Deck 7: Philosophy of Art

Question 1

Plato often made the characters of his dialogues examples of the theories they were expressing. This was designed to demonstrate his belief that:

A) there is no real difference between appearance and reality.
B) life itself is a form of art.
C) the order of the universe is reflected in the order of the soul.
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to Plato, the presence of two contradictory impulses in a person such as to grieve and to remain unmoved) indicates that:

A) he or she is internally disordered.
B) two distinct elements of his or her nature are involved.
C) reason no longer rules his soul.
D) he or she is of poor character.
E) None of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of the distinction between appearance and reality?

A) Arnold looks tall in the movies, but he's really only five feet six inches.
B) My aunt lies about her age.
C) The English horn is neither English nor a horn.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How does Plato believe one may know what makes one truly happy?

A) By making sure all of one's opinions are true
B) By carefully observing the actions of those who are truly happy
C) By attaining a systematic understanding of the good for humanity
D) By studying a correct definition of "happiness"
E) None of the above

Question 5

Gorgias' upright moral character and speeches advocating a false ethical view illustrate the:

A) difference between knowledge and belief.
B) way in which the organization of the individual soul mirrors the organization of the universe.
C) contrast between a persuasive argument and an invalid one.
D) distinction between appearance and reality.
E) All of the above

Question 6

Plato held that the benefits) of art was/were that it:

A) refines our aesthetic sense.
B) stirs up our emotions.
C) reinforces our psychological harmony.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 7

A painting of a chair aims at reproducing:

A) the chair as it really is.
B) the Form of the Chair.
C) a small portion of the real chair.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 8

According to Plato, real pizza is:

A) the Form of Pizza, of which all particular pizzas that might be baked are copies.
B) all the particular pizzas that are baked in the world.
C) a photograph of a pizza.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 9

A straight stick looks bent when put halfway under water. Plato uses this example to illustrate the:

A) principle of light refraction.
B) distinction between appearance and reality.
C) artistic structure of his dialogues.
D) superiority of reason to observation.
E) None of the above

Question 10

The faculty Plato thinks gives us the ability to tell appearance from reality is:

A) imagination.
B) intuition.
C) reason.
D) investigation.
E) observation.

Question 11

According to Plato, a craftsman who builds a chair creates:

A) a real chair which cannot be copied by a painter.
B) a copy of a real chair.
C) a real chair that might be copied by the painter.
D) a chair which is no closer to reality than a painting of a chair.
E) None of the above

Question 12

Plato says that poets should be excluded from an ideal society because:

A) they undermine the reason.
B) poems appeal to an inferior portion of the soul.
C) the poets creations are only pale reflections of truth.
D) a poem affects the soul as a vicious government affects a state.
E) All of the above

Question 13

Plato thought that art:

A) leads us away from knowledge.
B) was the path to a deeper understanding of reality.
C) revealed truth in ways that mere reason could not.
D) was more reality than appearance.
E) revealed truth through its beauty.

Question 14

Plato thinks that Gorgias is dangerous because:

A) his apparently decent speeches conceal the reality of his wicked character.
B) his students follow his false moral principles rather than emulating his morally upright behavior.
C) he is clearly evil, but still attracts students.
D) he speaks the truth, but does not understand what makes his claims true.
E) None of the above

Question 15

In the Republic, Plato argues that:

A) a society's character is best expressed through its art.
B) art should be banned in an ideal society.
C) artists should be supported by public funding in an ideal society.
D) in a good society, the artists are second in importance only to the rulers.
E) None of the above

Question 16

In Plato's dialogue entitled Gorgias, the confusion of Callicles' moral relativism is artistically indicated by:

A) his unkempt appearance.
B) Callicles' opposition to Plato's arguments.
C) Callicles' ranting, shouting, abusiveness, and loss of dignity.
D) Plato's refusal to even engage with Callicles.
E) All of the above

Question 17

According to Plato, a person who has true opinions, but does not know what makes them true:

