Phenomenology and Existentialism Multiple Choice Questions
1. The method of phenomenological inquiry is
A. dialectical
B. intuitive
C. transcendental
D. technique of bracketing
Answer: D. technique of bracketing
2. The founder of Modern Phenomenology was
A. brentano
B. heidegger
C. husserl
D. peirce
Answer: C. husserl
3. Which one of the following pairs is not theoretically harmonious?
A. moore and russell
B. pierce and james
C. schlick and carnap
D. heidegger and husserl
Answer: D. heidegger and husserl
4. The essential feature of the phenomenological method
A. intentionality
B. doubting the world
C. technique of bracketing
D. none of the above
Answer: C. technique of bracketing
5. Husserl authored:
A. tractatus logico philosophicus
B. logical investigations
C. on certainty
D. zettle
Answer: B. logical investigations
6. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
A. leibnitz – pragmatic theory of truth
B. descartes – correspondence theory of truth
C. husserl – the self-evidence theory of truth
D. william james – coherence theory of truth
Answer: C. husserl – the self-evidence theory of truth
7. The problem of intentionality is that of understanding the relation between
A. a mental state and corresponding physical state
B. different mental states
C. mental state and the thing it is about
D. different bodily states
Answer: C. mental state and the thing it is about
8. The objects of phenomenological inquiry are
A. external objects
B. intentional objects
C. extensional objects
D. ideal objects
Answer: B. intentional objects
9. Husserlian expression ‘Epoche’ means
A. suspension of reality
B. suspension of world
C. suspension of judgement
D. suspension of experience
Answer: B. suspension of world
10. The theory which restricts our knowledge to phenomenal appearances of an inaccessible reality is
A. phenomenology
B. subjective idealism
C. phenomenalism
D. absolute idealism
Answer: D. absolute idealism
11. According to Kant _________ the proper objects of faith are
A. phenomena
B. noumena
C. both phenomena and noumena
D. neither phenomena nor noumena
Answer: B. noumena
12. Which one of the following is not the work of Edmund Husserl?
A. cartesian meditations: an introduction to phenomenology
B. logical investigations,
C. the transcendence of the ego
D. ideas: general introduction to pure phenomenology
Answer: C. the transcendence of the ego
13. Who is marked as the ‘First Existentialist Philosopher’ with Soren Kierkegaard?
A. friedrich nietzsche
B. schleiermacher
C. jean-paul sartre
D. zean paul sartre
Answer: A. friedrich nietzsche
14. Husserl’s “phenomenological” reduction is concerned with:
A. reduction of material objects to sense-data
B. reduction of noumeno to phenomena
C. isolating the content of experience from any reference to the existence
D. reducing the ending self to discrete mental states
Answer: C. isolating the content of experience from any reference to the existence
15. Which of the following is not included in analytical philosophy?
A. logical atomism
B. logical positivism
C. linguistic analysis
D. phenomenology
Answer: D. phenomenology
16. Select the existentialist among the following:
A. husserl
B. heidegger
C. a.j. ayer
D. kierkegaard
Answer: D. kierkegaard
17. Jean-Paul Sartre authored:
A. an inquiry into meaning and truth
B. being and nothingness,
C. human knowledge: its scope and limits.
D. discourse on method
Answer: B. being and nothingness,
18. internal mental states thought to exist inside one’s own subjective consciousness
A. bracketing
B. projection
C. hermeneutics
D. subjectivity
Answer: D. subjectivity
19. the ego which remains as an irreducible residue after having been subject to phenomenological reduction
A. transcendental ego
B. presence to hand
C. resoluteness
D. bracketing
Answer: A. transcendental ego
20. any act of the subject directed towards an intentional object (the subject pole of experience)
A. noema
B. husserl
C. eidetic reduction
D. noesis
Answer: A. noema
21. the various ways we relate to and feel about others
A. structure
B. bracketing
C. solicitude
D. projection
Answer: A. structure
22. how we find ourselves in terms of mood and orientation.
A. befindlichkeit
B. intentionality
C. falling/fallenness
D. transcendental ego
Answer: A. befindlichkeit
23. distinctive type of experience
A. phenomena
B. phenomenon
C. unreal objects
D. projection
Answer: B. phenomenon
24. Any act of the subject directed towards an intentional object (the subject pole of experience)
A. noema
B. eidetic reduction
C. dasein
D. noesis
Answer: D. noesis
25. The object or content toward which consciousness is directed (the object pole of experience)
A. husserl
B. hermeneutics
C. natural attitude
D. noema
Answer: D. noema
26. The goal of this reflective method is to see the experience in a fresh way by setting aside ‘common sense,’ including bracketing concern with whether what is given in experience is real or not.
