Greek Philosophy — Final Exam (Thales to Aristotle)
Question 1 of 18
The central innovation of the Milesian philosophers was the search for the archē — that is, for…
Heraclitus is best characterized as the philosopher of…
Parmenides argued that genuine change is impossible because…
Zeno's paradoxes (Achilles and the tortoise, the arrow) were designed to…
The atomists Leucippus and Democritus responded to Parmenides by holding that…
Protagoras' dictum that 'man is the measure of all things' expresses…
The Socratic elenchus is…
The Socratic thesis that 'virtue is knowledge' implies that…
In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, the prisoner's painful ascent toward the sun represents…
In the Republic, Plato ultimately defines justice — in both the city and the soul — as…
Aristotle's chief objection to Plato's separate Forms is that they…
Aristotle's four causes of a thing are its…
Aristotle's distinction between potentiality and actuality dissolves Parmenides' problem of change by showing that change is…
The Prime Mover (Unmoved Mover) causes motion by…
For Aristotle, eudaimonia (the highest human good) consists in…
Aristotle's claim that 'man is by nature a political animal' (zōon politikon) means that…
✍️ Open answer · AI-graded
Trace and assess the responses to Parmenides' denial of change, from the Presocratic pluralists and atomists through to Aristotle. Whose solution is the most satisfying, and why?
What to cover: Reconstruct Parmenides' challenge, then show how the pluralists and atomists 'save the phenomena' by multiplying eternal beings, and how Aristotle instead answers with potentiality and actuality; end with a reasoned verdict rather than mere reporting.
Marking your answer — PhD-level feedback takes a moment…
✍️ Open answer · AI-graded
Compare Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle on the nature of virtue and its relation to knowledge, habit, and the good life. How does the disagreement over akrasia (weakness of will) illuminate their differences?
What to cover: Contrast Socratic intellectualism (virtue is knowledge), Plato's justice as the harmony of a tripartite soul, and Aristotle's virtue as a habituated disposition guided by phronēsis; use the akrasia dispute as the focal test case.
Marking your answer — PhD-level feedback takes a moment…