Midterm Review Sheet

1. What is philosophy?
The study of ultimacy through reason.

2. Where does the term come from?

The term comes from the word “philo” which means “love of”, and “Sophia which means
“wisdom”.

3. How is philosophy different from all other academic disciplines? Explain.

It is different to the extent that it is dealing with fundamental questions regarding human
existence.

4. What is antiquity?
It is a period of history runs approximately from the 6th century b.C. to about the 6th
century a.D. The word “antiquity” is synonymous with the word “ancient”.

5. What is mythos? What is logos? What is doxa? What is episteme? What is rhetoric?
What is dialectic? Explain each of these terms in detail.
Mythos is a mythical account. Myth is a story that has the purpose of explaining the
unexplainable. Logos is a rational account. Doxa is opinion or belief. Episteme is
knowledge, and it has the predicate of certainty. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion.
Dialectic is the concern with content as opposed to appeal. It is more important for
dialecticians “what is say” rather than “how is say?”.

6. Why is there a critical transition in antiquity? Be specific and detailed in your response.
 The methodological transition claims how the terms, doxa, rhetoric and mythos, are
inadequate, incorrect, meaningless, as opposed to the terms: episteme, dialectic, and
logos, to explain the world because of the inadequacy of the definitions given by these
terms. The correct terms have a qualitative condition that gives them a superior standard.

7. Who are the three giants of antiquity? Where is each of them from?
The three giants of antiquity are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates and Plato are
from Athens, and Aristotle is from Macedonia (Stagira).

8. What is an argument?
An argument is a series of declarative statements that leads to a conclusion.

9. What is the basic principle of logic? Does it apply only to philosophy or other academic
disciplines as well? Explain.
The basic principle of logic is the principle of non-contradiction. It says that a
contradiction is a logical absurdity. A contradiction is when you make opposite claims
about the world. This principle applies to all human knowledge, so it applies not only to
philosophy but to other academic disciplines too.

10. What is ultimacy? Are the sciences concerned with ultimacy? Explain.
Ultimacy is the study of ultimate questions regarding human existence. Sciences are not
concerned about ultimacy because its foundation relies on experimenting and proving.

11. What is an intrinsic value? What is an instrumental value? Are the only intrinsic value
and pleasure the same? Explain your position in detail.
An intrinsic value is something that we value for its own sake. An instrumental value is
something that we value as a means to obtaining something else. Happiness and pleasure
are not the same. There is a qualitative condition between both. Pleasure is a condition of
the senses. Happiness, according to Socrates, is a condition of the soul.
12. Are evil people capable of the only intrinsic value? Explain.
Evil people are not capable of happiness. According to Aristotle, “we can only attend the
highest good by doing things which are good”. A happy person is a virtuous person.

13. What does he mean when he says, “All human action aims at some good”? Explain
Aristotle means that humans confuse pleasure and happiness. As humans, we miss the
target, or we don’t know where it is. We positively perceive our own actions as good, but
we get it wrong.

14. What is the central question of the Euthyphro?

The central question is “what is piety?” which means treating everyone with the same
standards.

15. How does Euthyphro respond? What are Socrates’ objections to both those responses?
Euthyphro was on his way to court to sentence his own father for committing murder in
the first degree.
When Socrates asks Euthyphro if he was omitting any critical detail about the murdered
victim, he first responds that “makes no difference who the murdered victim was, that it
was irrelevant. What matters is that I do what is pious. Most people wouldn’t prosecute
their own father, but I’m willing to prosecute my father the same way I would to a
stranger.”
Socrates objects saying “That is not a good answer. You’ve given me an example of
piety”
 Then, Euthyphro responds “If you don’t like my first answer, what about this? Piety is
that which is dear to the Gods”. Then, Socrates objects saying, “Your second answer is
even worse because even the Gods are in conflict on such matter”.

16. What is divine command theory? What is a central weakness with divine command
theory? Explain
The divine command theory states that an action is moral because God says so. The
central weakness with this theory is that it has a tyrannical view/perception. Authority
doesn’t mean correctness. Authority has limitations and it is not always legit and
absolute. Just because somebody says so, it doesn’t mean that it is correct.

17. What are the three charges in the “Apology”? Where does the word “Apology” come
from? How does Socrates answer the charges? Explain in detail.
Apology comes from the Greek word “Apologia” which means “the defense”. The three
charges in the Apology are: 1- Corrupting the Youth of Athens, meaning, corrupting the
young people intellectually by provoking their curiosity. By questioning, they are
learning. 2- Not acknowledging the Gods of the city of Athens, meaning, not believing,
and worshipping the ancient Greek mythological gods. 3- Atheism, meaning, not
believing in any God. Socrates answers “Gentlemen, I don’t corrupt youth, rather I
improve it, and still hadn’t received a payment for my teaching. The result has been a life
of destitution. The city of Athens should thank me, not prosecute me. I’ve approached to
them and asked them these philosophical questions, and they had no answers for me. I’ve
approached the man who is regarded as the wisest man in Athens. And I’ve asked him
these questions and he wasn’t able to reply to them. So, he isn’t as wise as everybody
 believe he was. The basis of slander against me is that I speak the truth. How can I be an
atheist when religious is divine? I’m now the wisest man in all Athens because unlike
everyone else, I can admit my own ignorance”.
The claim of ignorance is superior to the claim of knowledge because when someone is
ignorant, it keeps you questioning, but when you know something for certain, it catapults
the questioning.

