philo

Question 1

Who were the Pre-Socratics?

Answer 1

Philosophers before Socrates (6th–5th centuries BCE) who focused on natural philosophy, cosmology, and metaphysics.

Question 2

What did Thales believe was the fundamental substance of all things?

Answer 2

Water.

Question 3

What is Anaximander’s concept of the underlying principle of reality?

Answer 3

The Boundless (Apeiron), an infinite and indefinite substance.

Question 4

Define the Boundless in Anaximander’s philosophy.

Answer 4

An eternal, limitless principle that underlies all things.

Question 5

What was Xenophanes known for?

Answer 5

Criticizing anthropomorphic conceptions of the gods and advocating for a single, supreme divine being.

Question 6

What is epistemology?

Answer 6

The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge, its nature, sources, and limits.

Question 7

What did Heraclitus emphasize as the fundamental nature of reality?

Answer 7

Change, symbolized by fire, and introduced the idea of the Logos.

Question 8

What was Parmenides’ main argument about reality?

Answer 8

Change and plurality are illusions; reality is a single, unchanging, and indivisible being.

Question 9

What is monism?

Answer 9

The belief that reality is fundamentally one substance or entity.

Question 10

Who was Zeno and what was he known for?

Answer 10

A student of Parmenides known for paradoxes that challenge the coherence of motion and plurality.

Question 11

What is atomism?

Answer 11

The belief that all things are composed of small, indivisible particles (atoms).

Question 12

Who is considered the first philosopher?

Answer 12

Thales.

Question 13

What did Socrates focus on in his philosophy?

Answer 13

Ethics and self-examination.

Question 14

Define the Socratic Method.

Answer 14

A form of cooperative dialogue involving questioning to stimulate critical thinking and expose contradictions.

Question 15

What is moral relativism?

Answer 15

The view that moral values are not absolute but depend on cultural, historical, or personal circumstances.

Question 16

What is virtue ethics?

Answer 16

A moral philosophy that emphasizes character and virtues rather than rules or consequences.

Question 17

Who was Plato’s teacher?

Answer 17

Socrates.

Question 18

What are the Platonic Dialogues?

Answer 18

Philosophical writings by Plato, presented as conversations featuring Socrates.

Question 19

What are Platonic Forms?

Answer 19

Plato’s theory that abstract, non-physical Forms (Ideas) are the most real and fundamental entities.

Question 20

Define metaphysics.

Answer 20

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of reality, existence, and being.

Question 21

What does The Allegory of the Cave illustrate?

Answer 21

How people mistake illusions for reality and must be educated to see the truth.

Question 22

What is consequentialism?

Answer 22

A moral theory that judges actions based on their outcomes.

Question 23

What is moral realism?

Answer 23

The belief that moral truths exist independently of human beliefs.

Question 24

What is The Republic about?

Answer 24

Plato’s work discussing justice, the ideal state, and the philosopher-king.

Question 25

Who was Aristotle?

Answer 25

A student of Plato known for contributions to logic, ethics, politics, and metaphysics.

Question 26

What is a syllogism?

Answer 26

A logical argument with two premises leading to a conclusion.

Question 27

What are first principles?

Answer 27

Basic foundational truths from which further knowledge is derived.

Question 28

What is the Unmoved Mover in Aristotle's philosophy?

Answer 28

A necessary being that causes motion without being moved itself.

Question 29

Who was Al-Kindī?

Answer 29

A medieval Islamic philosopher known for integrating Greek philosophy with Islamic thought.

Question 30

What is Neoplatonism?

Answer 30

A philosophical movement based on Plato’s ideas, emphasizing a hierarchical structure of reality.

Question 31

Who synthesized Plato and Aristotle’s ideas with Islamic philosophy?

Answer 31

Al-Fārābi.

Question 32

Who is Avicenna?

Answer 32

An Islamic philosopher who developed theories on metaphysics, the soul, and the distinction between essence and existence.

