Multiple Choice (25 pts.)

Directions: Select the best response to each the following questions. On your test write just the letter corresponding to the best answer next to the number of the question. Do not include the question or the full text answer on your paper.

1. John Dewey argues that in education we should
   1. dedicate our studies to preparing for future challenges.
   2. concentrate on our studies in the here and now.
   3. dedicate ourselves so that we can master one field of study.
   4. study as many different fields as possible in order to be able to adapt to changing circumstances.
   5. learn by doing rather than by theory.

2. One of the most important characteristics of philosophical activity is that philosophy
   1. is a rejection of all common sense for theorizing.
   2. seeks facts, rather than relationships between facts.
   3. is an empirical, rather than a conceptual discipline.
   4. is a systematic inquiry into the assumptions of a subject.
   5. is one of the newer social sciences like psychology.

3. The epistemologist attempts to answer the question:
   1. How do we determine the ultimate nature of reality?
   2. What are aesthetics, moral philosophy, and ontology?
   3. What is the difference between induction and induction?
   4. How do we determine whether our beliefs are true or not?
   5. What are the ultimate generalizations of the human intellect?

4. Axiology can be briefly defined as
   1. the study of the assumption of any endeavor.
   2. the discipline concerned with postulates and axioms.
   3. any inquiry into the study of ultimate reality.
   4. the attempt to find out about the good life.
   5. the study of the nature and scope of value.

5. Ontology can be briefly defined as
   1. the study of the nature, scope, and limits of knowledge.
   2. the attempt to live well and do well in the world.
   3. the study of what exists and how it exists.
   4. the study of truth, goodness, and beauty.
   5. the study of the fundamental categories of semiotics.

6. In his trial Socrates is accused of
   1. being an atheist.
   2. being a troublemaker or a gadfly.
   3. doing the sort of things a scientist does.
   4. corrupting the young.
   5. all of the above.

7. The psychological reason why Socrates is being prosecuted is probably that Socrates
   1. believes he is above the law.
   2. is a foreigner and does not understand the law.
   3. was a bother to the influential people of Athens.
   4. sought a virtuous life.
   5. was neglectful of his wife.

8. Socrates refutes the charge that he corrupts the young by pointing out that
   1. the Delphic Oracle commanded him to know himself.
   2. there are no witnesses present to refute him.
   3. he believes in the gods and so is good.
   4. he could not do wrong unintentionally.
   5. his inner voice would not allow him to do so.

9. Socrates refuses exile because
   1. he is over seventy years old.
   2. he refuses to change his questioning and would get into trouble elsewhere.
   3. he could not even pay a small fine.
   4. imprisonment would be better.
   5. all of the above.

10. The most important thing in living a life of excellence is, according to Socrates
    1. to have good health and good friends.
    2. to seek what we think is in our own best interest regardless of moral considerations.
    3. to do only that which we know to be right regardless of the external consequences.
    4. to seek pleasure and avoid pain and do our duty.
    5. to obey our parents and the state who reared us.

11. According to the Socratic Paradox, if a person is in ignorance, then he
    1. is likely to make the wrong decision.
    2. will make bad decisions.
    3. is innocent or not responsible for his choices.
    4. is presumed good until he can be educated.

12. If I choose to cheat on a test in order to get a passing grade, then, other things being equal, according to Socrates,
    1. I really don't understand the nature of the soul.
    2. that act might be acceptable in certain circumstances.
    3. I am only seeking what is most serviceable to myself.
    4. my action is good, if the consequences are such that I pass.

13. According to Russell, philosophy aims at
    1. the study of knowledge which unifies the sciences.
    2. the examination of the assumptions or presuppositions of our beliefs.
    3. reducing dogmatic beliefs.
    4. the discovery of new methods or definite knowledge systems which become sciences
    5. all of the above.

14. According to Russell, the value of philosophy lies in
    1. the great aims of truth, good, beauty, and reality.
    2. freeing us from narrow and practical aims for our life.
    3. the uncertainty which shows unsuspected possibilities which might not occur to a dogmatic person.
    4. all of the above.
    5. none of the above.

15. Both Plato and Russell agree that
    1. philosophy is highly impractical in everyday life
    2. Socrates exemplifies the instinctive man.
    3. knowledge, and indeed self-knowledge, are necessary for a good life.
    4. the philosophic mind is primarily that of self-assertion rather than ``enlargement of self.''
    5. sometimes it is better to do that which is known to be wrong for the sake of a noble end.

16. According to Russell,
    1. knowledge is sought by both philosophy and science.
    2. a value of philosophy is its reduction of dogmatism.
    3. science is concerned with definite answers.
    4. none of the above are true.
    5. all of the above are true.

17. Russell describes the practical person as one who
    1. believes that nothing can ever be proved to be true.
    2. seeks enlargement of self through synoptic philosophy.
    3. as one who is aware of a larger world beyond his private world.
    4. none of the above are true.
    5. all of the above are true.

18. According to Tolstoy, ``the truth'' is
    1. art is a decoy of life.
    2. rational people cannot provide life's meaning.
    3. our life is limited.
    4. a mid-life crisis is inevitable.
    5. Christian doctrines give value to life.

19. An arrest of life as described by Tolstoy is
    1. a physical illness which limits what we can do.
    2. a questioning of a person's religious obligations.
    3. asking the questions, ``How?, When?, and Where?''
    4. loss of mental and physical powers.
    5. a loss of meaning to whatever one does.

20. Tolstoy felt that philosophy cannot provide the meaning of life because
    1. philosophical reasoning is really only the statement of identities.
    2. philosophy can only express finite ideas.
    3. rationality reduces life to the insignificant.
    4. philosophy cannot explain the infinite.
    5. all of the above are true.

21. Tolstoy rejected art and literature as giving life meaning because
    1. art is an imitation of life.
    2. art is a decoy of life.
    3. art is just an adornment of life.
    4. all of the above are true.
    5. none of the above are true.

22. Tolstoy characterizes the faith that gives life meaning as
    1. irrational and nonphilosophical.
    2. showing a relation between finite existence and infinite meaning.
    3. as a rejection of science, philosophy, and reason.
    4. the kind of faith that makes life possible.
    5. all of the above.

23. Camus believes we can find a meaning in life if we
    1. realize that fate predetermines our life course.
    2. keep our face close to the ``stones we must roll up our hills.''
    3. have scorn for the limitations of everyday existence.
    4. understand the Absurd as the sinfulness of man.
    5. succeed in the permanent placement of the stone on the mountain.

24. Camus implies that the fundamental question of life's meaning is
    1. how life can have meaning through eluding when we get old.
    2. the recognition that all our actions are fated.
    3. achieved when we impose meaning on our actions.
    4. found through self-realization of our goals in the world.
    5. something that can never be answered with certainty.

25. Existentialists like Camus and Tolstoy believe
    1. the universe including human action is a coordinated network of causes
    2. God determines the future and has a plan for everyone.
    3. in every situation people have a choice of some kind.
    4. free will and choice are illusions of chance happenings.
    5. human beings can never achieve meaning in this fated world.