Philosophy Core Concepts: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic, and Key Thinkers

What is metaphysics?

The study of reality and existence, asking what exists and the nature of reality.

What does epistemology study?

The study of knowledge, including how we acquire it and what justifies belief.

What is value theory?

The study of what is valuable, good, right, or worthwhile, encompassing ethics and aesthetics.

Define an argument in philosophy.

A set of statements where premises are offered as reasons for a conclusion.

What is an inference?

The reasoning process of moving from premises or evidence to a conclusion.

What distinguishes deductive arguments?

They aim to make their conclusion necessarily follow from the premises.

What characterizes inductive arguments?

They aim to make their conclusion probable, not certain.

What is validity in a deductive argument?

It is valid if it is impossible for all premises to be true and the conclusion false.

What is soundness in a deductive argument?

an argument that is valid and has all true premises.

Who is Socrates?

A philosopher known for questioning assumptions and using dialogue to expose unclear thinking.

What is Plato's Allegory of the Cave?

A metaphor illustrating the difference between appearance and reality, depicting education as turning the mind toward what is genuinely real.

What are the Sensible and Intelligible Worlds in Plato's metaphysics?

a world that consists of physical, changing things; the Intelligible World consists of perfect, unchanging Forms.

What is the key distinction in Plato's epistemology?

Knowledge concerns the Forms, while belief concerns ordinary physical objects.

What attributes define the traditional concept of God?

God is described as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent.

What is a contingent thing?

something that could have failed to exist; its existence is not necessary.

What is a necessary thing?

something that cannot fail to exist.

What is a priori knowledge?

Knowledge that is independent of sensory experience, such as logical truths.

What is a posteriori knowledge?

Knowledge that depends on experience or observation.

What is Anselm's definition of God?

God is defined as 'that than which nothing greater can be conceived.'

What is reductio ad absurdum?

A method that assumes a claim and shows it leads to a contradiction, rejecting the assumption.

What is Anselm's Ontological Argument?

It argues that God exists in reality because existence in reality is greater than existence merely in understanding.

What is Gaunilo's Perfect Island Objection?

An argument that similar reasoning could define the existence of a perfect island, challenging Anselm's argument.

What is the Problem of Evil?

It questions how evil and suffering can exist if God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.

What is a theodicy?

An attempt to explain how God's goodness and justice can coexist with the existence of evil.

What is moral evil?

Evil that results from the actions of moral agents, such as murder, theft, and cruelty.

What does the free-will theodicy argue?

It argues that genuine freedom is valuable and requires the ability to make morally significant choices, including bad choices.

What is natural or physical evil?

Suffering not directly caused by human choices, such as earthquakes, disease, and natural disasters.

How do some virtues relate to natural evils?

Some virtues, like courage and compassion, arise only where difficulties or suffering are possible.

What is the Argument from Design?

It infers an intelligent designer from apparent order, complexity, or purpose in nature.

What is analogical reasoning?

Reasoning that argues from similarities between two things, relying on relevant similarities and the absence of undermining differences.

What is one criticism of the Argument from Design by Hume?

Artifacts and the world are dissimilar; we have not observed universes being made.

What is another criticism regarding the whole and its parts?

The whole cannot automatically be inferred from its parts; the universe may have properties its parts do not.

What does Darwin's view suggest about the Argument from Design?

Evolutionary biology explains complexity through natural processes, reducing the need for a theistic explanation.

What are evidential reasons for belief?

Reasons that support a belief by providing evidence that it is true.

What are pragmatic reasons for belief?

Reasons concerning the usefulness or benefits of holding a belief.

What is evidentialism?

The view that beliefs should be based on adequate evidence.

What is a living option according to William James?

A choice that feels psychologically possible to the person considering it.

What is a forced option?

An option that cannot be avoided; not choosing is itself effectively a choice.

What is a momentous option?

A significant option that is potentially life-changing and carries important consequences.

What is a genuine option?

An option that is living, forced, and momentous.

What is the aim of Descartes in the Meditations?

To find a secure foundation for knowledge that survives extreme doubt.

