Bachelor philosophy
TRIAL EXAM
COURSE NAME: Continental Philosophy
The exam will consist of 10 questions of which you will need to answer 8: the two questions
on top, 5 questions out of 8 in the second part, and the last essay question. This trial exam is
not a complete exam, and only gives a few examples of the questions you can expect.
The number of points that can be obtained is listed for each question.
The amount of words is not limited, but do not give answers that are not related to the
question. You will not receive extra points for it.
Questions
Answer these 2 questions (jn a few lines):
1. One of the main characteristics of 20th century continental philosophy is the
“decentrering of the subject”. What does that mean? (5 p.)
2. What is studied by phenomenology according to Husserl? (5 p.)
Select 5 questions (out of 8) to answer (max. 150 words per question):
1. Heidegger in "Was ist Metaphysik?/What is Metaphysics?” writes that one of the things
that is characteristic of a metaphysical question is that: “The questioner is also
brought into the interrogation by the metaphysical question itself, is himself put in
question by it.” (p. 734) Explain what he means with this. Pay attention to the
underlined parts of the quote. (10 p.)
2. West explains Sartre’s notion of consciousness as follows: “The negativity of
consciousness is, for Sartre, the essential foundation of the possibility of human
freedom.” (West, Continental Philosophy, p. 162). Explain what he means, and pay
attention to the underlined parts. (10 p.)
3. Gadamer in Truth and Method refutes the Enlightenment perspective upon prejudices.
Why? And what is his view upon prejudices? Also explain what he means with
prejudices. (10 p.)
4. In Dialektik der Aufklärung, Adorno and Horkheimer claim that the Enlightenment has
turned into myth. What do they mean by that? (10 p.)
5. Philosophy involves creating concepts, according to Deleuze and Guattari. But how do
they define concepts? (10 p.)
Essay question (max. 200 words)
Compare Adorno and Horkheimer’s view on Enlightenment with Habermas’. You can refer
to the answer you have given earlier in this exam (question 4) (15 p.)