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RBSE SS Philosophy study materials
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RBSE SS Philosophy practice questions

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Question 1Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

According to Nyaya, which of the following is pratyaksha (perception)?

  1. reliable verbal testimony (shabda)
  2. comparison through similarity (upamana)
  3. inference from a universal relation (vyapti)
  4. sense-object contact (sannikarsha) Correct answer.

Explanation

Nyaya defines pratyaksha as cognition generated by sense-object contact (sannikarsha); it is direct and precedes inference. Inference depends on vyapti, testimony on reliable words, and upamana on similarity, so those are distinct pramanas.

Question 2Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Samkhya describes reality as consisting of two eternal principles. Which pair is correct?

  1. purusha and prakriti Correct answer.
  2. paramanu and akasha
  3. brahman and maya
  4. atman and anatta

Explanation

Samkhya is a dualist system: purusha is pure, inactive consciousness, while prakriti is the eternal primordial nature that evolves into the world. Brahman and maya belong to Advaita, atman and anatta to Buddhist debate, and paramanu and akasha to Vaisheshika physics.

Question 3Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Which pramana does Charvaka (Lokayata) accept as valid?

  1. upamana (comparison)
  2. shabda (verbal testimony)
  3. pratyaksha Correct answer.
  4. anumana (inference)

Explanation

Charvaka restricts valid knowledge to pratyaksha, direct perception, and rejects inference and testimony as unreliable. Shabda, anumana and upamana are accepted by other schools such as Nyaya and Mimamsa.

Question 4Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Advaita Vedanta, what is the ontological status of maya?

  1. an eternal reality dual to Brahman
  2. anirvachaniya (indeterminate) Correct answer.
  3. a mere word with no cosmic function
  4. absolutely real, like Brahman

Explanation

Advaita calls maya anirvachaniya because it cannot be described as either sat (real) or asat (unreal); it is sublated by brahmajnana. Maya is dependent on Brahman and not a second independent reality.

Question 5Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra defines yoga as which of the following?

  1. cessation of the modifications of chitta Correct answer.
  2. union of atman with Brahman through bhakti
  3. performance of Vedic ritual action
  4. logical analysis of substances and qualities

Explanation

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.2 defines yoga as chitta-vritti-nirodha, the stilling of the modifications of chitta. This is a mental discipline, not ritual action or logical analysis.

Question 6Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Which list gives the six padarthas of Vaisheshika ontology?

  1. rupa, rasa, gandha, sparsha, shabda, manas
  2. purusha, prakriti, buddhi, ahamkara, manas, indriya
  3. pratyaksha, anumana, shabda, upamana, arthapatti, anupalabdhi
  4. dravya, guna, karma, samanya, vishesha, samavaya Correct answer.

Explanation

Vaisheshika classifies reality under six padarthas: dravya, guna, karma, samanya, vishesha and samavaya; abhava is added later as a seventh. The other lists mix Samkhya tattvas, pramanas or sense qualities.

Question 7Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Mimamsa's doctrine that the validity of knowledge is intrinsic and self-established is called what?

  1. arthapatti (postulation)
  2. anupalabdhi (non-apprehension)
  3. paratah pramanya
  4. svatah pramanya Correct answer.

Explanation

Mimamsa holds svatah pramanya: the validity of a cognition is known intrinsically, without depending on another cognition. Paratah pramanya is the rival view that validity is established externally.

Question 8Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Buddhist pratityasamutpada is a middle way that avoids which two extremes?

  1. dualism (dvaita) and monism (advaita)
  2. shashvata and uccheda Correct answer.
  3. realism (dravya-vada) and idealism (vijnana-vada)
  4. theism (ishvara-vada) and atheism (nirishvara-vada)

Explanation

Pratityasamutpada says things arise dependently, so Buddhism avoids shashvatavada (eternalism) and ucchedavada (annihilationism). It is a middle way, not a form of monism or theism.

Question 9Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Jain syadvada, the seven-fold predication (saptabhangi) is meant to express what?

  1. reality has only one aspect and other views are false
  2. every judgment is unconditionally true from one absolute standpoint
  3. no predication can ever be made about reality
  4. reality is manifold, so each judgment is qualified by syat Correct answer.

