Mid-term+Exam+Questions

Possible Mid-term Exam Questions:


 * ...on Truth**

Q: Society can be a substantial influence on both a philosopher's method of knowing the truth, and the conclusions he derives from those methods. Using at least three philosophers discussed in the first semester as examples, explain how spiritual, intellectual, and political influences from society can affect the philosophy of the time. (Billy Frese)

Q: Match each method of knowing the truth with a philosopher we have discussed and support your claim, (Manuela A.)

Q: "It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (a famous German poet and novelist)

Do you agree that it is easier to point out errors or things that seem to be "wrong" rather than say something is absolutely "right"? If so, how can you point out that something is wrong when you are not completely sure of the truth itself? If you disagree, explain why you think finding the truth is easier than finding the error. (Steph)

Q: Parmenides and Heraclitus were two Presocratic philosophers with very different ideas. Parmenides valued reason above all else. He observed with his senses that everything changed but his reason told him otherwise. He concluded that a) nothing changes and b) our sensory perceptions cannot be trusted. Heraclitus, on the other hand, saw a) the world was made up by the constant interplay of opposites and that b) all things flowed according to a "universal reason" or "universal law." He also thought that c) the senses were reliable. Imagine you are a young philosopher in 490 B.C, whose school of thought do you follow and why? Would you add anything to their philosophy? (HK)
 * ...on the pre-Socratics**
 * ...on Socrates, Plato, and/or Aristotle**

Q: Plato believed that the soul existed before the body it inhabits. According to him, the soul once knew perfect ideas, but when it enters the body, it forgets these ideas, and only begins to remember them when the human starts to perceive things. How does Plato's view of the soul compare with Locke's ideas of "tabula rasa" and "natural rights"? (natural rights = "certain ethical principles applied to everyone") (Liza C.)

Q: Artistotle believed, "that nothing exists in conciousness that has not first been experienced by the senses." On the contrary, Plato believed that, "there is nothing in the natural world that has not first existed in the world of ideas". Taking these contradicting ideas into consideration is one philosopher correct or can they both be proven wrong? (Sydney Wade)


 * ...on Cynics, Stoics, and/or Epicurians**

Q: "He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god."-Abigail Adams Consider Diogones and the Cynics- they would assert that a man who lives outside of society is god-like, or possesses great qualities. In your opinion, is society a necessity? Respond in the context of this quote--is self-sufficiency a blessing, a curse, or an impossibility? (Claire)

Q: Unlike Socrates who says that we all have the samce chances of going to heaven beacuase we all have the same common sense, St. Augustine divides people into two groups. One group gets saved and the other gets damned. What then is the philosophical reason that St. Augustine urged people to continue praying and find salvation inside the Church? How are worship and faith connected to the truth? (Chelsea)
 * ...on the "saints:" Augustine, Anslem, Aquinas**

Q: One cannot help but wonder if the reason Descartes and the philosophers of his time supported the existence of God so much was because if they didn't, no one would consider their philosophies and their books would be burned, or did they truly believe in their theories of proving God's existence through reason? (Kamal Moustafa Daghistani) Jeremy was here
 * ...on Descartes (and/or rationalists)**

Q: Spinoza, for example, believed that our minds are simply local concentrations of a universal mentality. Many rejected this idea, however, because it denies ultimate individuality and identity. Do you think that this in some way reflects the humanistic surge of the Renaissance? If so, how has this struggle between a focus on self and complete submission to God affected the philosophical ideas that we have reviewed? (Alexandra Lopez)

Q: Descartes believed in our existence due to reason (I think therefore I am). Descartes uses this same method to explain the existence of God. He believed that since perfection exists therefore God exists. Why do many people accept Descartes' philosophy of explaining existence yet discard his philosophy of explaining God even though he is using the same exact method to explain them (He believes he exists because he has thoughts. He believes God exists because there is perfection.) (Isa)


 * ...on Hume (and/or empiricists.**


 * ...other**

When discussing the ideas of different philosophers it is often harder for us to accept their attempt to prove the existence of “God”. (This definition of God being a higher, omnipotent, perfect essence; not necessarily “a guy with a beard”.) Showing a concrete proof of “God’s” existence seems to be equally as frustrating as a concrete way to reach or find the truth, because they are both concepts that few people //know//. Are “God “and truth related? How? Do our human qualities (perception, reason) inhibit our acceptance of truth and “God”? Do we have to accept “God” in order to find truth? (Briana B.)

Q: Compile your personal philosophy by picking and choosing ideas/theories from all of the philosophers we have studied and explain why. (Sam Reyes)