Term
| What unusual way of life is held by all Life Philosophers? |
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Definition
| there is some degree of life in all matter |
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Term
| According to the Life Philosophers, what is the most complex form of energy released by the evolutionary process? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the basic assumption of traditional mind-body dualism? |
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Definition
| The mind is completely separate from the physical body |
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Term
| What is the basic assumption of contemporary mind-body dualism? |
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Definition
| The mind and body are one. The soul is not seperate |
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Term
| Why does the monistic view of energy and matter exclude the possibility of reincarnation and the validity of the "ghost in the machine" model? |
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Definition
| A ghost or soul cannot move from an old body into a new one because every new body has its own soul. |
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Term
| 1)Define Ockham's Razor (the law of parsimony) 2) Who originated this law 3)when did he die 4)what connection does he have to CSU? |
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Definition
| "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." 2) William of Ockham 3)he's a Franciscan friar |
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Term
| What is the basic characteristic of a person who is truly striving to create an authentic identity? |
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Definition
| Committed to truth, justice and love (belief system); committed to acting responsibly (value system) |
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Term
| According to most philosophers and clinical psychologists, what is the essential difference between's one's true self and one's false self? |
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Definition
True selves: committed to acting responsibly
False selves: ignore the voice of conscience |
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Term
| What does Socrates mean when he said that for a human being the unexamined life is not worth living? |
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Definition
| We should study to "die a good death" |
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Term
| According to Plato: 1) what was the original condition of humans and 2) why did that condition dramatically change? |
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Definition
| 1)immortal spiritual souls devoid of matter, living with God in the Trasncendent Realm 4) because humans were spiritually arrogant, God created the physical world as punishment |
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Term
| What is the philosophical definition of the moral imperative? |
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Definition
| "We may never violate another person's right to life, self-determination, and fair treatment, except in defense of innocent life" |
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Term
| According to Plato 1)why are humans attracted to beauty and 2)is this attraction good or bad? |
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Definition
(1) It reminds us of the Eternal Ideas or forms of the Beautiful, the Good, and the True which we once knew in the Divine Realm.
(2) This attraction is a good thing because it serves a creative purpose in our lives and reminds us of the Eternal Ideas. We should appreciate it but not overestimate it since it is a dim copy. |
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Term
| 1)What does Aristotle think God is doing eternally? 2)Why does he think this view is necessarily correct? |
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Definition
(1) For all eternity, God's sole concern is God's Own Perfection. God is eternally contemplating the Absolute Truth, Beauty, and Goodness eternally present in God's nature.
(2) God does this because God's Absolute Beauty and Perfection attract all finite beings and move them to actualize their potential for finite perfection. |
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Term
| Why does Socrates think that humans should study philosophy? |
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Definition
| to prepare ourselves to die a good death… so a person can attain immortality |
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Term
| What is unusual about Aristotle's view of 1) the world's origin and 2) God's relation to the world and to humans? |
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Definition
(1) Aristotle believed that the world is Eternal and had no need of a creator.
(2) Although God ignores the world, He is still the unmoved mover of the world and all things in it. |
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Term
| Does Aristotle think happiness is identical with pleasure? Explain answer |
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Definition
| Not really. It's similar, but happiness is a higher order of pleasure. It relies on being virtuous. It can make you happy, but virtuous behavior isn't always pleasurable. |
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Term
| What is the fundamental dualism in Plato's philosophy? |
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Definition
| matter and spirit as contrary to each other and will always conflict… matter blinds reason |
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Term
| Explain William James' "pragmatic" understanding of truth |
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Definition
| "Works" or produces positive results which improve the quality of our lives by making them more meaningful and satisfying. |
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Term
| What does Sartre mean when he asserts that humans are condemned to freedom? |
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Definition
| We would not experience agony from making agonizing decisions had we had already been conditioned to make a decision. |
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Term
| What is nihilism? 2) Who is the best known ancient nihilist? 3) What recent existential philosopher is frequently but wrongly accused of nihilism? |
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Definition
(1) the view that nothing in the universe has any intrinsic value or meaning
(2) Pyrrho
(3) Nietzsche |
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Term
| Why does Sartre think that some people deny freedom of choice? |
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Definition
| People want to avoid responsibility for their choices and feelings |
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Term
| What does Sartre mean when he says our human existence precedes our existence? |
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Definition
| trees and animals have natures that dictate who they are at the beginning of their lives all the way to the end; humans have a nature that is incomplete in the beginning - we freely decided and take responsibility for ourselves |
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Term
| What does Maslow mean by a "peak experience?" |
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Definition
| "unexpected and thrilling experiences of mysterious unity with Transcendent Mystery, Love, Peace, etc, as freedom from fear of death, anxiety and conflict" |
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Term
| If God causes peak experiences, why is it significant that people who are both religiously observant and people who are not religiously observant "both" report having had them? |
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Definition
| These experiences positively transform one's life into a Sacred Presence/Sublime Mystery (a good thing)… it fulfills our lives richly and so both groups of people |
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