PHIL101 EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What is the cosmological argument? - Answers - every finite being has a cause, nothing
finite can cause itself. A casual chain cannot be of infinite length, therefore a first cause
must exist.
- Originated by Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s
What is the teleological argument? - Answers - Irreducible complexity, natural law, and
order point to a creator- an intelligent being
What is the ontological argument? - Answers - the argument that God, being defined as
most great or perfect, must exist, since a God who exists is greater than a God who
does not.
What are the 5 assumptions of Nick Bostrom's simulation argument? - Answers - 1. It is
possible to simulate our world. (conciousness is substrate independent)
2. Technological progress will continue
3. Advanced civilizations don't destroy themselves
4. Super-advanced civilizations want to simulate reality
5. If there are a lot of simulations, you are probably in one.
What is substrate independence? - Answers - Substrate Independence is a term used to
denote how the Mind is a dynamic process and is not tied to a specific set of atoms as
the body replaces them often.
How would one act if this world is a computer simulation? - Answers - The same. If you
are in a simulation, the best way to predict what happens next is still science,
(i.e. extrapolation of known regularities), history, common sense etc. The best way to
determine what matters and how we ought to behave is still philosophy, ethics,
politics, art...
It would still be rational to treat virtual people the way we treat organic people
What are Asimomv's three laws? - Answers - Asimov's Three Laws
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human
being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Laws
What is the cosmological argument in premise form? - Answers - 1. Everything we know
has a cause
2. There can't be an infinite regress of causes
3. Therefore, there must be a first cause
4. Therefore, this first cause is God.
What is the cosmological argument? - Answers - every finite being has a cause, nothing
finite can cause itself. A casual chain cannot be of infinite length, therefore a first cause
must exist.
- Originated by Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s
What is the teleological argument? - Answers - Irreducible complexity, natural law, and
order point to a creator- an intelligent being
What is the ontological argument? - Answers - the argument that God, being defined as
most great or perfect, must exist, since a God who exists is greater than a God who
does not.
What are the 5 assumptions of Nick Bostrom's simulation argument? - Answers - 1. It is
possible to simulate our world. (conciousness is substrate independent)
2. Technological progress will continue
3. Advanced civilizations don't destroy themselves
4. Super-advanced civilizations want to simulate reality
5. If there are a lot of simulations, you are probably in one.
What is substrate independence? - Answers - Substrate Independence is a term used to
denote how the Mind is a dynamic process and is not tied to a specific set of atoms as
the body replaces them often.
How would one act if this world is a computer simulation? - Answers - The same. If you
are in a simulation, the best way to predict what happens next is still science,
(i.e. extrapolation of known regularities), history, common sense etc. The best way to
determine what matters and how we ought to behave is still philosophy, ethics,
politics, art...
It would still be rational to treat virtual people the way we treat organic people
What are Asimomv's three laws? - Answers - Asimov's Three Laws
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human
being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not
conflict with the First or Second Laws
What is the cosmological argument in premise form? - Answers - 1. Everything we know
has a cause
2. There can't be an infinite regress of causes
3. Therefore, there must be a first cause
4. Therefore, this first cause is God.
