Philosophy quiz

More questions about Philosophy

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Why do Existentialists say individuals must create their own life meaning?

   Answer: Life has none

   Why: Sartre put it as 'existence precedes essence': we exist first, with no purpose handed to us, and only afterwards decide what we are.

2. 2 Medium

   Which Roman emperor wrote about Stoic philosophy?

   Answer: Marcus Aurelius

   Why: Marcus Aurelius wrote the Meditations in Greek as private notes on campaign, never meaning them to be published.

3. 3 Hard

   Why did Edmund Gettier argue that justified true belief isn't knowledge?

   Answer: Presence of epistemic luck

   Why: Gettier took three pages in Analysis, June 1963: ten coins in a pocket and a friend by chance in Barcelona left justified true belief short of knowledge.

4. 4 Easy

   Why did Zen philosophers use confusing riddles called koans?

   Answer: To break logic

   Why: Koan comes from a Chinese term for a public law case. Hakuin's most famous one asks: two hands clap, so what is the sound of one hand?

5. 5 Medium

   Why did philosopher Peter Singer advocate for the liberation of animals?

   Answer: Animals have capacity for suffering

   Why: Singer borrowed Bentham's test: the question is not whether they can reason or talk, but whether they can suffer.

6. 6 Hard

   What caused the heated 1946 fireplace poker argument between Wittgenstein and Popper?

   Answer: The existence of philosophical problems

   Why: Popper claimed he met Wittgenstein's demand for a moral rule with 'not to threaten visiting lecturers with pokers'; other witnesses recall it differently.