Stoicism:
A Very Short Introduction
Chap. 1-2
1. What do the Greek letters (Phi Beta
Kappa) mean? p.2
2. What does Socrates say about those who
do wrong, and how should we deal with their actions? p.5
3. The first complete work of Stoic
philosophy wasn't written until when? p.10
4. Why do some scholars question Marcus
Aurelius' Stoic credentials? p.18
5. When did Marcus Aurelius' book take its
place alongside Epictetus and Seneca? p.21
6. Seneca was popular in what three
countries? p.24
Spinoza on Happiness Report:
1. What are the 3 elements of Spinoza's
idea of 'the good life'? - development of reason, love for 'God, or Nature,'
and freedom
2. How can the 'or' in 'God, or Nature' be
thought of? – as an equal sign
Stoicism Chap. 3-4
1. Why did Plato think "a benevolent
and providential divinity" created the world? p.27
2. What idea is Plato most strongly
associated with? p.28
3. For the Stoics, what has no causal
efficacy whatsoever? p.29
4. Which pre-Socratic philosopher
identified four basic elements or kinds of stuff in the universe, and which
post-Socratic philosopher did he influence? p.39
5. How did the Stoics’ view of the
divine’s role in the universe differ from Aristotelean & Platonic
traditions? p.41
6. For Stoics, what are the only real
good(s) and evil(s)? p.58
On Risk and Happiness Report:
1. Globally, how many people die in car
accidents die every year on average? – 3200
2. Who said that the unexamined life is
not worth living? – Socrates
3. How many years did Nelson Mandela spend
in prison? – 27
Stoicism Chap. 5-7
1. How do Stoics and Epicureans differ on
the value and pursuit of justice? p.65
2. The Stoics held that as humans we are
programmed to follow and we must follow if we are to achieve successful
versions of ourselves, what? p.66
3. What is the most common Stoic
expression of the goal of human life? p.68
4. What is arete? p.69
5. The Stoic accepted which four basic
virtues? p.70
6. Why can animals successfully rely on
the accuracy of their perceptions, for Epictetus and the Stoics? p.88
7. What two factors do Stoics say cause
all our decisions? p.100
8. How is logic treated by the Stoics? p.101
9. Why
has it been natural to focus on Stoicism primarily as a source for moral advice
and self-improvement? p.105
10. What did Lawrence Becker say was the
problem with ancient Stoicism's relation to nature, and the challenge for
modern Stoicism? p.108
11. What was the problem Becker saw with
ancient Stoicism? p.108
Why are some places happier than others?
Report:
1. What is one of the main reasons that
people in the United States are unhappy? –
2. Where does the author go first to start
off his happiness trek? – The Netherlands
3. What are some examples of the high
level of tolerance in The Netherlands? – Legalized marijuana and prostitution
4. What is the cocktail party question for
the people of Switzerland? –
Cicero's "On the Nature of the
Gods" Quiz:
1. How did the Pythagoreans affirm their
arguments? (V)
2. Velleius says that unlike the Stoics,
he won't speak of what? (VIII)
3.Velleius inquires of both the others,
"why these powers suddenly appeared as constructors of the world, and why
for innumerable ages they were _____?" (IX)
4. "What is to be thought of a
philosophy that holds the ignorant old crone’s belief that everything happens
by _____?" (XX)
5. How does the blessedness of an
epicurean god and the blessedness of an epicurean life differ? (XX)
6. Why did Simonides require so many days
to reflect on the nature of god? (XXII)
7. Whose views did Cicero say he found
nearer the truth? Whose did he say Velleius found "the truer"? (XL)
Art
of Happiness
Intro-39
1. How does Epicurean happiness resemble
Buddhism? (VIII)
2. What stereotypes contribute to a flawed
understanding of Epicurus, according to the editor? (XIII)
3. What was the genius compromise of
ancient Greek philosophy that synthesized the views of Heraclitus and
Parmenides? p.5
4. The Epicurean savior today would be
who? p.9
5. Under Epicurus’s atomist theory, the
collisions and combinations of atoms necessary to produce objects were the result
of what? p.17
6. What is 'ataraxia'? p.26
7. Epicureanism was designed as a positive
way to escape from the unpleasant social and political environment of the
Hellenistic period, and is thus described as a _____. p.27
8. What are the 4 'tests for truth' that
make up the 'hard empirical core of Epicureanism'? p.28-31 (A-D)
Happiness and the Experience Machine
Report:
1. What is Aristotelian view on how to
obtain happiness? –
2. In the Matrix, once the “plugged in”
realized their predicament, how did they perceive the world they were in? –
3. In Nozick’s argument, would the person
“plugged in” have control over the images and experiences they encounter? –
4. How does the hedonistic theory coincide
with the notion of being “plugged in” to an experiment machine? –
AH p.39-76
1. Mechanistic materialists think they can
dispense with what, suffering nothing but what? p.39
2. What one function do the gods perform
for the Epicureans? p.39