A) does not appear to be wise.
B) is wise, but cannot lead others to wisdom.
C) appears to be wise, but in fact is not.
D) has achieved true wisdom by avoiding the conceit of knowledge.
E) None of the above

Question 18

The contributing elements to the artistic brilliance of Plato's dialogues include:

A) the characters are fully-realized human beings.
B) each dialogue is brief enough to be read in its entirety without interruption.
C) the behavior of the characters actually exemplifies the theories Plato is expounding.
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 19

According to Plato:

A) a painting of a chair and an actual chair are both copies of the Form of chair.
B) an actual chair resembles the Form of Chair, and the painting of the chair resembles the actual chair.
C) the actual chair resembles the Form of Chair, but the painting of the chair doesn't resemble the actual chair.
D) there is no difference between an actual chair and the Form of Chair.
E) None of the above

Question 20

Plato and Aristotle agree that:

A) poetry should be banned from an ideal society.
B) art merely provides us with imperfect copies of particular instances of universal forms.
C) we should seek knowledge of the universal forms of justice, beauty, and goodness.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 21

Tolstoy believed that the purpose of art was to:

A) unite humanity through shared emotion.
B) move the masses to political action.
C) acquaint us with our true natures.
D) provide pleasure to those who have invested time and effort in the study of art.
E) All of the above

Question 22

Tolstoy believes that Beethoven's 9th Symphony is bad art because

A) music is incapable of transmitting the highest religious feeling.
B) it mixes poetry and music.
C) in an age before recordings, few people had an opportunity to hear a symphony that required a large orchestra and a chorus.
D) the feelings transmitted by the music did not unite all people, but only a few.
E) Both A and D

Question 23

Aristotle holds that we can attain true knowledge only by:

A) catharsis.
B) grasping the transcendent Forms through reason.
C) purging ourselves of all harmful passions.
D) coming to know the Forms by studying their particular instances.
E) None of the above

Question 24

According to Tolstoy:

A) mere speech cannot communicate our thoughts.
B) art is the practice of communicating truth.
C) our feeling may be communicated only through artistic expression.
D) art is our single genuine means of communication.
E) Both A and D

Question 25

The experience of catharsis is the:

A) arousal of powerful feelings we did not previously possess.
B) purging of powerful emotions that were already present in us.
C) harmful experience of fear and pity.
D) replacement of fear and pity with hope and affection.
E) healthful suppression of fear and pity.

Question 26

According to Aristotle, the distinction between an historian and a poet is:

A) the former writes in prose, while the latter writes in verse.
B) poetry speaks of universals, while history speaks of particulars.
C) poetry appeals to the emotions, while history appeals to the reason.
D) history describes what might have been, while poetry describes what might be.
E) Both B and D

Question 27

The pleasure of a tragedy, according to Aristotle, is:

A) the experience of pity and fear.
B) to learn to identify with the protagonist.
C) to return to the lesser troubles of real life.
D) to feel relief that one is not in the same position as the protagonist of the tragedy.
E) Aristotle believes that the benefit of tragedy comes from the fact that they contain no pleasures.

Question 28

The sort of repression that occurs when you force yourself to endure the unpleasantness of an important vaccination rather than indulging your desire to be elsewhere) is what Marcuse would call:

A) subliminal repression.
B) necessary repression.
C) surplus repression.
D) direct repression.
E) manifest repression.

Question 29

Tolstoy held that great art must:

A) be imaginative.
B) be sincere.
C) educate the audience.
D) have a subject with wide appeal.
E) Both B and D

Question 30

A tragedy, according to Aristotle, should involve a:

A) virtuous and just person who is destroyed by an error in judgment.
B) not particularly virtuous person who is destroyed by vice and depravity.
C) virtuous person destroyed by simple bad luck.
D) not particularly virtuous person destroyed by an error in judgment.
E) virtuous person destroyed by vice and depravity.

