ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS MILESTONE 2. LATEST 2021.Although I am not an atheist, I believe that man’s ingenuity is more reliable than
superstitious
... [Show More] beliefs about the gods.”
The ancient philosopher most likely to make this statement was __________.
● Thales
● Xenophanes
● Protagoras
● Empedocles
RATIONALE
Xenophanes was a Pre-Socratic philosopher who questioned divine explanations for
natural phenomena. While he was not an atheist, he maintained that it is better to rely
on observation and reason than to interpret events as signs from the gods or
evidence of their intervention.
CONCEPT
Cosmology and the First Philosophers
2
Choose the FALSE statement about Aristotle’s ethics.
● The important question is “What kind of person should I be?”
● Something is good when it excels at its function.
● Virtue is cultivated as a mean between extremes.
● Ethics is determined by the consequences of the action.
RATIONALE
Aristotle did not believe that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by
the consequences of that action. Rather, he proposed in his ethics that an action is
good when it enables a human to excel at its function. This is known as his Function
Argument.
CONCEPT
Aristotle's Highest Good
3
Select the statement that both Plato and Aristotle would agree is true.
● Humanity is a genuine entity located within each human being.
● The Form of Humanity would exist even if there were no humans.
● Truth must be pursued using logic and reason rather than opinion and beliefs.
● Truth must be arrived at empirically, by examining the world as it is.
RATIONALE
Plato and Aristotle disagree on all of these points except for the statement that truth
must be pursued using logic and reason rather than opinion and beliefs. As
philosophers who were interested in metaphysics and epistemology, both Plato and
Aristotle believed that knowledge (or truth) must be grounded in justification. They
differed as to how that justification is achieved.
CONCEPT
Plato vs. Aristotle: The Mathematician or the Biologist
4
Nancy was talking with a friend about immigration in the U.S. Nancy believes that illegal
immigration to the United States is harmful to the nation, and that anti-immigration laws
should be strictly applied.
Choose the statement by Nancy that demonstrates an inconsistent belief.
● “I hired an immigrant to landscape my yard for much less than my gardener
demanded.”
● “If they break the law to enter the country, it proves that they don’t respect our
laws.”
● “I will not buy vegetables from farmers who use migrant labor.”
● “The United States will become a safe nation when all illegal immigrants are
removed.”
RATIONALE
To live philosophically, it is necessary to examine beliefs to ground them in
knowledge, and to then act according to those beliefs. By making an exception to her
position on immigration to hire a migrant laborer at low cost, Nancy displays an
inconsistent philosophical worldview.
CONCEPT
Philosophical Analysis as a Way of Life
5
Select the FALSE statement about the Crito.
● Crito is Socrates’ friend and wants to help him escape his punishment.
● Socrates says the opinion of many is less important than the opinion of one who
has understanding.
● Not all life has value; only the good life has value.
● Death is something every man fears and tries to avoid.
RATIONALE
In the Crito, Socrates' friend (Crito) tries to convince Socrates to escape and avoid
execution. Socrates refuses, and explains why escape would be wrong. As he did in
the Apology, Socrates asserts that death is not to be feared. He argues that not all life
has intrinsic value; only the good life does. Since he believes that actions to avoid
death would be in opposition to the principles of the good life he lived, Socrates
rejects all such actions.
CONCEPT
The Crito: The Duties of the Social Contract
6
Choose the FALSE statement about the philosophical value of the Socratic Method.
● The teacher imparts knowledge based on experience.
● Truth is discovered through reasoning.
● Students understand why the answer is what it is.
● Existing knowledge is the basis for new knowledge.
RATIONALE
The Socratic Method is not a teaching system in which a teacher communicates
knowledge based on his or her experience to students. Rather, it is an approach that
involves an exchange between student and teacher. In this exchange, the teacher
uses the student's knowledge to guide him or her to a truth. [Show Less]