PHIL101 YATES JMU FINAL EXAM
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Key terms Answer -
Aporia Answer - Greek term for an experience in which we arrive at a state of
confusion when we realize that we
hold contradictory viewpoints and/or premises. It's distressing but important and
productive.
Socrates employed the 'Aporetic Method' in order to bring this about in people as a
way of
motivating the pursuit of wisdom.
Epistemology Answer - The branch of philosophy that focuses on trying to
understand how we can best determine
knowledge claims, truths, and the limits/possibilities of human understanding. It's
often referred to
as 'Theories of Knowledge," and evaluates different claims about what counts as
justified
'knowledge' as opposed to mere 'opinions.'
Metaphysics Answer - The branch of philosophy that focuses on trying to understand
(and make arguments about) the
nature of existence/reality and the human place in it. While it includes ancient
questions like "is their
one substance at the root of all things?," it is also interested in things that are not just
of a
'physicalist' nature, such as "What's the nature of Will? Of the Soul? And is there a
reality behind the
realm of Appearances?
Premise Answer - A principle or assumption lying at the foundations of a viewpoint or
claim.
subjectivity Answer - Personhood. Where a person is a "subject" in the sense of the
subject of existence.
Telos/teleological Answer - Greek term referring to Purpose-seeking in life. It
contains the idea that a part of being a person (a
'subject') is that we live life in a purposeful project-oriented way
, Action Answer - Arendt's term for the category of human living in which we express
ourselves to the world and
involve ourselves in society through speech and deeds. It is ongoing, a part of our
unfolding 'story',
in terms of how we use our freedom/agency to take initiative and insert ourselves
into the social
world. Action cannot be reversed, which means we should approach it responsibly.
She also names two unique forms of Action that we need in life generally, and which
can help set the Political on a proper course: making/keeping Promises, and
Forgiving.
Approximation Answer - Kierkegaard's term for the best that an Objective (logical)
approach to the question of religious truth can do. Being 'objective' about such things
is fine up to a point, but it will only ever get you an 'approximate' sense of the reality
of God and the truth of faith. By contrast, 'subjective' certainty is
needed. (See Passion, Inwardness, Paradox, and Objective vs. Subjective Faith.)
Cosmology Answer - We looked at this specifically in relation to Native American
Philosophy's version of metaphysics,
although Cosmology is also found in other forms of philosophy. It includes the study
of the overall
nature of reality (metaphysics), but it emphasizes a spiritual dimension in this reality.
Thus, Native
American cosmology sees the 'sacred' in all things and places. (See Great Spirit.
Four Noble Truths Answer - The original main teachings of the Buddha. They
emphasize the reality of suffering as the human condition (because of our cycles of
desire and dissatisfaction), and the importance of Nirvana and the Noble Eight-Fold
Path as the way forward through such suffering.
Free-Will Argument (in relation to question of God's existence) Answer - Critics of the
Teleological Argument (see below) ask: If there is a supreme God who has designed
and
who governs the world so wonderfully, then why is there evil and suffering? A
prominent Christian
response (by St. Augustine, we mentioned), is that God gave humans freedom to
make choices in
their lives ('free-will') rather than 'determine' (control) them in every way; so,
evil/suffering are a
result of bad uses of free-will which affect ourselves and others.
Great spirit Answer - The Native American cosmological term for the central God -
Wakan Tanka. This God is the source of life and spirit for all things, and through
which all things of nature (including people) are connected. It is also sometimes
called the "Great Mystery." It is both Transcendent and Immanent.
Herd Answer - Nietzsche's metaphor for conformity. We just follow the social herd
and think and behave like
FALL 2024 QUESTIONS WITH 100%
COMPLETE ANSWERS!!
Key terms Answer -
Aporia Answer - Greek term for an experience in which we arrive at a state of
confusion when we realize that we
hold contradictory viewpoints and/or premises. It's distressing but important and
productive.
Socrates employed the 'Aporetic Method' in order to bring this about in people as a
way of
motivating the pursuit of wisdom.
Epistemology Answer - The branch of philosophy that focuses on trying to
understand how we can best determine
knowledge claims, truths, and the limits/possibilities of human understanding. It's
often referred to
as 'Theories of Knowledge," and evaluates different claims about what counts as
justified
'knowledge' as opposed to mere 'opinions.'
Metaphysics Answer - The branch of philosophy that focuses on trying to understand
(and make arguments about) the
nature of existence/reality and the human place in it. While it includes ancient
questions like "is their
one substance at the root of all things?," it is also interested in things that are not just
of a
'physicalist' nature, such as "What's the nature of Will? Of the Soul? And is there a
reality behind the
realm of Appearances?
Premise Answer - A principle or assumption lying at the foundations of a viewpoint or
claim.
subjectivity Answer - Personhood. Where a person is a "subject" in the sense of the
subject of existence.
Telos/teleological Answer - Greek term referring to Purpose-seeking in life. It
contains the idea that a part of being a person (a
'subject') is that we live life in a purposeful project-oriented way
, Action Answer - Arendt's term for the category of human living in which we express
ourselves to the world and
involve ourselves in society through speech and deeds. It is ongoing, a part of our
unfolding 'story',
in terms of how we use our freedom/agency to take initiative and insert ourselves
into the social
world. Action cannot be reversed, which means we should approach it responsibly.
She also names two unique forms of Action that we need in life generally, and which
can help set the Political on a proper course: making/keeping Promises, and
Forgiving.
Approximation Answer - Kierkegaard's term for the best that an Objective (logical)
approach to the question of religious truth can do. Being 'objective' about such things
is fine up to a point, but it will only ever get you an 'approximate' sense of the reality
of God and the truth of faith. By contrast, 'subjective' certainty is
needed. (See Passion, Inwardness, Paradox, and Objective vs. Subjective Faith.)
Cosmology Answer - We looked at this specifically in relation to Native American
Philosophy's version of metaphysics,
although Cosmology is also found in other forms of philosophy. It includes the study
of the overall
nature of reality (metaphysics), but it emphasizes a spiritual dimension in this reality.
Thus, Native
American cosmology sees the 'sacred' in all things and places. (See Great Spirit.
Four Noble Truths Answer - The original main teachings of the Buddha. They
emphasize the reality of suffering as the human condition (because of our cycles of
desire and dissatisfaction), and the importance of Nirvana and the Noble Eight-Fold
Path as the way forward through such suffering.
Free-Will Argument (in relation to question of God's existence) Answer - Critics of the
Teleological Argument (see below) ask: If there is a supreme God who has designed
and
who governs the world so wonderfully, then why is there evil and suffering? A
prominent Christian
response (by St. Augustine, we mentioned), is that God gave humans freedom to
make choices in
their lives ('free-will') rather than 'determine' (control) them in every way; so,
evil/suffering are a
result of bad uses of free-will which affect ourselves and others.
Great spirit Answer - The Native American cosmological term for the central God -
Wakan Tanka. This God is the source of life and spirit for all things, and through
which all things of nature (including people) are connected. It is also sometimes
called the "Great Mystery." It is both Transcendent and Immanent.
Herd Answer - Nietzsche's metaphor for conformity. We just follow the social herd
and think and behave like
