Phil 231 Questions
Justice definition
-For its own sake and for its own consequences -Social contract: to avoid suffering and injustice
Socrates' view on allegories
-They can confuse people (poetry and bravery)
Polymarchus introduces the idea of:
Appearance and reality
The discussion in which Polymarchus and Socrates assess the claim that justice is useful in times of war and peace ends with what conclusion?
Justice is not very important thing, as it is useful only when something is useless and the just person, who is best at protecting money, is also best at stealing it, and so is kind of a thief
In creating the Guardian(s), Socrates makes an analogy between:
Leaders and pedigree guard-dogs
Socrates agrees with Thrasymachus:
That justice is an advantage, but not in the same way that Thrasymachus believes.
What does the discussion about the band of robbers show?
That unjust people cannot accomplish their goals without being just towards each other and hence, justice is more powerful than injustice
According to Socrates, courage come about when:
A person knows what to fear and what not to fear
A counsel of prudence is: a) Any command that counsels the will, but is not a counsel of reason. It is, rather, a counsel of the imagination. b) Any command that counsels the will, but is not a hypothetical imperative. It is, rather, a counsel of reason. c) Any command that counsels the will, but is aimed at our happiness and is a counsel of reason. d) Any command that counsels the will and is not a counsel of the imagination.
A)
According to Kant, 'practical rules' are: a) Rules we should in general abide by, but because they are based on experience, admit of exceptions and hence do not always work. b) Rules we should in general abide by, but because they are based on reason, admit of exceptions and hence do not always work. c) Rules we should not, in general, abide by, because they are based on experience that admit of exceptions and hence do not always work. d) Rules we should in general abide by, but because they are based on experience, do not admit of exceptions and hence do not always work.
A)
How does Socrates define wisdom? A) It is the ability to do what is best for the whole of one's life or for the whole of the city B) It is knowledge of what to fear and what not to fear C) It is when the best part of the soul/city rules over the worst part D) It is when each person/part of the soul does what he or she is best at
A)
Socrates is looking for a definition of justice that is: A) Universal and applicable in all cases B) A rule of conduct C) Going to guarantee us external rewards in this lifetime D) Going to guarantee him a job as ruler in the state of Republic
A)
Socrates thinks that: A) Just education is about developing just character, and the fewer false beliefs a person has, the better she is B) Just education is about developing just character, and the number of false beliefs a person has is irrelevant to just character C) Just education is about developing just character, and the more false beliefs a person has, the better she is D) Just education is about developing unjust character, and the fewer false beliefs a person has, the better she is
A)
Who argues that unjust people have happier or better lives than just people? A) Thrasymchus and Glaucon B) Thrasymchus and Cephalus C) Cephalus and Polymarchus D) Polymarchus and Thrasymchus
A)
Glaucon's challenge comes in three parts. They include accounts of: A) The nature and origin of justice; justice is practiced unwillingly; the life of the just person is better than the life of the unjust person B) The nature and origin of justice; justice is practiced unwillingly; the life of the unjust person is better than the life of the just person C) The nature and origin of justice; justice is practiced willingly; the life of the just person is better than the life of the unjust person D) Justice is giving back what we owe; justice is practiced unwillingly; the life of the just person is better than the life of the unjust person
B)
In the sketch of the perfect unjust person, that person: A) Appears to everyone as an unjust person, and is responsible for consummate injustice B) Appears to everyone as a perfectly just person, and yet is really responsible for consummate injustice C) Really doesn't care how people think she appears, and pays no attention to that sort of thing at all D) Has many scruples about being unjust, but can't help herself
B)
Over the course of several craft (techie) analogies, we learn the experts: A) In practicing their expertise do what is to the advantage of the weaker party, not the stronger; use their expertise to either improve others or leave them as they are, but never make them worse off; try to outdo those like them; desire the perfection of their craft B) In practicing their expertise do what is to the advantage of the weaker party, not the stronger; use their expertise to either improve others or leave them as they are, but never make them worse off; never try to outdo those like them; desire the perfection of their craft C) In practicing their expertise do what is to the advantage of the stronger party, not the weaker; use their expertise to either improve others or leave them as they are, but never make them worse off; never try to outdo those like them; desire the perfection of their craft D) In practicing their expertise do what is to the advantage of the weaker party, not the stronger; use their expertise to either improve others or leave them as they are, but never make them worse off; never try to outdo those like them; do not desire the perfection of their craft
B)
Socrates and Thrasymachus agree that the unjust person tries to outdo: A) Those like himself or herself B) Those like himself or herself and those unlike C) Those unlike himself or herself D) Those who challenge the status quo
B)
Socrates argues that our highest aspirations, no matter who we are, are: A) To be as imperfect as possible B) To be as perfect as possible C) To be moderately good at some things, but never aspire for more D) None of the above
B)
Socrates says that justice is valuable for its own sake and its consequences. Glaucon challenges Socrates to defend: A) The view that justice is valuable for its consequences B) The view that justice is valuable for its own sake C) The view that justice is valuable for its own sake and consequences D) The view that justice is not valuable for its own sake and consequences
B)
The definition of the function of a thing is: A) What many things can do B) What a thing alone can do or what is does best C) What a thing alone can't do or what is does best D) None of the above
B)
The duty to be beneficent to others is: a) A perfect or direct duty b) An imperfect or indirect duty c) A hypothetical imperative d) A technical imperative
B)
The freed prisoner in the cave learns that: a) There is no such thing as reality - all is flux b) There is such a thing as reality - all is not flux c) That the world of appearance is easy to live in for one who knows the truth d) None of the above.
