Deck 2: Ancient Political Theory

Question 1

Why was Plato sold into slavery by the ruler of Sicily?

A)Plato was involved in a sex scandal.
B)The ruler was afraid that Plato was trying to overthrow him.
C)Plato was involved in financial impropriety.
D)The ruler tired of his political counsel.
E)Plato offended members of the local elite.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Who was the philosopher who first challenged Plato's theories?

A)Thales
B)Pythagoras
C)Democritus
D)Aristotle
E)Thucydides

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What did Plato see as the foundation of the state?

A)The pursuit of a just life
B)Dread of chaos
C)A war of all against all
D)A quest for power and wealth
E)The inability to live a solitary existence

Answer 3

E

Question 4

How were Socrates and Jesus similar?

A)Both were essentially religious thinkers.
B)Both were excellent teachers.
C)Both were handsome and charismatic.
D)Both were tentative in presenting their beliefs.
E)Both served in the armies of their countries.

Question 5

What did the Ionians advocate for answering important questions?

A)Myth
B)Oracles
C)Revelation
D)Rationality
E)Tradition

Question 6

What did Socrates recommend as a political path for his students?

A)To involve themselves deeply in political life, regardless of their morality
B)To serve their state and society in ways other than politics
C)To search for what is moral in the political environment
D)To look for a virtuous life in political activity
E)To avoid politics and other corrupting influences

Question 7

On what point did Socrates find agreement with the Sophists?

A)It was essential to accept the decisions of civil authority.
B)The purpose of life was to find happiness.
C)The gods did not exist.
D)It was possible to acquire universal knowledge.
E)Virtue was subjective and not very important.

Question 8

How did the Sophists change Greek philosophy?

A)They changed perspective from the individual to the universe.
B)They took a parochial, Greece-centered view and expanded it to include other cultures.
C)They shifted attention from the universe to the individual.
D)They returned to an emphasis on the divine instead of worldly concerns.
E)They introduced rationality to what had been theories based on emotion.

Question 9

What is the logical end of a tyrant's existence?

A)Satisfaction
B)Insanity
C)Perversion
D)Impiety
E)Remorse

Question 10

What concept of the Sophists did Plato reject in The Republic ?

A)Virtue has no connection with wealth and power.
B)Justice and virtue serve the interests of the rich and powerful.
C)There are times when paying debts is not virtuous.
D)Knowledge is a higher value than power.
E)Money does not matter to the virtuous man.

Question 11

How did the Sophists view the concepts of truth and justice?

A)As dependent on divine will
B)As established by natural law
C)As social conventions
D)As established by monarchs and law givers
E)As impossible to determine

Question 12

What did Pythagoras integrate into political theory?

A)Divinity and a theory of becoming
B)Pure reason and a theory of becoming
C)Appreciation of nature and a theory of being
D)The will of the gods and a theory of being
E)Mathematical principles and a theory of being

Question 13

What event was central to Athens' fate and Plato's life during his lifetime?

A)Earthquake in Athens
B)Slave rebellion in Greece
C)Economic depression
D)War with Sparta
E)War with Persia

Question 14

Which of the following did the Sophists emphasize?

A)Rhetoric
B)Poetry
C)Sculpture
D)History
E)Music

Question 15

What did Plato state is the highest form of happiness?

A)The pursuit of a just life
B)The quest for political power
C)The pursuit of wealth
D)Establishment of a family legacy
E)Life in accordance with the gods

Question 16

What was the primary concern of the Sophists?

A)The search for deep universal truths
B)How Greeks should conduct their lives
C)Discovery of essential moral principles
D)How the physical world could be described
E)What people of all countries could do to please the gods

Question 17

In Socrates' view, what was the first step toward adopting universal principles?

A)Overturning the social order
B)Rebelling against authority
C)Acceptance of societal norms
D)Discerning the will of the gods
E)Defining words

Question 18

According to the theory of becoming, what was the underlying principle of the universe?

A)Constancy
B)Change
C)Illusion
D)Fate
E)Divinity

Question 19

What was the name of the educational institution founded by Plato to offer a full range of academic subjects?

A)The Agora
B)The Lyceum
C)The University
D)The Academy
E)The Gymnasium

Question 20

How did Plato view democracy, based on his experiences?

A)He distrusted it as the cause of Socrates' execution and Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War.
B)He viewed it positively, as a fountain of civic virtue.
C)He supported it as a defense against abuse of the people by the rich and powerful.
D)He opposed it; it was a way for the poor and uneducated to rise above their station.
E)He recommended it to Athenians as a way for talented statesmen to rise from the lower classes.

