Deck 2: Four Great Revolutions in Thought and Religion

Question 1

Legalism was the philosophy of the state under

A)the endless and seemingly unbreakable cycle of life and death.
B)the process of freeing oneself from the cycle of life and death.
C)the elimination of evil from the cycle of life and death.
D)the principle that every action influences the cycle of life and death.

Answer 1

the endless and seemingly unbreakable cycle of life and death.

Question 2

Muslim and European invaders saw all of these as characteristic Hindu beliefs and behaviors except

A)It is separate from you but guides you.
B)It is part of you and you are part of it.
C)It works against you,preventing your true freedom.
D)It knows what you are thinking and judges your actions.

Answer 2

It is part of you and you are part of it.

Question 3

Ethical monotheism was pioneered by the

A)Moses
B)Mohammed
C)Socrates
D)Abraham

Answer 3

Abraham

Question 4

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between the individual (Atman)and the absolute universe (Brahman)in Upanishadic beliefs?

A)pursuing moderation in eating and drinking.
B)avoiding the extremes of asceticism and indulgence.
C)worshipping only one god rather than many.
D)the proper placement of objects for achieving spiritual balance.

Question 5

The Legalists modeled their idea of a strong state on

A)the Sung.
B)the Qin.
C)the Han.
D)the Zhou.

Question 6

Samsara refers to

A)the endless and seemingly unbreakable cycle of life and death.
B)the process of freeing oneself from the cycle of life and death.
C)the elimination of evil from the cycle of life and death.
D)the principle that every action influences the cycle of life and death.

Question 7

Jains differ from Buddhists primarily in their emphasis upon

A)Babylonians.
B)Egyptians.
C)Israelites.
D)Chinese.

Question 8

Confucius believed that

A)vowing revenge.
B)ignoring it.
C)being kind to the insulter.
D)responding in a similar manner.

Question 9

All of the following are part of Buddha's eightfold path except

A)pain and suffering stem from selfish desires.
B)heaven is accessible to all who worship him.
C)humans can never know peace or happiness.
D)every great civilization has its own way to God.

Question 10

Called the "father of the faithful," many consider this man to be the symbolic founder of three of the world's largest religions: Judaism,Christianity,and Islam.

A)the only real god in existence.
B)one god among many.
C)the chosen deity among many divinities who might be worshiped.
D)the same god the Egyptians called Aton.

Question 11

Daoists would most likely believe that

A)work to ensure a good education for all citizens.
B)set an example by doing and saying as little as possible.
C)use military force to keep borders secure.
D)use philosophical thought to organize the state.

Question 12

According to Daoists,a good ruler should

A)traditions from long ago.
B)a heavenly order of values.
C)a system of incentives and punishments.
D)the wisdom of philosophers.

Question 13

According to Confucius,a junzi,or true gentlemen,would respond to an insult by

A)knowledge is a positive force because it shows the way.
B)knowledge is bad because it creates distinctions.
C)knowledge is neutral.
D)knowledge is secret and should be known by only a few.

Question 14

The statement "From the unreal lead me to the Real...From death lead me to immortality" is associated with what religious tradition?

A)emphasis on the power of sacrifice.
B)the application and explanation of Vedic texts and rites.
C)belief in transmigration.
D)differentiating social groups by caste.

Question 15

The Hebrews of Abraham's day saw their god as

A)happening decisively during Abraham's journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan.
B)solidifying in the centuries after Abraham's and Moses' covenants.
C)occurring around the same time that Solomon built the great temple in Jerusalem.
D)starting with Jesus' teachings.

Question 16

The Jains are most closely associated with

A)stronger forms of self-discipline.
B)liberating themselves from the cycle of samsara.
C)their belief in one,rather than many,gods.
D)the importance of compassion.

Question 17

Which of the following groupings of world cultural zones developed the earliest?

A)good government depends on the appointment to office of good men (gentlemen).
B)the welfare of the common people mattered little in politics.
C)"might made right" so morality was whatever the strong said.
D)politics was unimportant and people should focus on personal salvation.

