Spring 2010 Philosophy of Human Nature Study Questions
These are the study questions for the course. To contribute your answers, use the discussion tab. I will comment on any posts to the discussion page during the next class.
Return to Human Nature
Study Questions: Use the study questions below to prepare for the final exam in this course.
Implicit Questions: To avoid having to specify lots of obvious study questions, let's say that study questions implicitly include questions about the basics elements of reading. In philosophy, this is usually easy to organize in terms of the topic and arguments. So, while I may not add an explicit question about the topic and argument of a reading, you should assume that you need to know this kind of basic information about everything we read.
1/12
1. What is philosophy?
2. What are rationales?
3. How would you use rationales and other methods to investigate the question
1/14
1. What is at stake in Euthyphro 10? Is what Socrates is asking of Euthyphro reasonable?
2. How does the Euthyphro have bearing on Socrates upcoming trial?
3. How does Socrates come across in both of these dialogues?
4. How are Logos, Theos, and Mythos related?
1/19
1. Summarize and evaluate Socrates' defense in the Apology? Evaluate.
2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the image of the philosopher which Plato presents us in the Apology.
4. How does Plato establish his view that ideas are more real than objects?
5. What is Plato's model of enlightenment?
6. Be prepared to explain the Allegory of the Cave and the Divided Line.
1/21
1. How does Plato think about the nature of the soul, its division into three parts? How might some suggest that Plato's view of human nature is "anti-body"?
2. How do the first three speeches in the Symposium reflect various cultural understandings and issues connected with love? Are these the same or different as concerns people have today?
3. How is Plato using each speech to introduce different types of theories of love? Can you think of reasons for or against different types of theories?
4. Review and comment on Kant's ideas about "enlightenment."
1/26
1. Distinguish propositional knowledge, knowledge by acquiantance, and know how from each other. Are these completely separate types of knowledge?
2. What are Gettier cases? Are they serious challenges to the traditional definition of knowledge?
3. Distinguish the major positions in epistemology (scepticism, empiricism, and rationalism) and begin to track strengths and weaknesses of these perspectives.
1/28
1. What insights did Aristophanes speech hold? How might it illustrate the limits of mythos on pursuing the truth about love?
2. Compare and contrast The Matrix, the Brain in the Vat thought experiment, and Descartes' thought experiment in Meditation 1. What epistemological problem do these situations help us explore? Do they provide insights?
3. What is Descartes' goal and method in Meditation 1?
2/2
1. Has Descartes re-established certainty about our knowledge of the world in Meditation 2? 2. What is the point (and substance) of Socrates questioning of Agathon?