Question 31

A repressed desire:

A) is pushed entirely out of the mind.
B) remains in the unconscious, but with its emotional force abated.
C) disappears with the passage of time.
D) remains in the unconscious with all of its emotional force.
E) Both B and C

Question 32

Who of the following thought one of the primary purposes of art was to instill religious feeling?

A) Aristotle
B) Beethoven
C) Tolstoy
D) Marcuse
E) Marx

Question 33

Who felt that art was both desirable and a destructive social force?

A) Plato
B) Aristotle
C) Tolstoy
D) Marcuse
E) None of the above

Question 34

Tolstoy opposed:

A) elitism in art.
B) the expression of religious feeling in art.
C) folk art.
D) the application of objective criteria in judging art.
E) All of the above

Question 35

According to Aristotle, the universal forms:

A) don't actually exist.
B) are embodied all around us in the things of the world of space and time.
C) exist in an independent transcendent reality.
D) were a fiction created by Plato.
E) None of the above

Question 36

According to Marcuse, art is:

A) irrational.
B) a destructive social force.
C) a valuable element in human life.
D) Both A and B
E) All of the above

Question 37

According to whom does knowledge consist of a rational understanding of the realm of universal forms?

A) Kant
B) Aristotle
C) Tolstoy
D) Marcuse
E) Plato

Question 38

The benefit of a tragedy, according to Aristotle, is to:

A) purge the audience of unrealistic expectations.
B) purge the audience of harmful emotions.
C) put the audience's own troubles in proper perspective.
D) arouse in the audience the emotions of joy and relief.
E) allow members of the audience to understand the suffering of others.

Question 39

If a boxer is made angry by some event before a bout, and redirects his anger into the fight, that's an example of:

A) repression.
B) sublimation.
C) transfiguration.
D) catharsis.
E) Both A and C

Question 40

Aristotle tells us that the plot of a good tragedy:

A) should be simple.
B) must imitate actions arousing fear and pity.
C) involves a good man passing from happiness to misery.
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 41

In 2006, David Geffen, co-founder with Stephen Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzsenberg of Dream-Works, sold a Jackson Pollock drip painting for:

A) $40 million
B) $100 million
C) $1 million
D) $140 million.
E) $250 million

Question 42

The purpose of surplus repression is to:

A) preserve the dominance of the ruling sectors of society.
B) provide an outlet for unconscious desires.
C) restrain us from rising up against the ruling class.
D) allow us to "process" certain experiences at some time after they have actually occurred.
E) Both A and C

Question 43

Plato considers Gorgias morally decent, but still dangerous because of the content of his relativistic views.

Question 44

Which artist does not count as an example of the new theory of art Danto proffers?

A) Warhol
B) Lichtenstein
C) Oldenburg
D) Rauschenberg
E) None of the above

Question 45

Plato tells us that reason alone will fail to show us when the easy way is in fact the harmful way.

Question 46

A persuasive sounding argument which is in fact formally invalid is an example of the distinction between appearance and reality.

Question 47

According to Marcuse, the social function of art is to:

A) provide a blueprint for a better future.
B) annoy the ruling class.
C) bring the truth to the repressed masses.
D) keep alive the dream of liberation.
E) illustrate the difference between necessary and surplus repression.

Question 48

George Berkeley and Baruch Spinoza were two other philosophers who wrote extremely artistic dialogues.

Question 49

Transcendence, in Marcuse's terminology, is:

A) entering a higher, non-material realm.
B) an imaginative leap beyond the repressions of the given social world.
C) an act of artistic revolt, such as calling a blank canvas a painting.
D) the realization that surplus repression is different from necessary repression.
E) the realization that all repression is surplus repression.

Question 50

Who of the following believes that civilization cannot exist without repression?

A) Plato
B) Aristotle
C) Freud
D) Marcuse
E) Both C and D

Question 51

Which of the following serve as examples in Danto's essay?

