philosophy 2 exam

PHIL 1101: Introduction to Philosophy Exam 1 Exam format and directions As I explained in class, th is exam is a take -home exercise. Your task is to answer the sets of question s below as completely as you are able to. You should provide a direct response to each question, and provide supporting explanation for each response . It should take around 300 -450 words to answer each question set, for a total of 900 -1300 words over the en tire exam. You are welcome to use the course readings, handouts, and notes when preparing your answers. I strongly suggest that you not rely on online sources for this exam. If you decide to use online sources, limit your use to the Stanford Ency clopedia o f Philosophy (https://plato.stanford.edu/ ) and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://www.iep.utm.edu/ ). Your typed answers must be submitted to the folder in D 2L’s Assignments section (located under the Assessments tab) no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, March 22. I will not accept exams after that time. You may submit your responses to me through email if you are unable to upload them to the folder on D2L. Emaile d exams must also be submitted no later than 5:00 pm on the 22 nd. You must meet with me to discuss a draft of your responses before submitting them for a grade. I will be available during my office hours (Monday and Wednesday from 8:00 -9:00 am, Tuesday an d Thursday from 8:00 -9:30 am) to meet with you. I will also be in my office during our normal class time on March 19 and 21 to meet. You do not need to make an appointment; please drop by at one of those times to discuss your exam. We will not meet in the classroom during the week of the 18 th to accommodate exam meetings. Five of the fifty points for the exam will be awarded on a pass -fail basis for meeting with me during the week of the 18 th. The other forty -five points will be divided between the three q uestions sets as noted in italics below. Questions 1. I put the following argument for argument for fact objectivism at the top of the handout for January 22 : A. The world is situated in a particular way B. The particular way the world is situated dictate s many (all?) of the facts C. Those facts distinguish the true claims from the false ones D. Thus, many (all?) claims are made true by the world (= objectivism) Fact relativists will argue that the argument is unsound, and will do so because they will cla im that at least one of the premises (i.e., claims A, B, and C) is false. How can the ideas of non -absolutism, relationism, and pluralism from p. 52 of the Boghossian reading be used to show that some of the argument’s premises are false? [25 points] 2. H ume argues that our empirical knowledge (what he calls knowledge of ‘matters of fact’) is only contingently true. How does he use that idea as part of his argument for the problem of induction in Section IV of the Enquiry ? [15 points] PHIL 1101 | Spring 2019 | Exam 1 guide | Page 2 of 2 3. The JTB analysis of knowledge says that knowing p is nothing beyond having a justified true belief that p (where p is any proposition , e.g., ‘the earth is round’ or ‘two plus two equals four’ ). Bearing that in mind, consider the following example , adapted fro m the Gettier essay : Smith and Jones have applied for the same promotion at their company. Suppose that Smith believes that Jones will get the promotion and that Jones has ten coins in his pocket. Smith’s boss told her that Jones would get the job, and S mith counted the coins in Jones’ pocket when the two of them were at the company vending machine. On the basis of her first belief, Smith arrives at the following second belief: that whoever it is who will get the promotion has ten coins in their pocket. If the first belief is true, that second belief must be true as well. Now suppose that Smith’s boss lied to her, and that Smith is the one who will get the job. Suppose too that Smith also has ten coins in her pocket. That means that Smith’s second belief is true, and since she had a good reason for arriving at that second belief, that second belief is justified. If the JTB analysis of knowledge is correct, Smith’s second belief – the belief that whoever it is who will get the job has ten coins in their p ocket – counts as knowledge because that belief is true and Smith has a reason for holding it . That is, if having a justified true belief is the same as having knowledge, Smith knows that whoever it is who will get the job has ten coins in their pocket. Ho w does the Gettier -style case challenge the JTB analysis of knowledge? [10 points]