GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
You are to answer your choice of FOUR of the five questions assigned.
Clearly identify which question you are answering.
Each question should be answered in clear prose writing, like a mini essay, but do not add any introductory nor concluding remarks – just get straight to the point.
Each answer should be roughly 3/4 a page to two pages in length.
You are being marked on both (i) the accuracy of your explanations of the course material and (ii) the clarity by which you are able to explain this material in your own words.
ADDENDUM: To accommodate the difficulty of the semester, all students will automatically receive a bonus mark equivalent to two grade points (e.g. C+ to B) on their lowest marked question.
You may use quotes from the readings to support your answers, but this is not necessary. It’s fine just to refer to relevant parts of the readings and describe things in your own words.
Save your answers in a text file (PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, or TXT).
Title the file [Last Name] [First Name] [Course Code] Final Exam
For example, my file would be titles McGrath Christopher PHIL 1610
In the text of your file, you should include your name and student number.
The test is due via electronic submission by Midnight, Wednesday December 23rd.
You can submit your answers via this link.
QUESTION ONE:
Explain Aristotle’s theory of the four kinds of cause. That is, explain in your own words what this is a theory about, what the four kinds of cause are, and provide an illustration of the analysis of something into each of its four kinds of cause.
Explain Aristotle’s distinction between the sublunary and the celestial spheres. That is, explain in your own words what this distinction is, why he makes it, and how motion works in each sphere.
QUESTION TWO:
What is Aristotle’s definition of the soul? Clearly identify the definition, but also take care to sufficiently explain, in your own words, each technical term in the definition, and explain what implication this definition has for the question of what relation the soul has to the body.
Explain Aristotle’s “function argument” for identifying the chief good. That is, clearly state the argument and sufficiently explain it in your own words.
QUESTION THREE:
Explain the Epicurean “tetrapharmakos” (or “four-fold remedy”). That is, clearly state what it is, explain what it intended to do, and sufficiently explain it in your own words – including explaining how it is thought by Epicureans to accomplish its aim.
Explain the Stoic distinction between what is in our power and what isn’t. That is, explain this distinction, explain why it is relevant to the Stoic way of life, indicate what it is that is in our power and what isn’t, and indicate why Epictetus thinks most things are not in our power.
QUESTION FOUR:
Explain the debate surrounding the Altar of Victory. That is, explain at least two of the reasons Symmachus gives for why the altar and its associated rituals should stay, and explain Ambrose’s response to each of these reasons and his own position on the relevant matters.
Augustine argues that we make an error about ourselves, that confuses us about the nature of the mind. What is this error? Identify it, sufficiently explain it in your own words, and indicate why it’s a natural error to make. Also, indicate what notion of the mind we tend to have when we’ve made this error, and what notion of the mind we tend to have once we correct this error the way Augustine thinks we should.
QUESTION FIVE:
What is the “method of ascent” that Bonaventure describes? In your own words, explain what this method of ascent is – i.e., what it’s goal is and how it proceeds toward this goal – and briefly describe the three stages this method of ascent follows.
In the first stage of the ascent, Bonaventure’s contemplations lead him from a consideration of what the five senses tell us about the external world to a consideration of the common sense. Explain this development by (i) clearly defining and explaining both the first kind of sensation and the common sense, clarifying the contrast between them; and, (ii) explaining how this development is an illustration of the “method of ascent” Bonaventure says he’s engaged in.
