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7 Midterm Exam Study Guide
Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (Liberty
University)
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STUDY GUIDE
PHIL201 Exam 1: Introduction to Philosophy, Logic, and Metaphysics
Dr. Michael S. Jones
This exam will have 40 multiple-choice questions, and you will have the entire class period to answer
them. However, many of the questions will require you to think carefully before selecting the best
possible answer, so you may need the entire period. The exam will be administered on Canvas, so you
must bring to class some type of electronic device with which to access Canvas (a laptop, tablet, etc.). If
you do not have access to such a device, please contact me ahead of time so that we can work out a way
for you to take the exam.
The exam will cover everything that we have discussed in class, from the very first day of class (I hope
you were taking notes) until the last class before the exam. It will also cover the material from the
videos that are on Canvas in modules one through four. While memorizing the data is necessary to
getting a good grade, by itself it is not sufficient to getting a good grade. You will need to understand
what you memorize, and sometimes it will be necessary to have the ability to reformulate ideas, putting
them into different words. This test is designed to examine your ability to think about these issues as
well as your ability to replicate what I have said in class. After all, philosophy is about thinking, not
memorizing what other people have thought.
Here is how I would study. I’d make flash cards for all the relevant data: terms, definitions, symbols,
names with affiliated positions, quotes, etc. Then I’d carry them with me everywhere, studying them on
the bus, between classes, while your boyfriend is telling you about his new pickup truck, etc. This will
help you memorize the data, but it will not help you understand it thoroughly. To accomplish that, after
I’ve mastered my flash cards I’d get together with a few of my classmates and discuss/debate the issues.
This will help you to see things from more than one perspective, and help you to think through things
more completely.
This exam covers fully half of the course. It’s basically your midterm. IT WILL SEEM VERY HARD TO
SOME OF YOU! PLEASE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY! Every one of you can do well on this exam, but past
experience tells me that some of you won’t. If you don’t want to be one of those people, then begin
studying today.
Here are the main things that you need to study:
Seven Questions from Week One
•What is the biblical attitude towards philosophical learning as was discussed in class, and
what biblical passages were used to support this?
•Know who Socrates was and his famous quote that was discussed in class.
•Know the etymology of the word “philosophy.”
•Know the definition of philosophy and the major points of our discussion of the meaning of
this definition (the elements of a critical examination, the meaning of “belief,” and the
meaning of
“knowledge”).
Seventeen Questions on Logic
•Know the definition of deduction and how deduction differs from induction.
•Know the three (or four) types of deductive syllogisms and their components.
•Be able to identify which type of syllogism you are seeing when an example is given.
•Know the valid forms and fallacious forms of deductive syllogisms.
•Know the definition of induction and how induction differs from deduction.
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•Know the different forms of inductive reasoning that were given in class.
•Know the informal fallacies and be able to identify the fallacy committed in various sample
word problems.
Five Questions on Metaphysics
•Know the meaning of the term “metaphysics.”
•Know the meaning of the term “monism,” the famous monists mentioned in class, and
their respective views on the most fundamental substance.
•Know the meaning of the term “pluralism,” the famous pluralists mentioned in class, and
their respective views on the most fundamental substances.
•Know the meaning of the term “dualism” and the famous dualist whom we discussed.
Eleven Questions on the Mind-Body Problem
•Know what the mind-body problem is.
•Know the two main options on the mind-body problem and how they relate to
corresponding metaphysical views.
•Know the various versions of the two main options on the mind-body problem that
were mentioned in class.
•Know the arguments for and against the two main positions that were discussed in class, and
if any of these arguments commit fallacies, know which fallacies they commit.
Study, think, pray, and then think some more!
-Prof. Jones
