Is Knowledge Possible?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following is an example of an epistemological theory?

a.
empiricism
b.
ethics
c.
metaphysics
d.
aesthetics

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 333

2. Rationalist theories of knowledge generally claim that

a.
there are no innate ideas.
b.
the mind is a blank slate waiting to be impressed with sensations.
c.
all knowledge is arrived at by inductive processes.
d.
knowledge has its source in reason.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 333

3. Empiricism holds that

a.
knowledge is a priori.
b.
innate ideas exist.
c.
sensation is the source of knowledge.
d.
reason is the source of knowledge.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 333

4. If I urged you to practice skepticism in order to arrive at the truth, I would be urging you to adopt a position known as

a.
common sense skepticism.
b.
methodical skepticism.
c.
absolute skepticism.
d.
metaphysical dualism.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 334

5. One objection to absolute skepticism maintains that it is

a.
self-refuting.
b.
noncontradictory.
c.
logically consistent.
d.
another variety of rationalism.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 334

6. One important difference between empiricism and rationalism is

a.
empiricism is a form of absolute skepticism and rationalism is not.
b.
rationalism claims all knowledge is a posteriori.
c.
rationalism places great emphasis on a priori thinking.
d.
empiricism holds all knowledge derives deductively from innate ideas.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 334

7. According to al-Ghazali, which of the following is a distinctive feature of Sufi mysticism?

a.
It cannot be understood by study, but only by immediate experience.
b.
It is a purely intellectual way, requiring demonstrative proof.
c.
It is a purely skeptical way to gain knowledge.
d.
It can never provide certainty, only probability.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 335

8. Sufi mysticism involves

a.
learning about God by studying books.
b.
denying that God exists.
c.
an intellectual grasp of theological doctrines.
d.
complete purification of the heart from what is other than God.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 335

9. Al-Ghazali writes, “They [beliefs based on sense or intellect] are true in respect of your present state; but it is possible that a state will come upon you whose relation to your waking consciousness is analogous to the relation of the latter to dreaming.” This insight leads him to

a.
question beliefs based on prophetic revelation.
b.
absolute certainty about beliefs based on sensation.
c.
skepticism about knowledge claims based on sense and intellect.
d.
the firm conviction that certainty can only be reached by systematic demonstration and rational argument.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 338

10. Prophetic revelation is, according to al-Ghazali,

a.
beyond intellect, but not the senses.
b.
beyond sensation, discrimination, and intellect.
c.
beyond discrimination, but not intellect.
d.
beyond all human ways of knowing except discrimination.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 340

11. Al-Ghazali comes to doubt sense perception because

a.
God told him not to trust it.
b.
intellect shows that sight, the most powerful sense, can be mistaken.
c.
he repeatedly made mistakes at arithmetic.
d.
sensations can prove intellectual truths such as 3+2=5 wrong.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 337

12. Al-Ghazali writes, “Just as intellect is one of the stages of human development in which there is an ‘eye’ which sees the various types of intelligible objects, which are beyond the ken of the senses, so prophecy also is the description of a stage in which there is an eye endowed with light such that in that light the unseen and other supra-intellectual objects become visible.” This passage indicates that al-Ghazali is

a.
an empiricist.
b.
a rationalist.
c.
an absolute skeptic.
d.
a mystic.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 341

13. According to al-Ghazali, while mystics attain nearness to God, they also

a.
are united with God.
b.
inhere in God.
c.
become one with God.
d.
remain different from God.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 342

14. Al-Ghazali writes, “The proof of the possibility of there being prophecy and the proof that there has been prophecy is that there is knowledge in the world the attainment of which by reason is inconceivable.” According to al-Ghazali, this argument shows that

a.
it is possible for there to be a way of apprehending things that are not apprehended by the intellect.
b.
it is possible to know things that can be known by the intellect alone.
c.
the human intellect, unaided by Divine inspiration, can know everything there is to know.
d.
it is not possible to know anything beyond the intellect.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 342

15. Descartes is

a.
an absolute skeptic.
b.
a methodical skeptic.
c.
a common sense skeptic.
d.
an empiricist.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 343

16. What is the point of Descartes’ evil demon argument?

a.
An evil demon actually exists.
b.
An evil demon fights God for our souls.
c.
All our beliefs about an external reality may be false because it is always possible that an evil demon is constantly working to deceive us about what is real.
d.
An evil demon does not exist.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 347