18. What does he say about the fear of death?

Socrates says that he isn’t afraid of death because death is inevitable, and so it’s irrational
to fear the inevitable. Instead, he says that there are two possible answers to that question:
1- Death is like being asleep for good and for forever so it’s a lack of perception. 2-
Death is a change of location because when we died our souls are transported
somewhere else.
Socrates is more afraid of life than of death because we cannot do anything about how we
will die, but we can do something about how we want to live. Socrates says” I fear a life
of thoughtlessness, a life of futility, a life of trivialities, a life of ignorance, which is what
most people live”.

19. What does he mean by an “examined life”?

According to Socrates, an “examined life” is worth living because that means we live our
life by questioning about ultimate things. Socrates feels satisfied when people question
 themselves about fundamental things because then they are being wise by trying to
achieve high standards and don’t settle down with low standards.

20. Who is the principle accuser? What does he mean when he says, “it is the laws which
improve the youth not you, Socrates”? Is he correct? Why or why not?
The principle accuser is Meletus. When he says, “it is the laws which improve the youth
not you, Socrates”? he means that laws control people’s behavior. But Meletus isn’t
correct with that argument because good people don’t need laws. Laws don’t improve
people; laws force people and they create conformity and fear of repercussion. The
problem is that good people want or desire to do things for others, but they are not willing
or reluctant to do good things.

21. What are the branches of philosophy?

1- Epistemology: what are the boundaries or limitations of human knowledge.
2- Ethics: It is the branch of philosophy that deals with correctness of human action.
3- Political Philosophy: It is the branch of philosophy that deals with what is a just
society.
4- Philosophical Anthropology: It is the branch of philosophy that deals
5- Philosophy of religion: It is the branch of philosophy that seeks rational foundation for
religious belief.
6- Logic: It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the structure of arguments.
7- Aesthetics: It is the branch of philosophy that deals
8- Metaphysics: It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the question “what

22. What is the offer in the Crito?

 Crito’s offer is an arrangement to escape from jail for Socrates, who has been charged of
three crimes and was convicted 3 hours before his scheduled execution. This offer had a
value for Crito because he responds that he values Socrates’ life more than his own.

23. What does Socrates respond to that offer? Explain in detail.

Socrates responds: “An injustice committed by the state has nothing to do with my
actions being judged. Whether my own actions are moral. Running would make me look
guilty and scared, and as I said before I’m not scared. If I run, my teaching in any other
part will be hypocrisy. My execution would cause more harm to the state than it would do
to me. It’s better to suffer injustice than it is to commit injustice because you’ll feel
shame. The state can destroy my body, but they cannot destroy my soul”

24. What does Socrates have to say about the problem of “reputation” in this dialogue?
Socrates says “The issue here isn’t merely having a good reputation, but rather, in the
eyes of who I only care about my reputation. In the eyes of those that I respect, which are
the few as opposed to the many”. -Approval doesn’t constitute competence, just because
people like something (POPULAR), it doesn’t make it good.

25. What are the three major problems of metaphysics? Explain each in detail.
1- Freewill vs. Determinism: Are human beings free to act as they do?
2- Immortality of the soul:
3- Existence of God: Does God exist?

26. What is a definition of the word “God”? What attributes does God have in most major
theistic traditions?
Definition of “God”: It is the one supreme being. Creator and ruler of the universe.
Controls some aspects of reality. Believed in and worshipped by people.
 Attributes: 1- Omnibenevolence which means all good, morally perfect. 2- Omnipotence
which means all powerful. 3- Omniscience which means all knowing.

27. What are the major positions regarding belief/disbelief in God? What is devotional
atheism? What is deism?
1- Atheism: disbelief in God
2- Agnosticism: Nor believing or denying God
3- Theism: Belief in God
4- Devotional Atheism: Refusing to worship God
5- Deism: Position that God creates the universe but doesn’t interact with it
6- Theodicy: An attempt to reck in self the problem of evil

28. What is the problem of evil? Explain in detail.

The problem of evil is that there is a logical contradiction between God’s actions and
attributes, and the existence of evil.

29. What are the two major categories of evil?

1- Natural evil: diseases, death, natural disasters
2- Human action: corruption, genocide, violence, lying.

30. What is the most simplistic atheistic answer to the problem of evil?
The most simplistic atheistic answer is “there is evil because there is no God. God
doesn’t exist”.

31. What are the three classical arguments for the existence of God? Explain each in detail.
What is one objection/weakness of each?
1- Teleological argument: It states that the universe shows remarkable sophistication and
that subjects “corresponding intelligence”.
2- Ontological argument: It states 4 premises claimed by Saint Anselm
  God contains all perfections
 To exist in reality is greater than to exist in the mere imagination
 Existence is a perfection
 God must therefore exist
3- Cosmological argument: (causal/causation) It states 4 premises
 Everything which exists has a cause
 The universe exists
 The universe has a cause
 That cause is God

32. What is a theodicy?

It is a response to the problem of evil which is “can we reck inside evil with the believing
of the existence of God?”.