PHL 301 Practice Exam 1 Fall 2011

September 23, 2011

This isn’t as long as the actual exam, which will have five additional questions, but Ihope it gives you the flavor.

A. Aristotle B. Plato C. Confucius D. Kant E. Laozi F. Mill

1. Without acquaintance with propriety, it’s impossible to establish one’s character.

2. . . . the function of man is an activity of soul which follows or implies a rationalprinciple. . . .

3. . . . the greatest thing a man can do is to converse about virtue every day. . . .

4. Therefore the sage manages affairs without acting, and teaches without speech.

5. But up to what point and to what extent a man must deviate before he becomesblameworthy it is not easy to determine by reasoning, any more than anythingelse that is perceived by the senses; such things depend on particular facts, andthe decision rests with perception.

6. Consider a case of conflict, in which the person who has willpower resists hisdesires and the person who is weak of will gives in to them. A person in such asituation seems to be at war with himself.

7. Happiness, then, is something final and self-sufficient, and is the end of action.

8. . . . the human charioteer drives his in a pair; and one of them is noble and ofnoble breed, and the other is ignoble and of ignoble breed; and the driving ofthem of necessity gives a great deal of trouble to him.

9. Accomplish great things while they are small.

10. It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.

11. Isn’t it pleasant to learn and to apply what you’ve learned? Isn’t it delightful tohave friends coming from far away? Isn’t he a person of complete virtue whodoesn’t get angry that others don’t recognize him?

12. . . . there is not one knowledge or science of the past, another of the present, athird of what is likely to be best and what will be best in the future; but that ofall three there is one science only. . . .

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13. Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can becalled good, without qualification, except a good will.

14. Since there are evidently more than one end, and we choose some of these (e.g.wealth, flutes, and in general instruments) for the sake of something else, clearlynot all ends are final ends; but the chief good is evidently something final.

15. . . . anger at times goes to war with desire, as though they were two distinctthings.

16. Renounce sagacity, discard wisdom, people will profit a hundredfold.

17. So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other,in every case as an end withal, never as means only.

18. The value of the Way depends on man; the value of man doesn’t depend on theWay.

19. There is therefore but one categorical imperative, namely, this: Act only on thatmaxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universallaw.

20. What is that common quality, which is the same in all these cases, and which iscalled courage?

21. What the superior person seeks is in himself. What the inferior person seeks isin others.

22. When you know something, to maintain that you know it; when you don’t knowsomething, to admit that you don’t know it– this is knowledge.

23. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness,pain, and the privation of pleasure.

24. The nameless uncarved wood has no desires.

25. Confucius thinks of li as

(a) adherence to traditional social rules

(b) obedience to authority

(c) respect for others

(d) righteousness

(e) a virtue that cannot be captured by rules

26. Plato’s early and middle theories of virtue agree about whether

(a) there is one virtue or many

(b) weakness of will is possible

(c) there are parts of the soul

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(d) virtue is knowledge

(e) virtue is possible

27. A virtue, for Aristotle,

(a) is a kind of knowledge

(b) requires overcoming desire

(c) requires a triumph of reason

(d) constrains a drive or emotion

(e) rests on self-knowledge

28. The “one thread” of Confucius’s doctrine is to

(a) be true to the principles of our nature

(b) exercise benevolence toward others

(c) show respect for propriety

(d) practice sincerity

(e) a and b

29. Without knowledge, Confucius says, virtues

(a) are limited to the virtues of the self

(b) are limited to filial piety

(c) are limited to fraternal submission

(d) depend on reciprocity

(e) turn into their opposites

30. Plato infers from the possibility of weakness of will that

(a) inner conflict is possible

(b) there are different parts of the soul

(c) the virtues are distinct

(d) virtue is not knowledge

(e) all of the above

31. The theory of knowledge is known as

(a) metaphysics

(b) epistemology

(c) ethics

(d) philosophy

(e) dialectic

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32. Socrates tends to attack definitions by arguing that they are

