1. True or False: In his essay "The meaning of life" Taylor argues that life is meaningless and therefore the only meaningful thing you could do would be to kill yourself.
A. True
B. False
2. True or False: In "Appearance and Reality" Bertrand Russell argues that we cannot know about the real objects in the world exist, except that they are the causes of our sense-data."
A. True
B. False
3. Epictetus points out an important distinction between which of the following two things? The opinions of the wealthy and the opinions of the poor.
A. Athens and Rome.
B. What is in one's power and what is not.
C. Slave and master.
D. None of the above.
4. Which of the following states Susan Wolf's position on the meaning of life in her essay "Meaning in Life"?
A. There is no objective meaning to life, like Taylor claims, but there is a subjective meaning if you are actively engaged in a project of worth.
B. Some projects that at a person might engage in are not meaningful and worthwhile.
C. Both of the above.
D. None of the above.
5. True or False: In his "Dear White America" letter, Yancy argues that even though he doesn't intend to be a sexist, and even though he consciously hates sexism, nonetheless he is a sexist because he perpetuates sexism, despite his best intentions.
A. True
B. False
6. True or False: "One reason to believe Determinism is true is if you believe that the universe is entirely physical, because everything in the physical world is deterministic."
A. True
B. False
7. True or False: "Rawls' believes that justice has nothing to do with the social contract, i.e. Rawls is not a Contractarian."
A. True
B. False
8. Which of the following best states Epicurus's advice on how to to deal with problems in life involving how other people treat you?
A. Realize that you are not in control of the will of other people and that is only rational to concern yourself with what you can control.
B. Recognize that the gods (or God) have a plan for you and that you should be worried about how the gods see you, not other people.
C. Take pleasure in the things in life you do have, in the company of people who are your friends, and don't desire more fame, respect, and wealth.
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
9. True or False: Epictetus disagrees with Epicurus and argues that we should fear death."
A. True
B. False
10. Utilitarianism, in simple terms, is the theory that we should always act...
A. According to the rule that we should always bring about the best overall outcome for everyone who is affected.
B. According to a universal moral law that requires we respect the autonomy of all rational beings no matter the consequences.
C. According to the dictates of the implicit contract that all humans have agreed to live under
D. According to the idea of morality that is exemplified by the people that are considered to be heroes in our culture.
E. All of the above.
11. True or False; "Epicurus believes that the most important virtues that you need to have, without which you cannot be happy, are courage and a strong work-ethic."
A. True
B. False
12. The form of oppression that Young calls "marginalization" most commonly occurs when...
A. Some people have lower status than others.
B. The fruits of some people's labor are transferred to benefit others.
C. Some groups suffer from systematic, unpunished violence.
D. The labor market cannot or will not employ some people.
E. All of the above.
13. True or False: "Taylor argues that the lives of animals are meaningless but human life is fundamentally different in that the meaning of our life is to leave something behind for future generations."
A. True
B. False
14. Which of the following best states the conclusion that Kemtrup argued for in the class where he read a portion of "The Velveteen Rabbit?"
A. It is easy to be happy if you have been loved and "made Real" like the rabbit.
B. It is not easy to be love another person and make them "Real" unless you are happy.
C. It is possible to be the sort of person who can choose their essence if you have been loved and made "Real."
D. It is only possible to be made "Real," i.e. to be the sort of person who finds life meaningful, if you love another more than yourself.
E. All of the above.
15. True or False: "Taylor argues that if Sisyphus were able to feel happy and complete his task, then his life would be meaningful, but since Sisyphus will never complete his task, he will never be happy and his life will be objectively meaningful. And the same is true of us."
A. True
B. False
16. Even if people in a social group have access to a comfortable material life, marginalization can still be oppressive, according to Young. Why?
A. Marginalized people are more likely to face violence as a form of oppression.
B. Marginalized people are always also economically exploited.
C. Marginalized people are not independent or autonomous.
D. None of the above.
17. True or False: "Sartre believes that human beings get to choose what sort of person they are and they are completely free to choose what they want."
A. True
B. False
18. True or False: "Sisyphus was condemned by the gods to build a great temple on Mount Olympus."
A. True
B. False
19. True or False: "If Hard Determinism is true, then it would become hard to see how Sartre's position on the meaning of life could be true."
