SECTION A: Plato, Meno
1. ‘But how could I know what sort of thing something is, when I don’t know what
it is?’ Critically examine the role this principle plays in the dialogue.
2. Is the ‘method of hypothesis’ a helpful methodological innovation? Explain
your answer.
3. Explain and assess Socrates’ distinction between knowledge and true belief.
4. Is virtue a kind of knowledge?
SECTION B: Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
5. Are Philo’s criticisms of the design argument convincing?
6. Can the principle ‘like effects, like causes’ serve as a basis for natural
theology?
7. Is it possible to reconcile the existence of evil with the existence of God?
8. Is Philo right that scepticism is the foundation of all true religion?
SECTION C: Mill, On Liberty and The Subjection of Women
9. ‘Complete liberty of contradicting and disproving our opinion, is the very
condition which justifies us in assuming its truth for purposes of action; and on
no other terms can a being with human faculties have any rational assurance
of being right.’ Discuss.
10. ‘It is right for government to try and reduce the incidence of smoking, since no
one in their right mind would want to smoke.’ What would Mill have thought of
this claim?
11. Now that we have equality between the sexes, can we assess the natural
differences between men and women?
12. What was Mill’s ideal form of marriage? Is this view plausible?