GST 112

Philosophy & human existence

A STUDY GUIDE TOWARDS ACHIEVING SUCCESS
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TONI-ENGINE COURTESY: SPE

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 Disclaimer

The author has exerted all effort to ensure an accurate presentation of questions and their associated

solutions in this book. The author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any

loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, either accidently or otherwise in the course of

preparing this book.

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The article is also designed to equip the 100L students which offers the GST with the knowledge of the

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course and also in a way towards helping them to achieve success in their examination/test. Its contents

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are extracted from the Uniuyo past examination/test questions.

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It's not to be used as any form or aid towards encouraging examination malpractice, therefore any
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student caught with this material in the examination hall should be duly and adequately punished
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according to laws and Constitution guiding the conduct of examination in the institution.
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Toni-Engine** The Academian

 CONTEMPORARY MOVEMENTS IN PHILOSOPHY
1. __________ movement in philosophy recognizes the possibility of other truth rather than
just truth Ans: Post-Modernism
2. _____ believes that for philosophy to be a worthwhile activity, it must have local
relevance Ans: Andrew F. Uduigwomen
N/B Uduigwomen identifies three School of thought in African Philosophy, they are The
Universalist, Particularist and The Eclectic schools
3. The philosophical school of thought that maintains that philosophy is the same
everywhere and using the same methodology is _________
Ans: The Universalist
4. ____ school of African philosophy believes that Philosophy should be localized a)
Universalist b) Particularist c) Eclectic d) Ethnophilosophy
Ans: The Particularist N/B: The Particularist is an African Philosophical school of

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thought as initiated by Andrew F. Uduigwomen who believes that for philosophy to be a

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worthwhile activity, it must have local relevance.

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5. The new humanist philosophy is ______ a) Atheistic b) Pantheistic c) Theistic d)

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Polytheistic Ans: Theistic (it is a systematic philosophy that recognizes the centrality of

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God; this view sees God as the measure of all things)

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6. Contemporary movement in philosophy is the period immediately following the modern
_________ a) Thinking b) Global c) Correct d) Uncertain Ans: Thinking
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7. Formal African Philosophy started in ______ a) Logical thinking

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b) Medieval meditations c) Contemporary era d) Global reasoning

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Ans: Contemporary era (The formal African philosophy is a philosophical school of

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thought under the Contemporary era of philosophy as well as Humanism, Existentialism,

Phenomenology, Pragmatism, Analytic philosophy, Logical atomism, Logical positivism,
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Ordinary language and Postmodernism.

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8. Philosophy of action is _______ a) Humanism b) Pragmatism c) Existentialism d)

Analysis e) Activism Ans: Pragmatism
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9. African philosophy cannot be qualified as philosophy a) True b) False c) True or False d)

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All of the above Ans: False

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10. The Philosophy of mathematical logic is ________ a) Logical positivism b) symbolism c)

Logical atomism d) Ontology Ans: Logical atomism
11. Logical empiricism is another name for _______ a) Logical positivism b) Logical atomism
c) ordinary language d) Existentialism Ans: Logical Positivism
12. _______ refers to pragmatism as a theory of truth and meaning Ans: John Dewey
13. The cash value theory was propounded by a) William James b) Rene Descartes c) Jean
Paul Satre d) Plato Ans: Williams James (Williams James is associated with the belief
that every idea, claim or theory has “ Cash value”
14. One of these men is not a Postmodernist a) Plato b) Kant cc) Hegel d) Ans: Plato
15. Pragmatism as a philosophy was initiated by ____ Ans: Charles Sanders Pierce
(Pragmatism was initiated by Charles Sanders Pierce, generalized by Williams James
and popularized by John Dewey
16. _____ is the philosopher who proposed the instrumental theory of arts Ans: John Dewey
(John Dewey is particularly associated with the scientific approach to pragmatism
generally called “instrumentalism” which thrives on the notion of experience.
17. _____ is not associated with pragmatism a) C.S Pierce b) Bertrand Russell c) John
Dewey d) Williams James Ans: Bertrand Russell
18. _____ lays emphasis on bracketing our beliefs a) Pragmatism b) Existentialism
c) Phenomenology d) Humanism Ans: Phenomenology
19. The notion that our idea should constitute instrument, tool or key by which man can
solve his problems is known as_______ Ans: Instrumentalism or Instrumental theory.
This theory was propounded by John Dewey 1859-1952
20. The Pragmatists defines truth as that which a) Works b) Is empirical c) is rational d)
Works Ans: Works
21. John Dewey is best known for his philosophy of ______ a) Education b) Law c) Medicine
d) Science
Ans: Education
22. Modern existentialism is generally thought of and beginning with _____ a) Jean Paul
Satre b) Soren Kierkegaard c) Sigmud Freud d) Frederick Nietzche Ans: Soren
Kierkegaard
23. Kierkegaard finds the fundamental condition of man to be that of____ a) Fear b)
Allenation c) Despair d) Death Ans: Despair

