Terms and Topics to Review

for Philosophy 120 Final Exam (Spring 2002) Last updated 5-1-02 epistemology
metaphysics
ethics

justice (in general)
distributive justice (DJ)
retributive justice
restorative justice
justice, utilitarian view of
libertarian view of justice (Nozick)
formal principle of DJ
Plato's theory of justice
merit principle of DJ
strict egalitarian principle of DJ
modified egalitarian principle of DJ
"socialist" principle of DJ
Rawls' Difference Principle of DJ

rights (basic definition)
relation of duties to rights
moral v. legal rights
"positive" v. "negative" rights
libertarian view of rights

social contract theories, purpose of
Hobbes' view of "natural condition" of humankind
Hobbes on how reason leads us into a social contract
prepolitical rights in Locke
why, for Locke, individuals enter a social contract
Locke's legitimate state compared with Hobbes' viable state
Hume's criticism of Hobbes and Locke
Rawls' (20th c.) conception of the social contract
feminists on private-public distinction
feminist critique of social contract theory
Martin L. King Jr. on the right to break the law
Malcolm X as critic of actual social contract of America

Allegory of the Cave
Gandhian ahimsa v. ethical egoism
polytheistic v. monotheistic theories of truth
freedom and determination (3 metaphysical views)
maintenance v. self-actualization needs (Maslow)
samsara
autonomy

psychological egoism
the traditional rationalist view of human nature (TRV): 4 propositions
three parts of soul (Plato)
Platonic forms (7 features)
soul-body (aka mind-body) dualism (shared by philosophers who adhere to the TRV,
    such as Plato, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes)
teleological view of reality (shared by many premodern thinkers who adhere to the TRV,
    including Aristotle, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas)
purpose of life according to Thomas Aquinas
materialism as challenge to traditional (Platonic/ Christian) view of human nature
Augustine's view on original sin and the limits it places on human freedom
Dewey's pragmatist view of human nature and the forms of mental life (science, art, etc.)

variation (Darwin)
natural selection (Darwin)
Darwinism v. teleological thinking in TRV
"theistic" understanding of evolution (Mavrodes)
Sartre on the human condition
Sartre v. the TRV
bad faith (Sartre)

hierarchy of soul and body, reason and feelings, as key aspect of TRV
Aristotle's sexist version of the TRV
feminist characterization of the TRV and its sexism
"feminine" feminists (who want to stress the positive nature of "feminine" qualities)
    --what are advantages of the solution they propose
"critical" feminists (who want to challenge the stereotypical opposition
    between "feminine" and "masculine" characteristics)--and the disadvantages of the "feminine" feminist solution
consciousness--subjectivity and apparent nonphysical nature
Descartes' on mind-body distinction/separability
essence of mind (Descartes)
essence of body (Descartes)
mind-body problem in Descartes
interactionism
occasionalism
dual-aspect theory (Spinoza's alternative to Descartes' dualism)

reductionism
materialism
identity theory (a kind of materialism)
behaviorism (a kind of materialism)
functionalism (a kind of materialism)
eliminative materialism
personal identity across time (=PI), why important issue
ship of Theseus as example of bodily continuity
bodily continuity theory of PI
Locke's account of PI
Hume's critique of Locke's view
Hume's criticism of the general notion of the enduring self
Theravada Buddhist view of the notion of the enduring self

epistemological rationalism
empiricism
a priori knowledge
a posteriori knowledge
transcendental idealism
primary v. secondary qualities (Locke)
tabula rasa (Locke)
Categories = a priori concepts of the Understanding (Kant)
phenomenal v. noumenal (Kant)
inductive reasoning
hypothetical method
falsifiability
simplicity
fruitfulness

II. Essays

A. Material Covered Before Second Test. Possible topics include

1. Discuss: Plato's philosophy and the traditional rationalist view of human nature (Chapter 2)

2. Plato's theory of the good soul compared to Plato's theory of the just state.

3. Descartes' v. Sartre's view of human nature. Relationship to traditional rationalist view.

4. John Rawls' two principles of justice as attempt to meet halfway the concerns of persons who would otherwise be inclined to support several other, potentially conflicting specific principles of distributive justice.

B. Material Covered Since Second Test

1. The problem of personal identity, the standard traditional rationalist view on this issue, why the bodily continuity view of personal identity is inadequate, Locke's solution, advantages and problems associated with Locke's solution, Hume's view of the notion of the self.

2. What is it about the traditional rationalist view of human nature that makes it fairly easy for its users to argue for male domination over women? How, according to feminist critics, does the TRV reinforce gender stereotypes? What are two ways these can be challenged by those who advocate greater power or respect for women? Which of these ways is the best? (Explain.)

3. Explain how Descartes' treatment of two of the following issues shows him to be a rationalist: how he establishes the certainty of his own existence, how he comes to know the nature of the wax (as a body), how he proves the existence of God.

4. Why is Locke considered an empiricist? Give examples of primary and secondary qualities and explain how our ideas of primary qualities are supposed to differ from our ideas of secondary qualities in terms of their relation to the things that cause these ideas. What deep philosophical problem regarding knowledge of the external world does Locke's theory of knowledge produce?

5. In what respect does Kant agree with Hume? What is Kant's major innovation in epistemology? What is common to Kant's views about cause-effect relations, space and time? How does Kant distinguish objects of experience and knowledge from the Ding an sich?

6. Answer two of the following questions: Why is inductionism an inadequate account of how we know things scientifically? How does Karl Popper distinguish a scientific theory from a pseudo-scientific theory? According to Thomas Kuhn, what makes a scientific theory a good theory?