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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Review Quiz

Context

Summary

Overall Analysis and Themes

Section VI and Section VII, Part 1

Section VII, Part 2

Section VIII, Part 1

Section VIII, Part 2 and Section IX

Review Quiz

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

David Hume

Review Quiz

Which of the following qualities is characteristic of "easy and obvious" philosophy?

(A) It fares poorly in posterity

(B) It follows inductive methods

(D) It has very little use outside of philosophical speculation

Whom of the following thinkers does Hume consider an "easy and obvious" philosopher?

(A) Cicero

(B) Malebranche

(D) Locke

Whom might Hume consider the best model to follow in terms of methodology?

(A) Descartes

(B) Aristotle

(D) Newton

Which of the following is NOT an impression?

(A) My memory of my cat

(B) My perception of my cat

(D) My desire that my cat should love me

Which of the following is NOT an idea?

(A) My thought that I should get my car washed

(B) My desire to wash my car

(D) My belief that my car is clean

Which of the following is fundamental?

(A) Simple impressions

(B) Complex impressions

(D) Complex ideas

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental law of association of ideas?

(A) Contiguity

(B) Contrariety

(D) Cause and effect

Which of the following statements is a relation of ideas?

(A) "I love my cat."

(B) "The Allies won the Second World War."

(D) "All meaningful expressions are either relations of ideas or matters of fact."

Which of the following statements is true of a matter of fact?

(A) It must be verified in experience

(B) It cannot be denied without contradiction

(D) We know it a priori

How can I rationally justify my belief that the sun will rise tomorrow?

(A) By appealing to demonstrative reasoning

(B) By inferring a necessary connection from past experience

(D) None of the above

How do we come to infer a connection between cause and effect?

(A) Demonstrative reasoning

(B) Moral reasoning

(D) A gift from the gods

What is a belief a combination of?

(A) Probability and imagination

(B) Custom and probability

(D) Fiction and imagination

Which of the following ideas has no correspondent simple impression?

(A) Constant conjunction

(B) Necessary connection

(D) Memory

According to an occasionalist, what is the real cause of a billiard ball's motion?

(A) Another billiard ball

(B) The person playing billiards

(D) There is no rational justification for seeing anything as the cause.

What side does Hume take in the debate between free will and determinism?

(A) Libertarian

(B) Hard determinist

(D) Skeptic

Who is the ultimate judge of what is right and what is wrong in human moral practice?

(A) Society as a whole

(B) Each individual on his or her own

(D) There is no rational ground for moral judgment

How do humans differ from animals?

(A) Humans do not rely on instinct

(B) Humans can infer necessary connections between events by means of reason

(D) Humans are very good at drawing general inferences from experience

Which of the following does Hume NOT provide as a reason not to believe in miracles?

(A) No evidence of miracles is supported by sufficient reliable testimony

(B) Reports of miracles are most frequent among ignorant or barbarous people

(D) He has never observed a miracle

What can we say about God's existence?

(A) It can be verified in experience

(B) It can be proven by means of reason

(D) Its effects are everywhere evident in the universe

Which of the following kinds of skepticism does Hume associate with Descartes?

(A) Extreme antecedent skepticism

(B) Mitigated antecedent skepticism

(D) Mitigated consequent skepticism

Which of the following kinds of skepticism is Hume most in favor of?

(A) Extreme antecedent skepticism

(B) Mitigated antecedent skepticism

(D) Mitigated consequent skepticism

What kind of reasoning, according to Hume, justifies metaphysical speculations?

(A) Moral reasoning

(B) Demonstrative reasoning

(D) None of the above

Which of the following philosophers was most deeply influenced by Hume?

(A) Rene Descartes

(B) Immanuel Kant

(D) Nicolas Malebranche

Which of the following philosophers is not a rationalist?

(A) Rene Descartes

(B) Nicolas Malebranche

(D) Baruch Spinoza

Which of the following terms is dissimilar from the others?

(A) Constant conjunction

(B) Instinct

(D) Custom

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