Philosophy 3010

History of Modern Philosophy

FINAL EXAMINATION

December 17, 2003

General advice: Read each question several times. Make sure you understand the point of the question. Then write a very short answer in which you address exactly that point. Do not include gobs of material that, however accurate, isn’t needed to answer the precise question you are being asked.

Part I. Short Answer. Answer five of the following questions.

six questions

Part II. Short answer. Answer five of the following questions.

seven questions

Part II. Essay. Answer one.

1. Descartes taught us to ask, “How can we know that there are any physical objects outside the mind?” Explain why Hume rejects Descartes’ answer to this question. Then go on to explain why, on Hume’s empiricist principles, no satisfactory answer can be given. How might Descartes respond to Hume? Who would get the better of the argument, and why?
   
   
2. Although he didn’t give it that name, Hume is famous for having discovered the “problem of induction.” What is this problem? In what sense does Hume think it can not be solved? In what sense does he think it can be solved? (Hint: Hume offers what he calls a “skeptical solution.”) What does Hume mean when he speaks of a “pre-established harmony” in connection with this problem? What argument, if any, can he give for asserting that this “harmony” actually exists? Critically evaluate Hume’s answers to these questions.