Knowledge

23. René Descartes: Cartesian Doubt and the Search for Foundational Knowledge

  1. Descartes thinks that only propositions that are beyond all doubt can be considered knowledge. Do you agree with this? Do we know things that are not beyond all possible doubt?
  2. Can unaided reason discover all truth about the empirical world? Why or why not?

24. John Locke: The Empiricist Theory of Knowledge

  1. What reasons does Locke give for rejecting the notion of innate ideas?
  2. According to Locke, what is the difference between primary and secondary qualities?

25. George Berkeley: An Idealist Theory of Knowledge

  1. On what grounds does Berkeley conclude that there is a God?
  2. How does Berkeley try to show that all we ever experience are ideas?

26. David Hume: The Origin of Our Ideas

  1. Why is Hume skeptical about metaphysical issues?
  2. In Hume’s view, what is the role of custom in human life?

27. G.E. Moore: Proof of an External World

  1. What is Moore’s proof of an external world? Do you accept it? Why or why not?
  2. What response can the skeptic make to Moore?

28. Bertrand Russell: The Correspondence Theory of Truth

  1. In Russell’s view, what are the problems inherent in the coherence theory of truth?
  2. Russell says that coherence cannot be the meaning of truth but that it is often a test of truth. What does he mean?

29. William James: The Pragmatic Theory of Truth

  1. Is success or usefulness the correct criterion of truth? Why or why not? Can you think of counterexamples to the theory—that is, can you find examples in which an idea is useful or successful but seems not to be true?
  2. Do you think there are any dangers in defining truth as that which would be better for us to believe? Why or why not?

30. Richard Rorty: Dismantling Truth: Solidarity versus Objectivity

  1. Do you think that truth should be defined as that on which we are able to agree? Is it possible for us to agree on a proposition that is in fact false? Explain.
  2. What is Rorty’s criticism of the correspondence theory of truth? Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not?

31. Daniel Dennett: Postmodernism and Truth

  1. How is Dennett’s distinction between appearance and reality important to his argument against postmodernist views of truth?
  2. What is Dennett’s point about the “goal of truth”?

32. Eve Browning Cole: Philosophy and Feminist Criticism

  1. What is Cole’s argument against some postmodernist theories of knowing?
  2. What is the feminist empiricist view of knowledge? Do you agree with it?

33. Alison Ainley: Feminist Philosophy

  1. What are some of the complexities involved in trying to characterize the implications of sexual difference?
  2. How is sexual difference related to gender?

34. David Hume: Skeptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding

  1. Why can the principle of induction not be justified empirically or a priori?
  2. If the principle of induction cannot be proven, does that mean we cannot trust the findings of science? Why or why not?

35. Wesley C. Salmon: The Problem of Induction

  1. Do you agree with Salmon that the inductive solution to the problem of induction is inadequate? Why or why not?
  2. In your daily life, you assume the principle of induction. Does this show that the principle is well founded? Why or why not?
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