Deck 2: Foundational Ideas from Antiquity

Question 1

According to Plato the three components of the human psyche are

A) sensation, courage, and reason.
B) appetites, courage, and reason.
C) perception, courage, and reason.
D) ideals, courage, and reason.

Answer 1

appetites, courage, and reason.

Question 2

In the course of his dialogues with his students,Socrates emphasized the mind's inborn properties.This approach to mental philosophy is known as

A) rationalism.
B) empiricism.
C) interactive dualism.
D) nativism.

Answer 2

nativism.

Question 3

According to Plato,the ideal form of government is

A) democracy.
B) oligarchy.
C) monarchy.
D) plutocracy.

Answer 3

oligarchy.

Question 4

The ancient Greek word psyche as used by Plato and Aristotle is traditionally and literally translated as __________,but in modern English it is also often translated as __________.

A) soul; reason
B) "love of wisdom"; mind
C) soul; mind
D) "love of wisdom"; reason

Question 5

The playwright Aristophanes's comedy The Clouds portrayed which philosopher in a satirical light?

A) Aristotle
B) Plato
C) Zeno
D) Socrates

Question 6

The Achilles and the tortoise paradox,proposed by the philosopher Zeno,is an illustration of what concept?

A) Infinity, particularly the idea that any linear distance contains an infinite number of intermediary points between its start and end.
B) Geometric ratios, particularly the fact that for any right-angled triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides.
C) Ambiguity, particularly the often uncertain relationship between stability and change.
D) Pragmatics, particularly the pointlessness of speculating about the ultimate nature of the universe and the need to focus on human experience.

Question 7

Which philosopher served as tutor to a teenaged Alexander the Great,instilling in him a lifelong respect for learning and education?

A) Plato
B) Socrates
C) Democritus
D) Aristotle

Question 8

After a period of self-imposed exile from Athens,Plato returned to the city and established a school known as the

A) Garden.
B) Lyceum.
C) Academy.
D) Psyche.

Question 9

Rather than making the conventional choice to study with __________,Plato opted to study with __________.

A) Socrates; the sophists
B) the sophists; Socrates
C) the sophists; Gorgias
D) Socrates; Aristotle

Question 10

Plato's allegory of the cave was used to illustrate what aspect of his philosophy?

A) the Pythagorean theorem
B) the appearance-form distinction
C) the importance of democracy
D) the Socratic method

Question 11

Aristotle's emphasis on the importance of systematic observations of the natural world made him one of the first important proponents of

A) nativism.
B) rationalism.
C) idealism.
D) empiricism.

Question 12

In On the Psyche Aristotle argued that

A) all living organisms possess psyches except plants.
B) only human beings possess psyches.
C) all living organisms possess psyches and these psyches are identical no matter an organism's position on the scale of nature.
D) all living organisms possess psyches, but these psyches vary in complexity according to the organism's position on the scale of nature.

Question 13

Aristotle undertook careful and detailed observations of organisms in the natural world and classified these specimens into logically meaningful groups.This was the beginning of the field of

A) ecology.
B) taxonomy.
C) philosophy.
D) chemistry.

Question 14

As a student Aristotle studied at the

A) Lyceum.
B) Academy.
C) Garden.
D) sophists' School.

Question 15

Which of the following is true of the Hippocratic Corpus?

A) It is a set of medical texts written by Hippocrates.
B) It presents diseases as supernatural phenomena.
C) It explains health and illness in terms of humoral theory.
D) It was quickly refuted by the medical community.

Question 16

As a child Aristotle witnessed and absorbed his father's practices as a __________,likely influencing his future emphasis on empirical observation.

A) physician
B) lawyer
C) philosopher
D) politician

Question 17

Theophrastus,a student and close friend of Aristotle,shared with his mentor an interest in

A) the nature of the psyche.
B) Aristotelian logic.
C) systematic observations of the natural world.
D) the natural of causality.

Question 18

Xenophon,one of Socrates's most famous students,became a great scholar of

A) history.
B) politics.
C) medicine.
D) law.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a lasting and continuing influence of the Hippocratics?

