MIDTERM EXAM FOR PHIL-1004, Introduction to Philosophy, Chinese and Western

Choose 5 questions out of the following 7.

1. What is a dichotomy? What dichotomies are important in Pre-Socratic thought? Why?

2. "The Bible says: ‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26:41). This proves that one can do wrong knowingly, and there is such a thing called the weakness of the will." How would Socrates respond to this argument?

3. Why is definition so important to Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Plato?

4. Explain the concepts “extension” and “intension” and their connection with “thick” and “thin.”

5. What does Plato mean by “form”? Explain his main reason for taking forms as more real than physical objects.

6. What differences do you see between the philosophies of Plato and of Confucius?

7. Why does Professor Hansen think that there is a tension between concepts of li and ren in Confucian moral theory?