Module 3 - Foundations Of Western Philosophy: Rome And The Christian Era

Question 1

Plato believed the best government was the one most closely matching the government found in the world of forms

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The Greek political philosophers Plato and Aristotle believed strongly in the universal city where all humanity lived

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Which political philosophy was most prominent during the pre-Christian Roman era?

Answer 3

A ruler should dispense justice fairly and without bias

Question 4

Who was the Roman statesman who staunchly defended the republic?

Answer 4

Cicero

Question 5

Which is true about Cicero’s life?

Answer 5

He ironically sided with emperors to restore the Roman republic

Question 6

Who was the founder of Stoicism?

Answer 6

Zeno

Question 7

What is an “impression” in Stoicism?

Answer 7

a data input received from one’s senses

Question 8

What is “assent” in Stoicism?

Answer 8

the recognition and acceptance of an accurate piece of sensory data

Question 9

Stoics believed it was ethical to mistreat people of different races, cultures, and religions as long as one was faithful to their fellow countrymen.

Answer 9

false

Question 10

According to Stoicism, where is truth found?

Answer 10

in the material world directly in front of humanity

Question 11

Who was the founder of Neoplatonism?

Answer 11

Plotinus

Question 12

What did the Neoplatonists call the divine absolute truth?

Answer 12

The One

Question 13

Neoplatonism is a more concrete and less mystical iteration of Plato’s philosophies

Answer 13

False

Question 14

Which of the following is one of Plato’s famous analogies to describe the world of forms?

Answer 14

A group of slaves chained in a cave

Question 15

In Neoplatonism, an “emanation” is a deceived person who does not understand reality

Answer 15

False

Question 16

Tertullian was the early church father who sought to use Greco-Roman philosophies to make new converts to Christianity.

Answer 16

false

Question 17

who was Justin Martyr?

Answer 17

a church father who sought to adopt useful parts of philosophy into his faith

Question 18

What was the most famous example of Justin Martyr’s incorporation of Greco-Roman philosophies into his faith?

Answer 18

describing Jesus as the Logos or brain that had organized the universe but had now become human

Question 19

Which worldview did Tertullian push back against during his time as an orthodox Christian?

Answer 19

Gnosticism

Question 20

Who was Augustine?

Answer 20

bishop who set the trends of theology and philosophy for the medieval period

Question 21

For his political philosophy, how many cities did Augustine describe?

Answer 21

two

Question 22

Although Augustine believed manmade governments were run by sinful humans and were doomed to failure, what did he believe these human governments’ purpose was?

Answer 22

to act as a partial antidote to sin’s effects in the larger culture

Question 23

What is a just war, according to Augustine?

Answer 23

war that is initiated by a legitimate government authority for a cause like self-defense

Question 24

Which philosophical school most deeply influenced Augustine’s theology?

Answer 24

Neoplatonism

Question 25

Who was the Greek philosopher whose political philosophy was based heavily on the concept of an ideal, abstract government located in the world of forms?

Answer 25

Plato

Question 26

What was the basic concept behind Plato’s idea of a “world of forms”?

Answer 26

that material objects can only be categorized together because they have similarities to some abstract, ideal form

Question 27

According to Plato, what is a philosopher-king?

Answer 27

a king who also thinks deeply about how to emulate the ideal government found in the world of forms

Question 28

Which trait was seen in most Greek political philosophies?

Answer 28

an emphasis on the small government of the city-state

Question 29

Which political philosophy was most active during the pre-Christian Roman era?

Answer 29

stoicism

Question 30

Which does Stoicism view as unreliable and deceitful?

Answer 30

one's emotions

Question 31

What did the Stoics believe they needed to do with sensory data aligned with rational principles and thus appeared to be true?

Answer 31

assent to it

Question 32

Which tenet was unique to Stoicism and made it particularly useful within the Roman empire?

Answer 32

“Humanity lives within one giant, worldwide city, and thus are “on the same team.”

Question 33

Which of the following did the Stoics believe was of the most value?

Answer 33

reason

Question 34

How was virtue defined in Stoicism?

Answer 34

a life lived according to reason

Question 35

In Neoplatonic technical vocabulary, what is an “emanation”?

Answer 35

the “shadows” of the One’s thoughts as he thinks about himself

Question 36

According to Neoplatonism, what was the first emanation from the One?

Answer 36

The Intellect

Question 37

Who was Plotinus?

Answer 37

the founder of Neoplatonism

Question 38

The Neoplatonist philosophers of the Christian Roman era wrote volumes trying to describe which of the following?

Answer 38

the mechanics of how, exactly, the spiritual world can cast “shadows” into the physical realm

Question 39

In Plato’s analogy of the cave, which so heavily influenced the Neoplatonists, what could the chained slaves inside the cave see from their position?

Answer 39

shadows of what was happening outside the door of the cave

Question 40

Which early church father believed Christianity was the superior philosophy which made all other philosophies ineffective?

Answer 40

Tertullian

Question 41

Who was Tertullian?

Answer 41

the early church father who left orthodoxy for various sects

Question 42

To what did Justin Martyr relate the philosophical term “Logos”?

Answer 42

Jesus, the intellect and the power behind the universe

Question 43

In his early career, Tertullian pushed back hard against a pseudo-philosophy called Gnosticism, which taught that…

Answer 43

one needed secret passwords to escape the material world and enter the afterlife.

Question 44

What was Justin Martyr’s approach to philosophy?

Answer 44

He believed philosophy could be used as a tool to convert others to Christianity.

Question 45

Who first articulated the concept of a just war in which Christians can participate?

Answer 45

Augustine

Question 46

What made Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy so appealing to Christians like Augustine?

Answer 46

Platonism argued that there was truth in the spiritual realm.

Question 47

Who was the Christian philosopher and theologian whose influence was the defining feature of medieval philosophy?

Answer 47

Augustine

Question 48

Which Christian philosopher and theologian articulated a political philosophy of two competing, parallel cities?

Answer 48

Augustine

Question 49

According to Augustine, what functioned as a sort of partial antidote to the sinfulness of the human heart by keeping wicked men from running rampant in society at large?

Answer 49

manmade governments