Quiz: The Principle of Charity

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Philosophy 312: Oriental Philosophy
Quiz: The Principle of Charity

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1. A person invokes the principle of charity when presented with a new idea if that individual
temporarily suspends his common sense.
assumes for the present that the new idea is true.
rejects the idea only if he believes it is false.
accepts the idea because it comes from an authority.

2. If you adopt the principle of charity when presented with a new idea, then the idea should only be criticized if the idea is
seemingly obviously wrong.
new or different
so strange it is difficult to understand.
fully understood first

3. The principle of charity is
a provisional belief (i.e., a temporary belief).
an initial presumption that a new idea might be true until it can be proved otherwise.
an initial suspension of disbelief or the toleration of ambiguity of an idea.
all of the above are true.

4. One way to be open and receptive and to free the conditioned mind to absorb something new is to use
the principle of charity as a methodological principle.
the principle of charity as a last resort.
the principle of prejudgment as an operational rule.
the belief that nothing can be known with certainty.

5. The principle of charity is a methodological principle. This statement means
an idea can be criticized after it is well understood.
an idea can be criticized after it has been presented in its most persuasive form.
both a and b are true.
none of the above are true.

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Correct answers:

If you had any difficulty with this quiz please see the notes, "The Principle of Charity."

Or see these notes with more detail and examples where the Principle of Charity is viewed as a methodological presumption.

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