Robert Webking
QUESTIONS ON ARISTOTLE, POLITICS, BOOK I
The most important difference between ruling in a household and ruling in a political community is:
a. Most political rulers are elected, but rulers in families are not.
b. Countries are usually much larger associations than households.
c. Rulers in the different associations do fundamentally different things.
d. Rulers in households have no conflict between the public good and family interest.
Which group is a village and which group is a political community?
a. The one than cannot be certain that its members' basic need are satisfied is a village.
b. The larger one is the village.
c. The smaller one is the village
d. Both are basically the same since both are made of households.
True or False:
The household, village, and political community are all created for exactly the same reason.
True or False:
The political community is fundamentally different from the household and village.
Which is the bear?
a. The one on my right.
b. The one on my left.
c. Both appear to be bears.
d. I don't know, I would have to ask them.
Human beings are by nature political animals because:
a. Like bees, they are almost always found living in groups.
b. The preservation of the species requires them to come together for mating and raising children.
c. They cannot develop and use the most important human faculties without the benefits of political associations.
d. They must defend themselves from other communities.
One of the reasons that human beings are by nature political animals is that
a. Political associations give them the opportunity to work to satisfy basic needs.
b. In countries people are able to think about more than mere survival.
c. Political associations are better at providing for defense than pre-political households can.
According to Aristotle's argument, without political associations
a. people would get their understanding of what is good from religions or other such sources.
b. people would act on instinct to achieve happiness.
c. people could have no notion of what happiness involves.
True or False:
I know how to press the "T" key on a TI calculator.
According to Aristotle, what is the most important difference between ruling in a household and ruling in a country?
a. Households are never democratic, but the best countries are.
b. Political associations are much larger since they grow from households and villages.
c. The purposes of the two associations are very different from one another.
d. Economic affairs at the level of the whole community are much more complex than for the family.
QUESTIONS ON ARISTOTLE, POLITICS, BOOK III
Why should the majority rule?
a. So the distribution of political power will be equal.
b. So everyone will be more likely to get what they want.
c. Because the majority will not let anyone else rule.
d. Because it's easy for monarchs and aristocrats to
become corrupt.
e. Because political rule affects everyone.
f. So everyone who wishes to can participate.
g. Because they are the wisest portion of the society.
h. So the rulers will care about the majority's desires.
i. So the poor can take what they want from the rich.
According to Aristotle what is it called if a wealthy majority is ruling for its own interest?
a. Democracy
b. Oligarchy
What is the implication of saying that the rule of a rich majority is oligarchy and the rule of a poor minority is democracy?
a. rule of the many is always better than rule of the few.
b. it is more important to consider what ruler do than how many people rule.
c. oligarchy might be good only if it included the majority of the people.
d. all governments should be focused on the economic concerns of the people.
In a comparative politics class you are given the assignment of evaluating a country's government. Which of the following do you most need to know?
a. What do the rulers try to accomplish and how well do they do it?
b. Are there free, fair, and open elections, and if so how frequent are they?
c. Is the government dominated by a single group or class in the community or is it open to everyone?
d. Is there a strong class distinction between rich and poor in the community?
Evaluate the oligarchs' argument that they should rule.
a. The argument is persuasive.
b. The argument would be persuasive if in fact they had earned their money through ability rather than fraud or chance.
c. The argument would be persuasive for ruling in a village, but not in a political community.
d. The argument would be persuasive only for the few most successful wealthy people.
From Aristotle's critique of the Oligarchs' argument, what can we conclude are the qualities to seek in rulers?
a. They must be wealthy, but still care about the common people.
b. They must understand that anarchy is the greatest evil since countries are essential for human happiness.
c. They must be fully prepared to defend the country in any circumstance that might arise, even ones they don't expect.
d. They must understand what human happiness requires and know how to shape the community to maximize it.
Evaluate this argument for democracy.
a. It makes sense. The majority has more total prudence that the few best.
b. It is flawed. You need to consider imprudence as well as prudence.
c. It doesn't address the question of whether the few want to rule.
d. It doesn't address the possibility that aristocracy could turn into oligarchy.
Evaluate this argument for democracy.
a. It might be so fragmented that it would be easy for oligarchs to take over.
b. It would be difficult or impossible to determine who is an expert on what.
c. Decisions would not be made in relationship to one another and to the goal of the community.
d. It makes sense. It uses the prudence of each without being harmed by the imprudence.
Aristotle's argument for democracy
a. could never be valid.
b. shows the key difference between a household and a political community.
c. would make sense if the only goal of the community were to satisfy basic needs.
d. could be valid only in a community in which the majority had reached a high level of prudence.
Why do we not let dogs and children vote?
a. We are tyrannical creatures by nature who will oppress anyone or anything if we can get away with it.
b. They can never remember their precinct numbers.
c. They do not have the developed reason required to make intelligent decisions about the management of the community.
