PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Metaphysics and Reality

Question 1

Ontology is the branch of metaphysics that studies:

Accepted Answer

The fundamental nature of being and existence

Answer

Ontology investigates what kinds of things exist, what it means to exist, and how entities relate to one another at the most fundamental level.

Question 2

Which metaphysical position holds that reality is fundamentally mental or mind-dependent?

Accepted Answer

Idealism

Answer

Idealism, associated with Berkeley and Hegel, holds that the physical world either is constituted by minds or depends on minds for its existence.

Question 3

The problem of universals concerns the question of:

Accepted Answer

What the nature and existence of general properties (like redness) are

Answer

Universals debates center on whether abstract properties exist independently (realism), only in particular things (immanent realism), or not at all (nominalism).

Question 4

Leibniz's principle of the identity of indiscernibles states that:

Accepted Answer

No two distinct things share all their properties

Answer

Leibniz held that if two things share every property, they are numerically identical—there cannot be two distinct but perfectly similar things.

Question 5

In metaphysics, 'possible worlds' semantics, developed by Saul Kripke and David Lewis, is primarily used to analyze:

Accepted Answer

Concepts of necessity, possibility, and counterfactuals

Answer

Possible worlds allow philosophers to define necessity (true in all worlds), possibility (true in some world), and counterfactuals (what would be true if things were different).

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Metaphysics and Reality