What is the method of radical doubt?

A method of temporarily doubting anything that could possibly be false to find certainty.

What is propositional knowledge?

Knowledge that something is the case, often expressed as 'knowledge that p.'

What are the traditional conditions on propositional knowledge?

Truth, belief, and justification; known as justified true belief.

What is Meno's Paradox?

The question of how inquiry is possible if one either knows what they are looking for or does not know it at all.

What is Plato's Theory of Recollection?

The idea that learning is recollecting knowledge that the soul already possesses.

How does Socrates demonstrate the Theory of Recollection?

By questioning an enslaved boy about geometry, leading him to a geometrical conclusion without providing the answer directly.

What is the main argument of Descartes regarding the senses?

the senses can deceive us and therefore cannot provide absolute certainty.

What does Descartes' Dreaming Argument suggest?

It suggests that since dreams can feel realistic, sensory experience may not guarantee the existence of the external world.

What is the Evil Demon thought experiment?

It imagines a powerful demon that deceives Descartes about everything, including mathematics, testing the immunity of beliefs to doubt.

Define Radical Skepticism.

the idea that our beliefs may be extensively mistaken, prompting a search for indubitable beliefs.

What does 'Cogito, Ergo Sum' mean?

'I think, therefore I am.' It asserts that the act of thinking implies the existence of the thinker, even under deception.

What is Rationalism?

it emphasizes reason as a fundamental source of ideas and knowledge, asserting that some concepts cannot be derived from sensory experience.

What is Empiricism?

it emphasizes experience as the source of ideas and knowledge, with John Locke being a major proponent.

What is Locke's Blank Slate theory?

he compares the mind at birth to a blank slate, arguing that ideas develop through experience rather than being innate.

How does Locke argue against innate ideas?

He claims that universal agreement on ideas does not prove they are innate, as similar experiences can lead to shared beliefs.

What is Leibniz's response to Locke's theory?

he argues that ideas can be innate without being consciously present at birth, suggesting that the mind has natural structures that shape learning.

What analogy does Leibniz use to describe the mind?

He compares the mind to veined marble, suggesting that while experience shapes it, the mind has an underlying structure that influences how it learns.

Differentiate between Metaphysics and Epistemology.

Metaphysics asks what is real, while epistemology asks what we can know.

What is the difference between Deductive and Inductive reasoning?

Deductive reasoning concludes necessarily if premises are true, while inductive reasoning makes conclusions probable based on premises.

What is the distinction between Valid and Sound arguments?

A valid argument has a correct deductive structure, while a sound argument is valid and has all true premises.

What does Plato distinguish between in terms of knowledge?

distinguishes knowledge concerning Forms from belief concerning ordinary objects.

Define Contingent, Necessary, and Impossible propositions.

Contingent propositions could exist or not; necessary propositions cannot fail to exist; impossible propositions cannot exist.

What is the difference between A priori and A posteriori knowledge?

A priori knowledge is independent of sensory experience, while A posteriori knowledge is based on experience.

Differentiate between Moral and Natural Evil.

Moral evil results from agents' choices, whereas natural evil arises from natural processes.

What criticisms did Hume raise against the Design Argument?

Hume argued that artifacts and the world differ, we cannot infer about the whole from parts, the universe is singular, and natural processes may explain order.

What is Free Will Theodicy?

It argues that free will is valuable and that moral evil can result from individuals making choices, including the choice to do evil.

What is Descartes' Skeptical Method?

It involves doubting everything that can be doubted, concluding that the only certainty is that he is thinking.

What is Meno's Paradox?

It questions how one can search for knowledge of something they do not know, and proposes that recollection can respond to this paradox.

Why does the Cogito survive radical doubt?

Because even if everything else is doubted, the act of thinking confirms the existence of the thinker.

How does evolution challenge the Design Argument?

it provides a natural explanation for complexity and order in nature, which may undermine the need for a designer.

What are the three traditional conditions for propositional knowledge?

The conditions are that the belief must be true, the person must believe it, and there must be justification for the belief.