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24. _______ existentialist maintains that God is dead because we have killed

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him Ans: Frederick Nietzsche

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25. ________ Philosophical theme stresses the point that the corpus of African Philosophy

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consists of proverbs, folklores, wise sayings, myths & other materials of philosophical

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relevance a) Humanism b) Existentialism c) Philosophical sagacity d) Ethnophilosphy

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Ans:Ethnophilosophy
26. Another way of referring to Analytic philosophy is ____
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a) Philosophical
sagacity b) Philosophical analysis c) Logical positivism Ans: Philosophical analysis
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27. Ludwig Wittgenstein is a good representative of ______ philosophical school a)

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Existential b) Analytical c) Phenomenology d) Rationalist Ans: Analytical (Analytical

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Philosophy)
28. ______ Philosophical movement is credited to Betrand Rusell & Alfred North White head
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a) Logical atomism b) Logical Positivism c) Ordinary Language d) Phenomenology

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Ans: Logical atomism ( Logical atomism may be described as the philosophy of

mathematical logic, a doctrine which originally claims to set out the structure of the
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universe in simple sentences known as “ atomic propositions” which mirror the world of
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fact.
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29. The word “Pragmatism” is derived from the Greek term _____ which means ____
Ans: Pragma; Deeds
30. The three themes of Pragmatism are ____,___& ____ Ans: Cash value, Truth &
Instrumentalism
31. ____ &____ refers to pragmatism as the scientific philosophy of experimentalism
Ans: Morris & Pa
32. Humanism emphasizes ______ Ans: The Centrality of Man
33. --------------- defines the truth as that which works Ans:Pragmatism
34. ----------- defines what is good as that which works on the basis of morality Ans:
Pragmatism
 PHILOSOPHY AND HUMAN RELATIONS
35. _____ &_____ defines ethics as a ”code or set of principles by which men live”
Ans: Popkin & Skroll
36. For _____ philosophy strives to lead people to the goals and values that are enormously
valuable a) Lamont b) Hegel c) Marx d) Mill Ans: Lamont
37. _____ branch of philosophy is concerned with the morality of human conducts a) ethics
b) Logic c) Metaphysics d) axiology Ans: Ethics
38. _____ethical theory maintains that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends on
the specific cultured concerned a) Subjectivism b) relativism c) situationism d)
objectivism
Ans: Relativism
39. _____ ethical theory holds that the standards of rightness or wrongness are independent
of culture or subjective to an individual a) Subjectivism b) relativism c) situationism d)

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objectivism

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Ans: Objectivism

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40. _____ethical theory claims that the rightness or wrongness of an action is dependent on

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the situation a) Subjectivism b) relativism c) situationism d) objectivism Ans:

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Situationism

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41. Logic as defined by West is _______ Ans: The Science dealing with the principles of valid
reasoning and argument e

42. A correct argument is one whose conclusion follows from its premises a) True b) False
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c) Likely d) None of these Ans: True ( An incorrect argument on the other hand is one
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whose conclusion does not follow logically from its premises)

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43. Errors in reasoning is termed Ans: Fallacy

44. ______ considers the freedom of an individual to be paramount a) Determinism
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b)Liberalism c) Objectivism d) Marxism Ans: Liberalism

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45. ____ is a major inspiration to libertarian thought Ans: Robert Nozick

46. ______ emphasizes on the supremacy of the community or the state Ans:
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Communitarianism
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47. ____ see social and political philosophy as a philosophical reflection on how to best
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arrange our collective life, our political institution and our social practices Ans: George

ARGUMENTS, FALLACIES AND CRITICAL REASONING

Logicians interest in arguments is to lay principles by which correct arguments are

distinguished from incorrect ones, when the premises give us sufficient grounds to arrive at the
conclusion, the argument is correct, if they do not, then the argument is incorrect.

