GED212
Introduction to Philosophy
Discovering Philosophy, Portfolio Edition
Text:
Final
2nd Edition , 2008
ISBN: 3: 978-0-13-209071-1; 10: 0-13-209071-6
Authors:
Thomas I. White
Publisher:
Prentice Hall
925 N. Spurgeon Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Phone: 714-547-9625 Fax: 714-547-5777
03/09
Introduction to Philosophy
Final Examination
1
Multiple Choice Questions (Enter your answers on the enclosed answer sheet)
1. Metaphysics is the study of right and wrong.
A. True
B. False
2. Logic is the study of reason and arguments.
A. True
B. False
3. Philosophy studies lifes most basic questions.
A. True
B. False
4. Philosophical questions are primarily subjective in nature.
A. True
B. False
5. The value of studying philosophy is that it develops your analytical abilities
and your capacity for abstract thought.
A. True
B. False
6. _______________ is the study of how we live together in communities, and
deals with problems of harmonizing freedom and obligation.
A. Social philosophy
B. Social interaction
C. Political philosophy
D. None of the above
7. ________________is what Aristotle referred to as the first philosophy, and
studies the most basic issues.
A. Ethics
B. Logic
C. Metaphysics
D. Social philosophy
Introduction to Philosophy
Final Examination
2
8. The word philosophy derives from two ancient Greek words: philia, which
means love, and sophia, which means wisdom.
A. True
B. False
9. A(n)______ fallacy involves an arguments logical structure.
A. Informal
B. Formal
C. Premise
D. conclusion
10. A(n) ________ fallacy involves an arguments subject matter.
A. Informal
B. Formal
C. Premise
D. conclusion
11. The two parts of an argument are _____.
A. Introduction and conclusion
B. Premises and conclusion
C. Pros and cons
D. Truths and conclusion
12. Another word for the facts, evidence, theories, or ideas that allegedly lead to
an arguments claim is premises.
A. True
B. False
13. If its sunny, Jennifer goes surfing. Jennifer went surfing today. Therefore,
it must have been sunny. This is an excellent illustration of affirming the
consequent, a formal fallacy.
A. True
B. False
14. A square has four sides is a necessary and sufficient condition for defining
a square.
A. True
B. False
15. The potions riddle in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is an excellent
example of logical thinking.
A. True
B. False
16. If someone is a student at Hogwarts, then he or she is studying witchcraft
and wizardry. Neville Longbottom is a student at Hogwarts. Therefore, Nev-
ille Longbottom is studying witchcraft and wizardry. This is an excellent ex-
ample of Modus Ponens, or the Asserting Rule.
A. True
B. False
17. The _____is the main conscious element of the personality and tries to
mediate between the unrestrained desires of the superego and the punishing
demands of the id for moral perfection.
A. Ego
B. Soul
C. Logic
D. None of the above
18. The inner feeling of freedom that we all have supports the theory of _____.
A. Fatalism
B. Determinism
C. Free will
D. None of the above
19. The ancient Greek story of Oedipus, who, no matter how hard he tries, cannot
avoid his tragic destiny, is an example of the theory of _____.
A. Fatalism
B. Determinism
C. Free will
D. None of the above
20. The idea that there is one special person somewhere in the world that is your
destiny to meet and fall in love with is an example of ______.
A. Fatalism
B. Determinism
C. Free will
D. None of the above
21. A theory that claims that all human behavior is the result of scientifically
identifiable natural forces is an example of _____.
A. Fatalism
B. Determinism
C. Free will
D. None of the above
22. B.F. Skinner believes that human freedom is impossible.
A. True
B. False
23. Freudianism claims that the human personality has neither conscious nor
unconscious dimensions.
A. True
B. False
24. A Freudian slip is an example of how the unconscious can determine what
we say.
A. True
B. False
25. Ellis believes that irrational beliefs are the greatest threat to our freedom.
A. True
B. False
26. _____is the position that holds that in any circumstance, we genuinely have
more than one option from which to choose.
A. Indeterminism
B. Existentialism
C. Pragmatism
D. Free will
27. ______ claims that freedom is so inescapable that it is sometimes uncomfort-
able, which is why Sartre wrote that we are condemned to be free.
A. Indeterminism
B. Existentialism
C. Pragmatism
D. Free will
28. William James is the most important representative of _____, the school of
thought that claims that what is true is what works.
A. Indeterminism
B. Existentialism
C. Pragmatism
D. Free will
29. Sartre accepts the idea that existence precedes essence, that is, the theory
that our choices determine our nature.
A. True
B. False
30. The theory of free will implies about responsibility that because our actions
result from our own choices, we are fully responsible for them.
A. True
B. False
31. Aristotle would agree most strongly with which of the following statement:
The more we understand people, the more we know how little responsibility
they have for their actions.
A. True
B. False
32. According to Ellis, irrational beliefs prove that determinism is correct.
A. True
B. False
33. Which of the following comes closest to the main ideas underlying a deonto-
logical approach to ethics?
