PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy and You 3 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are writing your dissertation and realize two of your core claims are inconsistent. The process of revising both your principles and your particular judgments until they align is called:
- Inference to the best explanation
- Reflective equilibrium (Correct answer)
- Transcendental deduction
- Inductive generalization
Correct answer: Reflective equilibrium
Reflective equilibrium, developed by Rawls, involves iteratively adjusting general principles and particular judgments until they cohere with each other.
Question 2: Which view holds that the meaning of a concept is determined by its role in a network of inferential relations rather than by reference to objects in the world?
- Semantic externalism
- Conceptual role semantics (inferential role semantics) (Correct answer)
- Causal theory of reference
- Descriptivist theory of names
Correct answer: Conceptual role semantics (inferential role semantics)
Conceptual role semantics identifies meaning with inferential roleāwhat a concept licenses you to inferārather than with external referents.
Question 3: When a PhD candidate defends her thesis, the committee challenges her to justify her foundational assumptions. She argues those assumptions are self-evident. This strategy aligns with:
- Coherentism
- Infinitism
- Foundationalism (Correct answer)
- Pragmatism
Correct answer: Foundationalism
Foundationalism holds that the regress of justification terminates in basic beliefs that are self-evident, incorrigible, or directly evident.
Question 4: The claim that personal identity over time consists in psychological continuityāoverlapping chains of memory and intentionāis most associated with:
- John Locke and Derek Parfit (Correct answer)
- Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas
- Immanuel Kant and Hegel
- David Hume and Gilbert Ryle
Correct answer: John Locke and Derek Parfit
Locke first grounded personal identity in memory and consciousness; Parfit refined this into a psychological continuity theory that challenges conventional notions of personal survival.
Question 5: A philosophy professor assigns students to argue for positions they personally oppose. This exercise primarily develops which capacity?
- Epistemic humility and perspective-taking (Correct answer)
- Confirmation of existing beliefs
- Logical fallacy identification
- Memorization of canonical texts
Correct answer: Epistemic humility and perspective-taking
Steelmanning opposing views cultivates intellectual humility and the ability to understand why reasonable people hold different positionsācore philosophical virtues.
Question 6: Which of the following is the best example of an ad hominem fallacy in philosophical debate?
- Pointing out that an argument's premises are false
- Dismissing Nietzsche's views because he suffered mental illness (Correct answer)
- Noting a logical contradiction in an opponent's position
- Questioning the relevance of an analogy
Correct answer: Dismissing Nietzsche's views because he suffered mental illness
Ad hominem attacks the person making the argument rather than the argument itself; a philosopher's biography cannot directly invalidate the logical structure of their claims.
Question 7: The phrase 'existence precedes essence,' central to Sartrean existentialism, means:
- God defines human nature before humans are born
- Humans first exist without a fixed nature and create their own essence through choices (Correct answer)
- Biological nature determines human possibility
- Social structures define individual identity from birth
Correct answer: Humans first exist without a fixed nature and create their own essence through choices
Sartre argued that unlike a manufactured object (whose essence is planned first), humans exist before they have any predetermined nature and must freely create themselves.
PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy and You 3
You are writing your dissertation and realize two of your core claims are inconsistent.
The process of revising both your principles and your particular judgments until they align is called: