Deck 10: Society

Question 1

Explain Dewey's claim that democracy extends beyond a mere method for electing government officials. Do you agree?

Answer 1

good essay will:
State the key elements involved in Dewey's understanding of the notion of democracy.
Evaluate his argument in terms of your understanding of the notion: would you add/delete/modify anything?

Question 2

What is the key notion of democracy, according to Dewey? How is this connected to education?

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Do you agree that the value of an individual's contribution to society is not able to be determined before it is pooled with all others? For example, do you agree that a person's contribution to society cannot in any way be determined on the basis of his or her social status by birth? Explain.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Dewey defines democracy simply as a method for electing public officials.

Question 5

Dewey claims that the central democratic notion is that individual participation is necessary for social welfare and individual development.

Question 6

Dewey claims that democracy has no role in the workplace.

Question 7

Dewey claims that the basic democratic freedom is freedom of action.

Question 8

Dewey claims that the foundation of democracy is in the belief in equal natural abilities.

Question 9

Dewey claims that nondemocratic, authoritarian rule assumes that the contributions of some individuals are worth more than the contributions to society of others.

Question 10

According to Dewey, the foundation of democracy is

A) The belief in equal natural abilities.
B) The belief in free will.
C) The belief in equality of opportunity.
D) The freedom to elect whomever one pleases.

Question 11

Dewey claims that democratic participation is necessary from the standpoint of

A) The development of human beings as individuals.
B) The general social welfare.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 12

Dewey claims that the basic democratic freedom is

A) Freedom of thought.
B) Freedom of action.
C) Free will.
D) Free elections.

Question 13

Dewey claims that

A) Political democracy is secure everywhere.
B) Political democracy can never be secure anywhere.
C) A secure political democracy is ruled by an authoritarian leader.
D) Secure political democracy requires that all social relationships be democratic.

Question 14

Dewey claims that political democracy

A) Is all that there is.
B) Is an end in itself.
C) Is a means to an end.
D) Is an illusion.

Question 15

According to Dewey, the foundation of democracy is faith in

A) God.
B) Human intelligence.
C) Human progress.
D) All of the above.

Question 16

Why does Dewey claim that political democracy is not secure until democracy permeates all social relationships? Do you agree? Explain.

Question 17

What is the basic democratic freedom? How does it relate to freedom of action?

Question 18

Does Dewey's discussion capture your conception of democracy? Explain.
What Is a Liberal Education?
Sidney Hook

Question 19

What is the connection between a liberal education and democracy, according to Hook? Do you agree with him? Explain.

Question 20

What are the essential elements of a liberal education, according to Hook, and how do they help to achieve its aim?

Question 21

Do you think that your own college education has satisfied or is likely to satisfy Hook's criteria for a liberal education? Explain.

Question 22

Hook claims that the failure of colleges to develop intellectually sophisticated and mature students is intellectually reprehensible but not socially dangerous.

Question 23

Hook claims that a liberal education is important for a well-functioning democracy.

Question 24

One of the essentials of a liberal education, according to Hook, is the study of formal logic.

Question 25

Hook claims that the study of composition and literature needs no special justification.

Question 26

Hook claims that the study of the natural sciences is important for the formation of rational beliefs.

Question 27

Hook claims that the study of a foreign language is important for understanding one's own emotions.

Question 28

Hook claims that the study of arts and music should aim at the cultivation of good taste.

Question 29

According to Hook, a liberal education includes

A) The study of English composition.
B) The study of formal logic.
C) The study of physical education.
D) The study of Sanskrit.

Question 30

Hook claims that a liberal education

A) Will always have the same elements.
B) Aims at imparting freedom, maturity, and power.
C) Aims at improving citizens' tastes in architecture.
D) All of the above.

Question 31

Hook argues that, broadly speaking, a liberal education should cultivate knowledge of

A) Human values.
B) The physical world.
C) How society functions.
D) All of the above.

Question 32

Hook claims that democracy presupposes

A) A college education.
B) Broad literary competence.
C) An intelligent electorate.
D) Knowledge of advanced mathematics.

Question 33

The following element of a liberal education does not, according to Hook, require justification:

A) Philosophy.
B) Arts and music.
C) Natural sciences.
D) Literature.

Question 34

Hook argues that colleges have, for the most part, failed in developing students with intellectual sophistication and maturity because of

A) A lack of funding.
B) A lack of serious effort.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 35

According to Hook, the failure of colleges in developing students with intellectual sophistication and maturity is

A) Socially dangerous.
B) Intellectually reprehensible.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 36

Why is a liberal education important, according to Hook? Do you agree? Explain.

Question 37

Pick one of the six elements of a liberal education identified by Hook and explain why it is essential. Then pick a subject that you think Hook should have included and explain why.

Question 38

Do you think that our educational system is providing its pupils with a liberal education? If not, is this a problem? Explain.
Cultivating Humanity
Martha Nussbaum

Question 39

What are the three capacities that Nussbaum believes are necessary for the cultivation of humanity? Do you agree?

Question 40

Explain what Nussbaum means by "narrative imagination." Why is this an important ability for the world citizen?

Question 41

In what way is the character Jacob Marley (from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens) an example of bad citizenship, according to Nussbaum?

Question 42

Nussbaum believes that only people who seek leadership roles need to cultivate humanity.

Question 43

A good world citizen needs the ability to think critically about his or her traditions.

Question 44

Critical thought and testing rarely results in challenges to one's tradition.

Question 45

Nussbaum believes that good citizens should identify with their local group or region first and foremost.

Question 46

Knowledge of other cultures is an important part of being a good global citizen.

Question 47

Nussbaum argues that learning facts and reasoning techniques is enough to become a good global citizen.

