PHIL 101: FINAL EXAM (JMU - YATES) EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED / VERIFIED ANSWERS

Ferry - Quest for Salvation - ANS - philosophy is about more than 'Critical Reflection' - Quest for Salvation, but he believes this NOT in a religious sense - Issue of 'Death' (mortality) - he had concerns about the Religious approach Nuance - ANS a slight or subtle degree of difference (drawing a distinction) Ferry - Three Orientations of Philosophy - ANS 1. Theory 2. Ethics 3. Salvation/Wisdom Solomon - In pursuit of the contemplative life - ANS "philosophy does not pull us away from our lives; it clarifies them" - philosophy is all about cultivating one side of our lives on the basis of questioning another - intellectual strength Queen of the Sciences - ANS many philosophers say that it is a science, in fact, the "queen of the sciences", the womb in which physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, biology, and psychology began their development before being born into their own distinguished worlds and separate university departments Philosophy in Greek as 'philein' + 'sophia' - ANS From the Greek (philein, sophia) is the 'love of wisdom' - it is an attitude of critical and systematic thoughtfulness rather than a particular subject matter Assumptions and Presuppositions - ANS we all have some opinions about God, about mortality and its principles, about the nature of man and nature of the universe. but because we haven't questioned them, they are merely the assumptions of our thinking. We believe many things without having thought about them, merely assuming them, sometimes without evidence or good reasons. what the study of philosophy does for us is to make our ideas explicit, to give us the means to defend our presuppositions, and to make alternative suppositions available to us as well. Criticism and Argument - ANS to be critical means to examine carefully and cautiously, being willing, necessary, to change one's own beliefs. it does not need to be nasty or destructive. there is "constructive criticism" as well. And to "argue" does not mean to "have a fight"; an Argument is nothing less than an attempt to justify our beliefs, to back them up with good reasons Four approaches to doing philosophy - ANS 1. Definitions 2. Logic and Proof 3. Being Visionary 4. Focusing on the Practical (the moral) Socrates in the Ancient Athenian Context - ANS socrates was viewed in Athens by "the mocking view" and "the angry/offended view" which is what got him put on trial Socrates on Trial: His 'apology' for Philosophy - ANS Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth and not believing in/honoring the Gods - 'im not being convicted for anything I said/did. im being convicted for refusing to get on my knees and beg, say I was wrong' - he knew there was no point of defending himself so he defended Philosophy, putting the assemblies mindset on trial - "you are wrong if you believe that by killing people you will prevent anyone from reproaching you for not living in the right way" - the really important thing is not living, but living well 3 Features of Socrates' Viewpoint - ANS 1. Concern for goodness/wisdom - "the effect of these investigations of mine, gentlemen, has been to arouse against me a great deal of hostility... This is due to the fact that whenever I succeed in disproving another person's claim to wisdom in a give subject, the bystanders assume that I know everything about that subject myself" 2. Don't let fear of death shape actions/ beliefs - "I would much rather die after this kind of defense than live after making another kind..." 3. The Jury should account for themselves - Socrates would stop prosecutors on the way to court and start a 'casual' conversation, questioning them about justice and beliefs; wanted them to examine why they think the way they do and ask for reasoning Philosophy Honors the "Laws' - ANS 'The Crito' Situation: Completing proposal... - "we must therefore examine whether we should act in this way or not, as not only now but at all times I am the kind of man who listens only to the argument [case] that on reflection seems best to me" The Crito - 'Honoring the Law': Two Main Issues - ANS 1. Issue of Majority Opinion 2. Issues of the nature of an Agreement with one's City and Laws