PHIL 183 Midterm 1 Test Questions
and All Correct Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Learning all about how to reason well...
a
is not enough to become a good reasoner; the right skills and mindset are also necessary
b
is enough to become a good reasoner as long as your knowledge is paired with the right skills
c
is not important because, just like in sports, the only thing that matters is skill
d
is unnecessary: all you need is the right mindset of curiosity, openness, and perseverance -
Answer a
is not enough to become a good reasoner; the right skills and mindset are also necessary
Focusing on general reasoning skills and not just specific reasoning skills...
a
is important because acquiring specific reasoning skills does not improve general reasoning
skills
b
is the only way to become better at reasoning
c
is a more effective way to improve general reasoning skills
d
is unhelpful because acquiring specific reasoning skills is just as effective a way to become a
good reasoner in general - Answer c
is a more effective way to improve general reasoning skills
In this section, the example of prosopagnosia was primarily used to illustrate...
a
the difference between the process that recognizes faces and the process that interprets
emotions
b
the difference between transparency and effort in facial recognition
c
,the fact that facial recognition occurs in a specialized region of the brain
d
how different it would feel if we had to use System 2 to recognize faces - Answer d
how different it would feel if we had to use System 2 to recognize faces
System 1 has the name it does because...
a
it is the most important system, and therefore considered primary
b
it is older and responds more quickly in a given situation
c
it was the first to be identified by cognitive psychologists who study thought processes
d
it is more accurate and effective and therefore considered primary - Answer b
it is older and responds more quickly in a given situation
The "transparency" of System 2 refers to the fact that
a
its processes can be turned on or off at will
b
its reasoning process itself is open to our awareness
c
our threat-detection system has innate knowledge of several ancient threats to humans
d
it cannot be monitored because it is invisible - Answer b
its reasoning process itself is open to our awareness
Visual illusions are like cognitive illusions in that...
a
they illustrate how System 1 can be trained to become more accurate in automatic judgments
b
the illusions do not arise at all for people who are sufficiently careful to monitor their System 1
c
they show us that we can't know the truth about how the world really is
d
,it is hard to shake the incorrect impression even after we are aware that it is incorrect - Answer
d
it is hard to shake the incorrect impression even after we are aware that it is incorrect
The bat-and-ball example and the bags-of-fruit example both illustrate...
a
that in certain cases we should be wary of our immediate intuitions
b
that our System 1 is not very good at calculating probabilities
c
that we are "cognitive misers" when it comes to answering very difficult numerical problems
d
that under the right conditions, our System 1 can be trained to provide quick and reliable
intuitions - Answer a
that in certain cases we should be wary of our immediate intuitions
The murder case was used to illustrate...
a
that motivated reasoning can color how we interpret ambiguous evidence
b
that our System 1 is not very good at estimating probabilities
c
that our beliefs are often affected by which pieces of evidence we get first
d
that we are more likely to judge a person as being guilty than as being innocent when we are
given evidence on both sides - Answer c
that our beliefs are often affected by which pieces of evidence we get first
When we interpret evidence in a biased way due to motivated reasoning, we tend to...
a
simply decide that we want to believe something and then figure out ways to convince
ourselves that it is true
b
knowingly apply selective standards in order to discredit conflicting evidence
c
deliberately ignore evidence on the other side so that we can bolster our own view
, d
think we are actually being unbiased and fair - Answer d
think we are actually being unbiased and fair
If System 1 is not naturally skilled at a certain kind of reasoning task, ...
a
it may still be possible, under the right conditions, to train it to improve
b
it is easy to tell that it is not skilled and avoid trusting its responses when faced with that kind of
task.
c
then that task is not the sort of task that System 1 performs, because there is a clear division
between System 1 tasks and System 2 tasks
d
the only way that reasoning task can be performed reliably is with effortful and deliberate
thought processes - Answer a
it may still be possible, under the right conditions, to train it to improve
In the sense used in this text, curiosity is primarily about...
a
having degrees of confidence rather than binary beliefs that are entirely "on" or "off"
b
having the right goal--namely, that our beliefs reflect how the world really is
c
not letting ourselves be affected by strong feelings in the midst of a disagreement
d
having a high degree of interest in rare and unusual things or occurrences - Answer b
having the right goal--namely, that our beliefs reflect how the world really is
According to the text, the initial "map and territory" analogy has to be adapted for degrees of
confidence because...
a
maps don't make decisions, but our degree of confidence makes a big difference to our
decisions
b
unlike a map, we are capable of revising our beliefs when we encounter more evidence
and All Correct Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Learning all about how to reason well...