A. do your duty
B. survival of the fittest
C. no harm, no foul
D. there is virtue in suffering
34. Utilitarianism _____.
A. is a deontological ethical theory that uses a scientific, empirical basis for
ethics
B. is a teleological ethical theory that bases ethics on private philosophical
insight
C. is a deontological ethical theory that uses pleasure and notions like the
greatest good of the greatest number as standards for judging the morality
of actions
D. is a teleological ethical theory that uses pleasure and notions like the great-
est good of the greatest number as standards for judging the morality of
actions
35. The strengths of Benthams Hedonistic Calculus are it effectively measures
many of the consequences of an action and it does not prejudge the question
of the morality of an action.
A. True
B. False
36. _____ revised Benthams ideas by arguing for the importance of differences
in the type, kind, or quality of pleasures and pains that follow from actions.
A. Kant
B. Mill
C. Plato
D. Scorates
37. The most basic concept of Kants ethics is_____.
A. Truth
B. Virtue
C. Spirituality
D. Duty
38. Kant calls his basic moral rule the categorical truth.
A. True
B. False
39. The ultimate drawback to a teleological approach to ethics is that it allows
for the idea that the ends justify the means.
A. True
B. False
40. In a religious approach to ethics, faith and the authority of sacred texts have
the final word.
A. True
B. False
41. A healthy soul is characterized generally by _____.
A. the ability to distinguish right from wrong without being blinded by fear,
greed, or the like; strength of will, freedom, self-control
B. divine grace and the guarantee of eternal life
C. a belief in the importance of suffering and the sense of moral superiority that
goes along with that
D. a belief in the teachings of Gyges and the ethical insights that flow from that
42. Socrates was unusual as a philosopher because _____.
A. he spent his life getting rich
B. no other philosopher has ever challenged his ideas
C. he dictated all of his ideas to another philosopher, Plato
D. he never wrote anything about his teachings
43. In the story of Gyges ring, a shepherd finds a ring that can make him
invisible.
A. True
B. False
44. Plato thinks that we are made up of three parts, physical, emotional, and
intellectual.
A. True
B. False
45. Consider the case of a woman who is robbed and beaten. The robber
escapes punishment. Socrates would say the robber has been most hurt by
this crime.
A. True
B. False
46. Socrates illustrates his ideas about the ethical life and the unethical life with
the image of two wine jars.
A. True
B. False
47. In the Platonic dialogue entitled the Gorgiras, the character Callicles argues
that best life is one of the uncontrolled and totally self-interested pursuit of
pleasure.
A. True
B. False
48. Plato believes that in the unhealthy soul there is an inappropriate balance
among the three parts.
A. True
B. False
49. Thales believes that the basic nature of all things, the first principle of reality,
is ________.
A. Time
B. Our sense of self
C. Our bodies
D. Water
50. Anaximanders first principle of reality is the Unlimited.
A. True
B. False
51. Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and other thinkers such as Heraclitus and
Parmenides are known as Post-Socratics
A. True
B. False
52. Plato explains the divided line theory with the allegory of a cave
A. True
B. False
53. Berkeley maintains that object no not exist apart from being perceived.
A. True
B. False
54. Berkeley claims that God constantly perceives reality, and thus gives it ulti-
mate existence.
A. True
B. False
55. An Anthropomorphic account of reality explains things by appealing to cul-
tural terms.
A. True
B. False
56. The philosophical approach to knowledge known as empiricism claims that
knowledge comes from, or arises in, our minds.
A. True
B. False
57. The philosophical approach to knowledge known as rationalism claims that
knowledge comes from sensory experiences.
A. True
B. False
58. Hume thinks that to the extent that knowledge is possible, it ultimately
depends on___________.
A. The senses
B. The mind
C. The soul
D. Our logic
59. Hume uses the example of a billiard ball hitting another to question the
concept of causality.
A. True
B. False
60. Gilbert Ryle uses the term ___________ to describe an error in logical catego-
ries, otherwise known as comparing apples to oranges.
A. Informal
B. Incorrect analogy
C. Category false
D. Category mistake
61. A triangle has three sides is an example of an analytic statement.
A. True
B. False
62. Descartes uses the example of a piece of melting wax to claim that the
senses are the only dependable source of knowledge.
A. True
B. False
63. Kant tried to synthesize the epistemological views of the rationalists and
empiricists.
A. True
B. False
64. An argument from design, claims that the universe is so intelligently crafted
that it must have a creator.
A. True
B. False
65. The problem of evil is taken up in the Bible in the book of job.
A. True
B. False
66. Aquinas defines _________ as potentialities becoming actualized.
A. Our morals
B. Our actions
C. Motion
D. Our sense of self
67. An onotological argument concerning Gods existence claims that by merely
contemplating the notion of God as that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-
be-thought, we become aware that God must exist.
A. True
B. False
68. David Hume claims the fear is the basis of religion, that people accept reli-
gion on emotional grounds.