Explanation

Jain syadvada uses syat ("in some respect") to qualify every predication because reality is anekanta, manifold. The saptabhangi expresses seven qualified standpoints, not unconditional assertions or total silence.

Question 10Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Which pair correctly matches the causal theories of these schools?

  1. Samkhya: asatkaryavada; Nyaya-Vaisheshika: satkaryavada
  2. Samkhya: vivartavada; Advaita: parinamavada
  3. Samkhya: satkaryavada; Nyaya-Vaisheshika: asatkaryavada Correct answer.
  4. Charvaka: satkaryavada; Samkhya: asatkaryavada

Explanation

Samkhya-Yoga hold satkaryavada, the effect pre-exists in its material cause and becomes manifest. Nyaya-Vaisheshika hold asatkaryavada, the effect is a new product not previously existent in the cause.

Question 11Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Samkhya analyzes prakriti through three constituent qualities (gunas). Which set names them correctly?

  1. sattva, rajas, tamas Correct answer.
  2. rupa, rasa, gandha
  3. jnana, iccha, kriya
  4. dharma, artha, kama

Explanation

Samkhya holds that prakriti is made of three gunas that are always co-present but differ in dominance. Sattva is light and illuminating, rajas is activating and restless, and tamas is heavy and obscuring. Their disturbed equilibrium, triggered by the proximity of purusha, begins the evolution of the world.

Question 12Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Which limb comes first in Patanjali's eight-limbed (ashtanga) yoga?

  1. yama Correct answer.
  2. asana
  3. pranayama
  4. niyama

Explanation

Patanjali lists the eight limbs in a fixed order: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. Yama, the ethical restraints, is therefore the first limb, and niyama, the observances, follows it.

Question 13Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Buddhist doctrine, anatta (anatma) asserts which of the following?

  1. there is no permanent, unchanging self anywhere in the person Correct answer.
  2. the individual self is numerically identical with the absolute Brahman
  3. the self is a permanent substance that survives the death of the body
  4. the self is an eternal, partless atom distinct from the body

Explanation

Anatta is the not-self teaching: what we call a person is a stream of five aggregates that are conditioned and impermanent. Careful analysis finds no permanent, unchanging essence behind them. This distinguishes Buddhism from schools that posit an eternal self or atman.

Question 14Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Nyaya states inference in five members (panchavayava). Which sequence is correct?

  1. pratijna, udaharana, hetu, nigamana, upanaya
  2. hetu, pratijna, nigamana, udaharana, upanaya
  3. udaharana, pratijna, hetu, nigamana, upanaya
  4. pratijna, hetu, udaharana, upanaya, nigamana Correct answer.

Explanation

Nyaya's five-membered syllogism proceeds from thesis (pratijna) through reason (hetu), example (udaharana) and application (upanaya) to conclusion (nigamana). The example supplies the invariable connection (vyapti) on which the inference rests. The final member restates the thesis as established.

Question 15Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Vaisheshika ontology, samavaya is best characterized as which relation?

  1. the absence of an object in a place where it could be perceived
  2. inherence, the inseparability of quality and substance Correct answer.
  3. the conjunction of two substances that were previously separate
  4. the real transformation of a cause into its effect

Explanation

Samavaya is inherence, an eternal relation between items that cannot occur apart, such as a quality and the substance that possesses it, or a whole and its parts. It differs from samyoga, which is the contingent conjunction of two substances that can be separated. Vaisheshika treats samavaya as its own category precisely because such relations are not mere contact.

Question 16Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Advaita Vedanta uses adhyasa to explain ordinary empirical experience. Adhyasa is which of the following?

  1. the real transformation of Brahman into the material world
  2. the conjunction of two eternally distinct and independent substances
  3. the intrinsic self-validity of every cognition as soon as it arises
  4. superimposition of the self on the not-self and the not-self on the self Correct answer.

Explanation

Adhyasa is beginningless superimposition, in which attributes of the self and the not-self are mistakenly exchanged, as when the body's properties are attributed to the self. Sankara makes this the root of empirical bondage and the target of Advaita analysis. Correct knowledge of Brahman removes the superimposition without producing a new reality.

Question 17Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

For Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, how is the individual soul related to Brahman?

