Catchphrases of Philosophers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jean Paul Sartre

This quote is a foundational statement of Sartre's existentialist philosophy. According to Sartre, a chair's essence precedes its existence in that it is conceived of, defined, purposed and designed by its creator before it is made. A human being must purpose themself and decide what they want to and think they should be and become it; their existence precedes their essence.

Sartre was born in 1905 in Paris. His philosophy is linked with a literary movement.

Answer: Rene Descartes

One day, Descartes shut himself in an oven and devoted himself to "the general demolition of [his] opinions" (Descartes). He reasoned that it was possible that nothing he perceived to exist did, with the exception of himself, as he couldn't deny he existed without, logically, existing, as the denier.

Descartes was born in 1596 in France. He is considered by many to be the father of modern philosophy.

Answer: Socrates

Socrates typically proved to those who had the audicity to claim they knew something in his presence that they didn't know anything either, and they were simply more ignorant than him, as they didn't know the one thing he did.

Socrates was born in 470 BC in Athens. He didn't write anything down, but many of his teachings were recorded by his student, Plato.

Answer: Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche believed there was no metaphysical realm and that Christian morality encouraged people to be somewhat weak willed, weak minded and weak spirited and accept whatever they were told and do whatever they were expected to. God didn't exist; Christian morality was a construction designed to control the masses and subjugate great people. He thought people were too pusillanimous and should self-actualise, be strong and creative and work and achieve things.

Nietzsche was born in 1844 in Germany. His works covered many different topics, and had a wide-reaching influence on modern philosophy.

Answer: Aristotle

Aristotle equated happiness with virtue. He thought virtue must be cultivated in youth and that adults were incapable acquiring it because virtue was love of wisdom and happy practice of good. He considered virtue the golden mean; extremes of qualities such as generosity (i.e. profligacy) were always vicious.

Aristotle was born in 384 BC in Greece. He founded a school called the Lyceum and wrote about a wide variety of topics.

Answer: Kant

Kant was a deontological ethicist. He agreed with Aristotle that people should do the right things for the right reasons and that was virtue was mental as well as physical. However, he thought (at one point) that tenets of good behaviour could be derived from the principles of universality (such that everyone could actually adopt them) and that people should be considered and treated as ends in themselves.

Kant was born in Germany in 1724. He is thought of as one of the best philosophers of the Enlightenment.

Answer: Jeremy Bentham

Ethically, Bentham reasoned teleologically; he considered actions good the results of which were good. He thought people should do what would cause the most happiness for the most people.

Bentham was born in 1748 in England, and was the founder of Utilitarianism.

Answer: Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor. He tried to acquire self-knowledge, behave virtuously, and accept whatever was beyond his control.

He was born in 121 AD in Italy and wrote "Meditations".

Answer: Epicurus

Epicurus believed death was nothing to fear, as dead people could not know they were dead, or feel pain. He claimed being miserable and anxious because you know you will die is irrational. He thought happiness consisted in the absence of stress and people should learn to be content with what they could get with little effort.

Epicurus was born in 341 BC in Greece and founded Epicurism.

Answer: Plato

Plato considered philosophy as a means to discovering truth. He thought worldly stimuli distracted souls from rational thought and philosophers should regularly avoid them. He thought the practice of philosophy could safeguard the purity of the soul and ensure its promotion after death to the realms of the immortal gods.

Plato was born in 428 BC in Athens. He was a student of Socrates, and, in turn, a teacher of Aristotle.