The Good, the Bad and the Crooked Quiz

Answer: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879. He is best known for the development of the general, as well as the special, theory of relativity. He also discovered the mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2. In 1921, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Although his work prepared the way for the scientists of the Manhattan Project to create the atom bomb, Einstein vehemently opposed its use.

Although he sent letters to US President Franklin Roosevelt advising him not to use the bomb as means of warfare, Roosevelt claimed he never received the letters.

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was born in 1705. He made the first kite experiment, during his studies of electricity. During the American War for Independence, Franklin was appointed Ambassador to France and helped secure both recognition and intervention by France favoring the United States.

Although Franklin was a member of the Constitutional Convention, he seldom engaged in the debates. He believed that the US Constitution should provide freedom of speech and abolition of slavery. He died in 1790.

Answer: William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the most famous of playwrights. He is regarded as the greatest author in the English language. Very few records about Shakespeare's life have survived, and nothing is known about his formal education. As a result, controversies have been ensued about whether the works attributed to him are indeed his, as well as about matters like Shakespeare's religious beliefs and his sexuality.

Answer: Socrates

Socrates was an Ancient Greek philosopher, one of the founders of Western philosophy. The method he used to stimulate critical thinking among his disciples and people who participated in discussions with him is known as the Socratic Method, or "Elenchus". Socrates himself wrote nothing and what we know about him we know it from the works of Plato and Xenophon, who were his disciples, as well as the comedies of Aristophanes, who was opposed to Socrates' teachings, blaming him for corrupting young men.

When convicted of this accusation Socrates had to die by drinking hemlock.

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was born in 1854. He is known for his involvement to the rise of aestheticism, whose founders were John Ruskin and Walter Pater, both being Wilde's tutors. Wilde wrote several plays and epigrams, as well as a novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Yet, he was a controversial figure in his time, especially after his affair with the son of the Marquess Queensbury.

He was imprisoned for two years for sodomy and in prison he wrote "De Profundis". He died in wretched circumstances in Paris early in 1900.

Answer: Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre was born in 1905. He was a philosopher, a literary critic and poet, among other things. He was a key figure in existentialism and contributed substantially to 20th century French philosophy. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964 but refused to accept it, because it was an "official" honor and by accepting it he would be "turned into an institution".

He died in 1980.

Answer: Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817. He is remembered today for his decision to live a simple life in the woods of Walden Pond, about which he wrote the book "Walden". He also wrote the book "Civil Disobedience", whose title and context caused Thoreau to be labeled an anarchist. Thoreau was also an environmentalist, pointing out the need for protecting the environment.

He criticized the wrongs of American society of his era, as he saw them, criticizing both slavery and industrialization.

He died in 1862.

Answer: Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was born in 1844. One of the most influential philosophers of his time, Nietzsche's central idea is the "Will to Power", which suggests that a man's deeds are the result of his will to reach the highest possible position in his life. Nietzsche argued that Schopenhauer's 'Will to Live" was erroneous and that only the "Will to Power" explains human motivations.

He also coined the term "Superman", which is linked to the body, suggesting that the soul is only an aspect of it. His ideas were later used by the Nazis, in order to promote their belief that the Aryan race was superior to all the others. Nietzsche died in 1900.

Answer: Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was born in 1724. His most famous work is 'Critique of Pure Reason", which seeks to explain the relationship between reason and human experience. Kant believed that experience is structured by everyday concepts and that morality has its roots in reason. According to Kant, experience is subjective and that, without using it, reason can only form theoretical illusions.

He also resisted the ideas and concept of skepticism, whose main proponent was David Hume, while attempting to put an end to an era of mere theories concerning experience.

He died in 1804.

Answer: Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu is also known as Laozi. He is reputed to be the writer of Tao Te Ching and the founder of Taoism, being considered as a deity by Taoists. Although the exact dates of his lifespan are unknown, he was most probably a contemporary of Confucius. While the emperors of the Tang dynasty of China claimed him as the founder of their lineage,his works are also embraced by many anti-authoritarians.