A) Modern physicians take the Hippocratic Oath.
B) Most modern diagnoses continue to come from diseases listed in the Hippocratic Corpus.
C) Diseases continue to be understood to have naturalistic causes.
D) Modern physicians continue to employ observationally based medical practices.

Question 20

The humoral theory holds that health and illness result from the balance or imbalance of four substances,or humors,in the human body.These humors are

A) blood, yellow bile, black bile, psyche.
B) blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm.
C) spirit, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm.
D) spirit, yellow bile, black bile, psyche.

Question 21

Which of the following best describes Aristotle's conception of the contents and capacities of the rational psyche?

A) It contains innately within it ideal forms whose essential natures are imperfectly and incompletely hinted at by the appearances of everyday experience.
B) It starts out completely empty like a blank slate, and all of its ideas and concepts are the result of empirical experiences impacting it.
C) Although originally empty of specific memories, it contains within itself innate categories into which experiences can be classified.
D) It contains innately within itself memories from previous incarnations, which may be "remembered" following certain later experiences.

Question 22

Select the correct ordering of psyches,from lowest to highest complexity,according to Aristotle's scale of nature.

A) vegetative soul, sensitive soul, rational soul
B) sensitive soul, vegetative soul, rational soul
C) vegetative soul, rational soul, sensitive soul
D) sensitive soul, rational soul, vegetative soul

Question 23

Indo-Arabic numerals encompassed an infinite series of numbers that could be studied in completely abstract terms and arranged into various categories.This study of "pure" numbers and their interrelationships gave rise to a new mathematical field known as

A) geometry.
B) ideal forms.
C) algebra.
D) number theory.

Question 24

__________ was a leader in the House of Wisdom and was known as "the philosopher of the Arabs" for his commentaries on Aristotle.He also described and advocated the use of a numbering system known as __________.

A) Alhazen; Roman numerals
B) Al-Kindi; Indo-Arabic numerals
C) Avicenna; Indo-Arabic numerals
D) Al-Kindi; Roman numerals

Question 25

According to Aristotle,the vegetative soul is comprised of the two most fundamental functions of the psyche.These functions are __________ and __________.

A) memory; sensation
B) nourishment; reproduction
C) nourishment; sensation
D) locomotion; reproduction

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT one of the four functions of Aristotle's sensitive soul?

A) reason
B) sensation
C) memory
D) imagination

Question 27

The notion that there is a limit to the divisibility of material objects is known as __________ and was formulated by __________.

A) ideal forms; Plato
B) ideal forms; Zeno
C) atomic theory; Democritus
D) atomic theory; Plato

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT true about Indo-Arabic numerals?

A) provided a consistent system for performing arithmetical calculations
B) included unique symbols for the numbers one through nine
C) included a zero symbol
D) is a system invented in classical Greece

Question 29

After the fall of the Roman Empire many classical Greek works were preserved,translated,and extended by scholars living in

A) the Islamic Empire.
B) Western Europe.
C) India.
D) Northern Europe.

Question 30

In his discussion of the soul Avicenna extended upon Aristotle's hierarchy of functions,especially in relation to the sensitive soul.In addition to distinguishing between exterior and interior senses,Avicenna argued that the sensitive soul possessed a function that he referred to as

A) apperception.
B) appetition.
C) appearance.
D) allegory.

Question 31

Which is NOT one of Aristotle's four essential components of caused events?

A) final cause
B) formal cause
C) material cause
D) expedient cause

Question 32

Democritus's atomic theory was widely dismissed because

A) there was a lack of empirical evidence to support the theory.
B) the contention that the movements of atoms were random was counter to the dominant view that caused events had to have purpose.
C) Democritus was an unpleasant figure who alienated all those around him.
D) the contention that all caused events had to have a purpose was counter to the dominant understanding of events as random.

Question 33

The seven-volume Book of Optics was based on extensive experiments and observations on optics and visual perception.It was written by

A) Alhazen.
B) Aristotle.
C) Avicenna.
D) Plato.

