Chapter 4 Flashcards
Which of the following inspired the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184-204 C.E.?
Daoism
Which statement best describes the Confucian attitude toward the past?
The past was a golden age that modern people should strive to restore.
What is the practice of metta in the Buddhist tradition?
The practice of loving kindness
What happened to the Hebrews living in the kingdom of Judea following their conquest by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.?
The Hebrew elite were enslaved and exiled, but a small group was able to retain their cultural identity and later return to their homeland.
Which of the following statements best describes the teaching of the Theravada version of Buddhism?
It taught that the Buddha was an immensely wise teacher, but certainly not divine.
What name is given to the Greek philosophical view that the world is a physical reality governed by natural laws that humans can understand?
Rationalism
What ended the Roman Empire’s intermittent persecution of Christians in the early fourth century C.E.?
Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made the religion legal.
What subject did the earliest Greek classical thinkers who relied on questioning and reasoning focus on?
Physical world
What was Socrates’s preferred method of teaching?
Through constant questioning of the assumptions and logic of his students’ thinking
Which of the following is a theory that has been advanced to explain why Greek thought evolved toward explaining the physical world through natural laws that human rationality could understand?
The growing role of law in the political life of Athens suggested a similar regularity in the natural order.
How did Confucius propose to end the period of disorder in China and replace it with an orderly society?
Through the moral example of superiors
Which statement best describes the Confucian attitude toward the past?
The past was a golden age that modern people should strive to restore.
What role did the Islamic world play in the rediscovery of the classical Greek legacy in Western Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries?
Western scholars gained access to Arabic translations of Greek writers.
Which classical Greek philosopher famously sketched out in The Republic a design for a good society ruled by a class of highly educated guardians led by a philosopher king?
Plato
What was classical Greece’s greatest intellectual contribution?
Confidence in human reason and the use of argument and logic to question received wisdom
Which of the following statements best reflects the Greek approach to understanding the universe?
The world was a physical reality governed by natural laws, and human rationality could understand these laws.
The Greek way of thinking is most similar to which other tradition?
Confucianism
Which of the following best reflects the Buddha’s relationship to the supernatural?
The Buddha largely ignored the supernatural.
Which of the following did the least to spread the Greek approach to rational thought beyond the Greek heartland?
The spread of Greek religion
What distinguished the first five centuries of Christianity from that of the Buddhist tradition?
The Buddhist tradition generally lacked clear-cut distinctions between right and wrong ideas, while Christianity viewed religious debates in terms of right and wrong.
Which Persian prophet founded the Zoroastrian faith and is by tradition believed to have lived in the sixth or seventh century B.C.E.?
Zarathustra
What second-wave philosophy was based on the belief that human society needs clear, strictly enforced rules, since most people are stupid and shortsighted?
Legalism
Which of the following terms is an Indian religious term that refers to rebirth or reincarnation?
Samsara
Which second-wave philosophy stressed complementarity and balance between the sexes?
Daoism
Which of the following statements is true of the Christian world around 500 C.E.?
It was theologically diverse and fragmented.
Which of the following distinguishes Jesus’ teachings from that of the Buddha?
Jesus had a more intense devotion to a single personal deity with whom he was on personal terms.
What distinguished the Buddha from Jesus?
The Buddha came from a privileged background.
Which of the following distinguished the life of the Buddha from that of Jesus?
The Buddha’s teaching ministry lasted far longer than Jesus’.
Reincarnation is a central feature of which system of thought and belief?
Hinduism
Which cultural tradition, born in second-wave era China, urged withdrawal into the world of nature as the best response to disorder in society?
Daoism
What was distinctive about the conception of God that evolved in Judaism compared to earlier Mesopotamian gods?
It was monotheistic.
Which of the following regions had the least access to Greek writings?
Western Europe in the centuries following the collapse of the Roman Empire
In which Hindu text is the troubled warrior-hero Arjuna reassured by his charioteer Lord Krishna, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, that performing his duty as a warrior even if it meant killing his kinsmen was an act of devotion that would lead to “release from the shackles of repeated rebirth”?
Bhagavad Gita
What was distinctive about the conception of God that evolved in Judaism compared to earlier Mesopotamian gods?
It believed that God was lofty and transcendent, existing far above the world of nature.
Which of the following is true of Hinduism?
It grew up over many centuries and had no historical founder.
Why is Siddhartha Gautama important to world history?
He was the founder of Buddhism.
Which of the following is a distinctive contribution of Aristotle to Greek thinking?
His approach to knowledge was not distinctive, but he represents the most complete expression of the Greek way of knowing.
Which of the following statements best reflects the impact of legalism on Chinese society?
The Qin emperor Shihuangdi used legalist methods to reunify China.
What was classical Greece’s greatest intellectual contribution?
Confidence in human reason and the use of argument and logic to question received wisdom
Hippocrates made his discoveries in which field of study?
Medicine
What distinguished Zoroastrianism from Buddhism?
Buddhism spread from its original homeland to become a world religion.
Which of the following figures lived most recently?
Jesus
Which social group did legalists identify as performing essential functions for society?
Soldiers
What distinguishes Yahweh from the dao in the Chinese tradition or Brahman in the Indian tradition?
Yahweh acted within the historical process, consciously shaping the outcome of human events.
Which Indian religious idea is similar in some ways to the Chinese notion of the dao?
Brahman
Which of the following best describes the Buddhist world that emerged in the centuries following the Buddha’s death?
A considerable proliferation of different sects, practices, teachings, and meditation techniques continued to emerge over time.
The cosmic struggle at the heart of Zoroastrianism required what of individual humans?
To freely choose good over evil
Which of the following statements is true of women in early Buddhism?
They were not treated as equals, but still found more freedom and independence than was available elsewhere in Indian society.
Who is traditionally credited with writing the short poetic volume known as the Daodejing in the sixth century B.C.E.?
Laozi
Which of the following best describes the embrace of Yahweh and monotheism by the Hebrew people?
There were many factors that made polytheism attractive to Hebrews, but the monotheistic conception of the Divine ultimately prevailed.
What happened to the Hebrews living in the kingdom of Judea following their conquest by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.?
The Hebrew elite were enslaved and exiled, but a small group was able to retain their cultural identity and later return to their homeland.
What is ren in Confucian thought?
Benevolence, goodness, and nobility of heart
Which of the following is a distinctive contribution of Aristotle to Greek thinking?
His approach to knowledge was not distinctive, but he represents the most complete expression of the Greek way of knowing.
Which of the following is a theory that has been advanced to explain why Greek thought evolved toward explaining the physical world through natural laws that human rationality could understand?
The growing role of law in the political life of Athens suggested a similar regularity in the natural order.
Which term refers to the way of nature, the underlying and unchanging principle that governs all natural phenomena?
Dao
Which of the following statements best describes the organization of Christian as opposed to Buddhist faiths?
Christianity formed a significantly more sophisticated religious hierarchy than Buddhism.
What caused the final decline of Zoroastrianism in Persia?
The conquest of the region by the Arabs
Which of the following was a shared feature of both Buddhism and Christianity?
Both founders were transformed into gods by their followers.
Which of the following is the central teaching of Buddhism?
The cause of human suffering is desire for individual fulfillment, which should be purged to achieve serenity.
How might a Daoist thinker criticize a follower of Confucius?
Confucians were too concerned with education and the earnest striving for moral improvement.
Which of the following statements is true of women in early Christianity?
As the religion developed, its leadership became almost exclusively male.
What distinguishes Yahweh from the dao in the Chinese tradition or Brahman in the Indian tradition?
Yahweh acted within the historical process, consciously shaping the outcome of human events.
