Philo Midterm Exam

1
Which philosopher is best known for his statement cogito ergo sum?
Your Correct Answer: René Descartes
After a series of meditations in which he finds rationale to doubt everything he once
thought he knew, Descartes comes to the conclusion that, because he is thinking, he
must exist, as something must be doing the thinking. Cogito ergo sum, then, translates
to I think, therefore I am.
QUESTION 2
According to Plato, what is knowledge?
Your Correct Answer: A justified true belief
Plato concludes that a belief can only be considered knowledge if it is justified and true.
For example, if you believe the fastest way home is by highway because you’ve tested it
and it’s true, that’s knowledge. If it isn’t true or you haven’t tested it (i.e., no justification),
then it isn’t knowledge.
QUESTION 3
Thomas Aquinas’s cosmological arguments argue for…
Your Answer: Nihilism
Correct Answer: The existence of God
The cosmological arguments originated by philosopher Thomas Aquinas argue that God
must exist. He insists that every natural thing is dependent on another natural thing and
that in order for the chain to end there must have been a supernatural thing at the
beginning that initiated the reaction of natural things. Aquinas argues that this
supernatural thing is God.
QUESTION 4
Philosophy comes from the Greek philosophia, meaning what?
Your Correct Answer: Love of wisdom
Philosophy is derived from the
Greek philosophia, philos meaning love and sophos meaning wisdom.
QUESTION 5
Which branch of philosophy is primarily concerned with the question of being?
Your Correct Answer: Existentialism
Existentialism deals with the problem of being. It argues that the main struggle faced by
all is that of existence, which therefore should be studied and questioned as much as
possible.
QUESTION 6
Who is widely known as the first existentialist, despite never having used the
word existentialism?
Your Correct Answer: Søren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard is widely considered to be the first existentialist. He was also very religious,
which heavily influenced his approach to the question of being.
QUESTION 7
Transcendental idealism argues that…
Your Answer: No response
Correct Answer: Our experience is based on our perceptions
Transcendental idealism holds that our experience of things is based on the
representations of what they really are; we experience how we perceive reality to be,
not how it actually is.
QUESTION 8
What does tabula rasa mean?
Your Answer: Red tablet
Correct Answer: Clean slate
Tabula rasa is Latin for clean slate. It refers to the idea that the mind is empty of
knowledge upon birth. The term was coined by John Locke.
QUESTION 9
Who wrote The Last Messiah?
Your Answer: Alan Watts
Correct Answer: Peter Wessel Zapffe
The Last Messiah, written by Peter Wessel Zapffe, argues that the existential angst
suffered by humanity is a product of our self-awareness and intellect.
QUESTION 10
Descartes’s meditation that led him to conclude that perhaps even mathematical
laws are not true is referred to as…
Your Answer: The Cartesian argument
Correct Answer: The evil demon argument
Descartes, while attempting to wipe his mind of everything but true knowledge, utilized
what he called the evil demon (or genius) argument. This argument was specifically
aimed to protest laws of math and science, and in it Descartes stated that perhaps he
only believed things like 2 + 2 = 4 because an evil demon was causing him to do so.
QUESTION 11
Existential nihilism insists what?
Your Correct Answer: The human condition has no meaning.
Existential nihilism is a philosophical doctrine based on the foundational idea that life
has no intrinsic meaning. This includes all emotions, actions, social infrastructure, etc.
QUESTION 12
The allegory of the cave argues what?
Your Correct Answer: Our perceptions may not be accurate.
Plato’s allegory of the cave involves three prisoners who are tied to rocks and forcibly
positioned so that all they can see are shadows of people on the stone wall ahead of
them. Since all they’ve ever experienced are these shadows, the prisoners consider
them to be “real” objects. Eventually one of the prisoners escapes and realizes that the
shadows were not real but shadows of people who had been walking behind them the
entire time. Plato’s argument here is that though perceptions may seem to be accurate,
they can be misleading as we may not know the context surrounding them.
QUESTION 13
Metaphysics is the study of…
Your Answer: Politics
Correct Answer: Existence
What does it mean to say something is real? Are there such things as material objects?
What about mathematical objects? What does it mean to be? These are the types of
existence-related questions asked in metaphysics.
QUESTION 14
Epistemology is the theory of…
Your Answer: Cosmology
Correct Answer: Knowledge
What do we know when we know? Can we know anything? What is truth? These are
the types of questions asked in epistemology.
QUESTION 15
Plato was a student to which philosopher?
Your Correct Answer: Socrates
Plato studied under Socrates and taught Aristotle.
QUESTION 16
Jean-Jacques Rousseau is known for what?
Your Answer: Contributions to existentialism
Correct Answer: His publication The Social Contract
The Social Contract was considered revolutionary for its argument that the monarchs of
Europe were not divinely justified in their rule. Rousseau continued by claiming that
the people were the ones entitled to govern. He became well known for this as well as
for his publication Discourse on Inequality, which also highlighted the problems faced by
society and politics.
QUESTION 17
What is the philosophical study of value called?
Your Answer: Valuation
Correct Answer: Axiology
Axiology can be seen as a combination of ethics and aesthetics. It studies the
foundational implications of worth, which helps to enrich other branches of philosophy.
QUESTION 18
Which branch of philosophy deals with the question of beauty?
Your Correct Answer: Aesthetics
What is beautiful? Why is it beautiful? What value do beautiful things have? These are
the types of questions asked in aesthetics.

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