Question 34

Avicenna's The Book of the Cure (or The Book of Healing)was intended to provide the cure for

A) madness.
B) epilepsy.
C) ignorance.
D) all known diseases.

Question 35

The poem De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things)by the Roman poet Lucretius is more than 200 pages long and celebrates the work of which philosopher?

A) Pythagoras
B) Zeno
C) Epicurus
D) Aristotle

Question 36

Avicenna's Canon of Medicine described the most effective treatments for various diseases,including more than 700 herbal and chemical remedies.Avicenna considered this list of treatments to be

A) a complete and unchangeable list of all effective remedies for disease.
B) open to revision and extension by him alone.
C) open to revision and extension on the basis of systematic tests of new remedies.
D) open to revision and extension only if new humors were discovered.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT one of the scholars who elaborated upon and helped preserve the work of the classical Greek scholars who came before him?

A) Al-Kindi
B) Avicenna
C) Alhazen
D) Aristophanes

Question 38

During centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire the work of classical Greek scholars was dismissed and even regarded as sacrilegious by early European scholars.This period is often referred to as the

A) Dark Age of Western Europe.
B) Greek Miracle.
C) Islamic Awakening.
D) hoi polloi.

Question 39

Epicurus adopted Democritus's atomic theory and used it as his basis to argue that

A) all caused events have purpose.
B) all caused events are accidental.
C) individuals need not fear the whims of the gods and are free to pursue socially responsible forms of happiness.
D) individuals need not fear the whims of the gods and are free to pursue unbridled hedonism.

Question 40

The term camera obscura refers to

A) the Greek concept of unconscious aspects of the sensitive psyche.
B) the Pythagoreans' concept of optical illusions.
C) a pinhole camera and predecessor of modern cameras.
D) a metaphor for the soul used by Plato.

Question 41

Thomas Aquinas equated Aristotle's idea of the creator of the universe as a purposeful unmoved mover with

A) God.
B) the Soul.
C) atoms.
D) immortality.

Question 42

Avicenna's Floating Man thought experiment imagined a man suspended in space who has nonfunctional sense organs and limbs that are unable to move or touch,and he asked whether this man had any conscious awareness of his soul or self.According to Avicenna the answer to this question was __________,because __________.

A) no; self-awareness arises only through empirical experience of the world
B) no; self-awareness is an innate part of the rational soul
C) yes; self-awareness is an innate part of the vegetative soul
D) yes; self-awareness is an innate part of the rational soul

Question 43

Match the definition with the corresponding component of Aristotle's system of causes.
final cause

A)the actions or interactions that bring the caused thing into being
B)the idea or plan behind a caused thing
C)the purpose for which the thing is caused
D)the substance out of which something is made

Question 44

Match the philosophical position or theory with the classical Greek philosopher.
Aristotle

A)atomic theory
B)empiricism
C)nativism

Question 45

Match the Islamic scholar with the corresponding accomplishment.
Al-Kindi

A)argued that vision occurred through signals or rays originating in objects that im-pressed themselves on the eyes
B)described and promoted Indo-Arabic numerals
C)described the Floating Man thought experiment

Question 46

Match the definition with the appropriate philosophical term.
idealism

A)Behind everyday sensory experience lies something more fundamental and ulti-mate.
B)Knowledge comes first and primarily through sensory experiences of the external world.
C)Knowledge is the result of reason.
D)Knowledge is the result of the innate faculties of the human mind.

Question 47

Islamic scholars who preserved and elaborated upon classical Greek philosophy also sought to make these ideas compatible with their monotheistic faith.During Europe's intellectual reawakening a similar process occurred and scholars interpreted these ideas so that they harmonized with

A) Islam.
B) democracy.
C) Christianity.
D) oligarchy.

Question 48

As a young man,__________ often made trips with his merchant father to North Africa,during which time he learned of Indo-Arabic numerals.Following this discovery he wrote a book in Latin,Liber Abaci (Book of Calculations),describing the uses and importance of this system.

