The document presents a series of philosophical questions and multiple-choice answers regarding various arguments for the existence of God, including the ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments, as well as the problem of evil. It also touches on key philosophical figures such as Aristotle, Bertrand Russell, William James, Søren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche, exploring their contributions and distinctive ideas. The questions aim to assess understanding of logical fallacies and philosophical concepts related to faith, existence, and morality.

1. QUESTION 1
1. In his treatise on the art of persuasion,
the Rhetoric, Aristotle’s distinguishes three types of classic
argumentative strategies. They are __________, __________,
and __________.
a.
the constructive approach, the destructive approach, and the
hybrid approach
b.
the logical appeal, the ethical appeal, and the emotional appeal
c.
the appeal to common sense, the appeal to irony, and the appeal
to humor
d.
the “go big or go home” style, the “whack-a-mole” style; and
the “plain jane” style
e.
the appeal to origins, the appeal to analogy, and the appeal to
favorites
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QUESTION 2
1. Which of the following best characterizes the Ontological
Argument for the existence of God?
a.
If God exists, then God is perfect.
b.

2. The nature of God is different fro different people of different
cultures and religious backgrounds.
c.
The world must have been created by the greatest possible
being, and this being is God.
d.
In the case of God, defined as the greatest of all possible
beings, essence entails existence.
e.
If God does not exist, then nothing would exist now.
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QUESTION 3
1. Which of the following represents a cogent objection to the
Ontological argument?
a.
It proves too much.
b.
To exist is not necessarily better than not existing.
c.
Existence is not a property.
d.
Essences cannot be properties.
e.
Causes do not necessarily precede effects.
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QUESTION 4
1. Which of the following best characterizes the Cosmological
Argument for the existence of God?

3. a.
It is impossible for a series of causes which bring about any
particular circumstance to go back infinitely in time; therefore,
there had to be a first cause, which is God.
b.
The universe cannot have been created by anything less perfect
than God.
c.
Even at the outmost reaches of the cosmos or universe, we are
in the hands of the Creator.
d.
The cosmos is an ordered universe; order is a kind of
perfection; only God is perfect; therefore an ordered universe
proves that God exists.
e.
The world or cosmos, in all its magnificence, beauty, and
complexity, could not have come about unless God exists.
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QUESTION 5
1. Which of the following represents a cogent objection to the
Cosmological Argument?
a.
No cosmos can ever be perfect in itself; therefore its creator,
God, cannot be perfect either.
b.
The world is filled with evil things and imperfections; how
could God be the cause of these?
c.

4. No cause of reality can itself be less real than the world itself.
d.
If God created the universe, then time would have to be infinite.
e.
It remains unclear why a series of finite causes cannot be
infinite.
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QUESTION 6
1. Which of the following best characterizes the Teleological
Argument for the existence of God?
a.
The only explanation for miracles is divine intervention; that
miracles happen proves that God exists.
b.
The existence of God is commonly held to be a fact, a belief
shared by the some of the greatest minds who have ever lived. It
is unlikely that the majority of human thinkers could be wrong.
c.
Without God, life would have no meaning; our lives do have
meaning; therefore, God exists.
d.
God and nature are one; we can prove the existence of nature
through observation, therefore God exists.
e.
The universe could not have come about by chance; only a
divine, all-powerful being could have created a universe as
complex and magnificent as ours.
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QUESTION 7

5. 1. The problem of evil is the problem of
a.
recognizing evil for what it truly is.
b.
reconciling the apparent existence of evil with the existence of
a benevolent, all-powerful God.
c.
understanding that there is no such thing as evil in the eyes of
God.
d.
the existence of atheism in the world.
e.
All of the above.
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QUESTION 8
1. Which of the following is used as a defense in response to the
problem of evil?
a.
Evil is only the absence of good.
b.
Evil is caused by humans through their free choice.
c.
A world without evil would be ill-suited to the purpose of moral
and spiritual development.
d.
The existence of evil is necessary for the existence of good; one
cannot exist without the other.

6. e.
All of the above.
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QUESTION 9
1. What is an adhominem fallacy?
a.
This is a case in which someone argues for a claim based on an
emotion that is irrelevant to the question at hand, such as pity
or fear.
b.
This fallacy occurs when someone uses an equivocal or
ambiguous terms in one of its senses in the premises of an
argument and in the other sense in the conclusion.
c.
The fallacy is also known as the "slippery slope" fallacy--this is
when someone arrives as a desired conclusion by making an
illegitimate leap from an uncontroversial premise to additional
related premises which do imply the conclusion but are not
themselves justified.
d.
Rather than evaluating and critiquing what an argument
says, someone guilty of this fallacy attacks the person making
the argument.
e.
This common fallacy occurs when someone tries to justify a
wrongdoing by pointing out that another person has done
exactly the same thing and not been called out for it.
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QUESTION 10
1. Bertrand Russell claims that philosophical knowledge is not

7. really a different kind of knowledge from that which
concerns science; however, there is an essential difference that
he says distinguishes the study of philosophy from scientific
studies. Which of the following best characterizes this
distinguishing feature?
a.
philosophers prefer logic over math.
b.
philosophers are not looking for real-world or practical results.
c.
philosophers engage in critical examination and inquiry of basic
principles at the outset.
d.
philosophers stop their inquiries before any final answers are
found--they do not want their questioning to end.
e.
All of the above.
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QUESTION 11
1. According to James, what are our first and greatest
commandments as would-be knowers?
a.
We must never give up on the search for empirical proof in the
case of momentous or forced options.
b.
Suspend belief in all cases except for those religious beliefs that
your heart compels you to follow.
c.

