Test Questions: Philosophy in General, Socrates, Value of Philosophy
Answers at end.
True/False (True=A, False=B)
1. APhilosophy@ literally means Aknowing the truth.@
2. One of the aims of philosophy is to think critically about whether there are good reasons for adopting beliefs.
3. Philosophical questions are generally more concerned with showing how beliefs differ among persons or cultures than with showing how those different beliefs can be justified.
4. To say that philosophy encourages the adoption of a questioning attitude means that philosophic thinking encourages people to deny the existence of God or traditional moral beliefs.
5. Philosophical reflection often contradicts traditional beliefs about human existence because the aim of philosophy is to show how all beliefs, no matter how well justified, are false.
6. In philosophy the purpose of rational self-examination is to develop arguments that correct or support beliefs in ways that could be persuasive even to people with different backgrounds.
7. Though philosophy is defined as the pursuit of wisdom, it does not investigate what it means to ask questions in the first place.
8. As the pursuit of wisdom, philosophy raises questions about almost everything except what it means to question in the first place.
9. Because philosophy requires that we question our beliefs, it cannot provide reasons why one set of beliefs should be preferred over another.
10. Philosophy=s challenge to believers to explain and defend claims of religious truth are summarized by the two fundamental philosophical questions, Awhat do you mean?@ and Ahow do you know?@
11. Because philosophy aims primarily at justifying personal opinions, it relies on abstractions and word play to avoid confronting concrete and practical issues.
12. One of the primary aims of philosophy is to see how our beliefs compare with those of others who can and do raise objections against those beliefs.
13. Even though philosophy in general aims to clarify our ideas and evaluate reasons for our beliefs, some areas of philosophy (e.g., ethics, aesthetics) are based on the assumption that achieving such an aim is impossible.
14. Philosophy attempts to answer questions such as "Why do we exist?" by examining what it means to ask such questions and to evaluate whether proposed answers to such questions are justified.
15. Like science, law, and religion, philosophy aims to justify our personal beliefs and our society's practices.
16. The point of the Socratic method is to determine the truth of a belief by means of dialectical exchange (questions and answers, hypothesis and counter-example).
17. Socrates's comment that "the unexamined life is not worth living" is an example of his ironic technique of saying something that means just the opposite.
18. Socrates argues that "the unexamined life is not worth living," because without knowing how we should act (based on universal principles) we would not be able to live worthwhile lives.
19. In the Socratic method of enquiry, one asks questions aimed at discovering the nature, essence, or fundamental principles of the topic under consideration.
20. The Socratic method of questioning is intended to show that it is a waste of time to try to determine either the essences of things or even which method of questioning should be preferred.
21. According to Socrates, we cannot experience a good life without knowing what it means to be human and what it means to act virtuously.
22. According to Socrates, a person who does not know why an act is good occasionally might act virtuously, but such occasions of accidentally "getting it right" cannot constitute a virtuous or worthwhile life.
23. By saying that "virtue is knowledge," Socrates means that it is good to know as much as possible because knowledge is valuable in and of itself, even if it does not guide a person to act morally.
24. Socratic ignorance is the same as complete skepticism because Socrates admits he knows nothing, not even whether his method of enquiry is appropriate.
25. Like the social sciences (e.g., psychology or sociology), philosophy discovers truths by identifying what people in fact believe instead of judging whether those beliefs are justified.
26. Metaphysics is that area of philosophy concerned with questions about the nature of reality.
27.
Epistemology is the study of the origin,
structure, and extent of reality.
28. The epistemological question of what we know about reality is different from the metaphysical question about the nature of reality itself.
29. According to feminist ways of thinking, philosophy has value because it is committed to an aggressive, critical, and adversarial search for an ultimate truth about things.
30. Contemporary feminists claim that to the extent that philosophical inquiry requires that we consider alternative ways of thinking, it makes us more tolerant and open-minded.
Multiple Choice
31. "Is
there anything you would be willing to die for?" is a philosophical
question insofar as:
(a) it does not have any right or wrong
answer because it is a meaningless question.
(b) it is a
meaningless question because everyone could have a different answer to it.
(c) it forces
us to articulate and justify our beliefs about what we know and ought to do.
(d) it is more
concerned with one's religious beliefs than with factual claims about the world.
