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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Great Branches of Learning.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who proposed the idea of unity of species that follow a few simple laws?
(a) Socrates.
(b) Plato.
(c) Solon.
(d) Thales of Miletus.

2. What does Wilson say he was searching for as a young man?
(a) Mythical experience.
(b) Revelation.
(c) Objective reality.
(d) Meaning.

3. What claims do philosophers make for the unification of knowledge?
(a) That it can bring more peace to political conflicts.
(b) That scientific solutions are incomplete without the humanities.
(c) That it can reduce the need for science.
(d) That it can resolve issues the sciences cannot answer.

4. What does Wilson say we discover when we link social sciences, biology, ethics and environmental policy?
(a) Fields have their own unique disciplines.
(b) Each field bolsters reasoning in other fields.
(c) Academic research involves similar intellectual work no matter the field.
(d) Fields need to have unified sources of funding.

5. What field does Wilson say philosophers and scientists should collaborate in?
(a) Biology and social sciences.
(b) Urban planning.
(c) International relations.
(d) Conflict resolution.

Short Answer Questions

1. What philosophical assumption underlay the notion that evolution followed simple laws?

2. Einstein recognized what in his discoveries, in Wilson's account?

3. Who influenced Wilson's idea of unified learning?

4. Where did Wilson develop the idea of unified learning?

5. What is consilience?

(see the answer key)

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