A) Leonardo Fibonacci
B) René Descartes
C) Thomas Aquinas
D) Democritus

Question 49

Match the definition with the appropriate philosophical term.
nativism

A)Behind everyday sensory experience lies something more fundamental and ulti-mate.
B)Knowledge comes first and primarily through sensory experiences of the external world.
C)Knowledge is the result of reason.
D)Knowledge is the result of the innate faculties of the human mind.

Question 50

Match the definition with the corresponding component of Aristotle's system of causes.
efficient cause

A)the actions or interactions that bring the caused thing into being
B)the idea or plan behind a caused thing
C)the purpose for which the thing is caused
D)the substance out of which something is made

Question 51

Match the philosophical position or theory with the classical Greek philosopher.
Democritus

A)atomic theory
B)empiricism
C)nativism

Question 52

Match the definition with the corresponding component of Aristotle's system of causes.
formal cause

A)the actions or interactions that bring the caused thing into being
B)the idea or plan behind a caused thing
C)the purpose for which the thing is caused
D)the substance out of which something is made

Question 53

A series of numbers in which each new number is the sum of the two numbers preceding it is called

A) the prime sequence.
B) the Pythagorean theorem.
C) the Fibonacci sequence.
D) Indo-Arabic numerals.

Question 54

Match the definition with the corresponding component of Aristotle's system of causes.
material cause

A)the actions or interactions that bring the caused thing into being
B)the idea or plan behind a caused thing
C)the purpose for which the thing is caused
D)the substance out of which something is made

Question 55

Match the definition with the appropriate philosophical term.
rationalism

A)Behind everyday sensory experience lies something more fundamental and ulti-mate.
B)Knowledge comes first and primarily through sensory experiences of the external world.
C)Knowledge is the result of reason.
D)Knowledge is the result of the innate faculties of the human mind.

Question 56

The reintroduction of classical Greek ideas into Western Europe took place within

A) Aristotle's Lyceum.
B) universities that had existed for centuries.
C) the Epicurean Garden.
D) newly established universities.

Question 57

Match the Islamic scholar with the corresponding accomplishment.
Alhazen

A)argued that vision occurred through signals or rays originating in objects that im-pressed themselves on the eyes
B)described and promoted Indo-Arabic numerals
C)described the Floating Man thought experiment

Question 58

Match the Islamic scholar with the corresponding accomplishment.
Avicenna

A)argued that vision occurred through signals or rays originating in objects that im-pressed themselves on the eyes
B)described and promoted Indo-Arabic numerals
C)described the Floating Man thought experiment

Question 59

Match the definition with the appropriate philosophical term.
empiricism

A)Behind everyday sensory experience lies something more fundamental and ulti-mate.
B)Knowledge comes first and primarily through sensory experiences of the external world.
C)Knowledge is the result of reason.
D)Knowledge is the result of the innate faculties of the human mind.

Question 60

Match the philosophical position or theory with the classical Greek philosopher.
Plato

A)atomic theory
B)empiricism
C)nativism

Question 61

Match the description with the appropriate Aristotelian term.
sensitive soul

A)possessed by organisms with the function of reason
B)possessed by organisms with the functions of locomotion,sensation,memory,and imagination
C)possessed by organisms with the functions of nourishment and reproduction

Question 62

Match the conception of the rational psyche with the philosopher who proposed it.
Plato

A)It contains innate ideal forms that are only approximated by empirical experience.
B)It contains an innate capacity for self-awareness and is actively conscious even in the absence of external stimulation.
C)It contains innately a set of categories into which its concrete experiences can be classified.
D)It is nothing more than a collection of material particles reacting to the impacts upon it of other material particles.

Question 63

Match the English language definition with its corresponding Greek word.
philosophia

A)"love of wisdom"
B)mind
C)reason

Question 64

Match the classical Greek philosopher with the corresponding description of his work.
Protagoras

A)argued it was pointless to attempt to understand the ultimate nature of the uni-verse and better to focus on human experience
B)discussed the sometimes ambiguous relationship between stability and change
C)argued that individuals should pursue socially responsible happiness rather than worry about the whims of the gods
D)explored the concept of infinity

Question 65

Match the conception of the rational psyche with the philosopher who proposed it.
Epicurus

A)It contains innate ideal forms that are only approximated by empirical experience.
B)It contains an innate capacity for self-awareness and is actively conscious even in the absence of external stimulation.
C)It contains innately a set of categories into which its concrete experiences can be classified.
D)It is nothing more than a collection of material particles reacting to the impacts upon it of other material particles.