A) Fountain
B) One and Three Chairs
C) 4'33"
D) Both A and C
E) All of the above

Question 52

Marcuse notes that:

A) the total amount of repression in modern industrial societies is less than the amount of repression in less advanced societies.
B) as our necessary repression has lessened, our surplus repression has increased.
C) we suffer from much less surplus repression today than we did during the time of our grandparents.
D) technology has, it turns out, failed to decrease our burden of necessary repression.
E) it is impossible to decrease the total burden of repression.

Question 53

Plato demonstrates the difference between appearance and reality by making his characters' behavior the exact opposite of what the theories they are expressing would suggest.

Question 54

What was wrong with Gauguin's little ceramic sculpture "The Faun"?

A) It was a forgery.
B) Everyone thought it was a forgery, but it was not.
C) It was signed by Gauguin's student.
D) Experts damaged it when trying to determine whether it was a forgery.
E) Gauguin made it in a different style that did not resemble his other work.

Question 55

What is Connoisseurship?

A) When the work of an artist's pupil is mistaken for the artist's work.
B) When the work of a forger successfully fools the experts.
C) The discovery of a forged work of art.
D) The identification of the artist by his handwriting.
E) Aesthetic appreciation of forgeries.

Question 56

Marcuse tells us that, in order to encourage people to struggle to free themselves from surplus repression, we must:

A) falsely promise them a release from necessary repression.
B) make them see the difference between the necessary repression they must endure, and the surplus repression from which they can be liberated.
C) first free them from necessary repression.
D) gain the support of the ruling class.
E) None of the above

Question 57

A philosophical understanding of justice was sufficient to allow Plato to resist the temptation to flee from the punishment to which the Athenians had sentenced him.

Question 58

Plato held that the metaphysical order of the universe was mirrored in the internal ordering of each person.

Question 59

One element of the artistic brilliance of Plato's dialogues is the genuine persuasiveness of the arguments presented by his characters.

Question 60

Marcuse tells us that the amount of necessary repression in modern society should be decreased through:

A) sublimation.
B) transfiguration.
C) technological advances.
D) transforming it into surplus repression.
E) None of the above

Question 61

According to Plato, a person of high character does not grieve publicly.

Question 62

According to Plato, art is mere appearance, and hence leads us away from knowledge concerning reality.

Question 63

Plato tells us that poets ought to be eliminated from a perfect society, even though they appeal to the highest portion of the soul.

Question 64

A medieval nickname of Plato was "the philosopher."

Question 65

Anything we call by a common noun will have an associated Form, according to Plato.

Question 66

According to Plato, a chair has more reality than the ideal Form of a chair.

Question 67

The tragic poet is more like the craftsman who builds the chair than the painter who represents it, according to Plato.

Question 68

The impulse to resist grief comes from the spirited portion of the soul, according to Plato.

Question 69

A representation reproduces only a small part of an object.

Question 70

The image of an object is a reproduction of a reproduction of the real chair.

Question 71

Plato objected not just to the truthfulness of artistic representation, but also to its psychological effects.

Question 72

Plato believed that works of art were the reality underlying the appearances of everyday perceptions.

Question 73

Plato held that the contemplation of beauty would lead us to a proper inner harmony of the soul.

Question 74

According to Plato, a person with a well-ordered soul will never experience contradictory impulses.

Question 75

The work of a carpenter who makes a chair is perfectly real, but the work of a painter who represents it is not.

Question 76

Mill's claim that some pleasures are higher than others is mirrored by Plato's claim that some pleasures are more real than others.

Question 77

Just as there can be more than one painting of a single actual chair, a single actual chair can have more than one Form of Chair.

Question 78

The aim of a painter is not to reproduce an actual object as it is, according to Plato.

Question 79

Aristotle disagreed with Plato's view that the Forms existed in an independent, transcendent reality, rather than in the world around us.

Question 80

One proof of the importance of Plato's concerns is that we are swayed by the artistic form of his dialogues, rather than considering their arguments alone.