KRG Final Exam

• necessary truth


  true under all circumstances
• contingent truth


  happens to be true given the conditions, but could have been false otherwise
• formal truth


  an attribute that judgements/propositions have when they accurately reflect the way things are
• material truth


  an attribute that concepts have; true when the something that answers to the concept has formal reality
• analytic statement


  ?
• synthetic statement


  ?
• falsifiable claim


  capable of being refuted by evidence or experience
• determinism


  every event in the world is causally determined
• compatibilism


  determinism is true + we have free will (a person has free will if that person is able to do what they want)
• libertarianism


  determinism is false + we have free will (a person has free will if they had the ability to do otherwise)
• internalism


  knowing involves being aware of the basis of one's knowledge
• externalism


  we are justified in believing P if we believe P on that basis of a reliable method M whether or not we are aware of the reliability of M
• primary properties


  properties of an object itself (ex. extension)
• secondary properties


  the result of the interaction btw the perceiver and the object in a particular context (ex. color)
• skepticism


  raising doubts about something; note the distinction btw not believing something vs. believing something to be false
• methodological skepticism


  skepticism for pragmatic purposes; Descartes uses this to establish sure foundations re. the extent of his knowledge/the certainty of his beliefs
• excessive/extreme skepticism


  extreme skepticism undermines itself; if you truly doubt everything, why do you eat or drink? Do you believe it will satisfy your hunger or thirst? If so, then you don't doubt everything
• mitigated/moderate skepticism


  skepticism that limits our inquiry to subjects that are candidates for human understanding, namely (1) abstract reasoning concerning quantity and number, and (2) experimental reasoning concerning matters of fact
• formal reality


  has to do with the extent to which anything in the world answers to the idea
• objective reality


  has to do with the content of the idea/what the idea represents
• the Cartesian circle


  the critique that Descartes begs the question/argues in a circle:

  • Descartes uses the clear and distinct rule to prove the existence of God, and then uses God's existence to guarantee the truth of the clear and distinct rule
• causation


  a cause is an object followed by another
• contributory cause


  contributes to the effect, but is neither necessary nor sufficient to produce the effect
• proximate cause


  the cause closest to the effect, supposing there was a series of events
• initiating cause/catalyst


  cause that sets off a chain of events
• correlation


  ?
• pos binary correlation


  A is present, B is present / A is absent, B is absent
• neg binary correlation


  A occurs, B doesn't occur / A doesn't occur, B occurs (ex. nighttime and shadows)
• pos scalar correlation


  ?
• neg scalar correlation


  ?
• epoche


  suspension of judgement; the suspension of belief which is a goal of skepticism
• teleological


  things that are designed have a goal/purpose
• substance


  a unified, existing being with a nature or an essence
• accident


  a non-essential property of a thing
• Cartesian substance dualism


  Descartes thinks there are two distinct kinds of stuff: (1) mental substances and (2) physical/material substances

  • These things cannot share properties
  • Minds cannot have mass, extension, color; bodies cannot have thoughts, feelings, consciousness
• the interaction problem


  a critique of Descartes substance dualism: if minds and bodies cannot share properties, then how do they interact?

  • In order for the mind to move the body, doesn't there need to be some contact btw them?
• idealism


  all that exists are minds and ideas in minds
• solipsism


  only my mind is sure to exist
• rationalism


  (a priori) some knowledge can be had thru reasoning alone
• empiricism


  (a posteriori) all knowledge comes from experience