Deck 6: The Great Schools

Question 1

Confucius believed that human beings were essentially

A) evil.
B) good.
C) morally neutral.
D) sinful.

Answer 1

morally neutral.

Question 2

The Jewish diaspora to Babylon began in

A) 700 B.C.E.
B) 680 B.C.E.
C) 580 B.C.E.
D) 500 B.C.E.

Answer 2

580 B.C.E.

Question 3

According to the concept of Indian henotheism,

A) there is only one god.
B) there are many gods.
C) there are gods, but they do not care about humans.
D) many gods collectively represent a divine unity.

Answer 3

many gods collectively represent a divine unity.

Question 4

Early Buddhist texts describe the notion of reincarnation as:

A) based on the ethical behavior during the previous incarnation.
B) automatically recycling the soul to a "higher" state.
C) accessible only to elites in monasteries.
D) more likely to take place for women than for men.

Question 5

By the eight or ninth century B.C.E.all of the following generally describe Jewish people and culture EXCEPT:

A) Jews had settled in and around the Jordan valley.
B) Year after year considerable attention was paid to raising and storing grain to prevent famine.
C) Women were valuable contributors to the agricultural economy, but had far fewer rights than Jewish men.
D) Jewish states refused to force war captives or royal subjects to collect and guard food supplies.

Question 6

The historical figure known as Jesus was a teacher who came out of the

A) Zoroastrian tradition.
B) Greek tradition.
C) Roman tradition.
D) Jewish tradition.

Question 7

Which most closely reflects Aristotle's attitude about the importance of human and animal souls?

A) Aristotle believed human souls were rational and therefore more important than those of animals.
B) Aristotle believed God created human souls to be superior.
C) Aristotle believed that all souls, human and animal, were kindred.
D) Aristotle denied that animals had souls.

Question 8

According to the creation story told in India,Brahman created the world

A) from chaos.
B) from the void.
C) from himself.
D) from atoms.

Question 9

According to Plato,political power in a state should be in the hands of

A) the people.
B) aristocrats.
C) kings.
D) philosophers.

Question 10

During the periods in which the Jews experienced conquest,dispersal,a return to Jerusalem,and foreign rule they relied on which of the following to preserve their culture?

A) a series of kings, each who defined new rules and rituals for worship
B) a covenant to one God who promised deliverance as a reward for loyalty and fidelity
C) incorporation of popular religious practices from neighboring kingdoms
D) Egyptian ideas about social organization and the afterlife

Question 11

Indian philosophers of the Nyaya School claimed that

A) reason existed in human beings naturally and not as a result of any divine force.
B) reason was an extraordinary perception that God conferred on people.
C) reason was based on the senses and, therefore, was always to be distrusted.
D) reason was an ability to comprehend the world in a manner that made God or gods unnecessary.

Question 12

A Chinese belief system that focuses on following proper ethical practices within a strict hierarchy is called

A) Daoism.
B) Legalism.
C) Buddhism.
D) Confucianism.

Question 13

The Greek mathematician Pythagoras is famous for his theorem and for the idea

A) of zero.
B) that musical harmonies can be expressed mathematically.
C) of pi.
D) of a system of notation that enabled the calculation of extremely large numbers.

Question 14

Important evidence that the early Jews were primarily a pastoral people may be seen in

A) the sacrifice of Cain and Abel.
B) the sacrifice of David and Saul.
C) the story of Noah.
D) the story of Adam.

Question 15

Daoist philosophers believed that geometry and mathematics

A) were meaningless.
B) were important in understanding underlying realities.
C) were dangerous practices that could result in moral collapse.
D) were difficult but necessary parts of an education.

Question 16

Approximately where and when did Zoroastrianism begin?

A) in China during the seventh century B.C.E.
B) in Greece during the fifth century B.C.E.
C) in Iran during the early sixth century B.C.E.
D) in India during the eighth century B.C.E.

Question 17

Rationalism is a doctrine that holds that

A) reason accompanied by faith in higher powers leads to enlightenment.
B) knowledge may only be gained through meditation.
C) unaided reason can elicit truth.
D) an excuse can be made up for any occasion.

Question 18

In the Christian Gospel of John,creation is connected with

A) the logos.
B) feeling.
C) a rearrangement of prior matter.
D) expansion from a tiny core.

Question 19

Confucian philosophy emphasized

A) religious morality to guide human behavior, but little interest in science.
B) knowledge through scientific practice, but little interest in religion.
C) knowledge through science, but also focused on religion.
D) interest in human affairs, but little in science or religion.

Question 20

The religion founded by Gautama Siddharta focuses on

A) escape from desire.
B) ascetic practices to free the soul from evil.
C) salvation of the soul through avoidance of sin.
D) devotion to gods as a means of gaining entry to heaven.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT something that we share with thinkers of the axial age?