1) The building blocks of arguments are ________ a) Premises b) Conclusion c)Proposition

d) none of the above ans: Proposition
2) ________ deals with correctness and incorrectness of our reasoning a) Argument b)
Proposition c)Logic d) Fallacy Ans: Logic
3) _______ is the subject matter of Logic a) Premises b) Conclusion c)Proposition d)
Arguments Ans: Argument
4) Popkin & Stroll defines Logic as _________ Ans: “The branch of Philosophy that reflects
upon the nature of thinking”
5) Broadly speaking Logic is divided into _____&_____ a) Formal and Informal b) Inductive
and Deductive c) Formal and Deductive d) Informal and Deductive Ans: Formal and
Informal
 6) On a broad scale Argument are classified as ____&____ Ans: Formal & Informal
Arguments

FALLACY
A fallacy can be said to be an error or defect in reasoning. The term “non sequitur”
which means “it does not follow” is another word used in characterizing fallacy,
Fallacies are classified into Formal and Informal fallacies, whereas formal fallacies
occurs because the defect is in the form of the arguments (They appeal to Form) while
informal fallacies occurs because the defect is found in the content of the argument
(they appeal to content)

7) The technical word for incorrect reasoning is _______ a) Logic b) Proposition c) Fallacy
d) Conclusion Ans: Fallacy

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Types of Formal Fallacy

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· The Fallacy of Affirming a Disjunction

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· Fallacy of Affirming the Consequent

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· The Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent

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· Quantificational Fallacy or Existential Fallacy

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· Formal Categorical Syllogistic Fallacies ( Which has the following sub Fallacies)
** Fallacy of Drawing Affirmative Conclusion from Negative Premises
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** The Fallacy of Exclusive Premises

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** The Fallacy of Four Terms

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** The Fallacy of the Illicit Process

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** Fallacy of Undistributed Middle Term

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Types of Informal Fallacies

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a) Fallacies of Relevance: Fallacies of relevance are fallacious because thePremises

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of the argument are logically irrelevant to the conclusion, even though they may
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appear to be.
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N/B The connection between the Premises and conclusion is emotional. Examples
of this fallacy are
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** Argumentum Ad Bacullum (This fallacy is an appeal to Force)

** Argumentum Ad Populum (Appeal to People)
** Argumentum Ad Misericodiam ( Appeal to Pity)
** Argumentum Ad Hominem (Argument against the person)
** Staw Man’s Fallacy
** Ignoratio Elenchi (Irrelevant Conclusion)
** Accident
b) Fallacies of Weak Induction: This fallacy occurs because the Premises do not have
enough strength to support their conclusion, they include:
** Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam ( Argument from Ignorance)
** Hasty Generalization (Converse Accident)
** Argument Ad Vericundiam (Appeal to Unqualified Authority)
** False Cause
** Weak Analogy
 c) Fallacies of Presumption: This fallacy arises because they presume the conclusion
they purport to prove, they include:
** Pertitio Principii (Begging the Question)
**Complex Question
** False Dichotomy
** Suppressed Evidence

d) Fallacies of Ambiguity: These fallacies arises from the occurrence of some

ambiguity in the premises or the conclusion or both, they include:
** Equivocation
** Amphiboly

e) Fallacies of Grammatical Analogy: These fallacies occur because the arguments

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that commit these fallacies are grammatically analogous to other good arguments,

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because of the similarity in structure. Such argument appears good but they are bad,

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they include the fallacies of:

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** Division

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** Composition

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PAST QUESTIONS: e

8) Which of the following fallacies are not committed because the premises are not strong
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a) Unqualified authority b) Argument from ignorance c)Converse accident d) Argument

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against the person Ans: Argument against the person

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9) Fallacies that relies more on emotion than evidence is called a) weak Induction b)
Presumption c) Relevance d) Grammatical analogy Ans: Relevance check notes under
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fallacy of relevance
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10) ______ fallacy is committed when a statement is misinterpreted to be understood in two

different ways a) Accent b) Equivocation c) Amphiboly d) Stawman’s Fallacy Ans:
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Amphiboly
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N/B Amphiboly: is committed when one who argues misinterprets an ambiguous