Question 48

The character of Jacob Marley, from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, is an example of a good citizen according to Nussbaum.

Question 49

As Nussbaum uses the term, "narrative imagination" refers to the ability to create fictional stories.

Question 50

According to Nussbaum, why does education need to be different in today's world?

A) Students need to learn critical thinking now.
B) Students need to focus on technical and vocational education.
C) Many employers now require politically correct awareness.
D) Many pressing problems now require cross-cultural understanding.

Question 51

According to Nussbaum, most students enter a university to

A) Pursue a single subject.
B) Learn about other cultures.
C) Become a more informed citizen.
D) All of the above.

Question 52

According to Nussbaum, what is distinctive about higher education in the United States is that many American colleges and universities have the ideal of educating students

A) For citizenship and life generally.
B) For a specific career.
C) For a single subject only.
D) For absolutely everything they may need to know.

Question 53

What does Nussbaum mean by "cultivating humanity"?

A) Becoming more educated in general.
B) Increasing the abilities that make one a better world citizen.
C) Becoming a more moral person.
D) Learning to be more politically correct.

Question 54

According to Nussbaum, "living the examined life" means

A) Learning about other people's culture and traditions.
B) Learning more about one's own culture and traditions.
C) Learning to think critically about one's own traditions.
D) Rejecting one's own culture and traditions.

Question 55

According to Nussbaum, the classical ideal of the "world citizen" can be understood as someone

A) Whose primary loyalty is to human beings the world over rather than to national and local groups.
B) Who recognizes the worth of human life wherever it occurs.
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 56

The examined life is important because

A) Reflective people are easier for authority figures to manage.
B) Thinking is good practice for students.
C) Traditions are invariably wrong and should be rejected.
D) Democracy needs citizens who think for themselves.

Question 57

According to Nussbaum, the ability to __________ is essential to the cultivation of humanity.

A) See oneself as bound to all other human beings by ties of recognition and concern.
B) Examine oneself and one's traditions critically.
C) Imagine what it might be like to walk in someone else's shoes.
D) All of the above.

Question 58

According to Nussbaum, the capacity for seeing beyond our local region is important because

A) Many contemporary problems call on us to understand people who are different.
B) We naturally lack curiosity about people who are different.
C) We need other people to understand us, so it's only fair we try to understand them.
D) It is a practical vocational skill for many careers.

Question 59

Sometimes we don't identify how much we have in common with people who live far away or people who seem different from ourselves. What can result from this failing, according to Nussbaum?

A) We miss out on chances to communicate with them.
B) We don't realize when we have responsibilities toward them.
C) We assume their lives are like our own and miss a chance to learn.
D) All of the above.

Question 60

By "narrative imagination," Nussbaum means the ability to

A) Imagine an answer when you don't know all the facts.
B) Imagine yourself in the shoes of someone different from yourself.
C) Imagine what it would be like to travel to a country you haven't visited.
D) Imagine what the future will be like.

Question 61

Why does Nussbaum say that "the narrative imagination is not uncritical"?

A) Because the first of the abilities that she lists is critical thinking.
B) Because when you imagine you are somewhere else, you may be critical of the place.
C) Because when you imagine you are someone else, you bring your own judgments along.
D) Because when you imagine you are someone else, you should not try to criticize them.

Question 62

To use your narrative imagination, you would

A) Think about being someone else and try to understand that person's emotions and wishes.
B) Tell a story that takes place somewhere far away using real information about the place.
C) Imagine what might happen in the future and make plans for today based on that.
D) Think critically about your own culture and about an unfamiliar one.

Question 63

Nussbaum argues that learning facts and mastering techniques of reasoning is

A) Useless for cultivating humanity.
B) All you need for cultivating humanity.
C) A start, but you also need love and imagination for cultivating humanity.
D) A good start, but you should be careful to avoid political correctness.

Question 64

According to Nussbaum, the ghost of Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol is an example of a bad citizen because

A) He doesn't learn about people from other cultures.
B) He is mean to his partner Scrooge.
C) He focuses too much on making money.
D) He can't imagine what life is like for people of different social classes.

Question 65

What does Nussbaum mean by "cultivating humanity"?

Question 66

What is an "examined life"? What abilities are required for living an examined life?

Question 67

Why is it hard to see ourselves as human beings first and foremost? What problems can this cause, according to Nussbaum?
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr.

Question 68

How does King distinguish between a just law and an unjust law? Do you agree? Explain.

Question 69

What is civil disobedience, according to King? How does it differ from mere lawbreaking?

Question 70

What are King's complaints about the "white moderate"? Do you find them forceful? Explain.

Question 71

King considers himself an extremist.

Question 72

King thinks that time will right all wrongs.

Question 73

King advocates for evading and defying the law.

Question 74

King advocates breaking unjust laws by any means.

Question 75

King sees himself as walking a middle path between violence and complacency.

Question 76

King's definition of civil disobedience includes

A) Breaking unjust laws.
B) Accepting the penalty.
C) Resisting violently.
D) Both a and b

Question 77

According to King, a nonviolent campaign involves

A) Collecting facts to determine where injustices are taking place.
B) Negotiation.
C) Direct action
D) All of the above.

Question 78

King defines a just law as a man-made code that

A) Squares with moral law or the law of God.
B) Is in harmony with natural law.
C) Has been democratically established.
D) Both a and b

Question 79

According to King, __________ also practiced civil disobedience.

A) Socrates.
B) Early Christians.
C) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
D) All of the above.

Question 80

King agrees with Saint Augustine's claim that an unjust law

A) Must be disobeyed.
B) Is no law at all.
C) Should never be created.
D) Must be repealed.