A) political thought
B) philosophical thought
C) economic thought
D) religious thought

Question 22

Buddha,Jesus,and Socrates were all teachers who were also similar because

A) they came from wealthy backgrounds.
B) they wrote nothing.
C) they taught that enlightenment comes from meditation.
D) they were rationalists.

Question 23

In addition to professional intellectuals,which of the following were categories of axial age sages?

A) military leaders, prophets, and charismatic leaders
B) political advisors, prophets, and wealthy aristocrats
C) wealthy patrons, prophets, and political leaders
D) political advisors, prophets, and charismatic leaders

Question 24

A key reason that geometry and mathematics are important in many philosophical traditions is that

A) these disciplines also have practical uses for everyday life.
B) these areas of study are essential to the movement of the stars and planets.
C) they help to develop the logical faculties of the human mind.
D) they show that reality can be invisible and untouchable, yet open to reason.

Question 25

What common problems did the new axial age religious and political concepts address? What commonalities characterize the religious and political responses to these problems?

Question 26

According to the Greek medical writer Hippocrates,disease could be explained

A) by some natural causes and by oaths sworn by doctors.
B) by natural causes alone.
C) as a result of atoms swerving about.
D) as a result of acts of the gods.

Question 27

A good example of a dualist religion is

A) Christianity.
B) Buddhism.
C) Zoroastrianism.
D) Islam.

Question 28

In what key ways did scientific and medical knowledge challenge old illusions about physical reality?

Question 29

The Greek philosopher Epicurus believed that

A) one should lead a life in pursuit of pleasure.
B) there are moral absolutes.
C) the key to happiness was participation in the life of the community.
D) the gods participate in our lives.

Question 30

Alexander the Great's tutor was

A) Plato.
B) Epicurus.
C) Aristotle.
D) Zeno.

Question 31

Xunzi,a Chinese medical specialist,wrote that if a person attempted to cure rheumatism by beating a drum and sacrificing a pig to the gods,then

A) the rheumatism would be cured.
B) the rheumatism would get better, but the person would not be happy.
C) the drum would be worn out, and the pig would be gone.
D) the rheumatism would not get better because the person should have played a flute and sacrificed a chicken instead.

Question 32

Stoicism had an enormous effect on

A) Christianity.
B) Skepticism.
C) Platonism.
D) Aristotelianism.

Question 33

In what ways were Greek,Chinese,and Indian science similar during this period?

Question 34

What were three key areas in which axial age thinkers put forward new religious concepts?

Question 35

What is meant by the term "axial age," and why is it an appropriate term for the intellectual developments of the ancient world?

Question 36

Which of the following lists of philosophers and religious leaders is correctly ordered from the oldest to most recent?

A) Confucius, Nyaya School, Zoroaster, Epicurus
B) Pythagoras, Mahavira, Zeno, Jesus
C) Zoroaster, Confucius, Nyaya School, Han Feizi
D) Jewish sages, Plato, Confucius, Epicurus

Question 37

Buddhism initially developed in

A) China.
B) India.
C) Japan.
D) Korea.

Question 38

In the fragments of dialogues between sages and rulers that appear in the Vedas,

A) rulers sometimes defeat the arguments of the sages.
B) sages always defeat the arguments of the rulers.
C) sages simply lecture to the rulers.
D) rulers merely explain to sages the correct way.

Question 39

What is the primary reason that the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa only shared in axial age thinking much later?

A) isolating geography
B) no sizable political states
C) failure to develop mathematical thinking
D) no written languages

Question 40

Which of the following relationships between royal patron and sage is incorrect?

A) Mozi and Chu
B) Buddha and Kosala
C) Mahavira and Mosala
D) Zoroaster and Persia

Question 41

What comparisons can be made between the axial age and the way culture radiates outward from kernel regions in other parts of the world?

Question 42

How did the existence of patronage by rulers affect the development of philosophy in at least two specific cases?

Question 43

Why did a variety of philosophies flourish in the Mediterranean world?

Question 44

Discuss and compare the invention and influence of Buddhism and Confucian thought on Indian and Chinese societies in the era around 500 B.C.E.

Question 45

What are the chief differences between the religious philosophies of Southwest Asia and those that developed elsewhere in Asia and in Europe?

Question 46

Write a focused essay that explains the central features that have led most historians to consider the 500 years before Christianity the axial age.Consider the importance of geography,religious and secular thought,as well as social and political developments that shaped this period.

Question 47

How are population density,density of communications networks,and social complexity related to the rise of axial age thinking?
In Perspective

Question 48

How do Greek,Chinese,and Indian concepts about physical reality continue to influence our view of the world today?

Question 49

What are at least two different examples of networks or schools that stimulated innovation in thought? Only one should be Western.

Question 50

How were Chinese and Greek philosophers similar in some of their concerns?

Question 51

What role did Buddhism gradually play in India and China?

Question 52

How do the four categories of axial age sages relate to the variety of social and political needs their thoughts addressed?