ESSAY QUESTION:
1. What is a "self", according to Hume? What are his arguments for this view of the self? What philosophical position do they rest on? Do you agree with them? Why, or why not?
2. In what way might Berkeley's idealism support the view that God must exist? Does Berkeley's idealism necessarily support this view, or could one accept it and still be an atheist? Explain your answers to these questions.
3. Do you believe that Hume is more likely to agree with the philosophy of Plato, or with the philosophy of Epicurus? Explain your answer, outlining the views of all three philosophers as you do so.
4. Does the external world exist, according to Berkeley? If not, how can he account for our common-sense view that it does? If it does, in what form does it exist? That is, is it a materialist world, or not? How can a world exist without being made of material "stuff"?
5. If one accepts Hume's account of the degree to which we have knowledge of causation, is science possible? Explain your view fully.
6. Why did Locke reject Descartes' epistemology? Do you believe that this rejection was justified, or not? Explain your answer.
7. Can an empiricist coherently believe in God? Explain your answer.
8. Do you agree with Locke's distinction between primary and secondary qualities? Why, or why not? What are two possible objections to this distinction? Do you agree with them, or not?