PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: Knowledge and Skepticism 5

Question 1

Wittgenstein's 'On Certainty' proposes that Moorean commonsense claims like 'I have hands' function as:

Accepted Answer

Hinges or framework propositions that underpin our epistemic practices

Answer

Wittgenstein argued that certain propositions serve as 'hinges' — they are not believed or doubted in ordinary practice but form the bedrock that makes inquiry possible.

Question 2

The 'preface paradox' arises because an author who writes 'some claims in this book are false' simultaneously:

Accepted Answer

Believes each individual claim yet rationally disbelieves their conjunction

Answer

The author is justified in believing each claim (else they wouldn't include it) yet rationally acknowledges that not all can be true, creating tension with closure under conjunction.

Question 3

Which epistemological view holds that justification flows in a web of mutually supporting beliefs rather than from basic foundations?

Accepted Answer

Coherentism

Answer

Coherentism, associated with BonJour and Davidson, maintains that a belief is justified to the degree it coheres with the overall system of one's beliefs.

Question 4

What does it mean for a skeptical argument to be 'undercutting' rather than 'rebutting'?

Accepted Answer

It removes or undermines the support for a belief without directly contradicting the belief

Answer

An undercutting defeater removes the reason that supported a belief, while a rebutting defeater provides positive evidence for the belief's falsity.

Question 5

'Dogmatism' in the epistemological sense associated with Jim Pryor holds that:

Accepted Answer

Perceptual experience immediately provides some degree of justification for its propositional content

Answer

Pryor's dogmatism claims that having a perceptual experience that P gives you immediate, prima facie justification to believe P without independent argument.

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy: Knowledge and Skepticism 5