Deck 1: What Is Philosophy?

Question 1

A "normative question" deals with

A) justice and injustice.
B) beauty.
C) right and wrong.
D) the customary norms of society.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Philosophy examines the basic assumptions of

A) science.
B) politics.
C) art.
D) everything.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Socrates was condemned to death for

A) corrupting the youth.
B) refusing to go to war.
C) siding with the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War.
D) mocking the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When doing philosophy it is best support your point with

A) arguments.
B) appeals to authority.
C) Holy Scripture.
D) the sayings of great philosophers.

Question 5

It has been claimed that philosophy is dead because

A) all the questions of philosophy have been answered.
B) since there are no answers to the questions of philosophy, it is pointless to ask them.
C) modern science has replaced philosophy as the pursuit of truth.
D) philosophy is useless for social change.

Question 6

Everyone is compelled to think philosophically at some point in his or her life because

A) we inevitably face questions about how to live.
B) philosophy classes are required for earning a college degree.
C) social progress is impossible without philosophic theories.
D) every question in human life is ultimately a philosophic question.

Question 7

A pluralist society is one in which

A) many, rather than few, people live together.
B) people with widely differing worldviews live together.
C) the wise philosophers rule over the ignorant many.
D) no opinions are better than any others.

Question 8

Even if philosophy can't answer a question it takes up, it can still be useful by

A) making clear the limitations of one's knowledge.
B) achieving a deeper understanding of other people's views.
C) providing a better understanding of each other.
D) All of the above

Question 9

Explain what makes a question "philosophical."

Question 10

What are the possible benefits (or costs) to thinking philosophically?