Introduction to Philosophy
32 Questions
0 Views

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What does Darwin suggest is the main factor that enables certain animals to survive and multiply?

  • Advantageous variations (correct)
  • Environmental stability
  • Intelligence and reasoning
  • Social cooperation

    • How does Darwin's theory change the understanding of humans in relation to other animals?

  • Humans have no relation to nonhuman animals
  • Humans are more developed versions of nonhuman animals (correct)
  • Humans evolved from special, unique ancestors
  • Humans are superior due to unique reasoning abilities

    • What does Darwin deny regarding the purpose of humans?

  • Humans have a unique evolutionary design
  • Humans have higher cognitive functions than other animals
  • Humans were created with a divine plan
  • Humans evolved through random chance and natural processes (correct)

    • What aspect of Darwin's theory has faced challenges due to fossil records?

    <p>The gradual change of species over time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement best reflects Darwin's perspective on human reasoning?

    <p>Human reasoning developed from abilities in nonhuman ancestors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one consequence of Darwin's theory regarding the survival of species?

    <p>Species change through advantageous and disadvantageous variations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How did Darwin’s theory challenge traditional views on the purpose of life?

    <p>Life evolved through random processes rather than design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Stephen Jay Gould highlight as inconsistent with Darwinian gradualism?

    <p>The emergence of entirely new species suddenly</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the concept of stasis refer to in evolutionary terms?

    <p>Species remain unchanged during their time on earth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to George Mavrodes, what is the relationship between evolution and divine intention?

    <p>Evolution is a tool used by God to fulfill a divine plan.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the Omega Point as conceived by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin?

    <p>A maximum level of complexity and consciousness.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do existentialists view human nature and purpose?

    <p>Humans create their own nature through free choices.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did William Dembski argue regarding the complexity of living organisms?

    <p>It necessitates acknowledgment of intelligent design.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key characteristic of the 'sudden appearance' concept in evolution?

    <p>Species appear in the fossil record suddenly and fully formed.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In existentialism, what do individuals face as a consequence of having no fixed purpose?

    <p>The anguish of decision-making and its consequences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Jean-Paul Sartre mean by describing humans as 'condemned to be free'?

    <p>Humans must accept responsibility for their choices.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the computer view of the human brain propose?

    <p>The human brain processes inputs and generates outputs like a computer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What philosophical dilemma is associated with the mind and body relationship?

    <p>The distinction between physical and non-physical entities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which view asserts that a person remains the same despite changes over time?

    <p>The traditional view of personal identity emphasizing continuity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do some philosophers address the Problem of Personal Identity?

    <p>By emphasizing the immaterial soul as the enduring self.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What factor does Diotima suggest helps define personal continuity?

    <p>Bodily continuity and physical form.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the enduring self concept face challenges from?

    <p>Experiences that lead to significant personal changes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to Descartes, what contributes to a person's identity?

    <p>The ongoing existence of their conscious mind.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these views suggests that change can render someone a different person?

    <p>The no-self view of constant change.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Wollstonecraft argue is a common view about women's education?

    <p>Women need to be educated differently because of their moral virtues.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is Wollstonecraft's belief about the nature of women in society?

    <p>They are morally inferior due to societal conditioning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Wollstonecraft believe about the rational capabilities of men and women?

    <p>Women are equally endowed with reason as men.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which philosopher is most associated with the dualist view of the mind and body?

    <p>René Descartes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the phrase 'I think, therefore I am' signify in Cartesian philosophy?

    <p>Thinking is proof of existence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a challenge to the rationalist view of human nature?

    <p>Understanding the value of both reason and emotion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What assumption does Descartes make regarding the mind and body?

    <p>They are different substances.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which concept does NOT represent a dualism associated with gender?

    <p>Moral vs Immoral</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    DR. Sigmund Freud’s Ego, ID, and Superego

    • Ego - the balance between id and superego, the conscious component of an individual 

    • Id - the drive to fulfill all desires of a physical nature; exists in the unconscious mind 

    • Superego - the conscience; in opposition to the id. Also exists on the unconscious level.

    Plato Traditional Rationalist

    • We are made of both physical body and immaterial soul

    • The soul is superior because it does not have the desires that the body has

    • These bodily desires cause suffering

    Plato’s Goal: To access the perfect ideals known as the forms

    Theory of Forms

    • All forms that exist in the physical world are duplicates of perfect forms in the invisible world

    • Perfect ideals are real but not visible 

    • Can only be known by accessing the invisible world 

    • Visible world = imperfect, always changing 

    • Invisible world - perfect, unchanging 


    Darwin’s theory of evolution undermined the idea that living things are designed for a purpose.  The evolution of a species, Darwin argued, is the result of CHANCE, not of purposeful DESIGN.  Humans and other animals are the product, not of a purposeful plan, but of chance variations and the blind mechanical forces of natural selection

    Challenges to Darwinism

    • Gaps in fossil records, with species seemingly appearing abruptly without gradual transitions, challenge the gradualism of Darwin's theory
    • Some argue that Darwin's theory does not disprove the idea of purpose in human nature, suggesting a divine teleology or intelligent design behind evolution

    Existentialism

    Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) 

    • Saw humans as “condemned to be free”. 

