Philosophy questions and solved answers

1. What are intentional definitions of philosophy? - correct answers-Intentional Philosophy: seek to provide necessary and sufficient conditions in order for that term to apply (necessary and sufficient conditions) Intentional Philosophy: 5 conditions that need to be in place: - correct answers- 1.Objectivity: aim to objective analysis - 2.Rationality: reason giving, arguments, and providing evidence to support claims - 3.Generality: providing theories that apply to all cases - 4.Reflectivity: reflecting upon our own beliefs, values, and ideas - 5.Critique of our presuppositions: critical evaluation of our taken for granted assumptions Example: what are the conditions that need to be in place before we can apply the concept museum to a situation Extensional Philosophy - correct answers-seeks to define concepts simply by pointing to examples of X Example: An extensional definition of a book would be pointing at an example of a book Example: William Lawhead points at Socrates as an Extensional definition of philosophy Who was Socrates? - correct answers- First of the three great Athenian Philosophers - Born in Athens and lived through the Athenian Empire - Socrates lived a life of "the philosopher" and questioned the beliefs and views of Athenians What is the Socratic Method? - correct answers- 1. Locate the Philosophical Issue - 2. Locate the Philisophical term/s that need to be analyzed (EX: Justice) - 3. Socrates then would profess complete ignorance and request the help from the so called "expert" - 4. the "expert" then proposes a definition (Justice) - 5. Socrates then analyzes (Justice) and exposes its weakness. Socrates gets "expert" to admit that there definition is contradictory - 6. Expert tries to improve upon previous definition again and again (5 or 6 times) and again and again it is found inadequate - 7. "expert" finally has to face the facts of his ignorance and is now ready to learn and seek wisdom What were Socrates Teachings? - correct answers- unexamined life is not worth living - the most important task in life is caring for the soul (soul/psyche is most the essence of humanness) - a good person can not be harmed by others What is a Valid Argument - correct answers- an argument in which it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false What is a Sound Argument - correct answers- A valid argument with true premises How did Socrates understand his life mission? - correct answers- Socrates thought that wisdom/truth was the most important goal in life Who was Plato? - correct answers- Classic Greek Philosopher - founder of the Academy in Athens (first institution of higher learning) What is the Allegory of the Cave? - correct answers- has layers of philosophical meaning - can be found in Plato's best known work (The Republic) - Plato describes the predicament in which mankind finds itself and proposes a way of salvation How does the author of the book use Plato's Allegory of the Cave - correct answers- Logic: the Prisoners are asked to think critically and reason upon their situation - Epistemology: the prisoners think they "know" reality, yet it is merely belief and not knowledge - Metaphysics: there are levels of reality: the shadows, puppets and the real objects outside of the cave - Philosophy of Religion: the Allegory assumes that there is a higher and transcendent reality - Ethics: the prisoner is liberated and has an ethical obligation to liberate and the others "intellectually" - Political Philosophy: the prisoners have no political power only those who possess power get the "right" to tell others what is real and how to live What are the major areas of Philosophy? - correct answers- Logic: the study of reason giving, argument and inference - Epistemology: the study of knowledge, belief and truth - Metaphysics: the study of ultimate nature and reality - Philosophy of religion: the study of questions regarding faith, the soul etc... - Ethics: the philosophical study of morality and how one ought to behave - Political Philosophy: the study of legitimacy of government authority and the best form of government What are the criteria that philosophers use to test various systems of belief and various philosophies? - correct answers- Clarity: clearly defined concepts - Consistency: ideas and concepts free of contradiction inherent of oppositions (A and not A is a contradiction) - Coherence: how a set of concepts or ideas gel together - Comprehensiveness: how encompassing a set of concepts and ideas are - Compatibility: how concepts and ideas tie in with or line up with well established findings of biology and psychology - Compelling Arguments Deductive Arguments - correct answers- aims at gaining certainty because the conclusion necessarily falls from the premises - can be valid, invalid, sound or unsound Inductive Arguments - correct answers- aim at gaining probability because the conclusion (if true) only gains a degree of probability - can be strong and cogent - Strong: when premises are true then the conclusion is highly probable - Cogent: if 1) it is strong and 2) the premises are in fact true