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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What happens to the man in the illustration?
(a) He is carried into another room while sleeping.
(b) He runs an experiment on another man.
(c) He is told that someone he knows has died.
(d) He is given the ability to punish another man.

2. Where does Locke say our ideas of morality come from?
(a) Gods and devils.
(b) Acts and punishments.
(c) Science and superstition.
(d) Pleasure and pain.

3. What does Locke say about the form of signs and words?
(a) They are innate.
(b) They are arbitrary.
(c) They are divine.
(d) They are determined.

4. Which school of philosophy divided essences into real and nominal?
(a) Thomists.
(b) Platonists.
(c) Aristotelians.
(d) Spinozans.

5. What do we have when an abstract idea cannot be broken down?
(a) Detailed words.
(b) Complex ideas.
(c) Distinct ideas.
(d) Simple ideas.

6. What modern movement did Locke prefigure in his arguments about philosophical language?
(a) Deconstruction.
(b) Relativists.
(c) Ordinary language philosophy.
(d) Ontology.

7. What happens to love over time, according to Locke?
(a) It creates freedom.
(b) It leads to marriage and commitment in acts.
(c) Like other ideas, it fades unless it is renewed.
(d) Unlike other ideas, it remains constant if it is true.

8. Which grammatical particle does Locke examine in detail?
(a) On.
(b) Under.
(c) But.
(d) In.

9. Where does Locke say we see the origin of our idea of number?
(a) Grains of sand.
(b) Trees in a forest.
(c) Our bodies and minds.
(d) Flocks of geese.

10. What does Locke say God gave man in order to fulfill his purpose?
(a) Words.
(b) Images.
(c) Technology.
(d) Weapons.

11. How does Locke define the difference between freedom and will?
(a) Freedom is the ability to act; will is the freedom to choose.
(b) Freedom is riding light in the harness; will is the engine for progress.
(c) Freedom is the ability to act; will is a type of power.
(d) Freedom is the ability to let an internal power dictate one's actions; will is the source of the internal power.

12. What idea does Locke say we use when we define a horse?
(a) The idea of human superiority.
(b) The idea of animal.
(c) The idea of God.
(d) The idea of nature.

13. What would happen if words referred to particular things, in Locke's opinion?
(a) There would have to be a word for each thing.
(b) No one would know that classes of things existed.
(c) No one would understand each other's vocabulary.
(d) Everyone would need to be an even larger language for classes of things.

14. What does Locke say desires have in common?
(a) Unhappiness as a result.
(b) A motivating force to alleviate discomfort.
(c) The ability to mitigate unease.
(d) Ineffability.

15. What is the philosopher's most important job, according to Locke?
(a) Clarify meanings of terms.
(b) Demolish opponents' arguments.
(c) Arrive at truth.
(d) Recall the steps by which truth was arrived at.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Locke describe as an abuse of words?

2. What does Locke's illustration show?

3. What are all words generated by, in Locke's account?

4. When does desire become action, in Locke's opinion?

5. Where does Locke say our idea of number comes from?

(see the answer keys)

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