Question 21

Which Roman statesman called Aristotle's works a "river of gold," due to their meticulousness and rationality?

A)Cicero
B)Scipio Africanus
C)Julius Caesar
D)Gaius Marius
E)Caesar Augustus

Question 22

According to Plato, what is the definition of a timocracy?

A)A state ruled by foreigners in pursuit of empire
B)A state ruled by the people in pursuit of prosperity
C)A state ruled by guardians in pursuit of justice
D)A state ruled by philosophers in pursuit of knowledge
E)A state ruled by warriors in pursuit of honor

Question 23

Who was the leader who, as a youth, was taught personally by Aristotle?

A)Pericles
B)Xenophon
C)Alexander
D)Leonidas
E)Philip

Question 24

What was one area in which Aristotle agreed with Plato?

A)The state is no more necessary than any other institution.
B)The state is a result of human development.
C)Mankind is inherently depraved.
D)Physical power is a result of moral superiority.
E)The family is a higher form of development than the state.

Question 25

How did Aristotle see humans achieving happiness?

A)Acquiring knowledge
B)Reaching a position of power
C)Striving for political liberty
D)Achieving a preexisting purpose
E)Maintaining a healthy family life

Question 26

Explain how Socrates viewed the path to a happy life, as well as the basis for such a life.

Question 27

What was a core difference between the theories of Aristotle and Plato?

A)Aristotle was more rooted in the physical world, Plato in the mystical.
B)Aristotle was less willing to educate political elites.
C)Aristotle had a mystical perspective that Plato lacked.
D)Aristotle was less concerned with practical politics.
E)Aristotle was far more idealistic than Plato.

Question 28

According to Aristotle, what is the key element that separates humans from animals, including the social ones?

A)Animals have a greater capacity for happiness.
B)Humans can form families.
C)Humans are capable of rational thought.
D)Animals are incapable of using tools.
E)Humans can create a functioning state.

Question 29

Who does Plato see as the lowest form of ruler?

A)The tyrant
B)The mob
C)The politician
D)The theorist
E)The lawyer

Question 30

Examine The Republic 's view of the division of society in a just state and the characteristics of the soul. What are the appetites that Plato assigns to these groups, and what is their relationship to the human soul?

Question 31

How does Plato divide the universe in his theory of forms?

A)The physical world and the mystical world
B)The profane world and the sacred world
C)The visible world and the intelligible world
D)The present world and the future world
E)The tactile world and the metaphysical world

Question 32

What did Aristotle see as the most important political skill?

A)Philosophy
B)Debate
C)Military strategy
D)Diplomacy
E)Management

Question 33

Who did Plato see as worthy to rule the just state?

A)The strongest and fittest
B)Those with the greatest intelligence and perceptiveness
C)Those with perfect knowledge of the world
D)Men with the greatest knowledge of local traditions
E)The best-traveled and most cosmopolitan citizens

Question 34

What are the three groupings of citizens envisioned by Plato in The Republic ?

A)Farmers, officials, and philosophers
B)Farmers, priests, and guardians
C)Craftspeople, soldiers, and rulers
D)Craftspeople, auxiliaries, and guardians
E)Farmers, craftspeople, and kings

Question 35

Why does Plato believe that people engage in unjust behavior?

A)Human nature is essentially evil.
B)They have an incomplete understanding of justice.
C)All people are essentially selfish.
D)Both the state and the soul are fallible.
E)People are vulnerable to temptation.

Question 36

Examine how the worldview of the Sophists differed from those of earlier philosophers. How did this affect their theories?

Question 37

What was highest form of human association in Aristotle's view?

A)The world
B)The army
C)The family
D)The village
E)The state

Question 38

How did Plato see the nature of human knowledge?

A)Capable of perfect insight
B)Incapable of rationality
C)Imperfect and limited
D)Essentially logical
E)Perfect and infallible

Question 39

What did Aristotle see as the human activity that was closest to the divine?

A)Sacrifice in a temple
B)Cultivation of a new crop
C)Two people procreating
D)Founding of a new city-state
E)Philosophy

Question 40

What does Plato see as the root of a tyrant's immoral behavior?

A)Conscious rejection of justice
B)A quest for the approval of the mob
C)Lack of rational thought
D)Imperfect knowledge of justice
E)Bad parental examples

Question 41

How did Aristotle associate the states of human development with the stages of political association?

Question 42

Examine Aristotle's vision of a ruler. What are the roles of virtue and political abilities in an ideal ruler? Further, what are the key differences between Aristotle's vision of the ruler and Plato's vision?

Question 43

What are the three basic types of good constitutions in Aristotle's view? Explain the advantages of each and how each can each be perverted by an unjust ruler.