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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What defines a good society, according to Rawls?
(a) A just society.
(b) A wealthy society.
(c) A strong society.
(d) A society that owns the most land.

2. Whom of the following was a leading 'Intuitionist'?
(a) J.S. Mill.
(b) John Hurt.
(c) Socrates.
(d) John Locke.

3. What is another name for the Original Position?
(a) The First Argument.
(b) The Man in the Barrel Argument.
(c) The Waiting Room Argument.
(d) The Brain in the Vat Argument.

4. What is the Veil of Ignorance in Rawls' argument?
(a) A metaphor for not being able to tell what kind of society one will later be in.
(b) A metaphor to describe different types of citizens.
(c) A garment worn by politicians.
(d) A metaphor for a different type of belief.

5. What does Rawls believe is the dominant theory of political philosophy throughout the 20th Century?
(a) Republicanism.
(b) Utilitarianism.
(c) Socialism.
(d) Ontology.

6. What is the first virtue of social institution, according to Rawls?
(a) Justice.
(b) Strength.
(c) Wealth.
(d) Militarism.

7. What does the Individual gain out of the Social Contract?
(a) Power and glory.
(b) Protection and security.
(c) Military might.
(d) Money and wealth.

8. Who should hold the greatest advantage in Rawls’ ideal society?
(a) The royals.
(b) The poor.
(c) No one.
(d) The rich.

9. How does the ignorant chooser know what is fair and what is not, according to Rawls?
(a) Because they are taught what to believe.
(b) Because God told them so.
(c) Because the monarch told them so.
(d) Because of an innate knowledge of fairness.

10. What is the maxim of Utilitarian philosophy?
(a) The greatest good for the greatest number.
(b) The greatest good to the wealthiest.
(c) Might makes right.
(d) The greatest good to the deserving.

11. Which century was Intuitionism first developed?
(a) Seventeenth.
(b) Fifteenth.
(c) Sixteenth.
(d) Eighteenth.

12. What branch of philosophy is this book concerned with?
(a) Political.
(b) Metaphysics.
(c) Skeptical.
(d) Epistemology.

13. What does Rawls accept about his own theory?
(a) That it might be hard to apply to the real world.
(b) That it is quite socialist.
(c) That there is a certain amount of Intuitionism present in 'fairness'.
(d) That there is a degree of Marxism within it.

14. What does Rawls claim about the Social Contract theory?
(a) It is better than Marxism.
(b) It is better than Utilitarian theory.
(c) It is the only philosophy that makes sense.
(d) It is ridiculous.

15. Who was the father of Utilitarianism?
(a) David Hume.
(b) Jesus Christ.
(c) Spinoza.
(d) Karl Marx.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the implicit assumption that the Social Contract theory makes?

2. What does the Individual lose from the Social Contract?

3. Where did the early Intuitionists believe they got their appreciation of morals, rights and wrongs or fairness?

4. Why is the argument called the Original Position?

5. What is the greatest criticism levelled against Utilitarianism?

(see the answer keys)

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