Ancient Thinkers
This work by Plato imagines an ideal society ruled by philosopher-kings.
What is "The Republic"?
This classic dilemma asks whether condemning someone to die to save 5 people is more ethically permissible than not intervening at all.
What is the trolley problem?
This short tale by Plato uses a fitting metaphor to examine how people may mistake shadows for reality.
What is The Allegory of the Cave.
The opposite of free will is often called this, the belief that we are not responsible for our own actions.
What is determinism?
"Cogito ergo sum"
Who is René Descartes?
Marcus Aurelius was not only a talented philosopher and author of Meditations, but famously held this title.
What is Emperor of Rome?
This ethical theory, associated with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, says actions are right if they maximize happiness for the greatest number.
What is utilitarianism?
This existentialist philosopher and writer of No Exit was the long-time partner of contemporary Simone de Beauvoir.
Who is Jean-Paul Sartre?
This term refers to the idea that the mind and body are separate substances.
What is dualism?
Who is Friedrich Nietzsche?
Known as the "father of logic," this philosopher studied biology, ethics, and politics, and taught Alexander the Great.
Who is Aristotle?
This term describes the belief that what is morally right depends on the norms of one’s culture, not universal standards
What is cultural relativism?
This author wrote philosophical works of fiction such as Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.
Who is Ayn Rand?
The four materials which Aristotle believed to constitute our material reality.
What are earth, water, air, and fire?
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Who is Socrates?
Thales believed that everything in the universe is made out of what substance?
What is water?
This Socratic dialogue asks whether something is pious because the gods approve of it, or if the gods approve of it because it is pious.
What is the Euthyphro?
In this novel by Hermann Hesse, the protagonist seeks enlightenment through different life paths, echoing themes from Eastern philosophy.
What is Siddhartha?
This ancient philosopher believed that change is constant and famously said, “You cannot step into the same river twice.”
Who is Heraclitus?
"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."
Who is Simone de Beauvoir?
The principle belief of Confucianism, this "Golden Rule" is similar to another popular ethical motto.
What is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
The "Prisoner's Dilemma" is an ethical thought experiment and an example of what theory of applied economics?
What is game theory?
Raskolnikov tests whether "extraordinary people" can break moral laws in this Dostoyevsky work.
What is Crime and Punishment?
According to Leibniz, the world is made up of indivisible, soul-like entities that don’t interact physically. He called them this.
What are monads?
"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."
Who is Søren Kierkegaard?