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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. At his birth in 384 B.C., into what kind of family is Aristotle born?

2. Who are Francis Bacon's relative that cause it to be said that his political career began at his birth in 1561?

3. What does Spinoza say a literal interpretation of the Bible does?

4. What does Spinoza's Ethic do with Buddhism and Christianity, the philosophy of Machiavelli and Nietzsche, and the democracy of the Greeks?

5. What does Spinoza do to support himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. Contrast Aristotle's Lyceum with Plato's Academy.

2. What is a common criticism of Voltaire?

3. How can Voltaire's life be compared to that of socrates?

4. Describe Voltaire's The Essay on Morals.

5. what methodology marks a difference in the thought processes of Plato and Aristotle?

6. Describe the origins of stoicism and Epicureanism in Greek philosophy.

7. What is Voltaire's reaction to Rousseau's suggestion that men were responsible for the deaths in the Lisbon earthquake?

8. How does Spinoza's education come from questions he wants answers to?

9. Describe Spinoza's identification of three ethical systems.

10. Briefly describe Plato's ideal rulers.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on the death of Socrates. In your essay discuss the devotion of his students and why Socrates chooses not to escape Athens but drink the hemlock instead. Be sure to include the real reason Socrates is sentenced to death.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on Santayana's concept of Animal Faith which he says he lives by. Express your opinion about his assertion that Animal Faith may be faith in a myth but it is a good myth. Include the idea of being skeptically strict to justify a certain amount of Animal Faith to live by. Show how Santayana suggests that transcendentalism leaves room for a need for Animal Faith.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on philosopher-kings. Include in your essay the way proponents of philosopher-kings probably saw themselves as able to govern justly. Explain why the theory that sounds well never worked well in reality.

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