Question 1

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "The whole foundation on which our existence rests is the present." Furthermore, "It lies, then, in the very nature of our existence to take the form of constant motion, and to offer no possibility of our ever attaining the rest for which we are always striving."

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Question 2

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "In a world where all is unstable, and nothing can endure, but is swept onwards at once in the hurrying whirlpool of change; where a man, if he is to keep erect at all, must always be advancing and moving, like an acrobat on a rope-in such a world happiness in inconceivable."

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Question 3

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "On looking a little closer, we find that inorganic matter presents a constant conflict between chemical forces, which eventually annihilates it; and on the other hand, that organic life is impossible without continual change of matter, and cannot exist if it does not receive perpetual help from without. This is the realm of finite existence, and its opposite would be an infinite existence, exposed to no attack from without, and needing nothing to support it."

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Question 4

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "Hence most people, if they glance back when they come to the end of life, will find that all along they have been living temporarily: they will be surprised to find that the very thing they disregarded and let slip by unenjoyed, was just the life in the expectation of which they passed all their time."

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Question 5

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "For all that, it must rouse our sympathy to think how very little the Will, this lord of the world, really gets when it takes the form of an individual; usually only just enough to keep the body together. This is why man is so very miserable."

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Question 6

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "Life presents itself chiefly as a task-the task, I mean, of subsisting at all. If this is accomplished, life is a burden, and then there comes the second task of doing something with that which has been won-of warding off boredom, which, like a bird of prey, hovers over us, ready to fall wherever it sees a life secure from need."

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Question 7

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "that man is a compound of needs and necessities hard to satisfy; and that even when they are satisfied, all he obtains is a state of painlessness, where nothing remains to him but abandonment to boredom. This is direct proof that existence has no real value in itself; for what is boredom but the feeling of the emptiness of life?"

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Question 8

According to Kierkegaard, "If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the foundation of all there lay only a wildly seething power which writhing with obscure passions produced everything that is great and everything that is insignificant, if a bottomless void never satiated lay hidden beneath all-what then would life be but ...?"
A) activity
B) beatitude
C) custom
D) despair

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard is suggesting that if there were no eternal consciousness or purpose to life, then life would be filled with despair and meaninglessness. The other options (activity, beatitude, and custom) do not accurately capture his argument.

Question 9

According to Kierkegaard, "if there were no sacred bond which united mankind, if one generation arose after another like the leafage in the forest, if the one generation replaced the other like the song of birds in the forest, if the human race passed through the world as the ship goes through the sea, like the wind through the desert, a thoughtless and fruitless activity, if an eternal oblivion were always lurking hungrily for its prey and there was no power strong enough to wrest it from its maw" then life would be ...
A) useful.
B) empty.
C) fruitful.
D) timeless.

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard is saying that without a sacred bond uniting mankind, life would be meaningless and empty, with an eternal oblivion waiting to consume everything. Therefore, the best choice is B, empty.

Question 10

According to Kierkegaard, "The poet cannot do what that other does, he can only admire, love and rejoice in the _____. Yet he too is happy, and not less so, for the _____ is as it were his better nature, with which he is in love, rejoicing in the fact that this after all is not himself, that his love can be admiration."
A) past; past
B) void; void
C) hero; hero
D) ego; ego

Accepted Answer

Kiergaard speaks of the poet's relationship with the hero, emphasizing the poet's admiration and joy in the hero's actions, which the poet himself cannot achieve.

Question 11

According to Kierkegaard, there are levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved _____ became greater than all."
A) God
B) being
C) ideas
D) music

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard believed that only by loving God could one become truly great. This echoes his religious beliefs and emphasis on faith as a key component of personal greatness.

Question 12

According to Kierkegaard, "If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the foundation of all there lay only a wildly seething power which writhing with obscure passions produced everything that is great and everything that is insignificant, if a bottomless void never satiated lay hidden beneath all-what then would life be but despair?"

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard believed that without the concept of eternal consciousness and meaning in life, all that would be left is a chaotic and hopeless existence leading to despair.

Question 13

According to Kierkegaard, "if there were no sacred bond which united mankind, if one generation arose after another like the leafage in the forest, if the one generation replaced the other like the song of birds in the forest, if the human race passed through the world as the ship goes through the sea, like the wind through the desert, a thoughtless and fruitless activity, if an eternal oblivion were always lurking hungrily for its prey and there was no power strong enough to wrest it from its maw" then life would be timeless.

Accepted Answer

Kierkegaard suggests that without a sacred bond uniting mankind, life would be meaningless, not timeless. He emphasizes the importance of continuity and connection between generations for giving life meaning, contrasting it with a vision of life that is transient and without lasting impact.

Question 14

According to Kierkegaard, "The poet cannot do what that other does, he can only admire, love and rejoice in the ego. Yet he too is happy, and not less so, for the ego is as it were his better nature, with which he is in love, rejoicing in the fact that this after all is not himself, that his love can be admiration."

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Question 15

According to Kierkegaard, there are levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved ideas became greater than all."

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Question 16

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's claim: "If there were no eternal consciousness in a man, if at the foundation of all there lay only a wildly seething power which writhing with obscure passions produced everything that is great and everything that is insignificant, if a bottomless void never satiated lay hidden beneath all-what then would life be but despair?"

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Question 17

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's claim: "if there were no sacred bond which united mankind, if one generation arose after another like the leafage in the forest, if the one generation replaced the other like the song of birds in the forest, if the human race passed through the world as the ship goes through the sea, like the wind through the desert, a thoughtless and fruitless activity, if an eternal oblivion were always lurking hungrily for its prey and there was no power strong enough to wrest it from its maw" then life would be empty.

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Question 18

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's claim: "The poet cannot do what that other does, he can only admire, love and rejoice in the hero. Yet he too is happy, and not less so, for the hero is as it were his better nature, with which he is in love, rejoicing in the fact that this after all is not himself, that his love can be admiration."

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Question 19

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's extended discussion of the poet and the hero. Can anyone be a poet? Can anyone be a hero?

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Question 20

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's claim about levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved God became greater than all."

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Quiz 10: Epicurus in Waking or in Dream

Explain what Schopenhauer means when he says, "For all that, it must rouse our sympathy to think how very little the Will, this lord of the world, really gets when it takes the form of an individual; usually only just enough to keep the body together. This is why man is so very miserable."

According to Kierkegaard, there are levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved _____ became greater than all."

According to Kierkegaard, there are levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved ideas became greater than all."

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's extended discussion of the poet and the hero. Can anyone be a poet? Can anyone be a hero?

Explain the meaning of Kierkegaard's claim about levels of greatness: "For he who loved himself became great by himself, and he who loved other men became great by his selfless devotion, but he who loved God became greater than all."