to Zagzebski's definition.

Question 10

Zagzebski says, "When we reflect, we realize that we have no non-circular way to tell that our faculties have anything to do with the way the world is, so either we turn our pre-reflective trust into reflective trust, or we become skeptics."

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects Zagzebski's position on the connection between our faculties and the way the world is.

Question 11

According to Zagzebski, "The point of reflection is to increase the trustworthiness of our faculties, but we can only do that by using those same faculties in an especially careful and directed way."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski argues that reflection is important for increasing the trustworthiness of our faculties, and that this can only be achieved by using those same faculties in a careful and directed way.

Question 12

According to Zagzebski, "The natural end of belief is doubt."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski argues that the natural end of belief is truth, not doubt. She emphasizes the importance of aiming for truth in the process of forming beliefs.

Question 13

Zagzebski says, "What I mean by epistemic conscientiousness is creating a valid deductive argument from strong premises."

Accepted Answer

According to the article, Zagzebski defines epistemic conscientiousness as "the act of intentionally seeking the truth and doing one’s best to find it, staying alert to any beliefs one already holds that might distort or hinder one’s inquiry, being diligent in gathering relevant evidence, carefully scrutinizing that evidence for relevance, reliability, and accuracy, and being willing to revise one’s beliefs in light of new evidence or argumentation." There is no mention of creating a deductive argument in her definition.

Question 14

Zagzebski claims that, "The human community has developed norms of reasoning by reflection upon the connection between what we do cognitively and what we later, upon reflection, judge as successful. These norms have been codified into rules. The human community has also identified intellectual traits that we reflectively judge make us more successful at getting truth-or reaching other epistemic ends, such as understanding. We call these intellectual metrics."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski refers to these intellectual traits as "intellectual virtues," not "intellectual metrics."

Question 15

Zagzebski says, "My view is that getting to the truth through the reflective use of our faculties is more of a slippery slope than getting to the truth through the unreflective use of our faculties."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski's view emphasizes the importance of reflective use of our faculties in getting to the truth, suggesting that unreflective use is more prone to error and less reliable in reaching true beliefs.

Question 16

Zagzebski says, "I propose that knowledge is the epistemically conscientious attainment of truth"

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects Zagzebski's definition of knowledge in her book "Virtues of the Mind". According to Zagzebski, knowledge involves conscientiously striving to attain truth through practices such as careful inquiry, attention to evidence, and critical reflection.

Question 17

According to Zagzebski, "a conscientious person has general epistemic self-trust. The phenomenon of epistemic circularity means that either a reflective person must have self-trust or succumb to dialectical materialism."

Accepted Answer

Zagzebski discusses the concept of epistemic self-trust in the context of a conscientious person, but she does not link the necessity of self-trust to avoiding dialectical materialism. Instead, she argues that self-trust is a fundamental aspect of a reflective person's approach to resolving epistemic circularity, without making a connection to dialectical materialism.

Question 18

Zagzebski tells us that, "a situation in which a person forms a true belief on the basis of simple perception or memory or testimony, and does so automatically, with no reflection," is called "easy knowledge."

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately reflects Zagzebski's definition of "easy knowledge."

Question 19

Zagzebski says, "When we reflect, we realize that we have no non-circular way to tell that our faculties have anything to do with the way the world is, so either we turn our pre-reflective trust into reflective trust, or we become skeptics." Do you agree with Zagzebski? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Zagzebski says, "When we reflect, we realize...

Question 20

According to Zagzebski, "The point of reflection is to increase the trustworthiness of our faculties, but we can only do that by using those same faculties in an especially careful and directed way." Do you think that reflection can increase the trustworthiness of our faculties? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Zagzebski, "The point of reflection...

Quiz 2: Plato Knowledge Is Recollection

Zagzebski says, "When we reflect, we realize that we have no non-circular way to tell that our faculties have anything to do with the way the world is, so either we turn our pre-reflective trust into reflective trust, or we become ..."

According to Zagzebski, "The point of __________ is to increase the trustworthiness of our faculties, but we can only do that by using those same faculties in an especially careful and directed way."

According to Zagzebski, "The natural end of belief is ..."

Zagzebski says, "What I mean by epistemic conscientiousness is ..."

Zagzebski says, "My view is that getting to the truth through the reflective use of our faculties is __________________________ than getting to the truth through the unreflective use of our faculties."

Zagzebski says, "I propose that knowledge is the epistemically ..."

According to Zagzebski, "a conscientious person has general epistemic self-trust. The phenomenon of epistemic circularity means that either a reflective person must have self-trust or succumb to ..."

Zagzebski tells us that, "a situation in which a person forms a true belief on the basis of simple perception or memory or testimony, and does so automatically, with no reflection," is called ...