32. One
of the aims of philosophy is to think critically about whether there are good
reasons for adopting our beliefs. Reasons are considered "good
reasons" if they are consistent with everyday experience and:
(a) are part of a set of religious, moral,
or political beliefs that an individual feels deeply about.
(b) are
considered good by at least one culture, sub-culture, or individual.
(c) cannot be
interpreted in different ways by different people or cultures.
(d) take into
account objections, are acceptable to impartial third parties, and avoid
undesirable consequences.
33. If the world that we individually perceive is limited to an internal perspective, then there is no way that we could determine whether our own perspective is useful, true, or valuable because:
(a) we know whether
our internal perspective is correct only by comparing it with an objective,
external perspective (the "real" world).
(b) whatever we
appeal to in order to prove that our perspective is right itself would be part of
the standard we use in evaluating that perspective.
(c) scientific
research that reveals facts about the world would cause us to challenge our
perceptions in a dream-world of our own making.
(d) without
limiting our perspective to an internal dream-world, we cannot achieve any
objective, external knowledge of the real world.
34. Philosophy
is concerned primarily with identifying beliefs about human existence and
evaluating arguments that support those beliefs. These activities can be
summarized in two questions that drive philosophical investigations:
(a) why should we bother? and what are the consequences of our believing one thing
over another?
(b) how do
philosophers argue? and are their differences
important?
(c) who really
believes X? and how can we explain differences in
people's beliefs?
(d) what do you
mean? and how do you know?
35. A
philosophical inquiry improves our critical thinking skills and problem solving
abilities by:
(a) clarifying what our concepts or
words mean and evaluating the reasons we give for our beliefs.
(b) indicating
which issues or problems are considered most important in contemporary society.
(c) providing
final and specific answers to questions about the nature of human existence.
(d) showing how
each person's view about the clarification of concepts or evaluation of
arguments is to be respected because they are equally valuable.
36. One
of the tasks of philosophy is to test conceptual frameworks for depth and
consistency. It does this through (1) expressing our ideas in clear, concise
language and (2) supporting those ideas with reasons and with overcoming
objections to them. Philosophy thus emphasizes the need to:
(a) pose questions that can be resolved
not by reasoning but only by faith or personal belief.
(b) show why
the beliefs adopted by most people in a culture are preferable since more
people understand those beliefs and see no reason to raise objections to them.
(c) articulate
what we mean by our beliefs and to justify our beliefs by arguments.
(d) develop a
set of ideas about the nature of society (i.e., an ideology) that can be used
to support a religious conceptual framework.
37. Philosophy differs from the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology) in that, instead of attempting merely to describe individual or social beliefs and practices, philosophy examines whether those beliefs and practices are:
(a)
found in cultures other than our own.
(b)
consistent with other (e.g., religious) beliefs.
(c)
used as the bases for civil laws.
(d)
justified, that is, based on good reasons.
38. Philosophy differs from science, law, and religion because philosophy raises questions about whether:
(a)
it is psychologically possible for human beings to agree
on scientific, legal, and religious set of beliefs.
(b)
assumptions, practices, and beliefs in those areas of human
action are meaningful and justified.
(c)
one of these three ways of reasoning describes the nature
of reality more accurately than the other two.
(d) our scientific, legal, and religious beliefs and practices can be found in other species of animals.
39. Whereas
the social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, economics)
ask questions about how people think and act, philosophy is the study of:
(a) how people with different beliefs or backgrounds disagree with one another.
(b) what beliefs mean and whether people with
different beliefs are justified in having them.
(c) the reasons why philosophic questions never
have better or worse answers.
(d) questions that can be answered better by
appealing to scientific experiments.
40. Which
of the following questions are epistemological rather than ontological or
metaphysical questions?
(a) How are real things and imaginary
things different? What distinguishes reality from appearance?
(b) How is the existence of an individual
thing different from the existence of the totality of all things?
(c) Are human beings free? Does God
exist? Is there an afterlife?
(d) What does it mean to know something?
How is knowledge different from belief or opinion?
