Model Questions-Philosophy, Ethics and Culture.

1. Give the etymological meaning of Philosophy.

Sol: The study of theories about the meaning of things such as life, knowledge, and beliefs.

2. Give and explain the four main branches of Philosophy.

Sol:  Metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, Logic

3. In regard to Epistemology, elaborate the main bases of knowledge.

Sol: divine revelation, experience, logic and reason, and intuition

4. State the main three fundamental questions of philosophy.

Sol: What is reality, What is truth and What is good

5. Where did philosophy start?

Sol:  Asia minor

6. Why is Philosophy considered the mother of all sciences?

Sol: Because of the generality and vastness of its subject matter

7. State the major stage of ancient philosophy.

Sol: pre-classical period, classical period, post classical period.

Choose the right answer:

8. The question that disturbed the pre-Socratic philosophers is:

What is the nature of the knowledge?
What is the origin and the end of the universe?

9. Is there any common element in nature out of which everything else is made?

10. Which course is considered the mother of all sciences?

Answer by true or false.

11. The philosophical movement which asserted that all reality is physical is Monism.

False

12. Materialism are a group of philosophers who argued that the reality is comprised of many things. 

False

13. Pluralism accepts that the reality is comprised of one thing.

False

14. Match the branches of philosophy in column A with their respective meaning in the column B.

Branches of Philosophy	meaning
Ethics	The study of existence
Logic	The study of knowledge
Aesthetics	The study of truth
Metaphysics	The study of actions
Epistemology	The study of arts

 Sol: 1-d, 2-c, 3-e, 4-a, 5-b.

15. Match the Milesians (philosophers of nature) in the column A with their corresponding answer to the questions of the fundamental substance of the universe in the column B.

Philosophers	answers
Thales	Air
Anaximander	Infinite
Anaximenes	Water
Heraclitus	Numbers
Pythagoras	Fire

Sol: 1-c, 2-b, 3-a, 4-e, 5-d.

16. Who were sophists and what did they believe?

Sol:  Sophist were professional teacher in ancient Greece who travelled from city to city and made a living by teacher others.

They believe student should use time to prove themselves and taught students how to win an argument and make good political speech.

17. Why the sophists did reject the idea of the absolute right or wrong?

Sol: they suggest that what might be right for one person might be wrong for another.

18. Give three main classical philosophers.

Sol: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

19. Who introduced the dialectical method of questioning?

a. St Thomas Aquinas

b. Friedrich Nietzsche

c. Socrates

d. Anaximander

20. Give and explain the main characteristics of Dialectical (Socratic) method.

Sol: Sceptical It begins with Socratic profession of ignorance of the truth of the subject matter under discussion.

Conversational or dialogical Socrates believed that honest participation in a dialogue helped to clarify ideas and discover truths.

Definitional and conceptual According to this method, the goal of knowledge is the attainment of correct definitions of social and ethical ideas such as justice, wisdom, courage etc.

Inductive or empirical Socrates always criticized provisional definitions by reference to particular examples or instances Deductive It begins with given definition or concept, deduces its implications and then tests

21. What are the three divisions of Socratic dialogue?

Sol: Pose a question, find flaws with answers, agree with student about not knowing.

22. Give at least five philosophical quotations of Socrates.

Sol: -The greatest human good is daily discussion about virtue
-The unexamined life is not worth living.
-The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing.
-I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
-Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.

23. What are the main points that distinguish knowledge from opinion according to Plato?

Sol: The main points of difference between knowledge and opinion are that opinion is changeable, it may be true or it may be false, it is not backed by good reasoning, and it is the result of mere persuasion. Knowledge, though, is the opposite: it is enduring, always true, backed by good reasoning, and the result of instruction.

24. By using a figure, explain briefly the cave allegory by Plato.

25. Give five characteristics of theory of ideas by Plato.

Sol: • Ideas are substances; 
• Ideas are Universal; 
• Ideas are not things, but thoughts; 
• Each Idea is a Unity; 
• The Ideas are Immutable and Imperishable; 
• The Ideas are the Essence of all things; 
• Ideas are outside space and time; 
• Ideas are Rational, etc.

26. What does syllogism mean?

Sol: is a special kind of argument that involves logically valid relationships between different categories of things.

27. Who introduced the syllogism?

Sol: Aristotle.

28. Give at least five philosophical schools after Aristotle and their main emphasizes.

Sol: Epicureanism, stoicism, sophism, cynicism, scepticism.

29. What is the general characteristic of Medieval Philosophy?

Sol: deurbanization, military invasions, population redistribution, and migrations of people to new areas.

30. Why did the churchmen of medieval era begun to assimilate Neoplatonism into Christian doctrines?

Choose the right answer:

31. The philosophers who defended the church dogma from being attacked by the so called pagans idea in the medieval era are called:

a. Churchmen

b. Priests

c. Apologetics

d. Theologians

32. What is the greatest question that St Augustin encountered?

Sol: Augustine encountered the question on the relation between faith and reason

33. What is the greatest wisdom according to St. Augustin?

Sol: He realized that the greatest wisdom can only be God.

34. Explain clearly the greatest contribution of St. Augustin of Hippo in the medieval Philosophy.

Sol: One of the greatest contributions of St. Augustine of Hippo is his writings about “City of God” which tackles about the God. He viewed God as source of all things.

35. What is the view of St. August about illumination?

Sol: Augustine came up with the notion of Illumination in which he views God to be the ultimate source of all knowledge enlightening us

36. Explain the view of St. Anselm about faith and reason.

Sol:”as sources of knowledge, But he was not in favor of the position held by extreme dialecticians as to the primacy of reason over faith. According to him, reason finds itself united with faith.

