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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 the type of future facing individual humans affect civilizations such as Ancient Greece and Rome, according to Beauvoir?

2. If an individual does not inform a slave of his oppression, what does Beauvoir suggest of their position regarding tyranny?

3. How does Beauvoir claim a goal is defined?

4. How does Beauvoir suggest that Christian charity, Epicurean cult of friendship, and Kantian moralism share the same point of views?

5. How do ethics of ambiguity avoid being solipsistic?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Beauvoir mean when she says life id ambiguous?

2. How does Beauvoir represent the present in the face of the future?

3. How does Beauvoir claim that science can find truth?

4. How does Beauvoir relate death to life?

5. What does Beauvoir claim prevents the future from being considered a harmonious development?

6. How does Beauvoir claim living as an existentialist would affect men?

7. How does Beauvoir claim that we can best secure our personal freedom?

8. What does Beauvoir identify as one of the chief objections leveled against existentialism with regard to freedom?

9. What is the contradiction that Beauvoir states regarding the difficulty of living the in the modern age?

10. What is an example that Beauvoir uses to illustrate the "Antinomies of Action"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Beauvoir begins Chapter Three by explaining the social aspect of freedom and then details the affect of the "Aesthetic Attitude" on it. Examine the "Aesthetic Attitude", whether or not it has a positive influence on freedom, and what sort of individual detailed by Beauvoir (the sub-man, the serious man, the adventurer, the nihilist, or the passionate man) is most likely to adopt this attitude.

Essay Topic 2

Beauvoir identifies adults who conduct themselves as, "grown up children." Identify the conditions Beauvoir notes that places an individual in this condition, provide evidence from history or current events that this condition has manifested itself on a broad basis, and detail how the individuals in that condition were broken from it.

Essay Topic 3

Beauvoir begins Chapter One, "Ambiguity and Freedom" with a brief review of materialism, dualism, and existentialism and how they either affirm or disregard the ambiguous nature of life. Give choose one of the philosophies and summarize Beauvoir's views on it, then comment on your agreement or disagreement with Beauvoir based upon your perspective of the philosophy you have chosen. Support your argument with proofs from "The Ethics of Ambiguity" and from at least one outside source.

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