If we do not let dogs and children vote because they lack the developed reason required to make intelligent decisions about the management of the community, it follows that
a. the role of a parent is to raise and educate the child so that the child will be equal to the parent in rational ability.
b. all adults have equally well-developed rational capacity.
c. those adults with more well-developed reason ought to have more political power than the other adults.
d. the older people get the more prudent they become, so older adults should have more political power than younger adults.
If the laws are made well by prudent rulers:
a. They are likely to favor oligarchs over democrats.
b. They will be focused primarily on the need people have for food, shelter, clothing, and defense.
c. They will require people to do what they really want to do, to live well.
d. They will not need force to make people obey.
If the laws are made well by prudent rulers:
a. People may disobey them if they believe the laws are not allowing them to live well.
b. People should want to obey them for selfish reasons -- to be happy.
c. They do not have authority behind them since they are made by human rulers.
d. They will necessarily include the majority in decision making.
In this case (a patient dies because you are stopped for running a red light on the way to the hospital), what happened?
a. An unjust law prevented you from accomplishing something good for someone else.
b. An police officer enforced a law badly, thus causing injustice.
c. A good law made for a good reason resulted in an unjust outcome.
d. You didn't drive fast enough to break the law successfully.
Why did the injustice occur?
a. Since laws are made by human beings, some laws are bound to be unjust.
b. Laws may be just and appropriate for most cases, but they cannot be prepared for all situations.
c. Laws are enforced by human beings, who do not always understand justice well.
d. Rulers are often more concerned with preventing anarchy than preventing injustice.
If the laws are made well by prudent rulers:
a. They are likely to favor oligarchs over democrats.
b. They will sometimes be unjust and prevent people from living well.
c. They will always require people to do what they really want to do, to live well.
d. They will not need force to make people obey.
If the laws are made well by prudent rulers:
a. They will sometimes be unjust and prevent people from living well.
b. They will require people to do what they really want to do, to live well.
c. Both a & b.
d. none of the above.
If the laws are necessary for people to live well AND laws are sometimes unjust and prevent people from loving well, then
a. Human beings are moraly obliged to obey the law.
b. Human beings are not morally obliged to obey the law.
c. It is not clear whether human beings are morally obliged to obey the law.
QUESTIONS ON THE CRITO
At the beginning of the Crito, how does Crito decide what things a good person should do?
a. He follows public opinion.
b. He follows the law.
c. He consults religious teaching.
d. He thinks carefully about the true meaning of justice.
In the Apology:
a. Socrates argued that the law should always be obeyed.
b. Socrates argues that since there is no authority, anyone may disobey the law whenever they choose to.
c. Socrates argued that justice will sometimes require him to disobey the law.
d. Socrates argued that fear of power would ordinarily make him obey the law.
How many people have walked on the moon in this century?
a. 7
b. 12
c. 14
d. 6
e. 2
f. 8
g. 3
h. 10
i. 4
j. other (type it in)
Socrates will violate public opinion without proof that justice requires it, but he will not violate the law without proof that justice requires it. What does this assume about law?
a. Public opinion is a better guide for action than law.
b. There is no power to enforce public opinion, but law has force behind it.
c. Laws only require people to do that which they really want to do.
d. Law might be based on some genuine understanding of good and bad.
Which of the following is correct?
a. Socrates does not argue that the laws only require people to do that which they really want to do.
b. The laws claim to be valuable because they are based on the correct understanding of human happiness.
c. The laws in the Crito agree with Creon that anarchy is the greatest evil.
d. Socrates' argument about the value of the law in the Crito rests on the assumption that the laws are made by the most prudent people.
In the Crito, Socrates concludes that disobeying the law
a. is always unjust.
b. is unjust unless the law requires an injustice.
c. is unjust so long as the laws are made with the welfare of the whole people in mind.
d. is unjust unless the goal of the disobedience is to change a bad law.
Like most people, Crito needs help deciding what things he should do and not do to be a good person. According to the Crito, what is the best available source for that help?
a. Public opinion, since most people have a feeling about what is good and bad.
b. The laws, since they are meant to direct behavior that will enable people to live better.
c. His own moral understanding -- each person is reasonable and has some sense of good and bad.
d. Socrates' arguments about justice, since Socrates understands justice better than the laws do.
According to the argument of the Crito, why are imperfect laws better than no laws at all?
a. Because laws are made by the most prudent people in the community.
b. Because the greatest curse is anarchy.
c. People are more likely to live well with the community than without it.
d. People make a contract to obey by accepting advantages from the laws.
Why is it not possible for Crito to be both a fully good person and a fully good citizen at the same time regardless of how good the laws or rulers are?
a. The community will not permit it.
b. All rulers have passions.
c. He cares too much about being loyal to his friends.
d. He cannot be a fully good person because of his imperfections in understanding.
According to the Crito, the best way for Crito to decide what things a good person should do is to
a. follow public opinion.
b. be a good citizen.
c. consult religious teaching.
d. think carefully about the true meaning of justice.
send questions or comments to rwebking@utep.edu