Rationalism: Key Philosophers and Concepts

Key Figures in Rationalist Philosophy

1. Who are the Three Great Rationalists?

1. Descartes, Plato, and Spinoza
2. Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza
3. Descartes, Leibniz, and Locke

Answer: B. Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza. Their philosophy emphasizes the importance of innate reasoning abilities in acquiring knowledge.

2. What is Saint Augustine's "Confessions" About?

1. Life
2. Religion
3. Nature of Time

Answer: C. Nature of time. He famously stated: "If no one asks me what time is, I know; if they ask and I try to explain, I do not know."

3. From Which Community was Spinoza Expelled?

1. Christian community
2. Jewish community
3. Muslim community

Answer: B. Jewish community. He was expelled due to his philosophical views, which were considered heretical.

4. How did St. Augustine Fuse Platonism and Christian Philosophy?

1. Christianity isn’t in itself a philosophy.
2. With marriage
3. Through death

Answer: A. Because fundamental beliefs are of a historical rather than a philosophical nature.

5. Which New Branch of Mathematics did Descartes Develop?

1. Algebra
2. Syntax
3. Both are correct

Answer: A. Analytical Geometry. He is known for his contributions to mathematics, particularly the development of analytical geometry, which combines algebra and geometry.

6. From How Many Points Can We See and Prove the Existence of God?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 4

Answer: B. 3. These are the teleological, cosmological, and ontological arguments.

7. The Teleological Argument is Based On…

1. Everything seems to be acting out some purpose or plan.
2. Everything seems to be acting out a ruler.
3. Both are correct.

Answer: A. It looks for a purpose or design in the natural world.

8. The Cosmological Argument is Based On…

1. Everything seems to be acting out some purpose or plan.
2. The universe was created by someone.
3. The universe was created after the Big Bang’s explosion.

Answer: B. This argument posits that the universe must have a cause, which is identified with God.

9. The Ontological Argument is Based On…

1. Demonstrating the existence of God.
2. Demonstrating extramental existence.
3. Demonstrating human existence.

Answer: A. This argument attempts to prove God's existence from the concept of God itself.

10. Descartes Was…

1. Indispensable in conceiving that Western people could attain certainty with our knowledge of the world.
2. Indispensable in conceiving that Oriental people could attain certainty with our knowledge of the world.
3. Both are incorrect.

Answer: A. He focused on Western thought and the pursuit of certain knowledge.

11. For the Earliest Philosophers, the Fundamental Question Was…

1. What is there?
2. What does the world consist of?
3. Both are incorrect.

Answer: C. The fundamental questions were both "What is there?" and "What does the world consist of?".

12. Three Principal Characteristics of Descartes Are…

1. Refusal of tradition.
2. Refusal of tradition, and he is modern.
3. None is correct.

Answer: B. Descartes rejected traditional philosophical authorities and embraced a modern approach to knowledge.

13. Which Philosopher Proposed a Unification of All Sciences?

1. Descartes
2. Spinoza
3. Leibniz

Answer: A. Descartes envisioned a unified system of knowledge based on reason.

14. Who Invented Calculus First, Newton or Leibniz?

1. Newton
2. Leibniz
3. Descartes

Answer: B. Leibniz invented it independently of Newton, although Newton claimed to have developed it earlier.

15. What Else Did Leibniz Invent?

1. Kinetic energy and mathematical logic.
2. Kinetic energy
3. Mathematical logic

Answer: A. He made significant contributions to both physics and logic.

16. How is Substance, According to Leibniz?

1. With only one property.
2. Without properties.
3. Infinite properties.

Answer: C. Leibniz believed that substances, or monads, have an infinite number of properties.

17. When the Church’s Authority Over Thought Was Finally Loosened…

1. Many people came to believe that knowledge of the world could be gained by the use of reason alone.
2. Many people came to believe in other religions.
3. They had downgraded sense experience as a source of knowledge.

Answer: A. This period marked a shift towards rationalism and empiricism.

18. Aquinas Based Himself On…

1. Saint Augustine
2. Aristotle
3. Newton

Answer: B. Aquinas integrated Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology.

19. Ockham's Razor Holds a Distinction Between…

1. Reason and faith.
2. Love and faith.
3. Reason and love.

Answer: A. Ockham's Razor emphasizes simplicity and distinguishes between philosophical reasoning and religious faith.

20. Descartes Thought About Dreams That...

1. Dreams don’t exist.
2. Dreams are a “déjà vu”.
3. Dreams were about his everyday activities.

Answer: C. Descartes considered the nature of dreams in his philosophical investigations.

21. Which Doctrine from St. Augustine Wasn’t Accepted by the Church?

1. Platonic doctrine.
2. Happiness doctrine.
3. Predestination doctrine.

Answer: C. His doctrine of predestination was controversial and not fully accepted.

22. When Were Descartes' Two Major Works Published?

1. 2017 and 1988
2. 1637 and 1641
3. 705 BC and 805 AD

Answer: B. *Discourse on the Method* (1637) and *Meditations on First Philosophy* (1641) are key works by Descartes.

23. Descartes Saw Human Beings As…

1. Experiencing subjects we have done.
2. Experiencing subjects whose world, apart from themselves, consists of material objects which they observe.
3. Slaves of God.

Answer: B. Descartes emphasized the role of the individual as a thinking subject observing the external world.

24. Aquinas Believes That…

1. The world doesn’t exist and all is a dream.
2. The world had a beginning, having been created by God, and will one day have an end.
3. The world had a beginning, having been created by God, and it won’t finish.

Answer: B. Aquinas's view aligns with Christian cosmology.

25. Descartes Said That Mathematical Demonstrations Began...

1. From our personal experiences.
2. From all combinations of numbers.
3. From a minimal number of premises of the utmost simplicity.

Answer: C. Descartes emphasized the importance of clear and distinct premises in mathematical reasoning.