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statement to be understood in two clearly distinguished ways, the arguer selects the
unintended interpretation and goes ahead to draw a conclusion.
Equivocation: occurs when the conclusion depends on the fact that a word or phrase is
used in two different senses in the argument
11) ___________ fallacy is committed when there is an attempt to shift the burden of proof
a) Ad populum b) Ad vericundiam c) Ad ignoratiam d) ignoratio Elenchi Ans: Ad
Ignoratiam
N/B Argumentum Ad Ignoratiam(Argument from ignorance) This fallacy is
committed when we make the assumption that because the contrary position of a
belief is not proven, the belief is proven. Here, there’s a shift in the burden of proof to
the opponent.
12) Formal fallacies do not appeal to _____ a) Form b) content c) Value Ans: Content
13) Aristotle work on Logic is called______ a) fallacy b) ontology c) organon d) topics Ans:
Organon
14) Arguments are constituted basically by________ a) sentences b)Premises and
Conclusion
c )Propositions d) None of the above Ans: Propositions
15) _______ fallacies are committed because both the premises are negative Ans: Exclusive
Premises
16) __________ fallacy appeals to people’s desire to be valued a) appeal to the people b)
Appeal to the gallery c) appeal to popular prejudice d) All of the above Ans: Appeal to
the people

PHILOSOPHY AND LEGAL REASONONG

1) ____ is not a “ unitary set” of arguments, but a combination of so many ways of talking in
dealing with just one case Ans: Legal Reasoning
2) _____ is referred to as applied logic Ans: Legal Reasoning (Oke and Amodu)
3) The two branches of Philosophy of Law are ____ &_____ Ans: Legal Reasoning and Legal
Theory
4) The theories of adjudication could also be referred to as_______ Ans: Legal Reasonig
5) Legal reasoning in action is termed_____________ a) ethics b) logic c) fallacy d)

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adjudication Ans: adjudication( which simple means determining the law)

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6) Legal reasoning is described as______ a)Logic b) Symbolism c)Judicial Process

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d)democracy Ans: Judicial Process

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7) The term ‘audi alterem partem’ means _____ ans: hear both sides in a case

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N/B: it is a general principle of English Law, which is derived from democratic ideology

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of “equality of all men”
8) Legal reasoning is constructed from _______&_______ Ans: Human values & Structures of
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thoughts
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9) The three common ways of reasoning known to logicians are_____ Ans: deduction,
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induction & analogy

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10) Gemanova defines deduction as ___________ Ans: Reasoning in which the conclusion is
entailed in the premise or premises
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11) The art or science of persuasion deals with the application of ______
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ans: “rhetoric” or ”argumentation”

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MAN AND THE QUEST FOR REALITY

1) According to Aristotle; Metaphysics is termed as_______
Ans: The first child of philosophy or the First Philosophy
2) ____ considers metaphysics as “a systematic study of being in its deepest aspect” Ans:
Pantaleon Iroegbu
3) Metaphysics deals with the fundamental aspect of a) Reality b) Being c) Questions d)
Corruption
Ans: Reality ( It’s a quest for the core of reality; it is a search for the ultimate being, it is
the science of being as being or the study of ultimate and general reality

THEMATIC ISSUES IN METAPHYSICS TONI-ENGINE

1) ____________ is the study of ultimate or general reality Ans: Metaphysics
2) Etymologically , metaphysics means____________ Ans: Beyond the
Physical(META-TA-PHYSIKA)
3) Another name for Metaphysics is called ________ Ans: Ontology
4) Which of these is not a metaphysical Problem? (a) Mind-body (b)Universals (c) The
good (d) One and many Ans: The good
 NOTE: The following are the various metaphysical problems
*The Problem of Being
*Mind and Body Problem
*The Problem of Universals
*The One and Many
*Change and Permanence
*Appearance and Reality
*The Problem of Freedom and Determinism
THE PROBLEMS OF BEING
5) ______ maintained that whatever is, is being Ans: Parmenides
6) The question on the problem of beings was first put forward by_______ Ans:Parmenides
7) The two dimensions of beings are ____&____ Ans: Necessary & Contigent
8) For Parmenides because being has no part it is ____ Ans: Simple & Homogenous

