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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which two ideas does Burke often find confused with one another?
(a) Sublime and beauty.
(b) Fear and terror.
(c) Picturesque and picaresque.
(d) Liberty and patriotism.

2. Why, as Burke argues, are humans "more inclined to belief than to incredulity?"
(a) Because belief engages the imagination pleasantly, while incredulity is naturally negative.
(b) Because believing makes it easier to get along with others in the social-contract model of society.
(c) Because believing something is easy, whereas not believing is more difficult.
(d) Because God is born in all of us, so we have a natural inclination to believe in him.

3. What is the general reason Burke wrote the book, as stated in the First Preface?
(a) Burke completely disagreed with all else written on the sublime and the beautiful.
(b) Burke was initially at a loss to coherently describe the sublime and beautiful.
(c) Burke wanted to make money with the publication of this treatise.
(d) Burke was taking dictation on the subject from his longtime mentor.

4. According to Burke, what is more powerful than light at representing the sublime?
(a) Darkness.
(b) Fire.
(c) Water.
(d) Humanity.

5. To what effect does Burke use the example of the Turkish emperor?
(a) To demonstrate the barbarity of the Turks.
(b) To question the validity of theories on sculpture.
(c) To prove the existence of innate knowledge.
(d) To illustrate the difference between taste and knowledge.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do all emotions and passions affect the human mind?

2. What is the main manifestation of infinity Burke mentions?

3. What two aspects comprise Burke's "artificial infinity?"

4. What, according to Burke, is the first and most simple emotion of the human mind?

5. Which method of teaching does Burke think best?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the senses to the faculty of taste, according to Burke?

2. How does Burke describe sympathy?

3. Summarize Burke's definition of pain and pleasure.

4. What causes Burke to offer a second edition of "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

5. What is the significance of power in Burke's Enquiry, and what is one example he gives of power?

6. Describe Burke's idea of beauty.

7. What motivated Burke to write "A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful"?

8. Why, according to Burke, are the principles of reason and taste the same in all humans?

9. What does Burke identify as the central tension between the imagination and the judgment?

10. According to Burke, why can grief be considered pleasurable?

(see the answer keys)

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