a
is not enough to become a good reasoner; the right skills and mindset are also necessary
b
is enough to become a good reasoner as long as your knowledge is paired with the right skills
c
is not important because, just like in sports, the only thing that matters is skill
d
is unnecessary: all you need is the right mindset of curiosity, openness, and perseverance -
Answer a
is not enough to become a good reasoner; the right skills and mindset are also necessary
Focusing on general reasoning skills and not just specific reasoning skills...
a
is important because acquiring specific reasoning skills does not improve general reasoning
skills
b
is the only way to become better at reasoning
c
is a more effective way to improve general reasoning skills
d
is unhelpful because acquiring specific reasoning skills is just as effective a way to become a
good reasoner in general - Answer c
is a more effective way to improve general reasoning skills
In this section, the example of prosopagnosia was primarily used to illustrate...
a
the difference between the process that recognizes faces and the process that interprets
emotions
b
the difference between transparency and effort in facial recognition
c
,the fact that facial recognition occurs in a specialized region of the brain
d
how different it would feel if we had to use System 2 to recognize faces - Answer d
how different it would feel if we had to use System 2 to recognize faces
System 1 has the name it does because...
a
it is the most important system, and therefore considered primary
b
it is older and responds more quickly in a given situation
c
it was the first to be identified by cognitive psychologists who study thought processes
d
it is more accurate and effective and therefore considered primary - Answer b
it is older and responds more quickly in a given situation
The "transparency" of System 2 refers to the fact that
a
its processes can be turned on or off at will
b
its reasoning process itself is open to our awareness
c
our threat-detection system has innate knowledge of several ancient threats to humans
d
it cannot be monitored because it is invisible - Answer b
its reasoning process itself is open to our awareness
Visual illusions are like cognitive illusions in that...
a
they illustrate how System 1 can be trained to become more accurate in automatic judgments
b
the illusions do not arise at all for people who are sufficiently careful to monitor their System 1
c
they show us that we can't know the truth about how the world really is
d
,it is hard to shake the incorrect impression even after we are aware that it is incorrect - Answer
d
it is hard to shake the incorrect impression even after we are aware that it is incorrect
The bat-and-ball example and the bags-of-fruit example both illustrate...
a
that in certain cases we should be wary of our immediate intuitions
b
that our System 1 is not very good at calculating probabilities
c
that we are "cognitive misers" when it comes to answering very difficult numerical problems
d
that under the right conditions, our System 1 can be trained to provide quick and reliable
intuitions - Answer a
that in certain cases we should be wary of our immediate intuitions
The murder case was used to illustrate...
a
that motivated reasoning can color how we interpret ambiguous evidence
b
that our System 1 is not very good at estimating probabilities
c
that our beliefs are often affected by which pieces of evidence we get first
d
that we are more likely to judge a person as being guilty than as being innocent when we are
given evidence on both sides - Answer c
that our beliefs are often affected by which pieces of evidence we get first
When we interpret evidence in a biased way due to motivated reasoning, we tend to...
a
simply decide that we want to believe something and then figure out ways to convince
ourselves that it is true
b
knowingly apply selective standards in order to discredit conflicting evidence
c
deliberately ignore evidence on the other side so that we can bolster our own view
, d
think we are actually being unbiased and fair - Answer d
think we are actually being unbiased and fair
If System 1 is not naturally skilled at a certain kind of reasoning task, ...
a
it may still be possible, under the right conditions, to train it to improve
b
it is easy to tell that it is not skilled and avoid trusting its responses when faced with that kind of
task.
c
then that task is not the sort of task that System 1 performs, because there is a clear division
between System 1 tasks and System 2 tasks
d
the only way that reasoning task can be performed reliably is with effortful and deliberate
thought processes - Answer a
it may still be possible, under the right conditions, to train it to improve
In the sense used in this text, curiosity is primarily about...
a
having degrees of confidence rather than binary beliefs that are entirely "on" or "off"
b
having the right goal--namely, that our beliefs reflect how the world really is
c
not letting ourselves be affected by strong feelings in the midst of a disagreement
d
having a high degree of interest in rare and unusual things or occurrences - Answer b
having the right goal--namely, that our beliefs reflect how the world really is
According to the text, the initial "map and territory" analogy has to be adapted for degrees of
confidence because...
a
maps don't make decisions, but our degree of confidence makes a big difference to our
decisions
b
unlike a map, we are capable of revising our beliefs when we encounter more evidence
