Phil 1301 Test #2-mini
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Jan 9, 2024
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Phil 1301
Dition Mjeku
G010
Test II
Prof. Aiman
Part I: Multiple choice: choose the best answer (3 points each) 1. Which of the following would a romantic like Rousseau, be inclined to say about private property? A. Laws that encourage the use of deadly force in response to private property disputes should be supported. B. Ownership of land is a God given right and should be treated as such. C. It is what saves us from the horrible conditions in the state of nature.
D. Attaching power to ownership of land is one of the main contributors to social inequality. 2. Which of the following is/are an example(s) of a dominant idea believed by early moderns like Descartes or Hobbes?
A. The status quo was working so well, that it shouldn’t be upset or altered.
B. Adherence to the authority of religious figures and ancient texts was the way to the ‘good life’.
C. Science and not superstition were the way to solve the problems that plagued humanity.
D. All of the above
. 3. Which of the following is characteristic of the philosophical movement of Romanticism?
A. The promotion of reason and rationality as ways to live the ‘good life’.
B. The optimism that science and scientific methods will bring us to new heights of greatness.
C. Moonlight walks and candle-light dinners and enjoying a good opera. D. Uncovering unnatural distributions of power.
4. To the student who only shows up on ‘Test Day’ to a college class they are paying for and tries to google every answer instead of engaging in the lessons and materials provided, Rousseau would say which of the following: A. If you can pull it off, good for you, it’s only philosophy, right? B. That value should be determined by external factors like grades.
C. That you have conned yourself into (erroneously) thinking that you can be successful that way. (see the phrase, ‘in class provided lessons’
in bold in each of the essays—good
luck) D. All of the above. Part II: True/False (3 points each) 5. For Rousseau, we are all equal because we can all kill each other.
True
6. For Rousseau, society saves us from ourselves.
False
Part III: Short Answer: In a couple of actual complete sentences, respond to the following in a way as suggested by the actual class lessons: (5 points each)
7. How would Rousseau explain the all too common phenomena of students cheating on exams?
Rousseau would probably blame societal factors and an ineffective educational system for the widespread occurrence of exam cheating by students. According to him, people are decent at heart but can become corrupted by outside factors like competition and the need for approval. He would contend that in the educational setting, the focus on grades and competitiveness creates an atmosphere where students may feel pressured to cheat in order to obtain an advantage in a system that places more value on achievement than on real learning and personal growth.
8. “Descartes’ proof that God must exist is a purely empirical proof.” Is that statement true? Why or why not? "Descartes' proof that God must exist is a purely empirical proof" is a false statement. Descartes' ontological argument for God's existence is a priori, which means it is based more on reason and logic than on empirical data. It is not empirical. Descartes maintained that the unique and unambiguous concept of a perfect being, which contains the attribute of existence, may be used to infer God's existence. This is a philosophical, not empirical, demonstration since it rests on the nature of the concept of God rather than on empirical data.
Part IV: Essays: Write on TWO of the following questions. Aim for about a full
page (or more) to each
response (so two pages in total) (35 points each)
1.
Rousseau writes: “Each one began to look at others, and to want to be looked at himself, and public esteem had a value...” What is he saying here, and how does this relate to the broader critical themes Rousseau develops including the idea of alienation as discussed in class provided lessons
? 2.
Discuss and critically evaluate
Descartes’ proof that God must exist. That is; fully
explain
the responses and replies to this ‘proof’ as discussed in class provided lessons
. 3.
Discuss the major differences between Hobbes and Rousseau that were developed
in class provided lessons.
Try to be specific when possible. Don’t just list differences, explain them. 4.
Discuss Rousseau’s thoughts on education as developed in class provided lessons
. What are the goals of education and how he likely would react to the current trends in education in the United States? 5.
Rousseau also writes, “…it was necessary to show himself to be something other than what he in fact was. Being something and appearing to be something became two completely different things…” How does this observation relate to what society in essence “trains” us to become as discussed in class provided lessons
? Give examples where appropriate.
