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Presocratics

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Context

Important Terms

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols

Thales of Miletus

Anaximander of Miletus

Anaximenes of Miletus

Xenophanes of Colophon

Heraclitus

Parmenides of Elea

The Eleatics: Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos

Empedocles

Anaxagoras

The Atomists: Leucippus and Democritus

Important Quotations Explained

Key Facts

Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics

Quiz

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Presocratics

Quiz

Which of the following three philosophers was not one of the Milesians?

(A) Anaxagoras

(B) Thales

(D) Anaximines

Out of what did Thales believe that the world emerged?

(A) Air

(B) Earth

(D) Water

Which Presocratic philosopher was responsible for the theory of the four elements?

(A) Anaximander

(B) Anaxagoras

(D) Democritus

Which of the following was not proposed as a physis by one of the Presocratics?

(A) Water

(B) Cloud

(D) Atoms

Which of the following does not accurately describe the Parmenidian Real?

(A) Unity

(B) Unmoving

(D) Without properties

Which of the following philosophers was not a pluralist?

(A) Anaxagoras

(B) Empedocles

(D) Leucippus

What common theoretical tenet gives the pluralists their name?

(A) They all believed in multiple universes

(B) They all believed in multiple physis

(D) They all believed in multiple motive forces

Who were the Eleatic philosophers?

(A) The philosophers who sought to extend Parmenides' arguments

(B) The philosophers who sought to prove Parmenides wrong

(D) The philosophers who were obsessed with paradoxes

What is a homeomeric substance?

(A) A substance without differentiated parts

(B) A substance that does not change

(D) Another name for the four elements

What does the natural world most resemble according to Heraclitus?

(A) A pile of sand

(B) A river

(D) The Unbounded

According to Anaxagoras, what is the unifier and source of all natural things?

(A) Air

(B) Water

(D) The Unbounded

Of all the Presocratic philosophers, who was the most skeptical about the human capacity for knowledge?

(A) Heraclitus

(B) Thales

(D) Parmenides

Which philosopher spoke about the logos?

(A) Heraclitus

(B) Parmenides

(D) Xenophanes

Which of the following does not accurately describe the logos?

(A) It is the plan within nature

(B) It is divine

(D) It is outside the physical world

By what process did Anaximines believe aer gave rise to all other elements?

(A) Condensation and rarefaction

(B) Love and strife

(D) Necessity

Which philosopher posited nous as the ultimate motive force in the world?

(A) Heraclitus

(B) Anaxagoras

(D) Democritus

Which of the following philosophers was an Atomist?

(A) Democritus

(B) Heraclitus

(D) Anaxagoras

Which Eleatic demand did all the pluralists respect?

(A) There can be no generation and destruction

(B) There is no change in the world

(D) The senses cannot fail to mislead

What was the Atomists solution to the problem of an orderly world?

(A) Mind imposes order

(B) Love and strife impose order

(D) God imposes order

What did Xenophanes identify as the main source of human theological error?

(A) The tendency to project ourselves onto the gods

(B) The need for comfort in a cold world

(D) Hubris

What famous principle makes its first appearance in the work of Anaximander?

(A) The microcosm/macrocosm principle

(B) The principle of sufficient reason

(D) The equality principle

Who was the first to predict a solar eclipse?

(A) Anaximander

(B) Anaximines

(D) Anaxagoras

Which of these Presocratic philosophers had the least faith in sensory experience?

(A) Heraclitus

(B) Xenophanes

(D) Thales

To what human institution did Anaxagoras compare the cosmos?

(A) A school

(B) A senate

(D) A church

Which Presocratic philosopher claimed that all things are mixed in with all things?

(A) Empedocles

(B) Anaxagoras

(D) Democritus

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