  1. the soul is a temporary illusion produced by beginningless ignorance
  2. the soul is numerically identical with Brahman without any qualification whatsoever
  3. the soul and Brahman are wholly independent and unrelated eternal realities
  4. the soul is a mode (prakara) of Brahman, distinct yet inseparable Correct answer.

Explanation

Ramanuja holds that Brahman is qualified by conscious souls and insentient matter, which are its modes and its body (sharira). They are real and distinct from Brahman yet inseparably dependent on it, so unity and difference are both preserved. This avoids the sheer identity of Advaita and the sheer separation of Dvaita.

Question 18Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta summarizes its realism in panchabheda. Which difference belongs to that set?

  1. the difference between two Brahman
  2. the difference between Brahman and the individual soul Correct answer.
  3. the difference between one maya and another maya
  4. the difference between two Ishvaras

Explanation

Madhva's five real differences are those between God and souls, between one soul and another, between souls and insentient things, between God and insentient things, and among insentient things themselves. The God-soul difference is one of these five and is taken to be eternal and real. Dvaita thus denies any monistic erasure of distinction.

Question 19Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara Mishra differ on the number of pramanas. Which pramana does Kumarila accept that Prabhakara does not?

  1. upamana (comparison)
  2. shabda (verbal testimony)
  3. pratyaksha (perception)
  4. anupalabdhi (non-apprehension) Correct answer.

Explanation

Mimamsa expands the pramana list to include arthapatti and anupalabdhi alongside perception, inference, comparison and testimony. Kumarila accepts anupalabdhi as a distinct means for knowing absence, whereas the Prabhakara school does not count it separately. The dispute shows how Mimamsa's concern with ritual injunctions and their absence shaped its epistemology.

Question 20Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Yogacara (Vijnanavada) Buddhism, the storehouse consciousness that carries karmic traces is called what?

  1. alaya-vijnana Correct answer.
  2. citta-matra
  3. nirodha-samapatti
  4. manovijnana

Explanation

Yogacara holds that experience is consciousness-only (vijnaptimatrata) and posits the alaya-vijnana as the storehouse where karmic seeds (bijas) are deposited and ripened. It functions as the substrate that explains continuity of karma across moments and rebirth without a permanent self. The other terms name a mental faculty, the doctrine itself, or a meditative attainment.

Question 21Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

According to Charvaka (Lokayata), the physical world is ultimately composed of which set of elements?

  1. Ether, earth, water, and fire
  2. Consciousness, matter, time, and space
  3. Earth, water, fire, and air Correct answer.
  4. Earth, water, fire, air, and space

Explanation

Charvaka materialism recognizes only four perceptible material elements-earth, water, fire, and air-and holds that consciousness arises from their combination. It rejects ether (akasha) and any independently existing soul or afterlife.

Question 22Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In early Buddhist analysis, the person is conventionally analyzed into five aggregates (skandhas). Which list names them correctly?

  1. Body, mind, soul, karma, and liberation
  2. Earth, water, fire, air, and space
  3. Form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness Correct answer.
  4. Form, sensation, perception, habit, and ego

Explanation

The five skandhas are rupa (form), vedana (feeling), samjna (perception), samskara (mental formations), and vijnana (consciousness). They exhaust the conventional person and support the teaching of anatta.

Question 23Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Jainism summarizes its path to liberation as the three jewels (triratna). Which set is correct?

  1. Right speech, right action, and right livelihood
  2. Right faith, right meditation, and right austerity
  3. Right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
  4. Right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct Correct answer.

Explanation

Jain triratna consists of samyak darshana (right faith), samyak jnana (right knowledge), and samyak charitra (right conduct). These three together constitute the ratnatraya that leads to moksha.

Question 24Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Nyaya epistemology, upamana is a distinct pramana. What kind of knowledge does it primarily produce?

  1. Knowledge of an invariable concomitance between a probans and probandum
  2. Knowledge of the relation between a word and its meaning through reliable testimony
  3. Direct cognition arising from contact between a sense organ and its object
  4. Knowledge of a thing through its similarity to something already known Correct answer.

Explanation

Nyaya defines upamana as knowledge produced by similarity, classically illustrated by recognizing a gavaya (wild cow) because it resembles a known cow. It is not testimony, inference, or sensory contact, though it may involve memory and comparison.