Question 33

What did Maimonides seek to reconcile?

Answer 33

Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish theology.

Question 34

Define negative theology.

Answer 34

A theological approach that describes God by negation.

Question 35

What is Divine Command Theory?

Answer 35

The view that moral rightness depends on God's commands.

Question 36

Who is Anselm of Canterbury?

Answer 36

A medieval philosopher known for the ontological argument for God's existence.

Question 37

What is ontology?

Answer 37

The study of being and existence.

Question 38

Who integrated Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology?

Answer 38

Thomas Aquinas.

Question 39

Who is Descartes?

Answer 39

A 17th-century philosopher known for rationalism, skepticism, and mind-body dualism.

Question 40

What is First Philosophy?

Answer 40

Descartes' term for metaphysics.

Question 41

Define skepticism.

Answer 41

The view that certain or absolute knowledge is impossible.

Question 42

What is the Archimedean Point?

Answer 42

Descartes’ idea of finding an unquestionable foundation for knowledge.

Question 43

What is The Cogito?

Answer 43

Descartes’ phrase 'Cogito, ergo sum' ('I think, therefore I am').

Question 44

What is the Watchmaker Theory?

Answer 44

A teleological argument suggesting a designer (God) for the universe.

Question 45

Define mind-body dualism.

Answer 45

Descartes’ theory that the mind and body are distinct substances.

Question 46

What is provisional morality?

Answer 46

Descartes’ temporary ethical rules to follow while seeking certainty.

Question 47

Who was Hobbes?

Answer 47

A political philosopher who argued for a strong sovereign authority to prevent chaos.

Question 48

What is hedonism?

Answer 48

The ethical view that pleasure is the highest good.

Question 49

Define the State of Nature.

Answer 49

A theoretical condition of humanity before government and laws.

Question 50

What is Leviathan?

Answer 50

Hobbes’ book advocating for absolute monarchy as necessary for social order.

Question 51

What is the Body Politic?

Answer 51

A metaphor comparing society to a living organism.

Question 52

What is the Social Contract?

Answer 52

The idea that individuals consent to government authority in exchange for security and order.

Question 53

What does political philosophy study?

Answer 53

Government, justice, and the rights of individuals.

Question 54

Who was Locke?

Answer 54

A philosopher who argued for natural rights and government by consent.

Question 55

What is empiricism?

Answer 55

The theory that knowledge comes from sensory experience.

Question 56

Define rationalism.

Answer 56

The view that reason is the primary source of knowledge.

Question 57

What is natural law?

Answer 57

The belief in moral principles inherent in human nature.

Question 58

Who was Hume?

Answer 58

A philosopher known for skepticism, empiricism, and theories of causation.

Question 59

What is causation according to Hume?

Answer 59

We infer cause and effect from habit, not certainty.

Question 60

What is the Is/Ought Problem?

Answer 60

Hume’s argument that moral statements cannot be derived from factual statements.

Question 61

Define sympathy in Hume's philosophy.

Answer 61

A concept of moral sentiment where emotions shape ethical judgments.

Question 62

Who developed deontology?

Answer 62

Kant.

Question 63

What is Kant’s Copernican Revolution?

Answer 63

The shift in philosophy where the mind actively shapes experience.

Question 64

What are subjects and objects in Kant's distinction?

Answer 64

The knowing subject and the known object.

Question 65

What is idealism?

Answer 65

The view that reality is shaped by the mind rather than existing independently.

Question 66

What are phenomena and noumena in Kant's philosophy?

Answer 66

Things as they appear (phenomena) and things as they are in themselves (noumena).

Question 67

What is the Categorical Imperative?

Answer 67

Kant’s principle that moral actions must be universally applicable.

Question 68

Define deontology.

Answer 68

The ethical theory that morality is based on duty and rules.

Question 69

Fill in the blank: Categorical _____ = Kant.

Answer 69

Imperative.