B)
What is the conclusion of the thought experiment based on the ring of Gyges? A) Both the just person and the unjust person will behave unjustly with the power of the ring B) Justice is practiced unwillingly C) Justice is practiced willingly D) Both the just person and the unjust person will behave justly with the power of the ring
B)
According to Socrates, a good ruler will have these qualities:
Be protective of her own people, be high-spirited and gentle, be strong and courageous, be a lover of knowledge
One of the reasons Socrates doesn't think it makes sense to say that justice is to be good to our friends and bring harm to our enemies is:
By the law of opposites, the person cannot use her 'goodness' to make someone bad
According to Kant, if one fails to cultivate one's talents, one: a) Treats oneself merely as a means b) Treats oneself merely as a means by not fulfilling ones potential c) Treats oneself not merely as a means and does not fulfill ones potential d) None of the above
C)
Socrates argues that good people with political authority rule: A) For things like power, honor, and money B) At all times with the goal of radically changing society C) To avoid the punishment of being ruled over by a worse person D) All of the above
C)
According to Socrates, images and particular objects in the world of appearance are: a) Real and also are things we have beliefs, or opinions about. b) Unreal and also are things we have beliefs, or opinions about. c) Beautiful, and also the true object of knowledge for the true lover. d) Both real and unreal, and are things we have beliefs (or opinions) about.
D)
Cephalus admits that wealth has something to do with his contentment. What does he take to be the greatest benefit from being wealthy? A) Having money allows him to possess what he is madly in love with (ex. money) B) It makes him feel proud to have money C) Having money better allows him to satisfy appetites or desires D) Having money allows him to avoid deceit or cheating while alive, and hence diminishes fears of death in old age
D)
In assessing the lives of both the just person and the unjust person, Glaucon concludes about them that: A) The perfectly unjust person must have a reputation for justice even though that person is a colossal criminal B) The perfectly unjust person must have a reputation for injustice even though that person is a colossal criminal C) The perfectly unjust person must have a reputation for injustice even though that person is not a colossal criminal D) None of the above
D)
In saying that the duty to cultivate one's talents is imperfect or indirect, we mean: a) We can frame the duty, but we cannot will it as a universal law because the system of nature would not subsist if every person were to neglect her talents. b) We can frame the duty, and rational beings do will that their faculties and talents be cultivated, but only because they are obligated by moral law to do so. c) We can frame the duty, and rational beings are implanted with a universal law that gives them a natural instinct to cultivate their talents. d) We can frame the duty, and rational beings do desire that their faculties and talents be cultivated, but not because they are obligated by universal law to do so.
D)
Kant and Socrates think: a) That imitating what is perfect (e.g., God or the Forms) is the most moral or just life one can live. b) That there is an important distinction to be made between happiness and pleasure. c) That even though the ends of actions are out of our control, they should be the only consideration in any and every course of action. d) None of the above.
D)
Kant and Socrates think: a) We can refuse to return what we have borrowed, by lying if necessary, if in the end, it would be best for everyone. b) We cannot refuse to return what we have borrowed, even if in the end, it would be best for everyone if we were to refuse. c) We can never know what the end result of our actions will be, and hence, they should not in any way be among our considerations of the right thing to do. d) None of the above.
D)
Socrates thinks that: A) Injustice is more profitable than justice B) Justice is a kind of compromise C) It's easier to find justice in something small, like a the individual, than in something large like the city D) It's easier to find justice in something large, like a city, than in something small like the individual
D)
What is the one law of the city of pigs? A) With a minimum of productive people, everyone's basic needs can be met B) We need cities because individuals are not self-sufficient C) People make up a city, not buildings and institutions D) Each person will do what her nature best suits her for
D)
Who argues that the proper function of the soul is injustice? A) Cephalus and Polymarchus B) Polymarchus and Thrasymachus C) Thrasymachus and Glaucon D) None of the above
D)
What is the founding law of the luxurious city?
Each person will do what her nature best suits her for
How are the gods portrayed in the Republic:
Gods are as they really are and promote traditional qualities of bravery plus respect for the gods, for parents, and for friends
The gods, being perfect, must be:
Good, uniform, unchanging, truthful
Why do Socrates and his interlocutors give up the city of pigs?
Human beings want luxuries, and the city of pigs is not big enough or luxurious enough to find justice and injustice in the kind of city human beings would form
Thrasymachus first argues that justice is the advantage of the stronger. Socrates uses a craft analogy to show that this definition is wrong, concluding that:
No branch of expertise considers what is to its own advantage, but rather what is to the advantage of the weaker
Adeimantus says that conventional view in favor of justice is:
People tell their children to be just for its own sake, but also for the rewards that come from being just, However, at the end of the day, we lack a defense of justice 'for its own sake'