Question 66

Match the description with the corresponding institution.
The Garden

A)Center for teaching and learning established by Plato
B)School in Athens directed by Aristotle
C)School in Athens founded by Epicurus

Question 67

Match the English language definition with its corresponding Greek word.
psyche

A)"love of wisdom"
B)mind
C)reason

Question 68

Match the English language definition with its corresponding Greek word.
logos

A)"love of wisdom"
B)mind
C)reason

Question 69

Match the description with the appropriate Aristotelian term.
vegetative soul

A)possessed by organisms with the function of reason
B)possessed by organisms with the functions of locomotion,sensation,memory,and imagination
C)possessed by organisms with the functions of nourishment and reproduction

Question 70

Match the classical Greek philosopher with the corresponding description of his work.
Epicurus

A)argued it was pointless to attempt to understand the ultimate nature of the uni-verse and better to focus on human experience
B)discussed the sometimes ambiguous relationship between stability and change
C)argued that individuals should pursue socially responsible happiness rather than worry about the whims of the gods
D)explored the concept of infinity

Question 71

Match the description with the corresponding institution.
Lyceum

A)Center for teaching and learning established by Plato
B)School in Athens directed by Aristotle
C)School in Athens founded by Epicurus

Question 72

Match the classical Greek philosopher with the corresponding description of his work.
Heraclitus

A)argued it was pointless to attempt to understand the ultimate nature of the uni-verse and better to focus on human experience
B)discussed the sometimes ambiguous relationship between stability and change
C)argued that individuals should pursue socially responsible happiness rather than worry about the whims of the gods
D)explored the concept of infinity

Question 73

Match the conception of the rational psyche with the philosopher who proposed it.
Aristotle

A)It contains innate ideal forms that are only approximated by empirical experience.
B)It contains an innate capacity for self-awareness and is actively conscious even in the absence of external stimulation.
C)It contains innately a set of categories into which its concrete experiences can be classified.
D)It is nothing more than a collection of material particles reacting to the impacts upon it of other material particles.

Question 74

Match the text with the philosopher who wrote the work.
Aristotle

A)De Rerum Natura (or On the Nature of Things)
B)On the Psyche
C)The Republic

Question 75

Match the text with the philosopher who wrote the work.
Lucretius

A)De Rerum Natura (or On the Nature of Things)
B)On the Psyche
C)The Republic

Question 76

Match the description with the appropriate Aristotelian term.
rational soul

A)possessed by organisms with the function of reason
B)possessed by organisms with the functions of locomotion,sensation,memory,and imagination
C)possessed by organisms with the functions of nourishment and reproduction

Question 77

Match the text with the philosopher who wrote the work.
Plato

A)De Rerum Natura (or On the Nature of Things)
B)On the Psyche
C)The Republic

Question 78

Match the description with the corresponding institution.
Academy

A)Center for teaching and learning established by Plato
B)School in Athens directed by Aristotle
C)School in Athens founded by Epicurus

Question 79

Match the classical Greek philosopher with the corresponding description of his work.
Zeno

A)argued it was pointless to attempt to understand the ultimate nature of the uni-verse and better to focus on human experience
B)discussed the sometimes ambiguous relationship between stability and change
C)argued that individuals should pursue socially responsible happiness rather than worry about the whims of the gods
D)explored the concept of infinity

Question 80

Match the conception of the rational psyche with the philosopher who proposed it.
Avicenna

A)It contains innate ideal forms that are only approximated by empirical experience.
B)It contains an innate capacity for self-awareness and is actively conscious even in the absence of external stimulation.
C)It contains innately a set of categories into which its concrete experiences can be classified.
D)It is nothing more than a collection of material particles reacting to the impacts upon it of other material particles.