Reference no: EM133318217

QUESTION 1

Which pairing claims that beauty cannot be reduced to the single property of symmetry?

a. Anne Shepherd, Neil Van Leeuwen

b. David Hume, Jessica Cruel

c. Helen Fisher, Lisa Randall

d. Paul Dirac, Anne Shepherd

QUESTION 2

According to the objectivist account of beauty,

a. An object possesses the property (or properties) of beauty which the observer perceives, and this brings about a pleasurable response in the observer.

b. An observer perceives an object and projects beautiful properties onto it and experiences a pleasurable response.

c. An object possesses a bundle of neutral properties, and the observer's imagination transforms those properties into beautiful ones and experiences a pleasurable response.

d. An observer perceives the object, experiences a pleasurable response, and judges it to be beautiful.

QUESTION 3

Why does Taylor introduce the myth of Sisyphus?

A. To show that an existence without objective meaning can still be meaningful.

B. To provide an example of a meaningless existence.

C. All of the above

D. To provide an analogy with human lives.

QUESTION 4

For Van Leeuwen, what do all of the following have in common: a Da Vinci painting, Chinese Calligraphy, ballet, and a Michael Jordan move?

A. They all exhibit the necessary qualities or properties in virtue of which they can be judged objectively beautiful.

B. They all possess the objective property of fluid motion.

C. They all possess the objective properties of simplicity, harmony, and symmetry.

D. Their beauty depends on a person's subjective experience.

QUESTION 5

De Botton finds Chloe "devastatingly" beautiful because

a. She measures up to Plato's ideal Form of Beauty.

b. She has Platonic teeth.

c. She resembles a mathematical formula

d. None of the above

QUESTION 6

By having the gods implant into Sisyphus a compulsive impulse to roll stones, Taylor believes

A. the meaninglessness of Sisyphus's life remains unchanged.

B. the universe ("picture") becomes meaningful.

C. Sisyphus's life only becomes meaningful if he also builds a temple atop the mountain.

D. Sisyphus's life becomes meaningful (to Sisyphus).

QUESTION 7

Alain de Botton defends

a metaphysical theory of beauty

a subjectivist-objectivist hybrid theory of beauty

an objectivist theory of beauty

a subjectivist theory of beauty

QUESTION 8

The "Kantian teeth" image

a. Is meant to support de Botton's view

b. Is meant to support the Platonic view

c. Is meant to show that the imagination plays no role in judgments of beauty.

d. B & C

QUESTION 9

Meaninglessness, as Richard Taylor formulates it, is

A. non-repetitious, non-cyclic activity that amounts to something of no worth.

B. non-repetitious, non-cyclic activity that amounts to something of little worth.

C. repetitious, cyclic activity that never comes to anything.

D. repetitious, cyclic activity that always amounts to something, however insignificant.

QUESTION 10

According to Richard Taylor, if Sisyphus's task was instead to push several rocks up the mountain and build a temple with the stones, then

A. Sisyphus's life would still be meaningless.

B. Sisyphus's life would still be meaningless but at least his actions had a purpose.

C. Sisyphus's life would have some degree of meaningfulness.

D. Sisyphus's life would have some degree of meaningfulness but his actions had no purpose.

QUESTION 11

De Botton cites Wittgenstein's "duck-rabbit" image to support the claim

a. That Chloe's face is objectively beautiful.

b. That the attitude of the viewer plays no role in the judgment of beauty.

c. That Chloe's face has evidence of both beauty and ugliness.

d. None of the above

QUESTION 12

Which of the following statements is true regarding the concept of a telos?

A. If humankind has a telos, then life has meaning.

B. If humankind has a telos, then life has meaning only for those who believe in God.

C. If humankind does not have a telos, then God does not exist.

D. None of the above

QUESTION 13

The Platonic conception of beauty is consistent with

a. Leonardo Da Vinci's "Vetruvian Man"

b. the Canon of Polykleitos

c. the Parthenon (Athens)

d. All of the above

QUESTION 14

Which of the following statements is false with respect to Taylor's argument?

A. If a meaningful life is at all possible, it must come from within.

B. From an objective point of view, life is meaningless.

C. There is absolutely no hope of living a meaningful life.

D. Even the New Zealand glow worms live meaningful lives if viewed from within.

QUESTION 15

Taylor's "very light change" to the Sisyphus story is meant to

A. show how a meaningful life is possible.

B. show that the pessimist view is correct.

C. show how, even with this change, a meaningful life is not possible.

D. show that the religious-metaphysical approach is mistaken.

QUESTION 16

Why are human lives "objectively meaningless," according to Taylor?

A. Because they have no significant culmination that serves as their purpose.

B. Because they involve more suffering than enjoyment.

C. Because there is no God to give them a meaning.

D. Because the question "what is the meaning of life?" makes no sense.

QUESTION 17

De Botton cites the French novelist, Marcel Proust, who said that "classically beautiful women should be left to men without imagination." What does this mean?

a. The imagination projects symmetry onto the object (making it beautiful)

b. The imagination is not required if the person has Kantian teeth.

c. Beauty as symmetry precludes the role of the imagination in judging beauty.

d. Beauty as symmetry requires imagination on the part of the viewer.

QUESTION 18

According to the objection to Taylor's argument that Christopher Cloos raises,

A. The obsessive stone thrower does indeed live an objectively meaningful life

B. The obsessive stone thrower's life is objectively meaningless insofar as her activity fails to contribute to society.

C. The obsessive stone thrower's life is meaningful insofar as her desires are completely fulfilled.

D. Meaningfulness does not require a telos.

QUESTION 19

Which of the following statements is true regarding the Secular-humanist approach?

A. Richard Taylor disagrees with it.

B. Albert Camus and Richard Taylor agree with it.

C. Albert Camus and Richard Taylor disagree with it.

D. Albert Camus disagrees with it.

QUESTION 20

If I am a religious person who believes in a Divine Plan that confers meaning on my life, then

A. I also believe that there is a single, objective meaning to life.

B. I also believe in a mosaic of different conceptions of the meaning of life.

C. I also believe that there is no telos of human life.

D. Both (b) and (c)

QUESTION 21

With respect to the three approaches to the meaning of life, which set of descriptors characterizes the Religious/Metaphysical view?

A. Subjective meaning, mosaic metaphor, internal source of meaning

B. Objective meaning, jigsaw metaphor, external source of meaning

C. Subjective meaning, jigsaw metaphor, external source of meaning

D. Objective meaning, mosaic metaphor, internal source of meaning

QUESTION 22

According to Richard Taylor, if Sisyphus's task was instead to carry a pebble up the mountain rather than push a giant rock, then

A. his life would not be as meaningless.

B. his life would be just as meaningless as pushing a giant rock.

C. his life would be meaningful so long as the pebble was added to the temple.

D. both A & C

QUESTION 23

The biological anthropologist, Helen Fisher, offers empirical evidence in support of the thesis

a. That symmetry has little to do with beauty.

b. That symmetry enhances mating success only in the animal (and insect) kingdom.

c. That symmetry plays a significant evolutionary role in love and beauty

d. Both B & C

QUESTION 24

In the closing paragraph of his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" Albert Camus asserts

A. that one can't imagine Sisyphus happy

B. that Sisyphus is not happy

C. that one must imagine Sisyphus happy

D. that Sisyphus is happy

QUESTION 25

Who said that artistic and mathematical beauty cannot be defined?

A. Albert Einstein

B. Carlo Rovelli

C. Paul Dirac

D. Ann Shepherd