Question 25Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Which set of pramanas does classical Samkhya accept as valid means of knowledge?

  1. Perception, inference, and verbal testimony Correct answer.
  2. Perception, inference, and comparison
  3. Perception, inference, and postulation
  4. Perception, inference, and non-apprehension

Explanation

Samkhya accepts three pramanas: pratyaksha (perception), anumana (inference), and shabda (scriptural or verbal testimony). It does not add upamana, arthapatti, or abhava to that list.

Question 26Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Advaita Vedanta distinguishes three orders of reality. Which sequence names them from the highest to the empirical to the illusory?

  1. Pratibhasika, vyavaharika, paramarthika
  2. Vyavaharika, paramarthika, pratibhasika
  3. Paramarthika, vyavaharika, pratibhasika Correct answer.
  4. Paramarthika, pratibhasika, vyavaharika

Explanation

Advaita ranks paramarthika (absolute reality) highest, vyavaharika (empirical reality) as the everyday order, and pratibhasika (illusory appearance) as the lowest. The world has empirical validity but is sublated in absolute knowledge.

Question 27Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra identifies five kleshas that afflict the mind. Which set names them correctly?

  1. Egoism, attachment, aversion, jealousy, and pride
  2. Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death Correct answer.
  3. Desire, anger, greed, delusion, and envy
  4. Ignorance, doubt, error, attachment, and aversion

Explanation

The five kleshas are avidya (ignorance), asmita (egoism), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). Patanjali presents them as the root afflictions that sustain suffering and rebirth.

Question 28Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Later Vaisheshika ontology adds abhava as a seventh category. What does abhava denote?

  1. The universal class shared by many particulars
  2. The atomic cause of the material world
  3. Non-existence, such as the absence of a pot on a table Correct answer.
  4. The relation of inherence between a substance and its qualities

Explanation

Abhava is non-existence or absence, admitted by later Vaisheshika as a real category alongside the six original padarthas. It covers cases like the absence of a pot, the nonexistence of a prior state, and mutual non-existence.

Question 29Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Prabhakara Mishra explains perceptual error, such as mistaking a rope for a snake, by which theory?

  1. Viparita-khyati, the positive misapprehension of one thing as another
  2. Akhyati, the non-apprehension of the distinction between two valid cognitions Correct answer.
  3. Anyatha-khyati, the misplacement of a real object in another locus
  4. Anirvacaniya-khyati, the production of an indescribable false object

Explanation

For Prabhakara, error is akhyati: perception grasps the rope and memory supplies the snake, but the difference between the two cognitions is not noticed. There is no single false object; instead, there is a failure to discriminate. Kumarila, by contrast, holds viparita-khyati.

Question 30Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta teaches taratamya. What does this doctrine assert?

  1. All liberated souls become equal in bliss and power
  2. Souls form a graded hierarchy according to their intrinsic capacities Correct answer.
  3. Individual souls are illusory appearances of the one Brahman
  4. The individual soul is temporarily united with Brahman in liberation

Explanation

Taratamya is Madhva's doctrine of gradation: souls differ intrinsically in their capacities and therefore in their status and bliss, even in liberation. It reinforces Dvaita's realism about permanent distinction between Brahman, souls, and matter.

Question 31Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In classical Samkhya, purusha is best characterized as which of the following?

  1. The unconscious source of the material world
  2. Pure witness consciousness, inactive and plural Correct answer.
  3. A momentary stream of sensations and volitions
  4. The creator god who designs the cosmos

Explanation

Samkhya distinguishes purusha as pure consciousness from prakriti, the unconscious material principle. Purusha is inactive, plural, and only witnesses modifications of prakriti; liberation occurs when this distinction is discerned.

Question 32Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra lists five yamas as the first limb of ashtanga yoga. Which set names them correctly?

  1. Vitarka, vichara, ananda, asmita, nirodha
  2. Ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha Correct answer.
  3. Saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, Ishvarapranidhana
  4. Asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana

Explanation

The five yamas are non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, sexual restraint, and non-possessiveness. They form the first limb, while the niyamas are a separate set of observances.

Question 33Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

According to Charvaka (Lokayata), which pramana alone is accepted as a valid source of knowledge?