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9) _____ maintained that being is eternal and unchanging Ans: Plato

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10) _____ identifies pure being as the foundation and unity of all things Ans: Aristotle

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( a student of Plato)He also identifies this pure being as God

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11) ______ claimed that the ultimate source of all forms is the form of good Ans: Plato

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12) ______ Philosopher of the middle age identifies being as God and also describing God as

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being Par excellence, while creatures are beings in the analogical sense Ans: Thomas
Aquinas e

13) _______ philosopher disagrees to Thomas Aquinas view of being Ans: Duns Scotus(he
holds that whatever exist is being, for him being is indefinable because it is the simplest
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and most embracing concept, he also holds that being is univocal and not analogical as
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according to Thomas Aquinas)

14) ________ modern philosopher sees being as the thesis and non being as the antithesis
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and synthesis, which is the consequence of the two as” becoming”

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Ans: Hegel, the German Philosopher(he sees being and non being as the moments in
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the process of becoming)

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15) Gabriel Marcel does not see being as a problem but rather he sees being as ___ to us
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Ans: A Mystery
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MIND AND BODY PROBLEM

16) Which of these is not a subject of mind-body problem a)Epiphenomenalism
b)Interactionism
c) Dualism d) Contextualism Ans: Contexualism
17) The two set of approach to the Mind-Body problem are ___&_____
Ans: Dualistic approach or common sense

18) _________________ Philosopher reformulated the problems of the mind & body
Ans: Rene Descartes
19) ________ approach of the mind-body problem presents a scenario where human being
seems to be composed of the mind and the body working in perfect unity and harmony
Ans: DUALIST APPROACH
20) _______ approach of the mind-body problem is of the view that man is composed of one
ultimate dormant constituent/substance which is either the mind or body Ans: MONISM
21) The issue of the mind-body problem is_______ Ans: The influence the one has on the
other
22) ______ sees the mind as a function of the brain or a by-product of the brain Ans:
Epiphemenalist
N/B: The following are subjects of Mind-Body Problem
*Dualism *Monism
The following are the dualist theories for mind-body problem
*Epiphenomenalism *interactionism *Parallelism *Occassionalism
23) Hume & Rusell tells us that the mind is _____________ Ans: nothing other than series of
perceptions which succeed one another in sequence
24) Rene Descartes view of the mind & body is _____ Ans: they are radically distinct entities,
two different kinds of substances neither of which is reducible to the other, he also
viewed that the mind and body interact and even conjectured that the precise point
where this interaction occurs is the Pineal gland, in the brain------This is the
Interactionism theory

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25) Parallelism was advocated by _____________ Ans: G.W Leibnitz i(t’s of the view that God

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has created the world in such a way that there is a perfect “ Pre established harmony”)

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thus the mind and body do not interact.

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26) Another form of Parallelism is known as ___________ Ans: Occassionalism advocated by

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Nicolas de Malebranche---This has to do with harmony on the installment plan.

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27) _____________ advocated what has been called “ double aspect theory” Ans: Benedict
Spionoza e

28) __________ is not a satisfactory approaching towards resolving the mind-body problem
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but could serve as a way of solving it Ans: Materialistic approach(Materialism)

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29) Which of the following is not a dualist theory of the mind-body problem a)Occassional
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b) Pre-established harmony c) Parallelism d)Materialism Ans: Materialism

THE PROBLEMS OF UNIVERSALS
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30) These best explains the problems of universals a) Existence/ Non Existence b) Beauty
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and the Beast c) Justice and Injustice d) Happiness and Sadness Ans (A)
In philosophy, the word UNIVERSALS is usually conceived as abstract general ideas
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such as beauty, goodness, humanity, justice, whiteness, and so on. The problem of
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universals is simply the question whether these abstract general idea actually exist as
distinct from their particular instances which we can see and observe or not
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(PHILOSOPHY & HUMAN EXISTENCE; THE PROBLEMS OF UNIVERSAL)

