You are on page 1of 9

Philosophy Exam Notes

Metaphysics:

Plato o World of Forms; it is in our minds only, part of our collective subconscious soul, unchangeable, lasts forever, what we see is a pale reflection of the Ideal World of Forms, true knowledge is getting beyond the appearances of our world of forms Allegory of the Cave Three-part theory of the soul (reason, spirit, appetite)

o o

Diotima o A person is the same as long as they exist in the same physical form cannot perceive a persons mind of soul

Descartes o o o I think, therefore I am Reality exists in both mind and matter If the soul or thinking mind did not continue to stay the same, they are no longer the same person

Locke o o o What makes you the same person you are today that you remember being the same person you were during that time, memory Continuity of consciousness Believed that the state could justify its authority over its subjects only if it respected and defended their natural rights

Hume o o Individual self does not exist, there is no enduring self Constant flux

Hobbes o o o Materialism Matter makes up reality, has mass. Made up of atoms That humans are naturally bad and need government

Berkeley

o o o

Idealism, mental sensations are all that really exist Objects exist when we perceive them Things that are not being perceived are still perceived in the mind of God

Dennet o Rationality, mental states, being the subject of a special stance, verbal communication are all aspects of what makes someone a person

Baier o o Person tests often reflect the narrow values of those who design them Persons are born to earlier persons, and learn the arts of personhood from other persons. These arts include the self-consciousness which follows from mutual recognition, along with the sort of representation that speech makes possibleThe first person we recognize as such are those who greet us, call to us, answer our calls

Warren o A person has the consciousness of objects and events, the ability to feel pain, reasoning and problem-solving ability, the ability to carry out self-motivated activities, the ability to communicate messages, the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness

Ontological Argument o That as existence is part of perfection and God is perfect, God must exist

Cosmological Argument o That everything has a cause and God is the original cause

Teleological Argument o The universe has order and God created this order.

Wollstonecraft o o Started the first-wave of feminism. Argued for the right of women to be educated, because she is primarily responsible for the education of the young.

Friedan
o o Women should not be entitled to become housewives. They should have a choice as to pursuing a career just like men.

Wolf o o Third-wave feminist. Criticized the fashion and beauty industries as exploitative of women.

Hooks o o Focused mostly on black womens rights. Slavery against black women.

Morality: Nihilist o o o Believe that nothing exists Life is meaningless All values are baseless

Existentialist o o Existence preceeds essence People can do what they want but they must accept the consequences

Sartre o o Said existence preceeds essence Man is nothing but what he makes himself

Pascal o That the odds of what will occur when one believes in God are better than what will happen if you dont

Tolstoy o That God adds comfort to life

Nietchze o That the poor invented God to keep the rich in line

Freud o That God takes the role of authority from parents when people reach adulthood

Marx

o o

Believed that religion was the opiate of the masses Developed communism

Aristotle o o o o o Argued that animals have no moral standing Being is the substance to which all properties can be ascribed, though it itself is not a property The Golden Mean Believed that the ability to reason made humans superior Believed that women were inferior because they emphasized emotion over reason

Aquinas o o o People can achieve perfection only through God A religious determinist, who believes that God controls all actions Both matter and essence are bound up in physical objects

Bentham/Mill o Developed utilitarianism which states that an ethical action is one that has the greatest good for the greatest number

Rand o Developed the theory of egoism, which states people should make the choices that benefit them the most

Moore o Developed the theory of intuitionism which means to follow your gut feeling on whether an action is right or wrong

Buddhist o Believe in reaching nirvana by following the eight-fold path; that is how to live a good life

Confucianist o A good life is living in harmony with the community

Taoist o A good life is living in harmony with nature

Hedonist o The good life is one devoted to pleasure

Stoic o o Dont cry over spilled milk Dont try to control things that you cannot; that is how you live the good life

Epistemology: Post-Hoc o o Because one event occurred after the other the first event mustve caused the second. Ex. I plug in the kettle. Immediately after, a comet crashes into Jupiter.

