Quiz: The Unexamined Life
Multiple Choice
1. Socrates was put to death in Athens because he:
a) Committed treason against the state
b) Persistently questioned the beliefs and assumptions of prominent citizens
c) Wrote books arguing against traditional religion
d) Refused to serve in the military
2. When Socrates said "the unexamined life is not worth living," he most likely meant:
a) Unexamined lives are unhappy lives
b) People who don't philosophize are morally inferior
c) A life lived on unquestioned assumptions lacks genuine authorship
d) Philosophical knowledge is a prerequisite for legal rights
3. Philosophy, as defined in this chapter, is best described as:
a) A fixed body of answers to fundamental questions
b) A personality type characterized by intellectual curiosity
c) A practice of thinking carefully about fundamental questions
d) An academic discipline practiced only by trained professionals
4. Which of the following is NOT one of the three core philosophical activities introduced in this chapter?
a) Conceptual analysis
b) Argument evaluation
c) Empirical research
d) Reflective equilibrium
5. "Reflective equilibrium," a concept associated with philosopher John Rawls, refers to:
a) The state of inner peace achieved through meditation
b) The process of balancing your finances philosophically
c) Achieving perfect logical certainty about your beliefs
d) The back-and-forth adjustment between principles and considered judgments
6. The chapter argues that philosophy matters MORE in the 21st century primarily because of:
a) The growing popularity of philosophy podcasts and cafés
b) The attention economy, unprecedented moral complexity, and widespread unexamined certainty
c) The decline of religious institutions as moral guides
d) Advances in neuroscience that make brain-based ethics possible
7. The misconception that "philosophy is just opinions" is described as "corrosive" because it:
a) Discourages people from developing their own views
b) Suggests there is no difference between well-supported and poorly-supported views
c) Implies philosophy is too subjective to be useful
d) Both a and c
8. Conceptual analysis, as described in this chapter, is most useful when:
a) You need to gather more empirical data before making a decision
b) Two people are arguing and one of them is clearly wrong
c) A disagreement may be partly about what words mean rather than about facts
d) You want to identify your deepest emotional reactions to a question
9. The chapter describes the attention economy as philosophically significant because it:
a) Provides unprecedented access to philosophical arguments online
b) Is engineered to prevent the time, stillness, and willingness to engage with hard questions that the examined life requires
c) Has made people more politically engaged than ever before
d) Replaces traditional religion as a source of meaning
10. According to the chapter, the Personal Philosophy project is best understood as:
a) A commitment to a fixed set of values you won't revise
b) A summary of what professional philosophers have concluded about living well
c) A living document representing your current best thinking, subject to revision
d) A therapeutic exercise with no connection to philosophical rigor
Short Answer
11. What is the difference between having a philosophy and having an examined philosophy? Give a concrete example of an assumption someone might hold as part of an unexamined philosophy.
(3–5 sentences)
12. The chapter argues that philosophy "is not the declaration that there is no difference" between opinions. What does it mean to say that some views are better supported than others, in the context of philosophy rather than science?
(3–5 sentences)
13. A friend says: "I don't need philosophy — I already know what I value and how I want to live. Philosophy would just confuse me." How would you respond, using ideas from this chapter?
(4–6 sentences)
14. Return to Priya from the opening of the chapter. Identify two philosophical assumptions embedded in her situation that she has not examined. For each assumption, write one question that would begin to examine it.
(4–6 sentences)
15. The chapter says the examined life is one in which "you've looked at the forces outside yourself, understood their influence, and made something that is more distinctively your own." What does "more distinctively your own" mean? What does authorship of a life require?
(5–7 sentences)
Answer Key
Multiple Choice: 1-b, 2-c, 3-c, 4-c, 5-d, 6-b, 7-b, 8-c, 9-b, 10-c
Short Answer Rubric: - Full credit: answer engages directly with the chapter's framing, uses specific examples, and demonstrates understanding rather than paraphrase - Partial credit: answer shows general understanding but lacks specificity or depth - Minimal credit: answer is vague, off-topic, or simply restates the question