Socrates/Plato Political #6 - Answer Key

 




The following is a list of answers to all questions on this quiz. Questions may not appear, or may be in a different order than on the individual quizzes.

Instructions: Do your own work. The quiz will end at 11:55 on Wednesday, February 22,

Section 1 -

Socrates Interrogation.
What was Socrates's explanation for his interrogation of people alleged to be wise?

a.    He wanted to discover whether they really were wise.

 

b.    He wanted to learn from them.

 

c.    He enjoyed the give-and-take of debate.

 

The correct answer: a

Explanation: Socrates was told by the Oracle at Delphi that no man was wiser than he. He doubted that this was true, and so set off to find someone wiser than himself.


Socrates goal of life.
According to Socrates, what should people care most about?

a.    The accumulation of wealth and power.

 

b.    The ability to win debates in the public arena.

 

c.    The best possible state of their soul.

 

The correct answer: c

Explanation: Nothing should matter to a person but the attainment of the best possible state of his soul. Wealth and other goods will follow from the attainment of excellence. The Sophists were concerned with training people to win debates, but their aim was to promote personal interests, not to promote the well-being of the soul.


Socrates Contract.
What was Socrates's reason for refusing to disobey the laws of Athens?

a.    He would have been caught and had to face punishment anyway.

 

b.    In virtue of the actions he had performed and not performed, he had tacitly agreed to obey them.

 

c.    He had been brought up to obey the laws and was psychologically incapable of breaking them.

 

The correct answer: b

Explanation: Socrates said that he had made an agreeement to abide by the laws because he had not left Athens and he had the right to propose changes to them.


Polemarchus.
What was Socrates's primary response to Polemarchus's claim that justice is to benefit the just and harm the unjust?

a.    We do not know who is just and who is unjust.

 

b.    Whether someone is just or unjust is irrelevant to how they should be treated.

 

c.    It is never just to harm anyone, even those who are unjust.

 

The correct answer: c

Explanation: Socrates claimed that harming someone diminishes their excellence, and the excellence of a human being is justice, so that harming someone makes him unjust. But it is never just to make someone unjust.


Thrasymachus.
How did Socrates refute the view of Thrasymachus that justice is what benefits the stronger.

a.    Strong people in a position of power are incapable of acting justly.

 

b.    Behaving justly always weakens a person, and hence is of no benefit to the stronger.

 

c.    Ruling justly is a craft whose end is to benefit society as a whole, and not necessarily the ruler.

 

The correct answer: c

Explanation: Thrasymachus accepted the analogy between ruling and craft. Socrates used that analogy to show that the ruler's end is not to benefit himself.


Glaucon.
How did Glaucon argue that justice has no intrinsic value?

a.    People are naturally unjust and agree to behave justly only because they are weak.

 

b.    What has intrinsic value, such as joy, is what feels good to us, but being just is not a good feeling.

 

c.    We have to force people to be just by imposing laws with severe penalties against unjust behavior.

 

The correct answer: a


City/state (Plato).
According to Plato, how does the city/state function best?

a.    When its citizens are carrying out their functions properly.

 

b.    When all the citizens are given a large degree of freedom.

 

c.    When it has a well-designed constitution.

 

The correct answer: a

Explanation: The city/state functions best when the citizens are trained to fulfill certain roles and carry out those roles properly.


Philosopher-king (Plato).
Why did Plato think the ruler of the city/state should be a lover of wisdom (philosopher)?

a.    Wisdom is needed to balance the high spirits and the gentleness that are required of a ruler.

 

b.    Philosophers understand the most basic truths about the universe and can apply them to governing.

 

c.    Lovers of wisdom would never create or enforce laws solely for their own advantage.

 

The correct answer: a

Explanation: The ruler of a state must be very spirited, which might interfere with the need to treat the citizens gently. Wisdom is needed to balance the two.