Ryerson University Department of Philosophy PHL201 Problems of Philosophy (Section 001) Quiz #4

Print your name:______Instructions: Use the bubble-sheet to answer the follow questions. (1 mark for each correct answers.) Please return this question sheet along with your bubble-sheet.

1. According to Descartes, the soul is: (a) Something we can never observe when we introspect. (b) A composite thing. (c) (a) and (b). (d) None of the above.

2. David Hume claimed that his self or soul: (a) Was something he could observe by means of introspection. (b) Was nothing more than a bundle of perceptions or thoughts. (c) (a) and (b). (d) None of the above.

3. According to Blackburn, some philosophers argue that if the soul is not composed of parts: (a) Then we must be directly aware of it through introspection. (b) Then it must follow that it’s immortal. (c) Then it could be created, but could never be destroyed. (d) All of the above.

4. If a is identical to b, and b is identical to c, then : (a) b is identical to a. (b) c is identical to a. (c) (a) and (b). (d) None of the above.

5. According to John Locke, personal identity over time: (a) Is impossible. (b) Shows that we have no introspective awareness of the self. (c) Is connected with the persistence of memories. (d) (b) and (c).

6. According to Thomas Reid, John Locke’s account of personal identity: (a) Was probably false. (b) Was contradictory. (c) Failed to recognize that identity is a symmetrical relation. (d) All of the above.

1 7. According to Blackburn, Hume’s theory of the self: (a) Proves that Hume was a Dualist. (b) Commits Hume to a “no ownership” view of mental states. (c) Is the best account we have of personal identity. (d) (b) and (c).

8. The example of The Ship of Theseus is meant to show that: (a) Sometimes it’s hard to determine identity across time. (b) Nothing is ever identical to itself. (c) Everything is identical itself. (d) Diachronic identity is not transitive.

9. Which of the following is NOT a property of the identity relation? (a) Transitiveness (b) Synchronicity (c) Reflexiveness (d) Symmetry

10. Thomas Reid observed that Locke’s theory of personal identity entailed the view that personal identity across time was not: (a) Reflexive. (b) Symmetrical (c) Synchronous (d) Transitive

11. According to the view known as “property dualism”: (a) Mental properties are reducible to non-mental properties. (b) Non-mental properties are part of an outdated scientific world-view. (c) One thing may possess both non-mental properties and mental properties. (d) None of the above.

12. A priori knowledge is: (a) Based on experience. (b) Based on memory (c) Based on reason. (d) None of the above.

13. A posteriori knowledge is: (a) Indubitable. (b) Dubitable. (c) Based on reason. (d) Based on experience.

2 14. Scepticism is the view that: (a) Knowledge must be based on the views of the ancient Scholastic Tradition. (b) Some of our beliefs are justified. (c) Justifying our beliefs is a matter of seeking coherent networks of beliefs. (d) None of the above.

15. Empiricists are those philosophers who argue that knowledge is: (a) Not based on any foundations at all. (b) Something we never acquire. (c) Based on sensory experience. (d) Impossible unless we can prove that there’s not an Evil Demon.

16. Libertarians endorse the view that: (a) Free will is compatible with the thesis of determinism. (b) If we have free will, then determinism must be false. (c) If determinism is true, then we have free will (d) None of the above.

17. According to Compatibilism: (a) There is a genuine paradox about free will and determinism. (b) Some events are uncaused. (c) If every event has a cause, then we are not free. (d) None of the above.

18. Hard Determinism is the view that: (a) No one is responsible for anyone else’s actions. (b) We should punish wrongdoers in order to protect innocent people from harm. (c) Everything that happens is predetermined by antecedent causes. (d) There is no real paradox about free will and determinism.

19. Which of the following is a problem for Descartes’ version of dualism? (a) It is logically inconsistent. (b) If it were true, it would not be clearly and distinctly perceived. (c) It does not provide an account of how minds and bodies interact. (d) It is not consistent with the view that we possess immaterial minds.

20. Descartes’ Cogito Argument convinces him that: (a) Someone may systematically be deceiving him. (b) He must exist insofar as he thinks or doubts. (c) His body does not actually exist. (d) All of the above.

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