17. According to Descartes’ Meditation II, we can be certain

a.
of the existence of physical objects.
b.
of our own bodies.
c.
that we exist as a thinking thing when we are thinking.
d.
that physical objects do not exist.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 348

18. How does Descartes reach the conclusion that he is a “thinking thing”?

a.
The fact that we have a body and our body has a brain indicates we think.
b.
If we eliminate all beliefs about ourselves except the ones we cannot doubt, then the only belief we are left with is that we think.
c.
If we eliminate all beliefs about ourselves based on sensations, then the only belief we are left with is that we must have brains.
d.
God reveals it to him.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 348

19. Descartes’ consideration of how we know a melting piece of wax is the same piece of wax leads to the conclusion that we know it by

a.
our senses.
b.
our imagination.
c.
our understanding.
d.
empirical methods.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 350

20. Consider this passage from Descartes: “Don’t I know myself much more truly and certainly, and also much more distinctly and plainly, than I know the wax? For, if I base my judgment that the wax exists on the fact that I see it, my seeing it much more obviously implies that I exist. It’s possible that what I see is not really wax, and it’s even possible that I don’t have eyes with which to see–but it clearly is not possible that, when I see (or, what now amounts to the same thing, when I think I see), the ‘I’ which thinks is not a real thing.” Descartes is here claiming

a.
that the “I” is less distinctly known than the wax.
b.
that it is not possible to doubt that the “I” is a real thing, but it is possible to doubt the wax is a real thing.
c.
It is possible to doubt that the “I” is a real thing.
d.
the wax is more distinctly known than the I.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 350-351

21. Descartes’ doubt is like

a.
realizing that it is logically possible for a belief to be false.
b.
believing that a belief is false.
c.
doubting a belief is false.
d.
someone who believes we can never know anything.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 350

22. For Hume, one can test the truth of one’s ideas by

a.
using a priori and deductive arguments.
b.
tracing ideas back to the impressions from which they came.
c.
tracing impressions back to the ideas from which they came.
d.
finding out what some authority says.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 352

23. Hume argues that a blind person cannot have an idea or conception of color. This argument is intended to show that

a.
all our impressions are copies of ideas.
b.
all our ideas are copies of impressions.
c.
ideas and impressions are the same.
d.
the concept of cause makes no sense.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 354

24. According to Hume, new ideas are actually

a.
intuitions of another universe.
b.
ideas given to us by God.
c.
combinations of impressions.
d.
hallucinations.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 354

25. Hume advocates a limited or mitigated skepticism. By this he means

a.
what is usually called methodical skepticism.
b.
we should take knowledge claims with a grain of salt.
c.
we should believe nothing to be true.
d.
all knowledge amounts to “relations of ideas.”

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 355

26. For Hume, we understand cause and effect by

a.
God’s implanting the understanding in us.
b.
empirical observation.
c.
a priori knowledge.
d.
relying on experiments performed by scientist.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 355

27. Hume writes, “When I see, for instance, a Billiard-ball moving in a straight line towards another; even suppose motion in the second ball should by accident be suggested to me, as the result of their contact or impulse; may I not conceive, that a hundred different events might as well follow from that cause? May not both these balls remain at absolute rest? May not the first ball return in a straight line, or leap off from the second in any line or direction? All these suppositions are consistent and conceivable.” Hume goes on to argue that ____.

a.
a priori reasoning will never be able to show us any foundation for favoring one of these possibilities to another.
b.
a priori reasoning will be able to show us a foundation for favoring one of these possibilities to another.
c.
we must suppose that the connection between cause and effect consists of a perceived necessity.
d.
only God knows what the second Billiard-ball will do after being struck by the first.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 356

28. Consider this passage from Hume: “We have said that all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience; and that all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the supposition that the future will be conformable to the past. To endeavor, therefore, the proof of this last supposition by probable arguments, or arguments regarding existence, must be evidently going in a circle and taking that for granted which is the very point in question.” Hume is here

a.
stating the so-called “problem of induction.”
b.
arguing deduction cannot be proved inductively.
c.
claiming deductive proofs of the principle that the future will resemble the past beg the question.
d.
arguing the idea of cause and effect is innate.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 358

29. Hume argues that all reasoning concerning matter of fact seem to be founded on the relation of cause and effect because

a.
that is what previous philosophers have taught.
b.
no arguments from experience are founded on similarity.
c.
by means of this relation alone we can go beyond memory and senses.
d.
we can never get beyond memory and senses.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 358