31) _____ was the first to raised the question on the problems of universals Ans: Boethius
Boethius was the first who raised the question of whether universal were realities
outside the mind or simply ideas in the mind. From his question arose the following
schools of thoughts under universals *ULTRA REALISM *MODERATE REALISM
*NOMINALISM
32) _________ is not a theory of universal? A) Occasionalism B) Ultra realism C) Moderate
realism D) Nominalism Ans : Occasionalism
33) Ultra-realism is otherwise known as_________ Ans: “exaggerated realism”
34) _______&________ philosophers were of the ultra-realism school of thought
Ans: John Scotus Erigena & St. Anselem
35) ____,______&________ philosophers were of the moderate-realism school of thought
Ans: Boethius, Abelard & Thomas Aquinas
Nominalism, a school of thought was championed by ___ Ans: William of Ockham
36) For William of Ockham universals are nothing but______ Ans: A sound of the voice
37) _________ sees universals as real entities that exist has somewhere away from the
particular objects that manifest them Ans: Ultra-realism
38) __________ is of the view that universal does not exist, but not as independently existing
entities separate from the particular object Ans: Moderate realism
39) _______ is of the view that universals are not realities Ans: Nominalism
THE ONE AND MANY
The problem of one and many is whether reality is one existing being or whether there
are many existing beings-------(according to Etim 22)
40) The problems of one and many can otherwise be referred as ______ Ans: Unity &
Diversity or Unity & Plurality
41) The basic approaches adopted to explain the problems of one and many are
_____________ Ans: MONISM, DUALISM & PLURALISM
42) _____________ philosophers believed that the universe is made up of one basic
constituents Ans: The Milesians or Ionian Philosophers—Who were* Thales of
Miletus(he believed that the universe is made up of one basic stuff which is WATER)*
Anaximander(he believed that the universe is made up of one basic stuff which is ”
Indeterminate” boundless substance *Anaximenes(he believed that the universe is

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made up of one basic stuff which is AIR)

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43) For the Monist reality is _____________ Ans: One

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44) For the Pluralist reality is _____________ Ans:Multiplicity

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45) For the Dualist reality _______________ Ans: The spiritual and Material substances( they

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hold that reality is basically divided into two kinds of substance; the spiritual and

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material.
CHANGE AND PERMANENCE
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46) ________ & _______ Greek philosophers seems to be at the fore of the problem of change
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and permanence Ans: Parmenides & Heraclitus

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47) ___________ argues that being isone, immutable and unchanging Ans: Parmenides
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48) ____________ argues that change is the only constant thing in nature Ans: Heraclitus
49) Thus, for___ there is no motion, everything is permanent, change is an illusion Ans:
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Parmenides
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50) The basis of the problem of change and permanence can be related to ___
Ans: the debate between empiricism and rationalism
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51) Parmenides position of the problems of change and permanence is similar to the law of
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identity which states that______ Ans:”a thing is” What is, is and cannot be otherwise
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APPERANCE AND REALTY

The Metaphysical problem of appearance and reality rest on the foundation of our
sources of knowledge; it is at the heart of the great debate between rationalism and
empiricism. George Berkeley in his Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, in
Opposition to Skeptics and Atheists, Undertook to prove that there is no such thing as
“matter” at all, that the world consists of nothing but minds and their ideas.
N/B Immanuel Kant Sought to blend rationalism and empiricism into what is called
“Synthetic” apriori Knowledge i.e. Knowledge derived exclusively by the synthesis of
experience and reason.
52) _______ is the
knowledge derived from synthesis of our experience and reason
Ans: APRIORI KNOWLEDGE
THE PROBLEM OF FREEDOM AND DETERMINISM
 MAN & THE ISSUES OF KNOWLEDGE
1. _______ describe epistemology as the area of study devoted to the question of how to
develop informed beliefs, construct knowledge and discover truth Ans: Chaffee
2. The starting point of knowledge is the difference in the identification of a problem according
to ________ Ans: Karl Popper.
3. The area of philosophical analysis that examine the foundation upon which our knowledge
claims are based is known as ________ Ans: Epistemology
4. The philosophical foundation of knowledge can be classified under
______,_______,______&________ Ans: Skepticism, Rationalism, Empiricism & Constructivism
5. _____ Philosophical foundation of knowledge rejects the notion that real knowledge or truths
are possible Ans: Skepticism
6. _____ are the building block of knowledge Ans: Belief
7. ______is a philosophical position which denies the possibility of knowledge Ans: Skepticism

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8. ________ do not believe that genuine knowledge is achievable and to try is an effort in futility

