Test 2, Honors Introduction to Philosophy, Guidelines and Review
General Guidelines:
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Test 2 is Tuesday, November 3.
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You do not need a scantron sheet or a bluebook. Just bring a reliable pen and/or pencil.
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Students who arrive late for the test will not
be allowed to take the test unless no
student has yet left the room.
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Students who leave the room before completing their test will not be allowed to
complete or alter their test upon their return.
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You are responsible for all lecture material as well as for the following
readings (from the syllabus):
- pp. 337-341, introductory
essay to metaphysics and epistemology
- pp. 343-344, excerpt from Plato's Meno.
- pp. 380-384, excerpt from Plato's Republic, the Allegory of the Cave
(or online)
- pp. 344-346, "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" (a.k.a.
the "Gettier Problem)
- Excerpt from Republic, Book
VI (The Divided Line).
- Excerpt from
Descartes’ Meditations, pp. 351-358.
- Excerpt from Berkeley’s Of the Principles of Human
Knowledge, pp. 384-392 (extra credit only)
- Note
that the following readings will be held over until Test 3 and will not be
on Test 2:
- Excerpt from
Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, pp. 422-428
- Goodman, “The New
Riddle of Induction”, pp. 447-451.
- Philosophy of
Mind basic glossary
- Searle, “Can
Computers Think?”, pp. 677-683.
- Frank Jackson’s
Knowledge Arg. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qualia-knowledge/
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Anything from the assigned readings
or lecture material is fair game; however, I will emphasize the review material discussed below on the test.
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You should be able to identify the author of selected passages of text (such
passages will be chosen so as to be particularly revealing of the author’s
views).
Topics and Questions and to
Review for Test 2:
Remember,
anything from the Test 2 reading (listed
above) or lectures, is fair game, but these are the topics that will be
emphasized on the test.
Plato:
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Understand the traditional (Platonic) view of knowledge as Justified, True,
Belief. Understand what each of those
three contributes to the definition of knowledge, and be able to supply
examples of cases where only one of those components is missing (such as we did
in class).
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Know the major elements of Plato’s Cave (what’s in it, what’s outside it). Be able to draw a rough sketch. Explain the major philosophical points he
makes with the Cave. Be able to relate
the Cave to the Divided Line.
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Be able to reproduce and explain the Divided Line, including all
components. Be able to explain how it
reflects Plato’s epistemology as well as ontology. Know, especially, what the Forms are. Be able to relate the Divided Line to the
Cave.
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Explain the Tripartite division of the soul and society, including the Myth of
the Metals (only insofar as discussed in class).
Gettier:
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Understand the overall point of Gettier’s argument
against the traditional view of knowledge.
Know the Jones/Ford/Brown is in Barcelona example and how it affects the
traditional view of knowledge.
Descartes:
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Understand what makes Descartes a rationalist.
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In the First Meditation, be able to trace, in order, every candidate Descartes
considers, then rejects, as a kind of certain knowledge. Make sure you
understand why he rejects each.
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Understand Descartes’ reasoning in the Second Meditation concerning the
“cogito” argument.
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Understand the point Descartes is making concerning the ball of wax.
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What was Descartes trying to accomplish in writing the Meditations?
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What is solipsism, and how might Descartes’ cogito argument lead one into it?
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Understand, generally, what the spirit of the times was like when Descartes was
writing.
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Remember that Descartes’ works were banned by the Catholic Church, and placed
on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.