PHIL 201 Quiz 4 Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue
Due Sep 18 at 11:59pm Points 75 Questions 25
Time Limit 45 Minutes
Instructions
The quiz:
Covers the Learn material from Module 4: Week 4.
Contains 25 multiple-choice, true/false and essay questions.
Is limited to 45 minutes.
Allows 1 attempt.
Is worth 75 points.
You may refer to your notes and textbooks at any time during the assessment.
Submit this assignment by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module 4: Week 4.
Attempt History Attempt Time Score
LATEST Attempt 1 37 minutes 63 out of 75 *
* Some questions not yet graded
! Correct answers are hidden. 3 / 3 pts
Score for this quiz: 63 out of 75 * Page 1 of 15
Submitted Sep 16 at 10:56am
This attempt took 37 minutes.
Question 1
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
The internalist in terms of epistemic justiTcation thinks that
We have some obligation to make sure that we have good
reasons to hold the beliefs that we do.
We have cognitive access to the reasons and evidence that
justiTes our beliefs.
Externalists in terms of rationality tend to set aside a good deal
of the moral duty to make sure that we have good reasons to
hold the beliefs that we do.
All of the above
Question 2 3 / 3 pts
Externalism in epistemology is an approach to rationality which
argues that
A person must offer some level of epistemic justiTcation in
order to be rational in holding a belief.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 2 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
A person is rational in holding a belief only if they can state the
reasons for holding that belief.
A person can be rational in relying on one’s memory, even if a
person cannot state how she knows her memory is reliable.
There simply are no reasons or grounds that make a belief true,
or warrant a person in thinking she is rational in holding a given
belief.
Question 3 3 / 3 pts
If a person thinks she has a moral responsibility to determine
that any belief she holds is based on suXcient evidence, that is,
evidence that strikes her as being based on indisputably good
reasons or arguments, she is likely representing the
epistemological position of
Skepticism
Reliabilism
Externalism
Internalism
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 3 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
Question 4 3 / 3 pts
It is a commonly accepted fact that it is impossible to be certain
about any belief
True
False
Question 5 3 / 3 pts
Suppose a person is deeply concerned about whether her belief
in God is rational. In order to make this determination, she
re\ects on the kind of evidence she thinks she has for God’s
existence (e.g., the apparent design and beauty of the universe,
the existence of other sentient beings, the almost universal
acceptance of some degree of objective morality, etc.). In light
of her awareness of, and access to, this potential evidence, she
would be considered:
An externalist in terms of justiTcation.
A Tdeist in terms of justiTcation.
An internalist in terms of justiTcation.
A reliabilist in terms of justiTcation.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 4 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
Incorrect Question 6 0 / 3 pts
Coherentism is a position in epistemic justiTcation which holds
that
There must be a basing relation if beliefs are to be justiTed.
There is a distinction between basic and nonbasic beliefs.
One does not need cognitive access to the reasons that justify a
belief.
No belief is more basic than any other in one’s total set of
beliefs.
Question 7 3 / 3 pts
Aristotle thought that the virtues are present naturally in all
people.
True.
False.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 5 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
Question 8 3 / 3 pts
Intellectual courage helps us to:
Seek knowledge with the proper kinds of motives.
Avoid pride and vanity that keeps us from seeing the truth.
Avoid exaggeration and overstatement.
Stand strong against social pressure to suppress truth.
Question 9 3 / 3 pts
Thomas Aquinas thought that moral and intellectual virtues
were closely related.
True.
False.
Question 10 3 / 3 pts
Aristotle’s notion of happiness focused on: Page 6 of 15
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
Seeking pleasure.
Seeking relief from pain and suffering.
Health and well-being of soul.
Modesty.
Question 11 3 / 3 pts
Carefulness is an intellectual virtue that helps us:
Seek knowledge with the proper kinds of motives.
Examine evidence with caution to avoid drawing poor
inferences.
Avoid exaggeration and overstatement.
Stand strong against social pressure to suppress truth.
Question 12 3 / 3 pts
Aristotle said that virtue is the “mean between two vices, one of
excess and one of deTciency.”
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 7 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
True.
False.
Question 13 3 / 3 pts
Among some of the reasons why unmitigated skepticism is
diXcult for a person to consistently hold as a serious
philosophical position is because
Most people do in fact rely on their senses and cognitive
faculties to provide justiTed knowledge claims
It is contradicted by our actions, since no one really lives as if
this version of skepticism is true.
Skepticism implies that knowledge requires absolute certainty,
and most rational people can see that it is unreasonable it is to
require certainty in order to be justiTed about one’s beliefs.
