Introduction to Philosophy Module 1 Study Guide

How many Short Tests are on the schedule? How many Exams?

4 SHORT TESTS, 2 EXAMS

 How many Short Tests will be dropped from the final grade?

One will be dropped.

How much is each Short Test worth?

20 points

Can the Midterm or Final Exam be dropped from the final grade?

NO

How much is the Midterm Exam worth? How much is the Final Exam worth?

Both worth 30 points.

How many classes can a student miss without penalty? How many times can a student arrive late or leave early without penalty?

Two.

 What is the grade cap for excess absences/late arrivals/early departures?

A B

What is epistemology?

Philosophy branch that studies the nature and scope of human knowledge

Epistemic certainty/doubt?

How strong your reasons are for believing; “I don’t know how to prove my belief’s true”

Psychological belief/doubt

How strongly you feel something’s T/F; “Maybe my belief isn’t true”

What is the JTB approach to knowledge? What do J, T, and B refer to?

Justified, True, Believed

What is infallibilism? What does it mean to say some belief is “infallibly justified”?

Belief that knowledge needs certainty, leaves NO room for doubt

● What is fallibilism? What does it mean to say some belief is “fallibly justified”?

Belief that knowledge is founded by good reason

Why does it seem possible for a fallibilist to “know” that the instructor is Dr. Riker? How could they know it?

It is possible for a fallibilist to know the instructor is Dr. Riker due to sufficient evidence. They could know it due to an abundance of good reason (Dr. Riker’s presence as the main speaker, public listings as the instructor. etc)

● Why does it seem unlikely, or even impossible, for an infallibilist to know this? Why would it be so difficult?

Because infallibilism requires absolute certainty. Since empirical evidence can always be faked, it leaves room for doubt and thus blablabla

● What is the Dream Argument?

Dreams sometimes feel like being awake → Don’t reflect reality → For all ik, my current experiences don’t reflect reality

● Why does Descartes think it gives us reason to doubt knowledge of the external world derived from sense experience?

Because the Dream Argument suggests that if dreams and wakefulness can be the same, then the things we sense when “awake” could be inaccurate

● What is the painter analogy? How does it attempt to show we have some knowledge of the external world (against the Dream Argument)?

Nobody can paint new colors, they’re always derived from something. We have knowledge of the real world because the ideas in dreams have to be sourced from somewhere (the real world).

● What is Deceiving God Doubt?

Descartes proposal asking if an all-powerful being could trick us into believing everything we think we know is true.

●Why does Descartes think Deceiving God Doubt gives us reason to doubt our knowledge of math and geometry? How does it give us a reason to doubt our knowledge of the external world?

Because it suggests an all-creating/powerful God can distort our perceptions of Math and reality. Ex: if 2+3 can equal anything but 5 cause God wants it to, then is 2+3=5 really as true as we think?

● Why does Descartes believe that God would never deceive us?

Because a perfect and fully moral God fundamentally cannot deceive according to him.

● Why do some think it may be important for God to deceive us, or at least to leave us without certain knowledge? How is this related to free will and faith?

● What is Descartes’s Cogito?

Thoughts cannot exists without thinkers; doubts of one’s existence cannot exist without a source of said thought, thus are always, infallibly, incorrect according to Descartes. Therefore “I think, therefore I am”.

● What are the basic parameters of the Cogito? Modes of thought, not body; first person only; present tense only.

The Cogito only proves the existence of a thinking thing, only proves the thinker’s real, and is only true WHILE thought.

● What is Descartes “Truth Rule”? What does it mean to talk about “clear and distinct perception”?

“Whatever I perceive very clearly & distinctly is true”. “Clear and distinct perception

What is the basic argument for the Truth Rule?

I’m the creation of an all-perfect God → My perception can’t be imperfect → I’m not in error of what I clearly and distinctly perceive.

● How does Descartes argue that we can have knowledge of the external world?

There’s an all-perfect God → All-perfect God → can’t allow me to be wrong when I

a. have a “natural propensity” to believe

b. God gave me no way to correct a false such belief

Therefore, I can not be in error when either of these are the case.

How does Descartes seem to resolve the problem of the Dream Argument?

Dreams never exist in connection to eachother like real memories + all-perfect god exists = we’re not dreaming! Yay!!