    • Emphasizes individual freedom and responsibility in shaping one's own existence

    • It asserts that humans create their own nature through choices and actions, without a fixed purpose

    • Existentialism acknowledges the anxiety and responsibility that come with individual freedom

    Omega Point 

    Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a French philosopher, Jesuit, and priest conceived the idea of the Omega Point (a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving).  His book, The Phenomenon of Man, sets forth a sweeping account of the unfolding of the cosmos and the evolution of matter to humanity to ultimately a reunion with Christ.

    Mary Wollstonecraft and the Vindication of Women's Rights

    • Argues that society and men keep women in a state of dependence and moral inferiority
    • Advocates for the equal education of women and men, based on the shared capacity for reason and morality
    • Believes that women will flourish as equals when freed from societal conditioning

    The Challenge of the Rationalist View

    • Rejects the association of reason with men and emotion with women, arguing that both genders have equal capacity for reason and emotion
    • Challenges the traditional view of gender roles and the perceived differences between male and female traits

    Dualism vs Materialism: The Cartesian Argument

    • Descartes proposed the mind-body dualism, viewing humans as immaterial minds inhabiting material bodies
    • The Cartesian argument emphasizes the conscious ability to think as the essential nature of the mind
    • Descartes' argument suggests that the mind and body are distinct because we can conceive of one without the other

    Types of Materialism 

    1. Identity Theory 

    • Mental events like thoughts are “type identical” to physical events in the brain

    • If four different people are thinking “Chocolate Chip cookies would be good right about now”, the exact same things are happening in their brain

    • Thoughts are simply complex sequences of physical events that are happening in the brain

    • t’s only a matter of time before neuroscience can figure out the specific patterns of every thought

    • Main Comparison: sound is now understood as just compression waves racing through a medium such as air and hitting your eardrums; this wasn’t a known fact before and it took awhile to develop this thought; neuroscience will eventually “figure things out”

    • In other words, every state of mind can be explained by a corresponding brain state.

    1. Eliminative Materialism 

    • All discussions regarding thoughts, beliefs, desires, the mind are mistaken

    • Thinking that we have a “consciousness” is where all the problem starts

    • We need a PARADIGM shift in the way we think

    • Ideas about “consciousness” should be reduced to “Simple Folk Psychology”

    • The advancements of neuroscience in the near future should change:“Ow, my toe hurts” “Ow, C-fibres are firing in section L2 of the cortex”

    • This is the paradigm shift that we need to start embracing

    1. Behaviouralism 

    • A school of psychology that restricts the study of human nature to what can be observed rather than to states of consciousness.

    • Mental activities can be explained by observing behaviors

    • Gilbert Ryle – we can explain mental activities and mental states in terms of the externally observable behaviors associated with which they are associated.

    • EX: Loving someone is a disposition to behave in certain ways towards that person. 

    1. Functionalism

    • A view which does not try to reduce all mental activities to external behavior, but which claims that humans should be thought of as complicated computers.

    • DM Armstrong argues we explain mental activities in terms of input and outputs.

    • Inputs are the stimulus observed and outputs are the behaviors that result.

    • Beliefs are just links in the brain that connect sensory input with behaviors

    • Mental states are to be explained in terms of the roles they play in linking our sensory stimulation to our external behavior.

    1. The Computer view 
    • A view that insists the human brain is a kind of advanced computer that processes inputs (sense observations) and generates outputs (behavior).  Some functionalists such as Alan Turing believe that computers will one day be able to imitate the inputs and outputs of the human brain and then they will have minds and be able to think.  

    The Enduring Dilemma

    • Most philosophers reject the idea of a completely separate mind from the body.
    • The challenge lies in explaining consciousness and mental states, and the relationship between mind and body

    The Enduring Self: Change and Permanence vs No Self View

    • The "Problem of Personal Identity" addresses the question of whether we remain the same person over time
    • Some philosophers argue that bodily continuity over time defines our enduring identity, while others suggest the soul is the enduring aspect of the self
    • Descartes believed the continuity of thought made him the same person throughout his existence "I think, therefore I am"
    • Humean Thought : True knowledge is dependent on sense perceptions: what we see, hear, touch, smell, taste, and feel. If you can’t experience (perceive) it with your senses then it’s not genuine knowledge. Hume argues that no one can actually perceive the “self”
    • Locke: what makes a person at one time the same as a person at  another time is MEMORY. It is the continuity of consciousness that makes me today the same person I was.

    Studying That Suits You

    Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

    Quiz Team

    Related Documents

    12th Grade Philosophy Fall 2025 PDF - St. Edmund Campion

    Description

    Dive into the fundamentals of philosophy, exploring concepts such as knowledge, existence, and morality. This quiz covers key philosophical questions and branches, including metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Challenge your understanding of what it means to be human and live a meaningful life.

    More Like This

    Use Quizgecko on...
    Browser
    Open
    Browser
    Browser