PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy and You 4

Question 1

You apply a utilitarian calculus to a policy decision and conclude that harming one person to benefit thousands is justified. A critic argues this violates the one person's rights. This tension is central to:

Accepted Answer

The conflict between consequentialism and deontology

Answer

The classic tension between consequentialist maximization of aggregate welfare and deontological constraints that protect individuals regardless of aggregate outcomes is a foundational debate in normative ethics.

Question 2

The Gettier problem undermines the classical tripartite definition of knowledge as justified true belief by showing that:

Accepted Answer

One can have justified true belief without knowledge

Answer

Gettier's 1963 counterexamples demonstrate cases where a person has a justified true belief that still intuitively does not count as knowledge, due to epistemic luck.

Question 3

Philosophers who study 'epistemic injustice' are primarily concerned with:

Accepted Answer

Ways in which social identity affects the credibility and capacity granted to knowers

Answer

Miranda Fricker's concept of epistemic injustice focuses on harms done to people in their capacity as knowers—testimonial injustice (credibility deficits) and hermeneutical injustice (conceptual gaps).

Question 4

Which philosophical position claims that scientific theories are merely useful instruments for prediction and do not describe an underlying reality?

Accepted Answer

Instrumentalism (anti-realism)

Answer

Instrumentalism holds that scientific theories are tools for organizing and predicting experience rather than literal descriptions of unobservable entities.

Question 5

When comparing your philosophical views with a colleague and finding you disagree despite sharing the same evidence, the literature calls this situation:

Accepted Answer

Peer disagreement

Answer

The problem of peer disagreement asks whether epistemic peers who share evidence and diverge in belief should suspend judgment, conciliate, or maintain their positions.

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Philosophy and You 4