Argument from Authority o o A sponsor for a product; ex. Celebrities for Proactive Because Justin Bieber used Proactive means its good for you.

Slippery Slope

o That one event will cause another, which will cause another, etc. until
disaster occurs. False Dilemma/Dichotomy o If you do not study, you will fail. You did not study. Therefore, you will fail.

The Gamblers Fallacy

o If you keep choosing the same number over and over, then you will
eventually win. o If I didnt win now Ill surely win later!

Circular Justification

o The napkin is the one true religion because it says so rights here on
this napkin. Affirming the Consequence o Penguins are black and white. Old television shows are black and white. Therefore, penguins are old television shows.

Personal Attack o Attacking the person not the argument

Guilt by Association

o o

By being around a certain group, you make assumptions about an individual Do you really want to date someone who hangs around that crowd?

Straw Person o You are picking on me for plagiarism? But when Tavi didnt double-space his essay you didnt take marks off.

Glittering Generalities o Its NEW! Fresh! Home-made! But how are they new/fresh/homemade?

Emotional Appeal o Instead of addressing the argument, attempting to gain sympathy

Bandwagon o You see on tv that everyone is buying mustangs. Its the new thing, like a trend. So you "jump on the bandwagon" like everyone else and go out and buy a mustang.

Composition o o Drawing a conclusion about the whole based on the features of its parts. The New Jersey Devils have really good hockey players. Therefore, they are a really good hockey team.

Just War Theory o That in order to declare war one must have a just cause, right intention, proper authority, proportionality, reasonable hope of success, last resort and discrimination (not attacking civilians)

Rationalism

o Claim that there are significant ways in which our concepts and
knowledge are gained independently of sense experience Empiricism

o Claim that sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts
and knowledge. Kant o o o Developed the categorical imperative That knowledge is a unity of consciousness dualism

Priori o That knowledge is gained before sense experience

Posteriori o That knowledge is gained after sense experience

Justified True Belief o P is true, S believes P is true and S is justified in believing in P is true

Syllogism o A form of deductive reasoning. Consists of two premises leading to a conclusion.

Disjunctive Syllogism o Either my cat is dead or alive. My cat is dead. Therefore, it is alive.

Hypothetical Syllogism o If I pray for sunshine, it will be sunny. I pray for sunshine. Therefore, it will be sunny.

Categorical Syllogism o All birds lay eggs. Eagles are a bird. Therefore, eagles lay eggs.

Valid syllogisms o If their form is correct so that the conclusion must necessarily follow.

Sound syllogism o If the form is valid and the premises are true.

Determinist o o o Someone who believes that all actions are predetermined Religious believe that this is from God Scientists believe that it is caused by genetic makeup

Ethical Absolutists o Believe that there is an absolute moral code that cannot be broken under any circumstances

Ethical Universalist o Believe that there is an absolute moral code that can be broken in extreme circumstances

Ethical Relativist o That morality is relative to time, place and society

Dualist o Believe that both reason and senses are responsible for knowledge

Political & Social Philosophy:

Marcuse o o Followed after Marx, saying the illusion of success is the new opiate of the masses That people do not know they are being oppressed

State of Nature o o The normal, original form of government before government Whether this is good or bad depends on the philosophical thought

Rawls o Developed the veil of ignorance which states that if someone does not know who they are they will design a fair society

Paine o o o Contributed to the quest for liberty, equality of opportunity, justice and democratic institutions Natural law is inscribed in the divine order. Believes in a self-governing society.

Nozik o Believed in the minimalist state, that government should be involved as little as possible

Hobhouse

o o Etzioni o o

The purpose of liberty is to enable individuals to develop. Feels that the government should work against liberty to enable individuals to develop.

Supports communitarianism. Emphasize individual rights while stabilizing other aspects of the community, such as education to enhance positive values.

Positive Freedom o The resources to fully act in ones potential

Negative Freedom o Interfering in the freedom of others

Materialism o Everything including thoughts and consciousness is made of matter

You might also like