  1. Anumana, inference
  2. Pratyaksha, perception Correct answer.
  3. Upamana, comparison
  4. Shabda, verbal testimony

Explanation

Charvaka restricts valid knowledge to direct perception and rejects inference, testimony, and comparison as unreliable. This empirical stance supports its materialism and its denial of an afterlife.

Question 34Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Nyaya explains the perceptual error of mistaking a rope for a snake by which theory?

  1. Anyathakhyati, apprehension of one thing as another Correct answer.
  2. Satkhyati, apprehension of a real relation
  3. Viparitakhyati, subjective misidentification
  4. Akhyati, non-apprehension of the distinction

Explanation

Nyaya's anyathakhyati holds that error involves a real object being apprehended with the wrong predicate because of faulty association or memory. The rope is not unreal; it is mischaracterized as a snake.

Question 35Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

The Mimamsa doctrine of svatah pramanya asserts which of the following about the validity of knowledge?

  1. Validity is extrinsic and must be certified by a separate cognition
  2. Validity depends solely on the authority of scripture
  3. Validity is impossible to establish for any empirical cognition
  4. Validity is intrinsic and self-established unless defeated by contrary evidence Correct answer.

Explanation

Svatah pramanya means that a cognition is presumed valid by its own nature; invalidity, by contrast, is known extrinsically through defeating conditions. This principle supports Mimamsa's trust in Vedic injunction while still allowing correction.

Question 36Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Advaita Vedanta, maya is best described as which of the following?

  1. A wholly nonexistent fiction that has no empirical effects
  2. The eternal material cause of the universe, independent of Brahman
  3. An indescribable beginningless power that projects plurality over Brahman Correct answer.
  4. A psychological state produced only by defective sense organs

Explanation

Maya is anirvachaniya-neither real nor utterly unreal-and is beginningless but removable by knowledge. It is the power of avidya that superimposes name and form on non-dual Brahman.

Question 37Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

For Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, Brahman is best described as which of the following?

  1. Saguna, qualified by conscious souls and unconscious matter as its body Correct answer.
  2. Identical to the individual soul alone, excluding matter
  3. A purely transcendent being unrelated to the world
  4. Nirguna, without any attributes or internal distinctions

Explanation

Ramanuja's Brahman is saguna and internally qualified by cit (souls) and acit (matter), which are real modes or the body of God. This preserves unity without denying real plurality.

Question 38Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka, shunyata is correctly understood as which of the following?

  1. A mental-only substance that grounds the world
  2. A substantial void or nothingness underlying all things
  3. A permanent self that survives the aggregates
  4. Dependent origination, the absence of independent self-nature Correct answer.

Explanation

Nagarjuna equates emptiness with pratityasamutpada: things lack svabhava because they arise dependently. Emptiness is not nihilism but a middle way avoiding eternalism and annihilationism.

Question 39Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

Jain syadvada is best characterized as which of the following?

  1. A theory that all statements are literally false
  2. A method of proving the self through inference alone
  3. A doctrine that only one perspective is ever fully true
  4. A sevenfold predication that qualifies every judgment with a standpoint Correct answer.

Explanation

Syadvada, part of anekantavada, uses saptabhangi naya to express reality from limited standpoints with the qualifier syat. It affirms that reality is many-sided and no single unqualified assertion captures it.

Question 40Indian Philosophy (Bharatiya Darshan) - schools, core concepts and arguments

In Vaisheshika ontology, the indivisible eternal material atom is called what?

  1. Paramanu, the minutest part Correct answer.
  2. Avayavin, the composite whole
  3. Abhava, the absence of an object
  4. Samavaya, the relation of inherence

Explanation

Vaisheshika analyzes material bodies into paramanus, eternal indivisible atoms that combine to form composite avayavins. This atomism explains change while preserving the permanence of ultimate parts.

Question 41Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

Which Pre-Socratic thinker is credited with the claim that water is the arche, the fundamental principle from which all things arise?

  1. Parmenides
  2. Heraclitus
  3. Anaximander
  4. Thales Correct answer.

Explanation

Thales of Miletus is traditionally regarded as the first Western philosopher to seek a single natural substance underlying all things, and he named water as that arche. Anaximander posited the indefinite apeiron, Heraclitus emphasized fire and flux, and Parmenides argued for unchanging being.