Question 18

Karma refers to

A)Upanishadic
B)Christian
C)Buddhist
D)Israelite

Question 19

According to the teachings of Buddha,

A)Buddha.
B)Rajasthan.
C)Confucius.
D)Mahavira.

Question 20

Buddha's teaching that people should follow the Middle Path primarily refers to

A)right thought and speech.
B)right effort and action.
C)right livelihood and earnings.
D)right concentration and mindfulness.

Question 21

According to the Jewish religion,how should man best serve God?

A)Jainism
B)Hinduism
C)Judaism
D)Buddhism

Question 22

The Torah is

A)through rituals and prayers
B)through heroic deeds
C)through ethical responsibility
D)through fasting and other forms of self-denial

Question 23

Because of the revolutionary impact of Greek philosophy,people began to conceive of the world

A)Heraclitus.
B)Sophus.
C)Socrates.
D)Plato.

Question 24

The polis can best be described as a

A)moral development.
B)military defense.
C)economic survival.
D)social justice.

Question 25

All of the following represent Aristotle's views except the

A)community of scholars and philosophers.
B)moral community of citizens.
C)community of well-trained soldiers.
D)strict religious community.

Question 26

Thales is regarded as the first Greek philosopher because he

A)emphasis on tradition as a guide to action.
B)belief in the need for strong,authoritarian government.
C)concern with personal salvation through mystical union with God.
D)emphasis on reason as the means of discovering truth.

Question 27

The Talmud is

A)Judah.
B)Phoenicia.
C)Jerusalem.
D)Israel.

Question 28

Socrates was sentenced to death by a jury of Athenian citizens mainly because he

A)a military strongman.
B)a philosopher king.
C)all the citizens working together.
D)leaders chosen randomly.

Question 29

The Israelite prophets contributed to all of the following except

A)the primary religious text of the Upanishadic faith.
B)the code of ethics among Ionian Greeks.
C)God's holy Law as part of Hebrew scripture.
D)a Buddhist creator myth.

Question 30

At the Lyceum founded by Aristotle,philosophers and scholars stressed

A)importance of empirical observation.
B)teleological and moral purpose of the polis.
C)exercise and application of moderation.
D)desirability of monarchy.

Question 31

One of the primary characteristics of Greek philosophy was its

A)questioned traditional beliefs and urged people to live more moral lives.
B)betrayed Athens in the struggle against Sparta.
C)urged young men to adopt pacifism and renounce warfare.
D)criticized philosophy for not being able to solve human problems.

Question 32

Which of the following religions emphasized the concern the creator god had for people?

A)the Jews who lived in Muslim areas,such as Spain.
B)the Jews who perished in the Holocaust.
C)the Jews who were dispersed after the fall of the temple in Jerusalem.
D)the Jews who lived in small scattered communities in Christian Europe.

Question 33

The so-called ten lost tribes originally lived in

A)had no connection with the gods.
B)did not apply to everyday life for commoners.
C)were imposed on citizens for their own moral good.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 34

The purpose of the polis for Aristotle was

A)in terms of politics and democracy,rather than gods and kings.
B)in abstract,universal terms rather than specific,personal,or mythic terms.
C)in terms of basic elements (such as water or atoms)rather than random,scattered elements.
D)in terms of finding comfort and escape from the stressful world of politics.

Question 35

The Cynics would most likely believe

A)the mathematical relationships of the universe.
B)creating a utopian state.
C)observing empirical evidence.
D)mastering rhetoric to win intellectual debates.

Question 36

The term sephardim refers to

A)the code of ethics among Ionian Greeks.
B)God's holy Law as given to the Hebrews at Sinai.
C)the books of Jewish history and faith in the Bible.
D)commentary and interpretations of Jewish law.

Question 37

The first Greek philosopher to deal with political and ethical ideas in a thorough and systematic manner was

A)Aristotle
B)Confucius
C)Socrates
D)Mahavira

Question 38

During the classical era,most Greeks believed that laws

A)demonstrated the existence of gods scientifically.
B)compared Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious beliefs with those of Greece.
C)explained the origins of the world in naturalistic terms.
D)argued for the importance of ethical behavior.

