Test 3 Theories of Human Nature

What is Locke arguing against?

Innate ideas (ideas that exist independently of experience)

What type of knowledge is NOT being discussed by Locke?

“Knowing how” (skills/abilities); he focuses on “knowing that” (propositional knowledge)

Do empiricists like Locke deny innate abilities?

No; they deny innate ideas

What are examples of innate ideas according to rationalists?

Perfection

What is empiricism?

The view that all ideas come from experience

What are primary qualities?

Qualities that exist in objects independently of perception

Give examples of primary qualities.

Shape

What are secondary qualities?

Qualities that depend on perception; how we experience primary qualities

Give examples of secondary qualities.

Color

How are secondary qualities produced?

By primary qualities (e.g.

Why is shape considered a primary quality?

Because it exists whether or not it is perceived

What problem is raised about “rest” as a primary quality?

Everything is always moving

How would Locke respond to mistakes about examples?

The distinction still holds even if specific examples change with science

What does Berkeley criticize in Locke’s theory?

The distinction between primary and secondary qualities

Why does Berkeley reject this distinction?

Because all qualities are experienced the same way

What do we actually experience according to Berkeley?

Only appearances (ideas)

What is “matter” for Berkeley?

Something we cannot experience or know (therefore unintelligible)

What problem does empiricism lead to according to Berkeley?

Skepticism about the external world What is Berkeley’s solution to skepticism?

What is idealism?(Berkeley)

The view that reality depends on the mind

Do qualities still exist in idealism?(Berkeley

Yes but they exist in the mind

What are impressions?(Hume)

Vivid

What are ideas?(Hume)

Less vivid copies of impressions

What is Hume’s main claim about ideas?

All ideas are copies of impressions

Example of idea formation?(Hume)

Golden mountain = gold + mountain

What is Hume’s first argument?

All complex ideas can be broken into simple ideas from impressions

What is Hume’s second argument?

If a sense is missing

What are relations of ideas?

Logical/mathematical truths known with certainty

Examples of relations of ideas?

Math

What are matters of fact?

Claims about the real world

Why are matters of fact uncertain?

Their opposites are always possible

Example of matter of fact uncertainty?

The sun may or may not rise tomorrow

How do we reason about the future?

Using cause and effect based on past experience

What assumption do we make?

That the future will resemble the past

What is Hume’s problem with this?

There is no rational justification for that assumption

Conclusion of Hume’s epistemology?

We cannot have certainty about matters of fact

Do we experience a stable “self”?(Hume)

No

What do we experience instead?(Hume)

A bundle of changing perceptions

What is the phenomenal world?(Kant)

The world as we experience it

What is the noumenal world?(Kant)

The world as it exists independently (unknowable)

What structures shape our experience? Can we observe these structures?(Kant)

A priori structures of the mind (space

Why is knowledge possible for Kant?

Because all humans share the same mental structures

What does science describe according to Kant?

The structure of our experience (not reality-in-itself)

What is the psychological self?(Kant)

Our thoughts

What is the transcendental self?(Kant)

The structure that unifies experience

What is the noumenal self?(Kant)

The source of free will

Where does freedom come from?(Kant)

The noumenal self

What is existentialism?(Sarte)

The view that existence precedes essence

What does “existence precedes essence” mean? (sarte)

Humans exist first

Why does Sartre reject fixed human nature? (Sarte)

Because he denies God as creator

What is “will” vs “want”?

Will = deeper moral choice; Want = surface-level desire

What is anguish?

Awareness of total responsibility for choices

What is forlornness?

Being alone without guidance (no God

What is despair?

Focusing only on what is within our control

Are humans responsible for their actions?

Yes

Can external factors determine who we are?

No; we define ourselves through actions

Example of Sartre’s view?

A coward is responsible for being a coward; a hero creates himself