Study Questions for First Exam

  1. Socrates insists that in order to be a genuine philosopher and to engage in genuine philosophical inquiry, one must have a morally upright character--that is, one must satisfy certain affective requirements. Briefly describe four such affective requirements, and then explain their contribution to fruitful philosophical inquiry by showing how they figure in the discussion that Socrates, Simmias, and Cebes have in the Phaedo.

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  2. Lay out the central elements of Socrates's line of reasoning in the Phaedo in support of the startling claim that a genuine philosopher not only will not fear death but will even welcome it.  Explain the features of the philosophical life that this line of reasoning suggests.

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  3. Explain the conditions for a good or sound philosophical argument--that is, for a successful piece of philosophical reasoning.  Include in your discussion (i) an explanation of the four conditions required for a sound piece of philosophical reasoning and (ii) an indication of the complexities involved in assessing the truth or falsity of key premises.

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  4. In the first nine chapters of the Summa Contra Gentiles St. Thomas in effect defines his own relation as a Catholic seeker after wisdom to those whom he respectfully calls "the (gentile) philosophers"--that is, the great classical pagan philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle and the medieval Muslim philosophers such as Avicenna and Averroes.  What is this relationship, according to St. Thomas?  How does his account of this relationship differ from that of the rationalists and fideists?  Finally, explain how his account fits in with the general project of the Summa Contra Gentiles.

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  5. Exhibit the overall structure of St. Thomas's natural theology, explaining (i) its three major parts and the rationale behind each of them, (ii) what he means to accomplish by each of those three parts, and (iii) the two main dangers he means to avoid.

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  6. List the goods that St. Thomas calls "internal goods" (or "goods of the soul") and explain why he believes that full human happiness cannot consist in the possession of such goods.  One of these internal goods is speculative knowledge of God and creatures--just the sort of knowledge that Socrates and other classical philosophers aspired to.  Explain why St. Thomas believes that such knowledge, while a great good, is not sufficient for human fulfillment or happiness.