INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
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PLATO, ARISTOTLE& PLOTINUS
(NASH CHAPTERS 3, 4 & 5 PLUS THE COURSEPACK READINGS ON PLATO &
ARISTOTLE)
40 points
Create an answer sheet and email it to the instructor upon completion..
 One point possible for each correctly answered multiple choice or matching question.
 Up to 2½ points for each written answer
1.
5.
– 4. Match each Bible passage with the
teaching of Plato it best represents.
1) Exodus 25:40 ______
2) 1 Kings 3:9-13 ______
3) 2 Corinthians 4:18 ______
4) Proverbs 14:32-34 ______
A. The philosopher makes the best king.
B. Sensed perceptions of physical things are
inadequate to produce knowledge.
C. Virtue frees the individual from fear and
brings health and prosperity to the city-state
(the polis).
D. There is a realm of perfections after which
all physical things are imperfect copies.
Plato taught that three forces influence the
human soul: Appetites, Spirit, A.
and Reason.
Select the item below that depicts the correct
metaphors or symbols Plato used to teach this.
A. APPETITES: Lion, unruly horse
SPIRIT: Multi-headed beast, tamed horse
REASON: Man, charioteer
B. APPETITES: Man, unruly horse
SPIRIT: Multi-headed beast, tamed horse
REASON: Lion, charioteer
C. APPETITES: Multi-headed beast, unruly
horse
SPIRIT: Lion, tamed horse
REASON: Man, charioteer
D. APPETITES: Lion, unruly horse
SPIRIT: Multi-headed beast, tamed horse
REASON: Man, charioteer
6. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave teaches that
A. democracy is the best form of government
B. men are enslaved by their flawed belief in
God
C. people need to use their eyes and other
senses to perceive things more clearly
D. everyone can achieve true understanding of
what is really real
E. individual liberty is more important than
national stability
7. To what did Socrates seek to persuade people to
give their greatest care?
A. their money
B. their souls
C. their state
D. their king
E. their wives
8.
How would Socrates respond to the common
modern-day claim that religion and philosophy
should never be mixed?
A. Mixing religion and anything else is a
recipe for disaster
B. Yahweh gave me this ability and I should
use it for His glory
Prepared by Christopher Ullman, Professor --Christian Life College
C.
D.
E.
Religion looks to the things of the next
world, and philosophy looks to the things of
this world
The gods told me that I was the wisest man,
and I took this as a sacred challenge
Zeus and Hera have disagreed on the role of
religion in public life.
9. The four virtues Plato aspired to are
A. patience, love, joy and temperance
B. wisdom, temperance, courage and justice
C. thrift, cunning, speed, agility
D. prudence, temperance, knowledge, strength
E. loyalty, courage, resourcefulness,
flexibility
10. According to the dialogue in which Glaucon is
the chief speaker, the Ring of Gyges proves that
A. men can be trusted to do what is right
B. men can’t be trusted to do what is right
C. with the right upbringing, the good in men
will prevail
D. men will sacrifice in order to be virtuous
E. in the right environment, the good nature of
men will overcome evil
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
11. Aristotle is important to students of the Bible
because he had a great influence upon which
theologian?
A. Anaximander
B. Augustine
C. Aquinas
D. Archibald
E. Kosmo Kramer
12. For Aristotle, the best way to gain knowledge
of particular things was to ________ them
A. ponder
B. observe
C. question
D. experiment with
E. worship
15. The material cause of a ribeye steak is the
A. meat
B. cook
C. grill
D. A-1 sauce
E. Stomach
16. The formal cause of the book Life’s Ultimate
Questions can be described as
A. Ronald Nash
B. Paper with words, binding, philosophical
explanations, index
C. Zondervan Publishers
D. students knowing philosophy
E. world peace
17. Your entelechy is your
13. IN ORDER TO GET CREDIT FOR
A. gland that secretes digestive juices
CORRECTLY ANSWERING THIS
B. final answer
QUESTION, YOU MUST SELECT ALL THE
C. final form
CHOICES THAT APPLY. By rejecting Plato’s
D. final accident
Two Worlds Theory, Aristotle could reject
E. final chance
Plato’s
A. belief in forms
18. According to Aristotle, the ultimate goal of
B. Two Kinds of Knowledge Theory
human life is
C. Virtue
A. peace
D. Body and Soul Theory
B. power
E. Polis Theory
C. love
D. happiness
14. Aristotle believed that every substance had two
E. virtue
kinds of properties:
A. Mediterranean Avenue and Boardwalk
19. The difference between being fully human and
B. Gravity and Mass
being merely human is that the latter requires
C. Accidental and Essential
_________ to be added to the ____________ of
D. Consequential and Trivial
being human.
E. Identity and Unity
A. omniscience … limiting properties
B. limiting properties … essential properties
C. invisibility … visible properties
D. immortality … essential properties
Prepared by Christopher Ullman, Professor --Christian Life College
20. Plato and Aristotle ___________ that ultimate
reality is knowable.
A. agree
B. disagree
21. For Aristotle, the passive intellect can be
understood as that which provides the caption
for an image.
A. True
B. False
22. The image that best typifies Plato’s idea of the
Forms is the
A. chariot
B. circle
C. ring of Gyges
D. flame
E. ladder
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INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
SHORT ANSWER TOPICS: (Up to 10 points total for this section: 4 x 2½)
23. Pretend that you are Plato. Choose two of the worldview questions, and devise a short answer to each (1/2 page for each).
-What is really real?
-Why is there something rather than nothing?
-How do you explain human nature?
-What happens to a person after death?
-How do you determine what is right and wrong?
-Why is it possible to know anything at all?
-What is the meaning of history?
24. Pretend that you are Aristotle. Choose two of the worldview questions, and devise a short answer to each (1/2 page for each).
-What is really real?
-Why is there something rather than nothing?
-How do you explain human nature?
-What happens to a person after death?
-How do you determine what is right and wrong?
-Why is it possible to know anything at all?
-What is the meaning of history?
Prepared by Christopher Ullman, Professor --Christian Life College
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INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
ASSESSMENT ON PLOTINUS
For 10 points
25. Write a 100-150 word response to four of the following questions about Plotinus (2½ points each, 10 points total):
A.
The downward path is the path of “becoming.” What does that term “becoming” mean in Plotinus’ worldview?
B.
The upward path is the path of “being.” Why does Nash also call this the path of salvation, in Plotinus’ worldview?
C.
Does God take an active role in creating or saving?
D.
Explain the term nous as used by Plotinus.
E.
According to Plotinus, the world contains more b______________ than s____________, and more s__________ than
minds. Fill in the blanks, and explain.
F.
Do the souls of individuals live forever, according to Plotinus? How about the souls of plants?
G.
Why does Plotinus teach that matter becomes the principle of evil?
H.
Calling God “The One” brings with it a problem. What is the problem of multiplicity, with Plotinus seeing God as
“The One?”
Prepared by Christopher Ullman, Professor --Christian Life College
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