41. Which of the following areas of philosophy IS NOT normally as an area of axiology?
(a)
logic
(b)
ethics
(c)
social-political
philosophy
(d)
aesthetics
42. Through his Allegory of the Cave, Plato seeks to show how philosophy promotes independent thinking by helping people recognize how:
(a)
only personal opinions ultimately matter because knowledge
of reality varies among individuals.
(b)
disagreements about the meaning of words can be resolved only by
compromising our principles.
(c)
our ordinary experience is a poor copy of what a full
understanding of the nature of reality is.
(d) personal fulfillment depends on accepting traditional beliefs without questioning the reasons for them.
43. According
to Socrates, just as there is a difference between what an ironic statement
says and its true meaning, so also appearances differ from reality. Even though
societies or individuals appear to differ about what is required for the good
life, that in no way contradicts the fact that:
(a) what is right or wrong, true or false varies from one culture to
another.
(b) appearances are the only real way we have
for knowing reality.
(c) the distinction of appearance and reality is
the basis for the dialectical discovery of truth.
(d) there are objective principles for thought
and action that are required for the good life.
44. According
to Socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living; and it certainly could not
be a virtuous life. Why not?
(a) Because if someone did not know how
to act virtuously, he or she would still be considered virtuous by others who
also did not know the principles for good living.
(b) Because since Socrates was a
philosopher, he of course thought that people who examined their lives
philosophically were more virtuous than those who did not.
(c) Because without knowing the
rationale for why one should act in a particular way, one does not know whether
actions are justified and ought to be repeated.
(d) Because a virtuous life would be one
in which someone does what the rest of the society says is right, and that
means examining views other than one's own.
45. In saying that Athe unexamined life is not worth living,@ Socrates wants to emphasize how:
(a)
the value of philosophical inquiry depends on how well it
is respected by society.
(b)
unless we know what gives life meaning, we have no reason to
live one way rather than another.
(c)
our most fundamental beliefs are usually based on
societal values or family upbringing.
(d) philosophical inquiry is not intended to yield answers but only to raise endless questions.
46. According
to Socrates, "the unexamined life is not worth living" and
"virtue is knowledge" because:
(a) human existence is valuable
precisely because everyone is interested in examining his or her life.
(b) unless our
society tells us what we should do, we will never be considered virtuous.
(c) the
excellence or value (aretê) of our lives consists in
the extent to which we act virtuously.
(d) without
asking what makes life worthwhile, we cannot know how we ought to live.
47. Socrates
acknowledges that he does not know certain things (e.g., what justice is), but
he claims to know the method by which he and others can learn those things. In
this "Socratic method" we:
(a) ask questions to discover the
essence or defining characteristic of what makes a thing be what it is.
(b) act as if
we know the truth of a thing even though we acknowledge that we can never know
it.
(c) follow the
instructions of the philosophers, for they are the only ones who have seen
beyond the cave.
(d) agree that
there is a distinction between how things appear to us and the reality that is
beyond us.
48. In spite of the fact that Socrates claims to be ignorant of the essence or nature of certain things like justice, he is wise insofar as he recognizes that without such knowledge actions are rationally unjustified. That is, his wisdom consists in his recognition not only that he is ignorant of such essences but also that:
(a)
justice, like knowledge, requires that he admit that he knows
nothing and never will.
(b)
he knows what he is supposed to be looking for, that is,
knowledge of the essences of things.
(c)
knowing the essences of things is impossible, because he does
not know beforehand what he is looking for.
(d) asking questions about essences is itself unjustified without knowing why he engages in such a practice.
49. According
to Socrates, the value or quality of one's life depends on understanding the
principles of, or basic rationale for human existence. Without such knowledge
(he suggests) life lacks virtue, because:
(a) acting virtuously means acting in
way that is informed about what one is doing and why.
(b) someone who
does not understand existence philosophically could never do anything right.
(c) to have the
power or ability to do anything at all requires that we know what we are doing.
(d) not only is
virtue knowledge but also the unexamined life is not worth living.
50. According
to Socrates, in order to know how we ought to live, we have to determine
whether our personal beliefs and the beliefs of our society are justified. We
can make such a determination by:
(a) asking as many people as possible
what it is that they believe and following the majority opinion.
(b) distinguishing
between personal beliefs (e.g., religion) and societal beliefs (e.g.,
upbringing).
(c) assuming
that no belief can ever be justified because we never escape Socratic
ignorance.