30. Which of the following is an example of demonstrative reasoning?

a.
This thing that looks like a duck and sounds like a duck is probably a cat in disguise.
b.
This thing that looks like a duck and sounds like a duck is probably a duck.
c.
You should never rely on the senses for knowledge; therefore, I cannot say whether or not this thing is a duck.
d.
All ducks have feathers.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 358

31. The difference between epistemic and practical standards of evidence is this:

a.
epistemic standards demand objective evidence apart from how useful a belief may be for us.
b.
practical standards demand objective evidence apart from how useful a belief may be for us.
c.
there is no difference between practical and epistemic standards.
d.
“believing makes it so” is the motto of someone who supports the necessity of epistemic standards.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 359

32. According to Clifford, people have a right to believe if

a.
they believe sincerely with all their heart.
b.
their belief is based on sufficient evidence.
c.
what they believe turns out to be true.
d.
their beliefs are purely private and no one else’s business.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 359

33. The following formulation characterizes the pragmatic theory of truth:

a.
p is true if and only if p corresponds to the facts.
b.
p is true if and only if believing p is true works.
c.
p is true if and only if p is logically implied by q and q is a true statement.
d.
p is true if and only if p works.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 359

34. According to Clifford,

a.
carefully gathering and judging evidence is a moral as well as an epistemic duty.
b.
questioning beliefs is not a universal duty.
c.
credulity is good for society because it promotes trust.
d.
all believing rests and ought to rest on our passions and desires.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 362

35. In which of the following situations is belief without sufficient evidence justified according to James?

a.
when confronted with a genuine option
b.
in most cases of scientific investigation
c.
whenever we feel like it
d.
when we own ships and send them out to sea

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 363

36. For James, a genuine option is

a.
live and forced.
b.
live, forced, and momentous.
c.
live and momentous, but avoidable.
d.
dead, avoidable, and trivial.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 363

37. James believes that one of the consequences of adopting Clifford’s attitude is

a.
we will allow our emotions to determine what we believe.
b.
we will not miss any truths.
c.
we will gain more truths.
d.
we will miss certain truths.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 363

38. Moral questions, according to James,

a.
can be decided by the existing empirical evidence.
b.
deal with what is the case.
c.
cannot be decided by the existing empirical evidence.
d.
are no different that questions about matters of fact.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 364

39. According to James, the religious hypothesis differs from the moral and the scientific in that

a.
science tells us some things are better than others, but religion does not.
b.
science tells us what things are, religions tells us the best things are eternal and we are better off now believing that to be true, and morality tells us some things are better than others.
c.
morality tells us some things are better than others, but religion tells us the way things are.
d.
it supports the Christian idea of heaven, but science does not.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 365

40. According to James, in which of the following situations is the decision not to believe as much a decision based on passion as the decision to believe?

a.
genuine options that cannot be decided by the evidence
b.
genuine options that can be decided by the evidence
c.
questions about matters of empirical fact
d.
all issues of science

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 366

41. James writes, “I cannot do so for this plain reason, that a rule of thinking which would absolutely prevent me from acknowledging certain kinds of truth if those kinds of truth were really there, would be an irrational rule.” This rule allows James

a.
to accept the agnostic rules for truth-seeking.
b.
to risk loss of truth rather than chance of error.
c.
to keep his “willing nature out of the game.”
d.
to reject the agnostic rules for truth-seeking.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 366

42. According to Koller, what is the basic problem of knowledge?

a.
whether or not skepticism is true
b.
distinguishing knowledge from mistaken opinion
c.
proving the truth of a belief
d.
ensuring that my opinion is the same as my neighbor’s opinion

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 368

43. In Nyaya, which of the following topics must we inquire into?

a.
the knowing subject
b.
the object that casts doubt on understanding
c.
the object as unknowable
d.
the subject that enforces its view of the world

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 368

44. According to Nyaya, by what standard are mistaken knowledge claims ultimately detected?

a.
successfulness in practice
b.
appeal to further knowledge
c.
valid argumentation
d.
more determinate perceptions

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 369

45. Inference relies upon what type of reasoning?

a.
transcendental
b.
tantric
c.
syllogistic
d.
religious

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 370

46. A ____ is defined as that which appears to be a valid reason for inference but really is not.

a.
howler
b.
fallacy
c.
segue
d.
metaphor

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 371

47. Which of the following is a valid inference?

a.
I have discovered dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs were carnivorous.
b.
I have discovered dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs are a kind or reptile.
c.
I have discovered dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs must have existed at one time.
d.
I have discovered dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs must still exist.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 372

