A Level Philosophy Year 1 Exam Questions and Expert Solutions

What is philosophical scepticism? [3] Philosophical scepticism is the position that our usual justifications for claiming that beliefs amount to knowledge are inadequate, it is used a measure to test the strength of our knowledge/ justifications. Philosophical scepticism arises when the sceptic's hypothesis/challenge is said to render one's ordinary evidence insufficient for justifying one's belief that p. The grounds for doubt cannot be removed by ordinary evidence (but may be combatted by philosophical argument). What is propositional knowledge? propositional knowledge is factual & knowing that a certain proposition is true or false- knowing that 2+2=4, knowing that Shakespeare wrote hamlet etc. We speak of knowing this through language- requires language and concepts, can only be had by humans, more formal form of knowledge, requires self- awareness. The only knowledge you CANNOT be born with. What is acquaintance knowledge? [3] Acquaintance knowledge is knowing of; knowing of a place, of a sensation or a feeling, for example knowing the taste of pineapple having tried it, some philosophers regard knowledge by acquaintance with our particular sense data (shape, size, colour etc) and without input of these senses our mind would be a blank slate- tabular rasa. Expressed more through behaviour. What is ability knowledge? [3] Ability knowledge is knowing how, practical knowledge; knowing how to swim, how to ride a bike, how to read- through experience. Expressed through actions more than language. Briefly explain why Aristotle thinks pleasure is not the only good? [3] According to Aristotle, what is good is a 'final end', something we aim for at it its own sake. Pleasure is not the only good because, he argues, pleasure is not the only things that we aim at for its own sake. There are other things which we seek out, such as knowledge and virtue, that we would seek out even if they brought us no pleasure. The pleasure they bring is not why we seek them out. They are also final ends, not means to pleasure. Outline the tripartite definition of knowledge [3] Tripartite definition of knowledge claims that If someone knows a proposition then all three conditions must be satisfied- justified true belief, so the it has to be justified, true and you have to believe. JTB is necessary and sufficient for propositional knowledge (S knows P if and only if S is justified in believing that P, P is true, S believes that P). They are jointly sufficient and individually necessary.