A. True
B. False
20. Which of the following best states what Sartre means when he says that we are "forlorn."
A. When you make a choice it is hard to know who to go to for advice.
B. When you make a choice you should choose the morally right action but you need advice to do to make a good choice.
C. When you make a choice, there is no basis for making it outside of yourself.
D. When you make a choice, you need to find something other than how you feel to help you figure out what to do.
21. True or False: "According to Young, all acts of violence are also acts of oppression."
A. True
B. False
22. Which of the following describes Descartes' goal in writing the Meditations?
A. To show that we know only that we exist
B. To show that we know nothing
C. To show that we only know things a priori
D. To show that we only know things a posteriori
E. None of the above
23. Which of the following is a good example of a pleasure that Epicurus would argue is something that you should focus on getting for yourself
A. Enjoying the weather on a nice day.
B. Enjoying the pride that comes with getting A's on your exams.
C. Enjoying the nice new car you just bought.
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
24. According to Susan Wolf, objective value in a project of worth depends entirely on That the project is pleasurable.
A. The the project is something the person doing it really wants to do.
B. The subjective point of view of the person engaged in makes the person think it is valuable.
C. All of the above.
D. None of the above.
25. True or False; "Epictetus argues that you can never exist as a dead person, in the same way that you did not exist in the past as a not yet living person.
A. True
B. False
26. True or False: "According to Descartes, there is no belief that cannot be doubted."
A. True
B. False
27. According to Epictetus, a person's master is..."
A. Whoever controls what that person wants.
B. The rich merchant.
C. The oracle.
D. The government.
E. All of the above.
28. True or False: Schopenhauer, in "he Vanity of Existence," states that if you can avoid having desires at all, thereby avoid suffering when you cannot get your desires fulfilled, then you would feel (subjectively) that life is meaningful, even if human existence is (objectively) ultimately vain and pointless.
A. True
B. False
29. Which of the following best states Berkeley's reasons for believing that "to be is to be perceived?"
A. You can't form an idea of something real because you can only know that real objects exist as the causes of our ideas.
B. You can't form an idea of something real except by imagining what it would look like to your senses from a certain perspective
C. You can never be sure if you can trust your senses about what is real because you never know if you are dreaming.
D. Everything is an idea in the mind of God.
E. All of the above.
30. True or False: "Soft determinism implies that we are never truly responsible for our actions because all of our actions are determined."
A. True
B. False
31. Which of the following would Nozick not claim to be unjust if the government did it?
A. Punishing a thief by making him pay back his victim
B. Banning people from selling and buying dangerous drugs
C. Requiring companies to not lie about their products
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
31. True or False: "According to Al Ghazali, in order to have knowledge that some belief is you true, your belief must be safe from error, i.e. it must be that you know it cannot be false."
A. True
B. False
32. Which of the following best states what Hobbes believes about what the state of nature would be like.
A. Without law and government, people would be kind and caring and would organize into tribes where members of the tribe would take care of each other.
B. Without law and government, people would cooperate with each other and be kind and altruistic some of the time, but they would also be selfish and violent at other times.
C. Without law and government, people would be selfish and violent all of the time and life would be horrific.
D. Without law and government, people would isolate themselves and live alone.
33. True or False: "Based on what she says in "The Five Faces of Oppression," Iris Marion Young would state that affirmative action policies that make it harder for middle-class and upper-class white men to get into elite colleges are a form of oppression of white men."
A. True
B. False
34. True or False: "According to Epictetus, one should show sympathy for someone else's grief but not become too invested in grieving the loss of anyone."
A. True
B. False
35. By "cultural imperialism," Young means the experience of living in a society where...
A. Some people believe stereotypes about minority groups.
B. Western culture is exported to developing nations.
C. Certain groups are excluded from the labor market.
D. A dominant group becomes the "normal" perspective.
E. All of the above.
36. Which of the following best states Taylor's position on the meaning of life in his essay "The meaning of life?"
A. If God exists, then life is objectively meaningful.
B. If all of our projects could be successfully finished, then life would be objectively meaningful.
C. If we believed that our lives were meaningful and enjoyed them, then our lives would be objectively meaningful
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
37. True or False: "Taylor, states that any life that consists of endless, repetitive activity that comes to nothing is subjectively meaningless."
A. True
B. False
38. True or False: "Yancy believes that a white person can stop being a racist against black people if that white person tries hard to better herself, works hard enough and long enough to change her own biases, and spends her life fighting against racial oppression."
A. True
B. False
39. Which of the following best states Sartre's beliefs about existence and essence?
A. For objects we make like machines, essence precedes existence.
B. If God exists and created people to perform a function, then our essence precedes existence.
C. A person's existence precedes their essence.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
40. True or False: "In ‘De Rerum Natura,' Lucretius states that we know that every event that happens can be explained without resorting to claiming that "the Gods did it" or "it was a miracle," because we know that no event can happen without something that caused it to happen."
A. True
B. False
41. According to Iris Marion Young, as a social group, women are exploited when they...
A. Have little creativity or autonomy at work.
B. Are excluded from the labor market.
C. Perform tasks for men and are not compensated.
D. Suffer from gender-related violence.
E. All of the above.