48. For testimony to be reliable,

a.
it must come from someone with a Ph.D.
b.
the events being described must be witnessed by both the person speaking and the hearer.
c.
it must agree with what the hearer already believes.
d.
the hearer must understand what is being heard.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 372

49. Traditionally, feminist epistemology

a.
challenged the male bias of existing perspectives.
b.
believes that the male perspective is worthless.
c.
should never be criticized.
d.
only applies to American women.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 373

50. “Standpoint epistemology”

a.
is a branch of psychology.
b.
is a way to address epistemology from the perspective of traditional philosophy.
c.
acknowledges that all knowledge involves the social and historical context of the knower.
d.
undermine all knowledge claims.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 373

51. The view that all knowing substantially involves the social and historical context of the knowers is called what?

a.
biased epistemology.
b.
objective epistemology
c.
standpoint epistemology
d.
scientific epistemology.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 373

52. Which of the following is NOT an objection raised against some versions of standpoint feminism?

a.
It does not pay enough attention to the similarities in women’s experiences.
b.
It does not pay enough attention to the differences in women’s experiences.
c.
It says that marginality makes people victims of oppression, rather than marginality being a locus of resistance.
d.
It presupposes that there is some female nature or essence.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 377-381

53. The crucial difference between the standpoint epistemology proposed by Harding as compared to the standpoint epistemology proposed by Rose and Hartsock is that

a.
Rose and Hartsock rely on objective evaluation of the lives of women instead of subjective experience.
b.
Harding relies on objective evaluation of the lives of women instead of subjective experience.
c.
Rose and Hartsock believe that all women have a shared female experience.
d.
Harding believes that all women have a shared female experience.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 381-382

TRUE/FALSE

1. Al-Ghazali’s quest for knowledge is religious and therefore, he never questions or doubts.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 335

2. The difference between knowledge and immediate experience, according to al-Ghazali, is that knowledge involves actual acquaintance, but immediate experience does not.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 337

3. If a person does miracles, according to al-Ghazali, this is sufficient to prove that such a person is a prophet sent by God.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 342

4. Descartes, because he is a skeptic, would answer the question, “Is knowledge possible?” with a resounding “NO.”

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 343

5. Representational realism is a theory that claims we are in direct touch with our sensations of physical reality, but not physical reality itself.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 344

6. Descartes seeks intellectual certainty but al-Ghazali does not.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 344

7. “My blind cat is Descartes’ evil demon.” This statement is an example of what Hume means by relations of ideas (analytic statements).

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 352

8. “This exam is easy,” is a synthetic statement, or a statement about matters of fact.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 352

9. While Hume rejects Descartes’ arguments for a priori knowledge of the world, he accepts al-Ghazali’s arguments for the existence of prophetic revelations that do give us such knowledge.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 358

10. If from past experience, I infer that drinking water will quench my thirst, my reasoning is based on the principle that the future will resemble the past.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 358

11. Evidentialism is the position that no statement should be accepted as true without good supporting evidence.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 359

12. James, unlike the rationalists, believes that if an idea is true, it is always true whether anyone verifies it or not.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 359

13. Clifford advocates absolute skepticism.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 362

14. Clifford would support the proposition that the more useful a belief is, the better off we are if we believe it.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 362

15. James’ “Will to Believe” argument boils down to claiming you have a right to believe anything you want to.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 363

16. James’ attitude, unlike Clifford’s attitude, is “We should play it safe and avoid falling into error at all costs.”

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 363

17. In personal and social relationships, according to James, “believing can make it so.”

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 364

18. There is no such thing as Indian philosophy, only Indian spirituality.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 367

19. Perceptual knowledge is acquired though our sensory contact with objects in the world.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 369

20. According to Nyaya, we are able to perceive not only individual things but the nature of individual things as well.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 370

21. The reliability of testimony has nothing to do with honesty of the person speaking.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 372

22. Standpoint epistemology has two constitutive elements. First, the notion of a standpoint or perspective; second, the notion that all of these perspectives are equally valid.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 374

23. Rose and Hartsock think that women have a distinctive cognitive style based on the emotional involvement in knowing that women have.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 377

24. Patricia Hill Collins claims that a particular standpoint can give a complete account of social oppressive relations.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 383

25. For Code, emotions play absolutely no role in the knowledge process.