A. True
B. False
69. David Hume dismisses such arguments about Gods existence from causality
with the claim that the material universe itself might be a necessarily existent
being, which means there is no need for a first cause.
A. True
B. False
70. Anselms discussion of the possibility of Gods existence relies on empirical
evidence alone.
A. True
B. False
71. Anselms argument is essentially Aristotelian because it believes that the
question of Gods existence can be settled by studying the workings of nature.
A. True
B. False
72. Hegels label for the dynamic and conflict-filled process that dominates real-
ity is dialectic, the three elements of which are thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
A. True
B. False
73. Marx calls the type of work that characterizes capitalism_____________.
A. Punishment
B. Forced labor
C. Unethical
D. Alienated labor
74. Karma is an essentially deterministic principle which is, paradoxically, based
on the idea of individual free choice.
A. True
B. False
75. The Supreme Buddha was a prince from fifth century B.C. Nepal who became
a great spiritual leader.
A. True
B. False
76. _______________ is the Buddhist idea that because the task of spiritual de-
velopment is too complex to accomplish in one lifetime, we live many lives.
A. Karma
B. Our destiny
C. Rebirth
D. Free will
77. In Western culture, religion and philosophy thoroughly intermix, and in the
East, they do just the same.
A. True
B. False
78. The Buddhist conception of the self is the source of the way the self is under-
stood in Western philosophy.
A. True
B. False
79. Modern natural science has a close relationship to the school of philosophy
called Empiricism.
A. True
B. False
80. According to Einstein, _________ will be perceived the same whether the
observer is moving or not.
A. Space-time continuum
B. String theory
C. The speed of light
D. Theory of Relativity
81. Einsteins theory about the ______implies that reality has four dimensions,
not three.
A. Space-time continuum
B. String theory
C. The speed of light
D. Theory of Relativity
82. _______________is based on the claim that the ultimate building blocks of
reality arent subatomic particles, but even smaller vibrating one-dimensional
strings of energy.
A. Space-time continuum
B. String theory
C. The speed of light
D. Theory of Relativity
83. The world of subatomic particles spawned a separate branch of physics called
quantum mechanics.
A. True
B. False
84. Imagine two twins. One gets onto a space ship and travels close to the speed
of light for what the ships clocks record as a few months. The other twin re-
mains on earth. When the space ship returns, there will be no difference in
their ages.
A. True
B. False
85. Imagine that you are standing still, while a friend of yours is on a train head-
ing north. You see two lightning bolts strike the ground at the same instant
one to the north and the other to the south. Einstein would say that your
friend on the train experiences things differently, seeing the northern bolt
strike before the southern bolt.
A. True
B. False
86. Unlike Newton, Einstein believes that space is constant and absolute and
cannot bend.
A. True
B. False
87. The main psychological research on epistemological differences between
men and women focuses on different developmental stages that we go
through in progressing from a simple to a mature understanding of the con-
cept of _____________.
A. Truth
B. Self-actualization
C. Understanding
D. Knowledge
88. In ______________ conventional morality, including stages three and four,
we understand right and wrong in terms of laws and the expectations of
others.
A. Kohlbergs
B. Perrys
C. Belenkys
D. Gilligans
89. If we are at Perrys second stage, unacceptable multiplicity, and we hear
two opposite accounts of the causes of the Reformation, we would probably
think that one, but only one, of the two accounts is true.
A. True
B. False
90. In Belenkys first stage, ____________, knowledge is what some external
authority says it is.
A. Constructed knowledge
B. Received knowledge
C. Subjective knowledge
D. Procedural knowledge
91. In Belenkys final stage, _______________, believing is more important than
doubting.
A. Constructed knowledge
B. Received knowledge
C. Subjective knowledge
D. Procedural knowledge
92. If we combine the two perspectives represented by Kohlberg and Gilligan,
the problem of the moral justification of an action becomes more difficult
and involved.
A. True
B. False
93. Sex refers to societal roles, whereas gender refers to biology.
A. True
B. False
94. Human and person are different, but related, ideas. Human is a bio-
logical concept, while person is a _____________ concept.
A. Theological
B. Philosophical
C. Scientific
D. Emotional
95. Dolphins curiosity about humans can be traced back at least to ancient
__________.
A. Rome
B. China
C. Greece
D. None of the above
96. The one dolphin sense that acts as both their eyes and ears in the water is
like the modern human sonar system onboard submarines.
A. True
B. False
97. Dolphins have a body temperature of _________ degrees.
A. 98.6
B. 96.8
C. 90.2
D. 92.2
98. As far as the criteria for personhood are concerned, dolphins probably do
possess awareness because the fact that they can be so easily trained
shows that they are aware of the external world and able to interact with it.
A. True
B. False
99. The fact that dolphins can perform leaps, dives and flips on cue from train-
ers: prove that dolphins are not intelligent enough to be persons, because
persons would not perform such menial behaviors.
A. True
B. False
100. In terms of the criteria for personhood developed in this chapter, dolphins,
on balance, did pretty well.
A. True
B. False