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Ans: Skeptics

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9. _____ Skepticism accept the possibility of certain forms of knowledge Ans: Modern

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Skepticism

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10. _____ Skepticism claims that no knowledge is possible in any circumstances

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Ans: Extreme Skepticism
11. ______ is a philosophical position which holds that knowledge is absolutely possible and
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that it can be derived only through the faculty of reason Ans: Rationalism
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12. Gorgias, Protagoras, Phyrrha of Elis, Timon of Phileus and Sextus of Empiricus are
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classified as _____ Ans: Skeptics

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13. _______ was an important Rationalists Ans: Rene Descartes

14. The most notable Rationalists in the history of philosophy are Rene Descartes, Baruch
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Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz.

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These three are United in their believe that knowledge comes not from experience but from a
mental process that is intuitive and deductive. They point to systems of knowledge such as
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mathematics and formal logic as examples of a prior knowledge, knowledge that has been
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established independently of experience through the faculty of reason.

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15._____ is associated with "knowledge with by acquittance as an instance of knowledge.

16. The philosophical origin of the problem of the problem of knowledge can be located in
Plato's conception of knowledge as _________ Ans:"Justified true believe”
N.B This conception of knowledge formed the basis for the traditional conception of knowledge
from antiquity and scholars have tended to put forward condition which lead to justified
knowledge i.e the traditional definition of knowledge is defined as a justified true belief.
17. Which of the following is not a philosophical foundation of knowledge (a) Scientism (b)
Skepticism (c) Rationalism (d) Empiricism. Ans: Scientism
18. Knowledge derived within moments of insight is _____ ans: Intuitive Knowledge
19. _____ sees knowledge as a justified true belief Ans: Plato
20. Foundationalism is one theory of ______
21. Epistemologically,Empiricism is the view that Ans: Our knowledge is acquired from
experience
22. ______ believe that the human mind at birth is a tabular Raza,'blank tablets' Ans: Empricist
N.B It is only by means of their accumulated experiencs that the tablets are inscribed .As a
result ,all knowledge is aposterion knowledge. Meaning knowledge is based on experience . The
notable Empricist are John Locke, David Hume and George Berkeley.
23. _____ deals with questions relating to the nature, scope, sources and justification of
knowledge
Ans: Epistemology
24. The word Epistemology is derived from two Greek word _____&_____ Ans:"episteme" which
means "knowledge" and "logos" meaning "rational discourse or theory of"
25. ______ means the rational discourse on knowledge or the theory of knowledge Ans:
Epistemology
26. ______ believes that definite knowledge belongs to science and not philosophy Ans: Betrand
Rusell
27. Some scholars such as _____ supported that the problems of philosophy are problems of
misuse of language Ans: Betrand Rusell
28. _____ identified the problem of growth of knowledge as the central problem of epistemology
Ans: Karl Popper
29. The term knowledge was derived from the verb___________ Ans: To Know
30. ______ scholars believed that there is no knowledge beyond doubt Ans: Skeptics
31. _______ is an unended quest Ans: Knowledge

e
f
32. Any society that fails to address the problem of knowledge will find itself at _______

a
33. _______ believes that the starting point of the process of acquiring knowledge is the

S
identification of the problem Ans: Karl Popper

y
34. _______ is a justified true belief Ans: Knowledge

a
t
35. Descartes,Spinoza and Leibniz belong to ______ Ans: Rationalism

S
36. John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume belongs to _______ school of thoughts
Ans: Empiricism e

37. _____ philosopher appears as a bridge builder between Rationalism & Empiricism
n

Ans: Immanuel Kant

i

N.B Kant call constructed a mediatory view that Incorporated the insightful elements of birth
g

Rationalism and Empiricism (Kant's conception of space and time ) In Kant's view, knowledge is
the result of the combination of our reasoning faculty and our experience. Rather than our mind
n

being the passive recipients of sense experience. Kant believes that the mind activity structures
E
-
i

these experiences, using rational principles that are innate in us.Thus Constructivism is the
belief that knowledge is "constructed" by us through the joint operation of the mind and the
n

senses.
o

38. According to Constructivism the mind provides the form while the senses , provides the
T

content. These two powers cannot exchange their functions. The mind cannot receive external
objects, the senses cannot organize experience . Only through their complementary role can
knowledge arise.