(d) identifying
the essential characteristics of being human and evaluating our beliefs based
on them.
51. According to Socrates, acting virtuously means doing the right thing, and doing the right thing means doing:
(a)
that for which one can give informed, defensible reasons.
(b)
what is consistent with one=s
religious or personal beliefs.
(c)
what the majority of people in society say is right.
(d)
whatever is necessary to lead oneself from the cave of
ignorance into the light of knowledge.
52. According
to Socrates, it is important that we discover what makes a particular action
(e.g., a merciful or just act) the kind of action that it is, because without
such knowledge:
(a) no one in society will ever do any
action that really is merciful or just, only those actions that they think are
merciful or just.
(b) the primary
purpose of human existence--which is to think and to know--is replaced by a
focus on morality (acting and doing).
(c) we can
refer only to how people characterize actions without knowing why such actions
should be characterized that way.
(d) there would
be no way to distinguish one kind of action (e.g., a merciful action) from
another kind of action (e.g., a just action).
53. For
Socrates, the belief that "virtue is knowledge" is related to his
claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living," because he
believes that:
(a) the unexamined life is one in which
we live day to day without asking questions about who we are and why we are
here in the first place.
(b) the Delphic
oracle identified Socrates as the wisest person on earth because he claimed to
know nothing.
(c) by
questioning traditional beliefs, we learn to recognize how some answers seem to
be more satisfactory than others.
(d) the only way
to be a good or worthwhile person is to know how human beings should behave
based on universal norms or values.
54. Socrates'
claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living" is often cited
as a central theme in the activities of people. By it, Socrates is
typically understood to mean that:
(a) it is sometimes simply not worth all
the effort of examining life and its problems in great detail; sometimes it is
better simply to "go with the flow."
(b) while
taking a reflective attitude toward life is interesting and even sometimes
important, most of what makes life worth living is not worth examining.
(c) simply
doing whatever everyone else does without thinking about why we should do what
we do can hardly be thought of as worthwhile, noble, or admirable.
(d) it is a
waste of time to sit around thinking about whether life is worth living; we
should leave such reflection to talk-show hosts, political figures, and
religious leaders.
55. Socrates
claims that no one knowingly wills to do evil. Immorality, he says, is due to
ignorance about what is in our own best interest. In response to this, critics
(e.g., Aristotle) point out that Socrates overlooks the fact that:
(a) simply knowing what is good is often
insufficient to overcome irrational or evil desires.
(b) doing what
is good is often its own reward, regardless of whether it promotes our
interests.
(c) to will to
do evil, we have to know what evil is; but since evil cannot be known, we
cannot will it.
(d) knowing the
good is impossible, and thus no one can knowingly will to do either good or
evil.
56. According to Socrates, the task of the wise and virtuous person is not simply to learn various examples of just or virtuous actions but to learn the essence of justice or virtue in order to recognize:
(a)
the difference between perfect instances (as opposed to
mere copies) of justice or virtue.
(b)
ways of acting justly or virtuously in other situations.
(c)
how the opinions of others about what makes actions just
or virtuous are equally valuable.
(d)
how justice and virtue are universal human goals, even if
we do not always agree on how to achieve them.
57. For Buddhists philosophy frees us from the ignorance that causes the cycle of birth, suffering, and death, by:
(a)
describing the cycle of birth and death as endlessCthus comforting us with the thought of immortality.
(b)
proving that after we die, God will protect those individuals
who have had faith in him.
(c)
portraying the cycle of birth and death as a blessing, something
we should hold onto as long as we can.
(d)
showing us how the changing world of individuality, life, and
death is really an illusion.
Answers:
1. B
2. A 3. B 4. B 5. B 6. A 7. B 8. B 9. B 10. A 11. B |
12. A
13. B 14. A 15. B 16. A 17. B 18. A 19. A 20. B 21. A 22. A |
23. B
24. B 25. B 26. A 27. B 28. A 29. B 30. A 31. C 32. D 33. B |
34. D
35. A 36. C 37. D 38. B 39. B 40. D 41. A 42. C 43. D 44. C |
45. B
46. D 47. A 48. B 49. A 50. D 51. A 52. C 53. D 54. C 55. A 56. B 57. D |