HOMEWORK #6 EMPIRICISM & KANT

1. Tell which proposition is synthetic a priori or a posteriori and explain your answer.

a. Every event has a cause. 

b. The sum of the interior angles in a triangle is 180 degrees. 

c. Humans first landed on the Moon in 1969. 

d. Caffeine is a stimulant that increases heart rate in most adults.

2. ¿Why is 7 + 5 = 12 synthetic a priori for Kant? 

3. Try to explain why TIME is a PURE INTUITION for Kant (Hint: Justify why time is not outside in the world).

4. Regarding Locke's primary & secondary qualities, indicate whether it's one or the other. Explain.

a. The extension of a metal rod increases uniformly when heated, as measurable by a ruler independent of any observer's tactile sensation. 

b. The bitterness of quinine in tonic water persists across dilutions, yet its intensity varies based on individual taste buds' sensitivity to molecular interactions. 

c. The figure of a cube maintains six equal faces and twelve edges, verifiable through geometric calculation without reliance on visual perception. 

d. The pitch of a violin string's vibration rises with tension, producing a tonal quality that differs in auditory experience among listeners with varying hearing acuity.

The question below is more difficult. I leave it as a "bonus." 

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5. In Berkeley's phenomenalism, physical objects are collections of sensory ideas that exist only when perceived; without perception, they would cease to be. However, God acts as an eternal perceiver to ensure continuity and order in the unobserved world. 

(Yesterday, in class, I argued that Berkeley is not that off in his Phenomenalist argument, having God as the eternal perceiver). Why?

Quantum mechanics reveals that particles and systems exist in superpositions (multiple states simultaneously) until "measured," at which point they appear to collapse into a single definite state. 

Why does this parallel Berkeley's idea that reality is indeterminate without perception?

HINT: Look at the DECOHERENCE THEORY in quantum mechanics. Now, you build the justification.  

6. Now that you know Rationalism, Empiricism, and Kantian theory. What are you?