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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. Ion is renowned for his ability to recite which famous poet?
(a) Shakespeare.
(b) Homer.
(c) Aristophanes.
(d) Socrates.

2. What do Socrates' interlocutors object to in the beginning of Book V?
(a) All children and women should be shared (and raised) in common.
(b) Children must be born on the 7th of the month.
(c) All property would be owned by a family.
(d) They do not give Socrates any objections until later in the dialogue.

3. How does Socrates rebut the definition of virtue offered by the poets?
(a) By instructing Meno that it is impossible to have an abstract entity which moves other things but does not move itself.
(b) By showing Meno that all men desire good things, but that not all men are virtuous.
(c) By proving to Meno that there are many commonly held virtues.
(d) By giving Meno a solid definition of virtue.

4. How does Polemarchus define justice?
(a) Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
(b) Doing good to one's friends and evil to one's enemies.
(c) Being fair in all contexts.
(d) Allowing each man to live his life freely.

5. According to Socrates' insinuation, artistic knowledge is characterized as which of the following?
(a) Universal.
(b) Useless.
(c) Subjective.
(d) Ironic.

Short Answer Questions

1. What analogies does Socrates employ to refute Thrasymachus' position on justice?

2. Socrates argues that laws are___________.

3. From which poet does Polemarchus derive his definition of justice?

4. Describe Thrasymachus' view of Socrates.

5. What does Cephalus say to Socrates about old age?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the crucial difference, according to Socrates, between the common man and the philosopher?

2. Why is Meno's definition of virtue unsatisfactory for Socrates?

3. What is the purpose of Aristophanes' myth about men and women once being unified and then split apart? How does he end his story?

4. What is Socrates' view on poets and soothsayers?

5. What is the best way, according to Socrates, that people not be given false impressions about the gods?

6. Whom does Socrates think is to be chosen to rule the city and why?

7. How does Socrates distinguish knowledge known through art from knowledge known through inspiration?

8. What is Socrates' plan for the familial arrangement of the republic?

9. What is Socrates ultimate conclusion about the function of justice?

10. How is the story of the Symposium framed? How does this relate to the cultural values of the Greeks?

(see the answer keys)

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