Modern Philosophers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Soren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard said "I believe, therefore I am". He believed the common man merely "thinks" while the existential man believes and knows.

Answer: thesis, antithesis, synthesis

The thesis and antithesis are the proposition and opposition to a situation. The synthesis is the higher truth deduced from the thesis and antithesis. Hegel did describe this process, but attributed the concept to Immanuel Kant, and did not himself explore it in any detail. The terminology actually originated in the writings of Johann Gottlieb Fichte.

Answer: the superman

Nietszche believed, like all existentialists, that the ordinary man suffers because of emotions, and that there exist individuals who are so indifferent that they feel no emotion thus not suffering like the common man. Nietszche's word for such people was "übermensch", which translates more literally as overman, suggesting one who is superior to the common man.

However, partly because of George Bernard Shaw's use of "Man and Superman" in his 1903 play which included references to Nietszche's philosophy, it is more commonly translated as superman.

Answer: Friedrich Nietzsche

The translation may not be exact, but this is the most commonly accepted English version of his quote.

Answer: the proletarians

The proletarians were the working class. The bourgeoisie are the middle class, and are considered capitalists.

Answer: "On the Origin of Species"

This book became the foundation for Social Darwinism. "The Wealth of Nations" is by Adam Smith, "Dawkins vs. Gould: Survival of the Fittest" is by Kim Sterelny, and "The Structure of Evolutionary Threory" is by Stephen Jay Gould.

Answer: the fool

The id thinks of the instinctual wants and needs. The ego is the rational sector, taking risks and fears into consideration. The superego is the ideal individual, one that makes perfect decisions with perfect outcomes.

Answer: emotions

Our emotions allow us to be sad. Happiness creates a fear of losing prosperity, fear leads to anger toward life's unjust ways, anger leads to hatred of life in general, and hatred leads to the suffering of the individual mind.

Answer: free will

Kierkegaared believed that free will led to making decisions, and these decisions created certain emotions.

Answer: L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum wrote "The Wizard of Oz". Camus wrote "The Stranger", Dostoevsky wrote "Crime and Punishment", and Vonnegut wrote "Breakfast of Champions". Camus, Dostoevsky, and Vonnegut authored other existentialist works.