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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Beauvoir introduce the role of God in the discussion of ethics?

2. How does Beauvoir explain that a child, himself, is not serious?

3. At what time does Beauvoir suggest that children begin to notice the contradictions, hesitations and weaknesses of adults?

4. Beauvoir claims that dualists use their basic belief to establish what idea?

5. According to Beauvoir, how is freedom present within the drama of choice?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Beauvoir explain the characteristic feature of all ethics?

2. Upon what basis does Beauvoir suggest that a man decides upon what he wants to be?

3. How does Beauvoir explain that nihilism becomes the desire for power?

4. According to Beauvoir, how does man cast himself into the world?

5. How does Beauvoir claim one can avoid nihilism?

6. How does Beauvoir show that the "sub-man" passes into being a serious man?

7. How does Beauvoir relate nature of man's existence to the past, present, and future in Part I?

8. What does Beauvoir suggest causes the infantile world to begin to pass away by adolescence?

9. What does Beauvoir point out as the difference between the passionate man and the adventurer?

10. What faces the adolescent who is being liberated from the infantile world, according to Beauvoir?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Beauvoir considers the present as nothing more that a passing moment between history and the future. Provide a commentary of how Beauvoir's perspective on the past, present, and future can be used to develop a use of time and outlook that can build toward personal freedom and help with plans of projects that will affect your future.

Essay Topic 2

Beauvoir uses three stages of human development (childhood, adolescence, and adulthood) to explain the progression to free will. Summarize Beauvoir's thoughts on these three stages and give personal examples that prove her observations.

Essay Topic 3

At the end of Chapter Three, Beauvoir examines the role of politics in either establishing and protecting freedom or leading to tyranny. Choose one of Beauvoir's explanations of the role of either politics or violence leading to either freedom or tyranny and give your support or opposition to her view. Support your position with language from "The Ethics of Ambiguity" or from outside sources.

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