Discuss and critically evaluate
Descartes’ proof that God must exist. That is; fully
explain
the responses and replies to this ‘proof’ as discussed in class provided lessons
. Descartes asserts that all concepts are composed of three metaphysical principles and have a formal, objective reality. These principles are as follows: According to the first idea, "Nothing comes from nothing," everything must have been made by something else in order for it
to exist. The second asserts that something cannot be reduced in order to obtain more, which is a very similar idea to the first on formal vs. objective reality. However, the third principle states that one's own formal reality cannot get more objective from less formal reality, meaning that one's own formal reality cannot become more objective from another person's formal reality.
Descartes divides the evidence into two major types, which he calls proofs, and whose reasoning is quite easy to understand. His first proof holds that he is an imperfect being with an objective reality that includes the idea that perfection exists. As a result, he has a clear idea of what it is to be a perfect being based on evidence (such as God). Descartes also recognizes that the objective reality of perfection is more formally real than he is, and that means that there must be a perfectly real being from which his inborn conception of a perfect being originates. It is from
this source that he could have created the concepts of all substances but not the concept of God, and it is from this source that he could have created the concepts of all substances but not the concept of God.
After discounting the possibility that he may ever be able to achieve perfection, it then asks who it is that upholds him and has an idea of the ideal person in the world. He proves this by
saying that if he were the architect of his own existence, he owes it to himself to have bestowed all kinds of perfections on himself. He would not be able to support his own life because he is not
flawless. Similarly, as his parents could not have implanted in him the idea of perfection, they could not have been the source of his existence. All that remains is a perfect individual, God, who
would have required existence in order to continuously create and recreate himself. Descartes' arguments essentially rest on the assumption that, given our existence and our birth as flawed individuals (although with a soul or spirit), we must all acknowledge that we were shaped by
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something outside of ourselves, something that had a more formal existence than we do. Generally speaking, something had to have created us because we are aware of our existence and our capacity for thought.
Discuss the major differences between Hobbes and Rousseau that were developed in class provided lessons.
Try to be specific when possible. Don’t just list differences, explain them. Two of the most important thinkers of the modern age, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, were well-known for holding opposing opinions about human nature, the social contract, and the function of government. Hobbes believed that people are by nature competitive and self-centered, motivated by a desire for material wealth, security, and power. He maintained that life was "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" in the natural world, which was a state of war. Consequently, Hobbes thought that in order to preserve social order and shield people from one another's violent tendencies, a powerful, centralized government was required. However, Rousseau thought that in their natural form, humans were decent, noble, and peaceful by nature. He maintained that human nature was tainted by civilization, resulting in people being egocentric and self-centered entities. Rousseau therefore thought that in order to restore people's inherent goodness and advance the common good, society needed to be rebuilt. Hobbes maintained that people freely surrendered to a sovereign power their inherent rights in return for safety and security. According to him, the social contract is an arrangement in which the state and the individual was granted complete authority to uphold social order and enforce the law. In return for the person's allegiance and compliance, the state was also in charge of defending the person's life, property, and freedom. Furthermore, according to Rousseau, the social contract is an arrangement between people to establish a society in which each person
agrees to subject their will to the collective will of the group. He believed everyone was bound by
the general will, which stood for the interests of everyone and was independent of any individual's preferences or personal interests. In contrast to Hobbes, Rousseau thought that the people's sovereignty should govern the state, which should simply serve as an instrument for carrying out the general will. Hobbes thought that the greatest type of government was an absolute monarchy since it consolidated power and offered strong leadership. He claimed that the sovereign authority had to be supreme above the law and entrusted with the authority to impose it. He also thought that the sovereign's authority had to be limited justified by the necessity to uphold social order and protect
each person's inherent rights. Rousseau supported a decentralized, democratic kind of governance
in which the populace exercised their sovereignty and took part in policymaking. He thought that the general will of the people, which expressed their collective knowledge and common good, had to serve as the foundation of government. In contrast to Hobbes, Rousseau thought that the people's sovereignty and the duty to advance the common good should serve as the limits on the government's authority.
In conclusion, Hobbes and Rousseau held essentially divergent opinions about the nature of humanity, the social compact, and the function of the state. Hobbes held that a strong, centralized government was required to uphold social order and shield people from one another's violent preferences. In contrast, Rousseau supported a decentralized, democratic system of government in which the people were sovereign and actively engaged in the political process. These distinctions still influence political philosophy and arguments regarding the appropriate function of the state in society.