Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Introduction to Philosophy

Review Questions

Introduction to PhilosophyReview Questions

Review Questions

2.1 The Brain Is an Inference Machine

1 .
Distinguish homeostasis from allostasis, and describe the relationship of both to the emotions and rational thought.
2 .
What are heuristics?
3 .
What is the role of emotion in rational thought?
4 .
Describe some of the reasons for effortless thinking and gut intuitions. Explain why these are sometimes faulty.

2.2 Overcoming Cognitive Biases and Engaging in Critical Reflection

5 .
What are some of the conditions that make critical thinking possible?
6 .
Define three of the common cognitive biases identified in this chapter.
7 .
Describe critical thinking strategies that can be applied to two of the cognitive biases identified in the chapter.

2.3 Developing Good Habits of Mind

8 .
What is epistemic humility, and how does it relate to the Dunning-Kruger effect?
9 .
How can you apply the strategies for thinking objectively to your philosophy class?
10 .
How can you manage your emotions when reading and thinking about philosophy?

2.4 Gathering Information, Evaluating Sources, and Understanding Evidence

11 .
What are the four moves of fact-checking, and how do they work?

2.5 Reading Philosophy

12 .
What is the three-part method for philosophical reading?
13 .
What are some differences between reading philosophical texts and other kinds of texts?

2.6 Writing Philosophy Papers

14 .
What is a thesis statement, and how should you go about developing a thesis statement for your papers?
PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-philosophy/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-philosophy/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Apr 23, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.