(a) unclear

(b) too broad

(c) too narrow

(d) b and c

(e) a, b, and c

33. For Socrates, every virtue amounts to

(a) courage

(b) justice

(c) a mean between extremes

(d) rational activity

(e) knowing what to do and what not to do

34. Plato’s spirited element

(a) allies itself with reason

(b) is the source of desire

(c) conflicts with reason

(d) is reason’s source

(e) is the driver of the chariot in Plato’s metaphor

35. For Plato, virtue requires

(a) subjugating will and desire to reason

(b) each part of the soul to play its proper role

(c) a balance of the soul

(d) rational control

(e) all of the above

36. Which of the following is most likely to be viewed as an intrinsic good?

(a) a pencil

(b) a notebook

(c) a pizza

(d) a hammer

(e) a tire

37. The function of a human being, according to Aristotle, is

(a) to glorify God

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(b) to be self-conscious

(c) to reflect on the meaning of life

(d) to act according to rational plans

(e) to have virtue

38. We become good, Aristotle says, by

(a) knowing what to do

(b) doing good things

(c) observing tradition

(d) having a good will

(e) studying philosophy

39. Which of the following is the best translation of ren?

(a) righteousness

(b) justice

(c) virtue

(d) propriety

(e) love

40. Which is NOT a core Confucian virtue?

(a) generosity

(b) sincerity

(c) kindness

(d) seriousness

(e) courage

41. The virtues of the self stem ultimately from

(a) feeling

(b) sincerity

(c) knowledge

(d) the Way

(e) reciprocity

42. An important Daoist virtue:

(a) spontaneity

(b) sincerity

(c) courage

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(d) generosity

(e) reciprocity

43. There is only one categorical imperative, says Kant, because

(a) moral imperatives are universal

(b) there is only one unqualified good

(c) virtues are ultimately one

(d) all virtue rests on knowledge

(e) God sets the moral law

44. If the maxim of my action cannot be a universal law, then my action is

(a) impossible

(b) unjust

(c) immoral, but not unjust

(d) permissible

(e) right

45. Which argument for freedom of speech is NOT consequentialist?

(a) censorship doesn’t work

(b) censors make mistakes

(c) censorship impedes the search for truth

(d) censorship violates rights

(e) none of the above

46. Which is not one of Kant’s applications of the categorical imperative?

(a) suicide

(b) making false promises

(c) stealing

(d) developing talents

(e) charity

47. What is NOT an argument Bentham gives for the principle of utility?

(a) it agrees with common sense

(b) arguments for other views presuppose it

(c) it is implied by the concept of rationality

(d) our ability to resolve conflicts shows that we have a measure of value

(e) none of the above

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48. Aristotle and Plato (in the Republic) would disagree about which of the follow-ing?

(a) virtue is a central concept of ethics

(b) virtues constrain emotions or desires

(c) virtue is knowledge

(d) all virtues are identical

(e) all virtuous people are happy

49. Confucius and Socrates would agree that

(a) virtue is a central concept of ethics

(b) knowledge is a key to virtue

(c) the examined life is better than the unexamined life

(d) obligations to family can take precedence over obligations to others

(e) all of the above

50. In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Glorificus the demon enters thisworld, and threatens to destroy it, by entering the body of an innocent person.Buffy refuses to kill that person, even though his existence endangers the uni-verse Giles tells him, “She’s a hero; she’s not like us”—and then smothers him.Philosophically, it appears, Buffy is a(n) ***** and Giles is a(n) *****.

(a) Aristotelian; Kantian

(b) Kantian; Confucian

(c) Kantian; consequentialist

(d) consequentialist; Platonist

(e) Platonist; consequentialist

1 Answers1. C

2. A

3. B

4. E

5. A

6. B

7. A

8. B

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9. E

10. F

11. C

12. B

13. D

14. A

15. B

16. E

17. D

18. C

19. D

20. B

21. C

22. C

23. F

24. E

25. A

26. E

27. D

28. E

29. E

30. E

31. B

32. E

33. E

34. A

35. E

36. C

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37. D

38. B

39. C

40. E

41. C

42. A

43. B

44. B

45. D

46. C

47. C

48. E

49. E

50. C

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