Choose the right answer:

37. The slogan “Let me believe that I may understand” was introduced by:

a. St. Augustin

b. St. Anselm

c. Socrates

38. Choose: who is the author of Proslogium?

a. Plato

b. St. Thomas

c. St. Anselm

d. Immanuel Kant.

39. Give the three arguments by St. Anselm to prove the existence of God.

Sol: goodness, perfection, and being

Explain the view of St. Thomas Aquinas regarding faith and reason

Sol:  he experienced such as that of the existence of God,

40. Elaborate the five main proof of the existence of God according to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sol: 1) Motion; 2) Causation; 3) Contingency; 4) Goodness; 5) Design.

Choose the right answer.

41. A modern philosopher who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe which place the sun at the centre is:

a. Galileo

b. Copernicus

c. Rene Descartes

d. Aristotle

42. Who is the publisher of Sidereal Messenger?

a. Galileo

b. Paul Sartre

c. St. Anselm

43. Explain the following philosophical movements of the modern era.

Empiricism: They held that knowledge must begin with sensory experience.
Rationalism: argued that all knowledge must begin from certain "innate ideas" in the mind.
Existentialism: is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the issue of human existence.
Pragmatism: Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected.
Idealism:  the metaphysical view that associates reality to ideas in the mind rather than to material objects

44. Distinguish Rationalism from Empiricism. Give four points on each:

45. Who is the originator of Categorical imperative?

a. Plato

b. Socrates

c. Karl Marx

d. Immanuel Kant

e. Locke

46. Who stated “God is dead” statement?

a. Friedrich Nietzsche

b. Karl Marx

c. Jean Jacques Rousseau

47. Define the terms:

Ethics: Ethics is defined as the science of good and evil
Morals: “a set of rules of behaviour considered as right by a human community
Moral code: that is to say, the set of rules of conduct of a given community.

48. Give and explain the two main branches of ethics

Sol: Applied ethics: it studies moral problems that we face daily, individually or colleague Professional ethics: often called deontology, is a branch that deals with moral problems which regard professionals like teachers, doctors, social workers, business people, etc.

49. State the four main sources of morals.

Sol: tradition, culture, environment and natural laws.

50. Give and explain the main types of ethical theories

Sol: consequentialism, deontological, virtual.

51. What is utilitarianism?

Sol: is a tradition of ethical philosophy holds that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce sadness, or the reverse of happiness, not just the happiness of the actor but that of everyone affected by it.

52. Give and explain the main forms of utilitarianism.

Sol: Act utilitarianism: the right action is the one with the best consequences, the best balance of good effects over bad effects.

Rule utilitarianism: in contrast, maintains that the consideration of consequences is relevant, not in choosing an individual action, but in deciding upon moral rules.

53. Elaborate the principles of utilitarianism

Sol: Pleasure, or happiness, is the only thing that has intrinsic value. 

Actions are right if they promote happiness, and wrong if they promote unhappiness.

Everyone's happiness counts equally.

54. Give at least five prima facies according to Ross.

55. What are the main ethical values?

Sol: honesty, fairness, integrity, trustworthiness, respect

Sol: Discuss the main principles of ethics.

Sol: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice

56. Describe the ethical philosophies of the following philosophers

Socrates: He stated:  No one chooses evil; no one chooses to act in ignorance.

Plato: He said: Happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct

Aristotle: He claimed that there must be a separate and unchanging being that is the source of all other beings.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Aquinas believed that we should always follow our conscience, even when it is wrong or causes great harm.

Immanuel Kant.: Kant's ethics are organized around the notion of a “categorical imperative,

57. Define the following concepts

Value: Values are a set of principles or standards of behaviour that are regarded as desirable, important and held in high esteem by society.:

Culture: This way of life becomes the way of viewing the world (worldview) as normal and right.

58. Define culture according Edward Taylor.

Sol: defines the culture like a complex set of language, knowledges, beliefs, arts, laws, morals, customs and habits that the person has acquired as a member of the society.

 

59. Give five categories of Rwandan cultural values and five examples on each category.

Sol: Social relation
Good governance and patriotism
Work and development
Gender equity and equality
Values from foreign countries

Other Choose category questions.

60. The theory of knowledge is known as

a. Metaphysics

b. Epistemology

c. Ethics/axiology

d. Logic

61. The question” What judgments are true?” is asked in

a. Metaphysics

b. Logic

c. Ethics

d. All the three are true

62. The study being is

a. Cosmogony

b. Ontology

c. Cosmology

d. Myth

63. All of these acts are the concern of ethics except one

a. Values

b. Diet discipline

c. Theory of conduct

d. Goodness

64. The three fundamental questions in philosophy correspond to the following branches of Philosophy

a. Logic , Aesthetics  and ontology

b. Metaphysics, Ethics, and Logic

c. Ethics, Logic and cosmology

d. Ethics, cosmogony and Myth

65. One of the following philosophers does not belong to Ancient philosophy

a. Leucippus

b. Aristotle

c. Antiphon

d. Democritus

66. Philosophy is said to have begun by

a. Athenians

b. Milesians

c. Romans
d. Westerns

67. all these philosophers are pluralists except one

a. Empedocles

b. Zeno

c. Anaxagoras

d. Democritus

68. According to Thales:

a. Earth is water

b. A disc floating in water

c. A vaporous, liquid and gas

d. No true answer

69. The “apeiron” is conceived by

a. Anaximenes

b. Anaximander

c. Thales

d. Pythagoras

70. The phrase “man is the measure of all things” is from

a. Gorgias

b. Protagoras

c. Hippias

d. All the three

71. The following methods emanated from Socrates

a. Maieutic”

b. Dialectics

c. Socratic Irony

d. All of the three