8. Believe nothing and remain in suspense forever rather than
believe in something on the basis of insufficient evidence.
d.
We must follow our instincts and have faith in what we will to
be true.
e.
We must know truth and avoid error.
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QUESTION 12
1. William James argues that in a case in which the truth of a
particular belief depends on personal action and desire, having
faith in the truth of that belief even in the absence of
confirming evidence
a.
shows bad judgment and lack of a scientific attitude.
b.
is something to be avoided by anyone purporting to escape
dupery and false beliefs.
c.
is a lawful and possibly an indispensable practice in life.
d.
is childish and shows a reticence to accept true responsibility on
the part of the rational knowledge-seeker.
e.
may be acceptable, but only in the case of religious belief.
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QUESTION 13
1. What does James say is an absolutely certain truth that even
the most radical skeptic an confirm?

9. a.
The appearance of consciousness in thought and experience
really exists.
b.
Systematic philosophies are superior to piecemeal knowledge
claims.
c.
Truth itself does not exist.
d.
Belief and faith should have the same standards of evidence.
e.
If God does not exist for me, it does not necessarily follow that
God does not exist for you.
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QUESTION 14
1. Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher of the 19th century,
known as the father of existentialism, was primarily concerned
with
a.
advanced principles of logic.
b.
revitalizing the philosophical ideals of Socrates and classical
Greece.
c.
tearing down all religious principles in favor of the abyss call
"atheism."
d.

10. grounding the truths of religion and philosophy in the subjective
experience of the individual.
e.
All of the above.
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QUESTION 15
1. Kierkegaard (through the words of his narrator, Johannes
de silentio) contrasts the "knight of faith" with the "Knight of
Infinite Resignation," who he describes as easily discerned by
his confidence, his boldness, and his strange yet superior
character. Which of the following represents Kierkegaard's
example of the knight of faith?
a.
someone who thinks he is swimming but is only "going through
the motions"
b.
a tragic, idealistic hero who accepts the misfortunes fate has
dealt to him.
c.
a petit bourgeois shopkeeper, or someone like a tax-collector or
accountant.
d.
a diligent maid who sits all day at her work and at night sings a
beautiful song.
e.
he who is praised by priests and poets.
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QUESTION 16
1. How does Kierkegaard define sin in Fear and Trembling?

11. a.
Sin is when the individual sets himself apart as the particular
above the universal.
b.
Sin is when the individual forgets himself in the universal,
which allows him to blame others when things go wrong.
c.
Sin is when an individual fails to recognize his own being as a
particular individual.
d.
Sin is when one resigns oneself to fate and gives up on his
heartfelt individual hopes and desires.
e.
Sin is when an individual asserts himself in his particularity in
direct opposition to the universal.
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QUESTION 17
1. What does Nietzsche pinpoint as the most "dangerous" of all
errors made, which was an error of dogmatic philosophy?
a.
The Christian dogma, promoted by priests, saints, and
ascetics, that a man, Jesus of Nazareth, was also the Son of
God, and hence an incarnation of God actually existing on
Earth.
b.
The Socratic dictum that the unexamined life is not worth living
for a man, which created a sense of guilt and self-doubt in
succeeding generations.
c.

12. Plato's doctrine, set out in his Theory of Forms, which
conceived of a universal Form of the Good that exists in a
purely spiritual or nonphysical realm of being.
d.
The rise of systematic philosophy that equates God with the
universal Idea of Absolute Being, which created a wave of
atheism than began overtaking most of Europe in the 18th and
19th centuries.
e.
The Cartesian insistence that there is always an "evil
deceiver" ready to enter, in the form of skepticism or
nihilism, into the mind and intentions of anyone who does not
take the time to question his own beliefs.
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QUESTION 18
1. Nietzsche describes the belief that truth is worth more than
appearances as
a.
a firmly held and rationally justified intuition.
b.
an unjustified assumption and a moral prejudice.
c.
the most noble goal of a "free-spirited" philosophy.
d.
essential for distinguishing true from false beliefs.
e.
what gives us the confidence to accept that the world that is
relevant to humans is not a fiction.
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13. QUESTION 19
1. Which of the following best characterizes Nietzsche's account
of piety?
a.
a monstrosity produced by the fear of truth.
b.
a quality possessed only by those of the highest rank who have
a "life if God."
c.
that which strips away the surface features and cosmetic colors
behind which human hide their true countenance.
d.
a religious interpretation of existence that cures
pessimism, suspicion, and fear.
e.
a sanctifying ulterior motive for living others; the motive being
the promise of eternal life.
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QUESTION 20
1. What does Nietzsche mean by "the will to power"?
a.
a product of refined atheism
b.
the "democratic instinct" of the modern soul
c.
a superflous telelogical principle of human behavior
d.

14. the basic instinct for self-preservation
e.
life itself--our entire life of all drives