Question 1

Nagel argues that we can't escape absurdity, even through higher projects, like those of religion.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Which of the following isn't a problem Nagel considers for his thesis?

Accepted Answer

A)  The idea that something can only be bad for someone if he or she experience it 
B)  The notion that for many people we can live beyond our deaths 
C)  The idea that there is no subject for death to be bad for 
D)  The asymmetry between our attitudes toward prenatal and posthumous nonexistence

Question 3

Leo Tolstoy holds that life is not meaningless, so long as we can experience new pleasures.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

Priorism is the view that

Accepted Answer

A)  death is bad for the deceased before their death. 
B)  death is bad for the deceased after their death. 
C)  death is bad for the deceased but at no particular time. 
D)  death is not bad for the deceased.

Question 5

Ismael argues that our lives cannot simply be replaced by someone new being born.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Why aren't we comfortable with the seemingly natural limits of human life, according to Nagel?

Accepted Answer

A)  We worry about how our deaths will affect our loved ones 
B)  Our sense of our own experience doesn't embody this idea of natural limits 
C)  Because oftentimes someone lives longer than we do 
D)  Nagel argues that we are comfortable with the natural limits of human life

Question 7

What does a hedonist think makes life meaningful?

Accepted Answer

A)  Eternal life after death 
B)  Pleasant experiences, like cigars or a good pinot noir 
C)  Living a coherent life story 
D)  None of the above

Question 8

Why does Wolf hold that the meaningfulness of one's life cannot merely be subjective?

Accepted Answer

A)  Such subjectivity would allow the possibility that an immoral life is also meaningful 
B)  If it were subjective, it wouldn't be intelligible for someone to live a meaningful life 
C)  All value is objective, according to Wolf 
D)  It would blur the distinction between living a meaningful life and living a life that feels meaningful

Question 9

Why is all animal life meaningless, according to Taylor?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is full of frustrating toil 
B)  It is merely about survival 
C)  It is all for nothing, and goes on without end 
D)  None of the above

Question 10

According to Baillie, existential is typically kept at bay because

Accepted Answer

A)  we infrequently occupy the inside view. 
B)  we infrequently occupy the outside view. 
C)  our mental states follow effortlessly from one another. 
D)  we are hesitant to accept the no-self view.

Question 11

A well-lived life, according to Ismael . . .

Accepted Answer

A)  Forms a unified whole 
B)  Takes into account momentary pleasant experiences 
C)  Involves dying 
D)  All of the above

Question 12

Scheffler argues that we care more about our own survival than the survival of the species.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Why is the fact that we're going to die a possible source of absurdity?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because it means all chains of justification must end arbitrarily 
B)  Because it means nothing we do now matters 
C)  Because there is no final end to the things we do 
D)  (a) and (c)

Question 14

According to Scheffler, one reason traditions matter to us is because

Accepted Answer

A)  they allow us to find a close-knit social group. 
B)  they give us alternative ways of looking at the world. 
C)  they give us new and valuable experiences. 
D)  they achieve a value-based relation with those in the future.

Question 15

Why, for Wolf, ought one care that one's activities be objectively worthwhile?

Accepted Answer

A)  Otherwise, one's life could be both meaningful and immoral 
B)  If one didn't care, one couldn't be sure their life was meaningful 
C)  Justifying one's devotion to some activity in purely subjective terms is practically solipsistic 
D)  Otherwise one is out of touch with reality

Question 16

Atemporalism is the view that

Accepted Answer

A)  death is bad for the deceased before their death. 
B)  death is bad for the deceased after their death. 
C)  death is bad for the deceased but at no particular time. 
D)  death is not bad for the deceased.

Question 17

For Zhuangzi, life gets its value and interest from . . .

Accepted Answer

A)  The change and alteration that we experience in living it 
B)  Experiencing pleasure and avoiding of pain 
C)  The joy and cheer it involves 
D)  Being in tune with the macrocosmic whole

Question 18

Why isn't one's death redressed by a birth somewhere else, according to Ismael?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because when we die, our unique psychological states and intentions go away 
B)  Because death isn't something that needs to be redressed 
C)  Because human life is fungible 
D)  Because there is no narrative connection between our death and their birth

Question 19

To say our values have a conservative dimension means

Accepted Answer

A)  we want the particular people we care about to flourish. 
B)  we want everyone to flourish. 
C)  we want some people, but not others, to flourish. 
D)  we only want ourselves to flourish.

Question 20

According to Nagel, life is absurd simply because we can take an external view of ourselves.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 6: Existential Issues

Nagel argues that we can't escape absurdity, even through higher projects, like those of religion.

Which of the following isn't a problem Nagel considers for his thesis?

Leo Tolstoy holds that life is not meaningless, so long as we can experience new pleasures.

Priorism is the view that

Ismael argues that our lives cannot simply be replaced by someone new being born.

Why aren't we comfortable with the seemingly natural limits of human life, according to Nagel?

What does a hedonist think makes life meaningful?

Why does Wolf hold that the meaningfulness of one's life cannot merely be subjective?

Why is all animal life meaningless, according to Taylor?

According to Baillie, existential is typically kept at bay because

A well-lived life, according to Ismael . . .

Scheffler argues that we care more about our own survival than the survival of the species.

Why is the fact that we're going to die a possible source of absurdity?

According to Scheffler, one reason traditions matter to us is because

Why, for Wolf, ought one care that one's activities be objectively worthwhile?

Atemporalism is the view that

For Zhuangzi, life gets its value and interest from . . .

Why isn't one's death redressed by a birth somewhere else, according to Ismael?

To say our values have a conservative dimension means

According to Nagel, life is absurd simply because we can take an external view of ourselves.