Philosophy 1600 - Philosophy and Society

Study Guide for Final

Final Draft

The final exam will take place Saturday, May 2 at 1:30 p.m. Bring a bluebook. Also bring (and write your exam in) blue or black ink -- no red ink, no pencil. It is a closed-note and closed-book exam.

You are responsible for the entire semester. This includes material from our class meetings as well as from the readings.

How to Prepare:

• Re-read the readings.
• Study your notes from class. For any days you missed, be sure to get the notes from one of your class mates.
• Write out answers to each of the study questions below.
• Come prepared with questions on Review Day, which will be the class meeting before the exam.
• Come see me in office hours (or make an appointment to see me at some other time) to clear up any lingering confusions.

Let me emphasize the importance of actually writing out answers to these questions. We often think we understand something -- until we try to put it in writing. Only then do we realize we don't really understand it. If you don't write out your answers, you won't know what you don't know.

Study Questions

Questions 1-31 can be found on the Study Guide for the Midterm.

32. (a) What is the doctrine of divine predestination?
    (b) Explain why it seems incompatible with human freedom?
33. (a) What is the compatibilist theory of freedom?
    (b) Give an example of an act that is free according to this theory.
    (c) Give an example of an act that is not free according to this theory.
    (d) Explain why, if this theory of freedom is true, divine predestination is not incompatible with human freedom. What would God have to do to ensure that our actions are free, if this theory is true?
    (e) Present an argument against this theory (it could be the one we discussed in class, the one Rowe discussed, or one of your own invention).
34. (a) What is the other theory of freedom we discussed?
    (b) Give an example of an act that is free according to this theory.
    (c) Give an example of an act that is not free according to this theory.
    (d) Explain why, if this theory of freedom is true, divine predestination seems incompatible with human freedom. (It's ok if your answer here overlaps heavily with your answer to 32(b).)
    (e) Explain why this theory of freedom avoids your argument from 33(e).
35. Explain why it at least initially seems that divine foreknowledge is quite different from divine predestination when it comes to human freedom.
36. (a) Present, in line-by-line format, the argument that we called 'the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge'.
    (b) What is the rationale for the first premise is this argument?
37. (a) Explain the doctrine of the fixity of the past, and why it seems so plausible. Illustrate with examples.
    (b) Thoroughly explain the rationale behind the second premise of the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge.
38. (a) Which premise of the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge does Ockham reject?
    (b) Thoroughly explain why Ockham thinks the doctrine of the fixity of the past fails. To do this, present a counterexample to the theory. Very thoroughly explain exactly why this example shows the doctrine to be mistaken.
39. Explain the distinction between facts about the past that are simply about the past and facts about the past that are not simply about the past. Be sure what it is for a fact about the past to be simply about the past and what it is for a fact about the past not to be simply about the past. Give examples of each.
40. (a) Consider this fact: God knew before you were born that you would come to class next time. Thoroughly explain why Ockham thinks that this fact about the past is not simply about the past.
    (b) Finally, put all this together, and explain why Ockham thinks that God's knowing everything we will do before we were born is compatible with our being able to do other than we do.
41. (a) Explain in detail Layman's solution to the dilemma of freedom and foreknowledge. Be sure to say which premise of the Rowe argument he would deny.
    (b) What do you think of this solution? Explain.
42. (a) State the "best world version" of the problem of evil, giving the rationale behind each premise.
    (b) Explain and evaluate Miller's reply this argument.
43. State Weirob's version of the problem of evil (aka the logical problem of evil), giving the rationale behind each premise.
44. Miller appeals to the idea of freedom to cast doubt on Weirob's version of the problem of evil. How does this reply work?
45. What is natural evil, and what does Miller's "theodicy" account for it?
46. State the evidential version of the problem of evil.
47. What role does the afterlife play in Layman's reply to the problem of evil?
48. Here is the "refined version" of the core no-evidence argument:
    P1. If theism is worth taking seriously, that is either because theism is knowable a priori or else because there is good evidence for theism.
    P2. Theism is not knowable a priori.
    P3. There is no good evidence for theism.
    --------------------------------
    C. Therefore theism is not worth taking seriously.
    (a) What do we mean when we say that something is knowable a priori? Give some examples of statements that we seem to know a priori and others that we don't.
    (b) As Hawthorn indicates, Aquinas would accept P2. What is Aquinas' argument for it? What is Hawthorn's objection to this argument?
    (c) Would Layman accept P3? Explain
    (d) Which premise above does Hawthorn reject? What are his reasons? Explain.
49. (a) What is the divine command theory (DCT)?
    (b) Assuming it would be wrong for you to cheat on you final exam, why would it wrong, if the DCT is true?
50. (a) What is the "god is almighty" argument for the DCT? Explain each step of the argument.
    (b) Why does Layman reject this argument?
    (c) What is your view of this argument?
51. In class we discussed the idea that if the DCT is true, then God's commands are arbitrary.
    (a) What do we mean by saying that God's commands are arbitrary?
    (b) Why is this claim supposed to follow from the DCT?
    (c) Why is this supposed to be a problematic claim for the theist to accept?
52. (a) What is the soul theory of personal identity?
    (b) What does this theory imply about the possibility of an afterlife. Explain.
    (c) Explain an objection to this theory (either Weirob's or the one we discussed in class).
    (d) Evaluate this objection.
53. (a) What is the bodily theory of personal identity?
    (b) What does this theory imply about the possibility of an afterlife. Explain.
    (c) Explain an objection to this theory.
    (d) Evaluate this objection.
54. (a) What is the psychological continuity theory of personal identity? Illustrate how this theory works with an example.
    (b) What does this theory imply about the possibility of an afterlife. Explain.
    (c) Explain an objection to this theory.
    (d) Evaluate this objection.
55. (a) What is the non-branching psychological continuity theory of personal identity? Illustrate how this theory works, and how it differs from the original psychological continuity theory, with an example.
    (b) What does this theory imply about the possibility of an afterlife. Explain.
    (c) Explain an objection to this theory.
    (d) Evaluate this objection.
56. (a) What is the brain theory of personal identity?
    (b) What does this theory imply about the possibility of an afterlife. Explain.
    (c) Explain an objection to this theory.
    (d) Evaluate this objection.
57. (a) According to Taylor, what do we need for our lives to have internal meaning?
    (b) Explain Wielenberg's argument against Taylor's view about when a life has internal meaning?
    (c) What do you think of this argument?

home