Question 39

Plato argued that the best and most moral system of government was one ruled by

A)in material progress.
B)in the concept of the polis.
C)that virtue was a matter of knowledge.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 40

The Israelites' shift to the exclusive worship of Yahweh as a single god can best be described as

A)the campaign to turn people against false gods and toward Yahweh.
B)the purification of Jewish faith by demanding righteousness of its followers.
C)the consolidation of the ten lost tribes of Israel.
D)the Biblical interpretation of Israelite national success.

Question 41

Describe the importance of the Hebrew Bible as a reliable historic source.Give appropriate examples from Hebrew political history to support your major ideas.What is the importance of a written source for a religious belief? How is the Hebrew Bible different from other revealed religious texts?

Question 42

Explain the central concept of the Dao,or the Way.What do you think attracted some individuals to Dao concepts? How might its teachings have influenced their behavior? Do you see any similarities to the concept of Dao in other religions?

Question 43

What crisis threatened the Greek polis and is believed to have led to the revolutionary changes in Greek philosophy?

A)To deter anti-social behavior
B)To explain natural phenomena
C)To find peace and strength
D)To seek help in times of crisis

Question 44

Analyze the issues related to the use of biblical texts for historical purposes.What do the texts reveal about the evolution of the Israelites' religion?

Question 45

In The Republic,Plato argues that rationally speaking,women should be treated

Question 46

According to the Upanishadic sages,what is the relationship between the individual and the Universe,or ultimate reality? How did this relationship affect their views on life after death? What were some of the different reactions people had to the prospect of "redeath"?

Question 47

Which philosopher described himself as a transmitter and a conservator of tradition,not as an innovator?

A)Through natural processes
B)Through the plans of an intelligent being
C)Through the thoughts of several powerful deities
D)Through a clash of chaos and order

Question 48

According to early Greek philosophers,how did the universe as we know it begin?

A)The Persian War
B)The Peloponnesian War
C)The fall of Jerusalem
D)The death of Socrates

Question 49

What are the basic tenets of Confucian thought,and how did they evolve and influence Chinese education? In what manner was Confucian thought different from other major religious and philosophical ideas? Why was there a long delay before this philosophical system became an important part of Chinese society?

Question 50

Compare and contrast the views of Plato and Aristotle on governance of the polis to those of the Legalists on ruling the state.

Question 51

In the "Global Perspective" section at the beginning of this chapter,the author states that each of the four great religious and philosophical revolutions from this time period arose from a crisis or major change.What crisis or change did each one face? How did each one address the crises faced by their respective societies? Compare and contrast the way they "reconnect[ed] ethics to history and restore[d] order to a troubled society."

Question 52

All of the societies covered in this chapter were concerned with creating the best form of government for their states.Compare and contrast how each of the major schools of thought explained the ideal practices and responsibilities of government.What factor or factors do you think most account for the differences between them?

Question 53

Describe how the history of the Israelites contributed to the development of their religious beliefs.What were the most important aspects of the monotheistic revolution?

Question 54

According to the Sophists,why did mankind need to 'invent' gods?

A)differently than men.
B)equally to men.
C)similarly to men.
D)the same as men,except under some circumstances.

Question 55

Compare and contrast the ancient Greek view of the origins of the universe to that of the Israelites,as reflected in the Hebrew Bible.

Question 56

Compare and contrast Buddha's teachings on right conduct to those of Confucius.

Question 57

Ancient Palestine was an important crossroads between Asia and Africa.It was also influential in the spread of religious ideas.Using Map 2-1,discuss how Palestinian geography could have aided in the spreading of religious ideas.

Question 58

Choose two Greek philosophers and indicate the manner in which they dealt with the crises in the polis.In your opinion,which philosopher developed a better plan for dealing with the issues of his time?

Question 59

What are the major aspects of Buddhism.Why did Buddhism spread from India? What are the major aspects of the Jain tradition? In what ways are these religious movements similar and different?