Question 42Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

In Plato's allegory of the cave, the shadows on the wall most directly symbolize which of the following?

  1. the Form of the Good
  2. the philosopher's education
  3. sensory illusion Correct answer.
  4. mathematical truth

Explanation

The shadows are the images to which the prisoners are chained, and they represent the deceptive world of sensory appearances rather than reality. The Form of the Good is symbolized by the sun outside the cave, while the ascent out of the cave represents education and philosophical enlightenment.

Question 43Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

The Sophist who famously declared that 'man is the measure of all things' is which thinker?

  1. Socrates
  2. Protagoras Correct answer.
  3. Aristotle
  4. Plato

Explanation

Protagoras is the Sophist associated with the homo mensura doctrine, which makes human perception and judgment the standard of truth. This relativist position contrasts with Plato's search for objective Forms and Aristotle's account of essences and logical demonstration.

Question 44Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

In Stoic ethics, the term adiaphora refers to which of the following?

  1. freedom from emotional disturbance
  2. things that are morally indifferent Correct answer.
  3. the ultimate goal of happiness
  4. the virtuous mean between extremes

Explanation

Stoics classed health, wealth, and reputation as adiaphora, meaning they are neither good nor bad in themselves; only virtue and vice are truly good or bad. The virtuous mean is Aristotle's doctrine, eudaimonia is the Stoic goal, and apatheia is freedom from destructive passions.

Question 45Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

Descartes' cogito, ergo sum is meant to secure which of the following?

  1. the authority of tradition
  2. the reliability of the senses
  3. the self's existence Correct answer.
  4. the reality of material bodies

Explanation

Even if he doubts everything, Descartes concludes that the act of doubting proves a doubting, thinking self exists. The cogito does not by itself establish the senses or the external world, which he later tries to secure through God's veracity.

Question 46Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

Hume traces our idea of necessary connection between cause and effect to which source?

  1. rational insight into essences
  2. divine illumination
  3. custom and habit Correct answer.
  4. the principle of sufficient reason

Explanation

Hume argues that experience shows only constant conjunction, not a visible power in causes; the mind's expectation is produced by custom or habit. Rational insight into essences and the principle of sufficient reason are rationalist claims that he rejects.

Question 47Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

Kant's categorical imperative commands that one should act only on maxims that satisfy which condition?

  1. are commanded by a sovereign ruler
  2. are approved by long-standing tradition
  3. produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number
  4. can be willed as universal laws Correct answer.

Explanation

Kant's first formulation of the categorical imperative tests a maxim by asking whether willing it as a universal law would be self-consistent. This formal test of universalizability differs from utilitarian consequences, political command, and customary approval.

Question 48Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

For Hobbes, which fear chiefly drives people to leave the state of nature and authorize a sovereign?

  1. religious obligation
  2. natural sociability
  3. desire for glory
  4. fear of death Correct answer.

Explanation

Hobbes describes the state of nature as a war of all against all in which the constant fear of violent death makes life insecure. Reason prompts individuals to covenant with a sovereign who can enforce peace; natural sociability is not his premise.

Question 49Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

In Plato's divided line, the highest segment, noesis or understanding, is directed at which of the following?

  1. the Forms, culminating in the Good Correct answer.
  2. images and shadows
  3. sensible particulars
  4. mathematical hypotheses treated as first principles

Explanation

The divided line ascends from images to sensible things, then to mathematical reasoning, and finally to noesis, which grasps the Forms and ultimately the Good. Mathematics uses hypotheses without fully justifying them, whereas dialectic gives an unhypothetical account.

Question 50Western Philosophy - ancient to modern thinkers and problems

Kant's 'Copernican revolution' in philosophy consists in the claim that which of the following is true?

  1. objects conform to the knower Correct answer.
  2. knowledge copies external objects
  3. all ideas derive from impressions
  4. reason grasps things in themselves

Explanation

Kant reverses the traditional assumption by arguing that spatiotemporal form and the categories are contributed by the knowing subject, so empirical objects must conform to our cognitive constitution. This does not mean we know things in themselves, which remain beyond possible experience.