Study Guide for Exam 1
Introduction to Philosophy
General Instructions
The first exam covers some of the most important points that we have explored over the last
five weeks. It is a chance for you to put some pieces together and to demonstrate the understanding
you've gained through the readings, lectures, and discussions. It is the culmination of your work for
the first third of this semester.
For the exam, you will see three questions based on the readings and the lectures this
semester and will be asked to write a one paragraph (4-6 sentence) essay on each of these
questions. Responses will be evaluated based on the coherency of the arguments presented and on
the extent to which they demonstrate a thoughtful engagement with the ideas presented in the
readings as discussed in class. Each essay question is worth four points. The essay questions will
come from the list below. The exam will also include six multiple-choice questions. Each multiple-
choice question is worth .5 points. You will not be permitted to use notes or texts in completing the
exam. The exam will be held in class on Thursday, 2/15.
Possible Essay Questions
1. Describe one of Euthyphro's accounts of “piety” and explain why it fails for Socrates.
2. On the basis of the Euthyphro, explain what constitutes a definition. Why is it important to have an
account of such a thing?
3. What is wrong with asserting that something is pious because it is loved by the gods and that
something is loved by the gods because it is pious?
4. Euthyphro's claim that piety is what is loved by the gods can be construed as an “appeal to
authority.” What risks are involved in making such an appeal?
5. Describe one of Meno's accounts of “virtue” and explain why it fails for Socrates.
6. What is Meno's Paradox? What leads Meno to raise this paradox to Socrates?
7. Socrates offers the Theory of Recollection as a solution to Meno's Paradox. What is Socrates’
Theory of Recollection? How is this account supposed to resolve Meno's dilemma?
8. At the end of Plato’s Meno, the conversation partners come to the conclusion that virtue is “a gift
from the gods.” Why might we consider this conclusion to be somewhat ironic?
9. How, according to Sextus, is it possible to achieve “mental tranquility?” What role does the
“suspension of judgment” play in this process?
10. Why does the skeptic only report on how things appear?
11. How can the Third Mode of Agrippa be used to induce the “suspension of judgment?”
