PHI 103 INTRODUCTION TO
PHILOSOPHY
Instructor: David
Makinster,
Fall
2005, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Take-Home
Essay Exam
Remember, this is an essay
exam, not a paper assignment. I do expect you will take advantage of
dictionaries, notes, the assigned texts, etc. when writing your essays.
Attribute any sources you paraphrase or quote!
Answer any three of these essay questions.
1. Distinguish between
methodological skepticism, limited skepticism, and radical skepticism. What
reasons might someone offer for adopting each? What special problems attend
radical skepticism. (Russell, Ch. I. Study guide.)
2. Explain Russell’s
distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description.
Give examples. What are the uses and limits of each mode of knowing? (Russell,
V.)
3. What reasons do we
have for being skeptical of induction? What reasons do we having for accepting
induction? What does Hume have to say about putting the burden back on the
skeptic, and why is that notion important? (Russell, VI. Study
Guide.)
4. What does it mean
to call something a "self-evident truth"? Why can’t every truth be
demonstrated by inference? (Russell, VII. Study Guide.)
5. Distinguish
between the correspondence theory of truth and the coherence theory of truth.
What are some strengths and weaknesses of each approach? (Russell, XII).
Good Luck!
