MA Philosophy 3

Question 1

In epistemology, the 'Gettier problem' challenged the classical definition of knowledge as justified true belief by showing that:

Accepted Answer

Justified true belief is not sufficient for knowledge because there are counterexamples

Answer

No belief can be both justified and true

Answer

Only a priori beliefs can constitute genuine knowledge

Answer

Justification is impossible without certainty

Question 2

Which position in meta-ethics holds that moral statements express emotional attitudes rather than describe facts?

Accepted Answer

Emotivism

Answer

Moral realism

Answer

Moral rationalism

Answer

Natural law theory

Question 3

The philosophical distinction between 'a priori' and 'a posteriori' knowledge refers primarily to:

Accepted Answer

Whether knowledge is acquired independently of or through sensory experience

Answer

The distinction between knowledge of the past and knowledge of the future

Answer

The difference between mathematical and empirical sciences

Answer

Whether knowledge is certain or merely probable

Question 4

Ludwig Wittgenstein's concept of 'language games' in his Philosophical Investigations is intended to show that:

Accepted Answer

The meaning of words is determined by their use within specific forms of life and practices

Answer

Language is a formal logical calculus that mirrors reality

Answer

All philosophical problems arise from grammatical confusions alone

Answer

Private languages are necessary for genuine self-understanding

Question 5

Jürgen Habermas's theory of communicative action is best characterized by which of the following claims?

Accepted Answer

Rational consensus reached through undistorted discourse is the normative ideal for social interaction

Answer

All human communication ultimately serves strategic, self-interested goals

Answer

Language is fundamentally a tool of ideological domination with no emancipatory potential

Answer

Social norms are valid only when enforced by state authority

Question 6

The philosophical position known as 'compatibilism' regarding free will holds that:

Accepted Answer

Free will and determinism are compatible because free will only requires acting according to one's desires without external compulsion

Answer

Free will and determinism are logically incompatible

Answer

Determinism is false, making genuine freedom possible

Answer

Neither free will nor determinism is a coherent concept

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the philosophical method of 'reflective equilibrium,' as used by John Rawls?

Accepted Answer

Achieving coherence between moral intuitions and general principles through mutual adjustment

Answer

Deriving moral principles deductively from self-evident axioms

Answer

Using empirical social science data to ground ethical theory

Answer

Applying Kantian categorical imperatives to concrete moral dilemmas