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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. What status as a philosopher does Camus accord Plato?

2. Where can Moorish cafes be found?

3. Who are 'the handmaids of justice'?

4. What is meant by 'quixotism'?

5. What paradox did Descartes notice in Amsterdam?

Short Essay Questions

1. What must modern man do if he is to recapture the mindset of Ancient Greece and be truly civilized?

2. What has Camus to say about the shops in Oran?

3. What problems does Camus see in modern philosophy?

4. To what do love, peace and beauty form the antidote?

5. What, according to Camus, is paradoxical about the crowded city of Oran, and crowded cities in general?

6. What lies 'beyond the yellow walls of Oran'?

7. What does Camus mean when he says that the 'tyrannies of today are improved'?

8. From information in Camus' text, what do we understand Tipasa to be?

9. In what respect did the Greek philosopher Heraclitus think of human society and the physical universe being similar?

10. What is peculiar about the built environment of Oran, according to Camus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is your attitude to Camus' definition of the absurd? Do you think his argument is valid? What is your opinion of the examples he gives? Would you be likely to argue from a different point of view? Why or why not? Call your essay 'My response th the absurd'.

Essay Topic 2

'Kafka's literary and philosophical works have had significant influence in ways of thinking and in the creation of other works of art.' Compose an essay that is a response to this statement. You will need to discuss at least two works mentioned by Camus and evaluate the way in whch these works have influenced other writers, citing at least two examples of the 'Kafkaeque'.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you argue for or against Camus' proposition that Sisyphus was happy in the eternal performance of his useless task. You will need to consider the chain of events that resulted in Sisyphus's fate. It will also be necessary for you to discuss Camus position regarding the absurd and your own response to this. There are no right or wrong answers in philosophy, but you will be assessed on the strength and validity of your argument as well as your written expression and the proper construction of your essay.

(see the answer keys)

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