Introduction to Philosophy

Study Questions for Final Exam

1. What were the three sources of the medieval worldview?
2. How did the reformation, renaissance, and new science in the sixteenth century challenge these sources of the medieval worldview?
3. What does Descartes’ mean by “certainty”?
4. What is methodological doubt?
5. What are the sources of belief that Descartes proposes to subject to methodological doubt?
6. What is meant by a priori and a posteriori?
7. What is the dream argument? What kind of beliefs is supposed to raise doubt about?
8. Why is the dream argument allegedly superior to the skeptical arguments of the ancient Greeks?
9. What is one criticism of Descartes’ dream argument?
10. What is the evil demon argument? How does it differ from the dream argument?
11. What is one criticism of Descartes’ evil demon argument?
12. What is meant by the claim that Descartes’ skeptical arguments are self-refuting?
13. What is the first truth that Descartes discovers that is allegedly certain?
14. Why can’t the evil demon hypothesis raise doubts about current states of consciousness?
15. What is Descartes’ definition or description of God?
16. Why does Descartes think he must prove (with certainty) the existence of God?
17. Explain Descartes’ proof for the existence of God in Meditation II?
18. What is meant by “formal reality”? What is meant by “objective reality”?
19. What is meant by the “light of nature”?
20. Why can’t the idea of God be caused by the human mind itself?
21. What is one potential criticism of Descartes’ proof for the existence of God?
22. Why does Descartes think that God is no deceiver? Why is this significant in removing the grounds for doubt generated by the evil demon argument?
23. What is the source of error according to Descartes?
24. How does Descartes respond to the question concerning why God would create beings with imperfect faculties?
25. What is meant by Descartes’ conception of the universe as mechanistic?
26. Explain Descartes’ metaphysics of the human person.
27. Who were the rationalists? Who were the empiricists? How did they differ and on what point did they agree?
28. How did Immanuel Kant propose to synthesize the correct insights of rationalism and empiricism while avoiding their respective errors?
29. Explain at least three features of Hegel’s philosophy?
30. What are two ways in which Hegel differed from Kant?
31. What were the elements in Hegel’s philosophy that Soren Kierkegaard found unacceptable?
32. What was the original title for Kierkegaard’s short novel Johannes Climacus?
33. How is Johannes described at the beginning of the novel Johannes Climacus?
34. What is meant by de omnibus dubitandum est?
35. What are the three theses that form the focus of Johannes Climacus?
36. Johannes contrasts the historical and the philosophical. Explain this contrast and its importance in connection to Hegel.
37. Why does Johannes think the thesis “modern philosophy begins with doubt” is, or can be transformed into a philosophical thesis?
38. Why does Johannes think that the statement “philosophy begins with doubt” is really an historical thesis, not a philosophical thesis?
39. What does the phrase “philosophy begins with doubt” imply about Hegelianism?
40. According to Johannes, in what does doubt arise?
41. Doubt is said to be a contradiction between what two things?
42. How does Hegelianism take modern philosophy to its logical conclusion?
43. Why did Kierkegaard choose to use the method of indirect communication?
44. How is Kierkegaard similar to Plato as an author?
45. Descartes is the father of _______________. Kierkegaard is the father of ___________________.

Note: Review study questions and mid-term exam, as there will be questions from earlier in the course as well

as material since the mid-term!!!