Unit 1 Review
Terms and Applications
Terminology of Philosophy
 Philosophy—the study of truth in all its various
forms
 Epistemology—the study of how and what we
can truly know
 Metaphysics—the study of the fundamental
nature of reality and being
 Ethics—the study of right and wrong; Absolute
ethics are always true, but relative ethics depend
on the situation
 Aesthetics—the study of the nature of art
Critical Thinking Skills
 Reflection—taking time rather than making a snap
decision; requires effort—integrity rather than
expedience (not always the proper way to go)
 Reason, logic—rather than emotion; trying to figure
out the truly right answer rather than simply what we
want; being dispassionate and objective, scientific
method
 Source evaluation—being able to find and evaluate
sources of information
 Metacognition—thinking about thinking; recognizing
one’s own thinking patterns and problems
Terminology of Moral Systems
 Puritanism—absolute sovereignty of god, total
depravity of humans, unconditional election,
God’s intentions are present in the world,
Satan’s presence in the world—re: The Crucible
 Romanticism--18th-19th C. literary movement in
Europe and America that emphasized the
inspiration of nature, individualism, religious
freedom, innate goodness of humanity (as
opposed to original sin), reaction against reason
as the epistemological way of knowing the world
(Age of Reason), and fascination with the
melancholy and morbid
Terminology of Moral Systems
Shermer’s Secular Morality
 The Ask First Principle—ask the affected
person(s) if behavior is moral; the Golden
Rule with more emphasis on avoiding harm
 The Happiness Principle—always seek
happiness with someone else’s happiness in
mind; never seek happiness when it leads to
someone else’s unhappiness
Terminology of Moral Systems
Shermer’s Secular Morality
 The Liberty Principle—it is a higher moral
principle to always seek liberty with someone
else’s liberty in mind, and never seek liberty
when it leads to someone else’s loss of liberty
 The Moderation Principle—when innocent
people die, extremism in the defense of
anything is no virtue, and moderation in the
protection of everything is no vice
Terminology of Moral Systems
 Four Standards of “Right Action”
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Obedience to Authority—”do it because I
say so”
Effect on Others—consider how an action
helps or harms other people
Model of an Ideal Figure—”WWJD,”
“WWMCD,” basing ethical choices on
someone you admire
Intention—considering what the motive was
rather than merely the result of an action
Literary Terms
 Levels of Interpretation
 Action Question—what happens in a story,
who does it, how, when, where does it
happen?
 Character’s Motivation Question—why do
the characters make the choices that they do?
This can be overtly stated or implied;
 Author’s Motivation Question—why does
the author make the decisions he or she
does?
 Evaluation—does the literature succeed at
what it tries to accomplish?
The Crucible
 What events originally start off the witchcraft
hysteria?
 What rifts existed in Salem that increased the
town’s susceptibility to the cries of witchcraft?
 How do Abby’s motives change from the first
accusation to later in the play?
 What is the state of the Proctors’ marriage at
the beginning and end of the play? What
caused the change?
 What are Putnam’s motivations?
The Crucible
 What are John Proctor’s conflicts at the
beginning and end of the play?
 Explain Giles Corey’s character and actions.
 How is Rebecca Nurse different from the
other people of Salem?
 What is Parris’s primary motivation
throughout the play?
 How is Reverend Hale different from the
other believers in witchcraft? How does this
affect his actions?
The Crucible
 Explain the Puritan metaphysical beliefs that
led to the court’s acceptance of the girls’
testimony.
 What belief lies at the bottom of Danforth’s
refusal to let Proctor get a lawyer?
 Why does Elizabeth lie for John?
 Why are Parris and Danforth so eager for
Proctor to confess at the end of the play?
 How is Hale’s motivation different from theirs?
The Crucible
 Why does Proctor at first decide to confess?
 Why does he change his mind?
 Why does Elizabeth refuse to try to change
his mind?
 Why do you think Arthur Miller saw Proctor’s
final decision as the right action to take?
 What parallels exist between this play and the
Red Scare of the 1950’s?
 What can we learn about our society today
from this play?
The Scarlet Letter
 How does Hester respond at first to her
punishment—wearing the “A” and her public
humiliation?
 What does Dimmesdale’s attempt to get her
to name her baby’s father reveal?
 What does Dimmesdale imply about Hester’s
silence?
 What does Chillingworth’s reaction to
Hester’s punishment tell us about him?
 What secret does Chillingworth want Hester
to keep?
The Scarlet Letter
 What kind of a child is Pearl?
 What are the two reasons the Puritans consider
taking Pearl away from Hester?
 Why does Hester get to keep her?
 Why is Dimmesdale sick?
 What is Chillingworth’s theory about
Dimmesdale’s illness?
 What does Chillingworth want from Dimmesdale?
 What is on Dimmesdale’s chest?
The Scarlet Letter
 What does Pearl repeatedly ask Dimmesdale
to do? What is his response?
 How does Pearl react to this response?
 How does the attitude of the town change
toward Hester throughout the course of the
novel?
 What is the role of the forest in this novel?
 What do Hester and Dimmesdale decide to
do?
 How does Chillingworth thwart this plan?
The Scarlet Letter
 Why does Dimmesdale confess?
 What is Chillingworth’s reaction to this?
 What is Pearl’s?
 What happens to Pearl, Hester, and
Chillingworth at the end of the novel?
 How does the Puritan public perceive
Dimmesdale’s confession?