All of above.
Incorrect Question 14 0 / 3 pts
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 8 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
One reason why certainty in knowledge is not likely a reasonable
alternative to unmitigated skepticism is because
Most contemporary epistemologist think it’s more
philosophically interesting to be uncertain about one’s beliefs.
Certainty is an externalist position, and most people concerned
about the rationality of their beliefs are not externalists.
We are often able to see that a given belief we hold, rather than
being justiTed by the right kind of evidence in support of it, has
been unduly in\uenced by social factors having nothing to do
with its justiTcation, and this gives us good reasons to question
the certainty of our beliefs.
Certainty is a reliabilist position, and most people concerned
about the rationality of their beliefs are not reliabilists.
Question 15 3 / 3 pts
One of the philosophical beneTts of skepticism is that
It can remind us of the need for epistemic humility.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 9 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
It reminds us that, since certainty is diXcult to achieve, it turns
out that we are rational by virtue of the fact that we hold a given
belief in the Trst place.
It allows us to be dogmatic about basic beliefs.
We are almost always better off holding most of our beliefs on
the basis of faith.
Question 16 3 / 3 pts
What is the point of Descartes’ evil demon argument?
To demonstrate that all our beliefs about an external reality may
be false, since it is always possible that an evil demon is
constantly working to deceive us about what is real.
To demonstrate that systematic doubt always leads to
uncertainty.
To demonstrate that any degree of doubt always leads to
unmitigated skepticism.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 10 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
To demonstrate that Pyhrronian skepticism is an unavoidable
epistemic position.
Question 17 3 / 3 pts
Robert is a scientist who Trmly believes in empirical truths and
the physical laws of causality (e.g. when he builds a Tre in his
Treplace, it will produce heat), but he expresses serious
reservations about the rational credibility of whether there are
objective moral virtues, such as goodness, or whether such a
being as the traditional God of theism does in fact exist. In such
a case, Robert is expressing a form of
Global skepticism.
Common sense skepticism.
Metaphysical skepticism.
Methodological skepticism.
Question 18 3 / 3 pts
When Larry claims deTnitely and dogmatically that he knows we
cannot know anything at all, he is expressing:
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 11 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
Methodological skepticism
Mitigated skepticism.
Local skepticism
An obviously self-defeating claim
Question 19 3 / 3 pts
The doxastic assumption is:
The assumption we make that our sense are generally reliable
The idea that what justiTes a belief is another belief
Was rejected by Descartes
Is an important element of Foundationalism
Question 20 3 / 3 pts
Christopher Columbus was convinced that he discovered a route Page 12 of 15
to the East Indies because it lined up with his maps and the
current beliefs of his day. However, he was wrong. This example
demonstrates a problem with:
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
A reliabilist form of justiTcation
An evidentialist form of justiTcation
A foundationalist form of justiTcation
A coherentist form of justiTcation.
Question 21 3 / 3 pts
Your noetic structure concerns only those beliefs that are
actually true.
True
False
Question 22 3 / 3 pts
The motivation behind internalism is:
It seems intuitively to be the way we normally form beliefs
We have an epistemic obligation to have good reason for the
beliefs we hold
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 13 of 15
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
It has a long and honorable tradition held by the vast majority of
philosophers
We can’t arrive at reasons for most beliefs we hold.
Incorrect Question 23 0 / 3 pts
The motivation behind externalism is:
It seems intuitively to be the way we normally form beliefs
We have an epistemic obligation to have good reason for the
beliefs we hold
It has a long and honorable tradition held by the vast majority of
philosophers
We can’t arrive at reasons for any beliefs we hold.
Question 24 3 / 3 pts
According to externalism one must be aware of whether his Page 14 of 15
cognitive processes are functioning properly or not.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503
Quiz: Skepticism, Certainty and Virtue: PHIL201: Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (B07) 9/18/23, 3:58 PM
True
False
Question 25 Not yet graded / 3 pts
W. K. Clifford believed that “It is wrong always, everywhere and for
anyone, to believe anything upon insuXcient evidence.” Explain how his
belief logically refuted itself.
Your Answer:
His statement in itself lacks any evidence to be true. If it’s always wrong
to believe anything without suXcient evidence, then one must not believe
this statement as it lacks any real and suXcient evidence.
(Draws from p. 82 of Dew & Foreman: “… as it does not have
suXcient evidence to justify it.”)
Quiz Score: 63 out of 75
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/511838/quizzes/2524503 Page 15 of 15
