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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Social Sciences.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Wilson's account, why did the French Revolution fail?
(a) Because the efficiency of the military in the Reign of Terror allowed Napoleon's rise.
(b) Because of the excesses of tyrants and terrorists.
(c) Because of the intellectual opposition to the tyranny of the revolution.
(d) Because of international fear of the spread of revolution.

2. What kind of progress does Wilson see in the history of life on earth?
(a) He sees a punctuated equilibrium.
(b) He sees the role of blind chance marring the evolutionary record.
(c) He sees a tendency toward adaptation to environment.
(d) He sees a tendency toward complexity.

3. What is the weakness of the current era of economics, in Edmund Wilson's account?
(a) It relies on too few variables.
(b) It cannot predict all human behaviors.
(c) It is grounded in untenable assumptions.
(d) It is too focused on the micro-analysis.

4. What idea of Locke's survived the Enlightenment into Romanticism?
(a) The idea mystical states.
(b) The idea of transcendent experiences.
(c) The idea of natural rights.
(d) The idea of inevitable progress.

5. Which social science does Edmund Wilson say is best situated to bridge the gap between natural science and social science?
(a) Anthropology.
(b) Economics.
(c) Political science.
(d) Sociology.

Short Answer Questions

1. What event marks the end of the Enlightenment, in Wilson's account?

2. How would you describe the relationship between Descartes' theories and modern science of the brain?

3. What causes economic theories to fail, in Edmund Wilson's estimation?

4. What did Descartes argue for, in Wilson's account?

5. Whose ideas influenced the formation of the French slogan "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"?

(see the answer key)

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