3. For Epicureans, the gods were
"paragons of the good life" because they exemplified what Epicurean
ideals? p.39-40
4. What was Voltaire's 'malicious remark'
about God? p.40
5. To what glaring defect did Epicureans
direct their criticism of popular Greek religion? p.45
6. What other aspect of popular religion
than that mentioned above troubles many observers? p.51
7. According to Lucretius, what is
"the mark of the free mind?" p.52
8. How can we quell irrational
"darkling terror," according to Lucretius? p.56
AH p.77-134
1. Epicurus's prose style is worse even
than whose? p.78
2. Diogenes Laertius says Epicurus's
critics are what? p.82
3. What kinds of pains are worse, for
Epicurus, and why? p.90
4. For Epicurus, what forms the most
reliable basis for our beliefs? p.103
5. Soul bears the closest resemblance to
what? p.103
6. According to Epicureans, _____ and
_____ are imagistic. p.116
7. Epicurus was not an enemy of all
religion, only what? p.129
8. For Epicurus, hell is what? p.132
Nietzsche Report:
1. What is the ubermensch NOT, and what is
a more accurate and accepted translation of it? – A superhero, Overman
2. What was Nietzsche’s goal with
providing us with the ubermensch? – To offer meaning in the light of the death
of god, and to propose a type of human that dismisses otherworldly notions and
focuses on the life directly in front of them.
3. For Nietzsche, what is the practical
purpose of philosophy, and what ability does it give us?
4. What were the two concepts Nietzsche
put forth to represent the affirmation of life?
5. What is the real meaning of Ecce Homo
and why was it so important to Nietzsche?
6. What did Nietzsche believe hindered
self-growth and why?
Eastern Happiness Report:
1. What are the Three Universal Truths? – Everything
is impermanent and changing; the impermanence of everything leads to suffering;
there is no eternal unchanging “self” or soul
2. What are the Four Noble Truths? - Suffering
exists; suffering has a cause; suffering can end; the way to end suffering is
by following the Noble Eightfold Path
3. Name the two Buddhist schools of
thought that developed after the Buddha’s death? – Mahayana Tradition; Theravada
Tradition
4. What Buddhist school of thought does
the Dalai Lama belong to? Mahayana Tradition
1. The unperturbed life has no use for what? 136
2. Epicurus's various physical theories are offered to Pythocles to remind him to "keep clear" of what? 149
3. To say that the time to study philosophy has not yet come is like saying what? 155
4. "Pleasure is the goal of living" means pleasure that consists in what? 160
1. The unperturbed life has no use for what? 136
2. Epicurus's various physical theories are offered to Pythocles to remind him to "keep clear" of what? 149
3. To say that the time to study philosophy has not yet come is like saying what? 155
4. "Pleasure is the goal of living" means pleasure that consists in what? 160
5. If a person fights clear evidence of their senses they will never be able to share in what? Pg 140
6. What was one of the chief social aims of Epiureanism? 162
7. "The irreligious man is not the person who destroys the gods of the masses but" who? p.156
8. What mass phobia troubled the Hellenistic period? (163)
6. What was one of the chief social aims of Epiureanism? 162
7. "The irreligious man is not the person who destroys the gods of the masses but" who? p.156
8. What mass phobia troubled the Hellenistic period? (163)
Silly question: What day is exam 2 again? I cannot seem to find it on the syllabus.
ReplyDeleteNext Thursday, I believe.
DeleteScheduled for Thursday. We'll assess on Tuesday, based on our progress in catching up with "Art of Happiness," whether to postpone.
DeleteThank you so much for this Kathryn!
ReplyDeleteNo problem at all! :)
DeleteDoes anyone have the answers to the quizzes over the reports of the nietzsche report and the experience machine report?
ReplyDeleteNietzsche Report:
Delete1. Not a superhero; the Overman
2. To offer meaning in the light of death of god, and to propose a type of human that dismisses otherworldly notions and focuses on the life directly in front of them
3. to help people become the ubermensch
4. (I did not get this one.)
5. "Behold the Man," and to ridicule religion
6. religion
Happiness and the Experience Machine Report:
ReplyDelete1. What is Aristotelian view on how to obtain happiness? – function to get to form
2. In the Matrix, once the “plugged in” realized their predicament, how did they perceive the world they were in? – They perceived the world as desolate
3. In Nozick’s argument, would the person “plugged in” have control over the images and experiences they encounter? –Electric shocks would allow the person "plugged in" to have control over the images and experiences.
4. How does the hedonistic theory coincide with the notion of being “plugged in” to an experiment machine? –It rules that pleasure brings happiness. Both the experience machine and hedonistic theory follow the notion that pleasure results in happiness.
Thank you, Paivi!
Delete