Deck 2: The Humanities and Critical Thinking

Question 1

A highly witty play filled with double meanings is meant to appeal to an audience that is

A) Apollonian.
B) Dionysian.
C) figuratist.
D) literalist.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When it comes to critical thinking, the Dionysian refers to

A) attention to the craft or technique of any endeavor.
B) emotional or intuitive responses to what we see.
C) long-range speculation or "sight" based on former experience.
D) reasoned, rational, coherent thought about what we see.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Critical thinking about adaptions of Miss Saigon, which reimagines Madame Butterfly, might reasonably lead us to understand how

A) human behavior does not change even though society does.
B) originals are almost always better than their spinoffs.
C) originals grow old if not refreshed.
D) the adaptation might fit changing historical contexts and circumstances.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

As an act of critical thinking, rationalizing is a

A) good exercise because it makes painful things more palatable.
B) good exercise because it recognizes the context of all actions.
C) bad exercise because it focuses too much on the context of events.
D) bad exercise because it makes us feel better about uncomfortable events.

Question 5

When it comes to critical thinking, the Apollonian refers to

A) attention to craft or technique of any endeavor.
B) emotional or intuitive responses to what we see.
C) long-range speculation based on former experience.
D) reasoned, rational, coherent thought about what we see.

Question 6

If someone uses features such as rhyme and meter to form an understanding of Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us," that person is exercising which step in the process of forming a personal critical response?

A) considering craft and technique
B) considering form
C) exploring context
D) not jumping to conclusions

Question 7

Pauline Kael's scathing review of The Sound of Music, which led to her firing, illustrates what important principle for critics?

A) "Don't jump to conclusions."
B) "Audiences are often as good judges as professional critics."
C) "It is important to know what you're looking at."
D) "Context is essential."

Question 8

Critical thinking about "popcorn fun" would lead one to understand that

A) some forms of art are good and some forms are inferior.
B) critical examination does not work on all forms of culture.
C) even trivial materials might pose profound questions or show artistic innovation.
D) not everything we watch or see is a legitimate way to spend time.

Question 9

Sympathizing with characters and being absorbed in the action are characteristics of

A) alienation.
B) Apollonian response.
C) critical thinking.
D) empathy.

Question 10

According to the chapter, the first step to solving a problem is determining

A) if the problem is definable.
B) whether a problem exists.
C) whether the problem has a solution.
D) whose problem it is.

Question 11

The second personal critical response we should have on seeing an unfamiliar or off-putting kind of art should be

A) asking what it is we have seen or heard.
B) not jumping to conclusions.
C) exploring the piece's cultural and artistic history.
D) considering the underlying craft and technique.

Question 12

The hypothetical problem of the missing dollar helps us

A) listen for contradictions and inconsistencies.
B) understand the challenges of mathematics.
C) keep an accurate account of our getting and spending.
D) apply Apollonian principles to a situation.

Question 13

The Wordsworth poem that begins "The world is too much with us, late and soon/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" is a personal, critical response to the idea of

A) art as the illusion that there is no art.
B) jumping to conclusions.
C) living for only financial gain.
D) speculating beyond what we know.

Question 14

The role of the professional critic is to:

A) explain what is popular.
B) give advice on how we should feel about art.
C) review or evaluate.
D) tell us what to watch or see.

Question 15

According to Nietzsche, a stage production of the Greek tragedy The Oresteia should

A) absorb viewers emotionally into the horror of the play.
B) cause viewers to reject their own emotional responses.
C) humble viewers before the grandeur of the language.
D) teach viewers about the shortcomings of the characters.

Question 16

A monstrous central figure such as Walter White from the TV series Breaking Bad is designed ultimately to stimulate

A) alienation.
B) empathy.
C) critical thinking.
D) religious revulsion.

Question 17

Bertold Brecht's alienation effect was designed so that theater audiences could

A) avoid being absorbed in the experience and miss the important political point of theater.
B) reject ideas of playwrights that might be bad for their character.
C) reject silly songs and zany behavior so that they could focus on the important work of theater.
D) become absorbed emotionally in the horrors of the play.

Question 18

Which of the following is a major component of exercising one's critical mind?

A) challenging assumptions
B) the popcorn syndrome
C) the empathetic response
D) the alienation effect

Question 19

A person who prefers prepackaged genre films such as romance or horror can be considered a(n)

A) Apollonian.
B) Dionysian.
C) figuratist.
D) literalist.

Question 20

A work that presents a kind character stricken with a disease stimulates

A) alienation.
B) a strong religious reaction.
C) empathy.
D) critical thinking.

Question 21

As it does in so many works of art, the literal meaning of William Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us" depends upon understanding the figurative meaning of lines and perhaps of the poem as a whole. Using the distinction between literal and figurative language, identify lines in the poem where meaning depends on translating from figurative to literal language and comment on the meaning of the poem as a whole.
I. Offer examples of figurative speech from the poem.
II. Explain the meaning of the figurative speech.
III. Analyze the meaning of the poem as a whole.
IV. Explain how the meaning depends upon understanding the figurative language.

Question 22

Identify a favorite movie and apply the critical thinking steps to create your own critical response of the movie.
I. Identify critical thinking steps for critical response.
II. Identify the movie.
III. Apply all six steps to the movie.

Question 23

What is a literalist?

Question 24

Citing a specific example, discuss whether our legal system needs to be more Apollonian or more Dionysian.
I. Cite an example.
II. Define Apollonian or Dionysian.
III. Give reasons for Apollonian/Dionysian assertion.

Question 25

What kinds of activities enhance our ability to think critically?

Question 26

Why is historical context important to critical thinking?

Question 27

Name a favorite work of art (painting, film, play, novel, poem, etc.) and explain whether your appreciation is more Apollonian or Dionysian. Analyze how. Also state how taking the other perspective might yield new insights into the work.
I. Name a work of art.
II. Identify your response as Apollonian or Dionysian.
III. Explain what elements in the artwork prompts your response.
IV. Analyze how the perspective you did not choose might add to your enjoyment of the piece.

Question 28

Consider a time when you have disagreed with what a professional critic or a professor has said in a review of a work of art, music, film, or literature-something you liked that the critic did not (or vice versa). Using the steps from the personal critical response, analyze the bases of your disagreement.
I. Choose a work of art.
II. Explain the difference between evaluations.
III. Analyze the difference of opinion using more than one of the steps from the personal critical response.

Question 29

There are six steps in forming critical responses. Name three of them.

Question 30

When it comes to "exercising the mind," what are buried assumptions?