Chapter 17 Quiz: Love and Relationships
Multiple Choice
1. In Aristophanes' myth in Plato's Symposium, love is described as:
a) The aspiration toward the Form of Beauty itself b) The desire of each half-human to find its missing other half c) The practice of care, commitment, trust, and responsibility d) The formation of a "we" that supersedes individual interests
2. Diotima's "ladder of love" in the Symposium begins with:
a) Love of the Form of Beauty itself b) Love of knowledge and philosophy c) Love of a particular beautiful body d) Love of beautiful souls and virtuous character
3. Which of the following best characterizes Gregory Vlastos's criticism of Diotima's account?
a) It relies too heavily on myth rather than argument b) It cannot explain why we love particular people rather than properties they instantiate c) It ignores the role of sexual attraction in love d) It is too influenced by Aristophanes' comic presentation
4. In Aristotle's taxonomy, a friendship based primarily on mutual enjoyment and shared interests is a friendship of:
a) Utility b) Virtue c) Pleasure d) Philia
5. When Aristotle says a close friend is allos autos, he means:
a) The friend is a mirror for your flaws b) The friend is useful in the same way as another version of yourself would be c) The friend is another self — their flourishing is partly constitutive of your flourishing d) The friend is replaceable by anyone with similar virtues
6. Simone de Beauvoir's critique of love focuses on:
a) The lack of passionate feeling in modern relationships b) Love structured by dependency in which one person loses their freedom and identity c) The impossibility of genuine love given human self-interest d) The conflict between Platonic and Aristotelian accounts
7. According to Harry Frankfurt, love is best understood as:
a) An intense passionate feeling that is self-evident when present b) A form of caring about someone's wellbeing for its own sake c) The rational choice of the best available partner d) An expression of evolutionary reproductive drives
8. bell hooks argues that the most important thing love requires is:
a) Intense romantic feeling maintained over time b) A legal or formal commitment c) Honesty, because lies prevent genuine knowing d) Equality in practical contributions to the relationship
9. Robert Nozick's distinctive contribution to the philosophy of romantic love is:
a) The idea that love requires complete merger with the other person b) The concept of the "we" — a new entity formed by two people who genuinely love each other c) The argument that love is primarily a matter of following social conventions d) The claim that love is irrational and should be replaced by rational choice
10. In Confucian philosophy, the primary way love is expressed in relationships is through:
a) Intense emotional feeling communicated openly b) The proper fulfillment of relational roles structured by the virtue of ren c) Individual liberation from social constraints d) Romantic pursuit of an ideal partner
11. The Ubuntu principle "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" (a person is a person through other persons) implies which of the following about love and relationships?
a) Love is always competitive because resources are limited b) Your self is partly constituted by your relationships, not prior to them c) Individuals should prioritize their own needs before those of the community d) Love is a private matter between two people unaffected by community
12. In attachment theory, a "securely attached" adult typically:
a) Never needs other people and is fully self-sufficient b) Trusts that loved ones will be available and can tolerate both closeness and independence c) Becomes intensely anxious at any sign that a relationship might end d) Avoids emotional intimacy to protect against loss
True / False
13. Aristotle argues that most people have many virtue friendships because such friendships are the most enjoyable kind.
14. De Beauvoir argues that love requires the subordination of one partner's freedom to the other's projects.
15. Bell hooks distinguishes between love as feeling (which she considers unreliable) and love as practice (which she considers the substance of love).
16. Ubuntu philosophy holds that the self is fully formed prior to its relationships and then chooses which relationships to enter.
17. Attachment styles, according to the chapter's discussion, are fixed and cannot change through later experience.
Short Answer
18. Explain in two or three sentences the key philosophical problem with Diotima's account of love — the problem that makes the ascent toward the Form of Beauty potentially incompatible with loving a particular person.
19. What is the difference, in Aristotle's framework, between a virtue friendship and a friendship of pleasure? Why does Aristotle think only virtue friendship involves loving the other person for who they actually are?
20. How does bell hooks connect love to justice? Why does she argue that genuine love at the personal level cannot be separated from political and social concerns?
Answer Key
- b
- c
- b
- c
- c
- b
- b
- c
- b
- b
- b
- b
- False — Aristotle says virtue friendships are the rarest because they require deep knowledge, time, and that both parties be genuinely good.
- False — De Beauvoir argues the opposite: genuine love requires both parties to remain free.
- True
- False — Ubuntu holds the opposite: the self is constituted through relationships.
- False — The chapter notes that attachment styles can change through later secure relationships and therapy.