A. transcendental ego
B. phenomenological reduction
C. hermeneutics
D. phenomenology
Answer: B. phenomenological reduction
27. any act of the subject directed towards an intentional object (the subject pole of experience)
A. dasein
B. noema
C. noesis
D. eidetic reduction
Answer: C. noesis
28. More abstract stance to things, when we step back and look at them in a more detached way and conceptualize them as existing independently of us
A. authentic (heidegger)
B. presence to hand
C. resoluteness
D. dasein (heidegger)
Answer: B. presence to hand
29. plural form of Phenomenon that encompasses multiple types of experiences;
A. projection
B. phenomenon
C. husserl
D. phenomena
Answer: D. phenomena
30. More abstract stance to things, when we step back and look at them in a more detached way and conceptualize them as existing independently of us
A. ready to hand
B. presence to hand
C. transcendental ego (husserl)
D. natural attitude
Answer: B. presence to hand
31. first existential/phenomenological author who studied hopelessness form a Christian perspective, and found hope in faith.
A. reflective
B. natural attitude
C. kierkegaard
D. life world (aka lebens welt) (husserl)
Answer: C. kierkegaard
32. what are the basic components of all human experience;
A. hermeneutics
B. authentic
C. transcendental enquiry
D. existential phenomenology
Answer: D. existential phenomenology
33. physical objects or persons
A. reflective
B. hermeneutics
C. phenomenon
D. real objects
Answer: D. real objects
34. conscious is always consciousness of something, whether physical objects or persons or ideas or imagined objects
A. authentic
B. existential phenomenology
C. intentionality
D. transcendental enquiry
Answer: C. intentionality
35. any act of the subject directed towards an intentional object (the subject pole of experience)
A. noesis
B. husserl
C. dasein
D. hermeneutics
Answer: A. noesis
36. the act which leads from particulars to the uncovering of the universal/general essence of a phenomenon
A. noesis
B. eidetic reduction
C. transcendental ego
D. resoluteness
Answer: B. eidetic reduction
37. being is partly hidden and in darkness and therefore more than phenomenological description is called for. Interpretive process of existence to allow Being to uncover itself
A. anxiety (heidegger)
B. interpretive phenomenology/phenomenological hermeneutics
C. phenomenological reduction
D. intentionality (husserl)
Answer: B. interpretive phenomenology/phenomenological hermeneutics
38. the ‘what’ of a particular phenomenon
A. structure
B. hermeneutics
C. solicitude
D. bracketing
Answer: A. structure
39. The search for what which makes experience possible rather than the nature of particular experiences
A. hermeneutics
B. transcendental enquiry (husserl)
C. transcendental ego (husserl)
D. existential phenomenology
Answer: B. transcendental enquiry (husserl)
40. Who is widely known as the first existentialist, despite never having used the word existentialism?
A. husserl
B. heidegger
C. sartre
D. søren kierkegaard
Answer: B. heidegger
41. Which branch of philosophy is primarily concerned with the question of being?
A. existentialism
B. rationalism
C. idealism
D. platonism
Answer: A. existentialism
42. According to Sartre, the starting point of existentialism is
A. objectivity.
B. subjectivity.
C. recognition of death.
D. denial of other minds.
Answer: B. subjectivity.
43. By despair, Sartre means we shall confine ourselves only with what depends upon our
A. will.
B. reason.
C. emotions.
D. appetite.
Answer: A. will.
44. What all existentialists have in common, according to Sartre, is the view that:
A. god does not exist, and so everything is permitted.
B. all humans share a common nature.
C. existence precedes essence.
D. essence precedes existence.
Answer: C. existence precedes essence.
45. Sartre claims that if existentialism is correct, then
A. determinism is true.
B. human beings by nature live for pleasure.
C. man is responsible for what he is.
D. man is not responsible for what he is.
Answer: C. man is responsible for what he is.
46. In Sartre’s view, when one chooses how to live one is choosing
A. only for oneself.
B. for all of one\s family.
C. for all of one\s friends.
D. for all people.
Answer: D. for all people.
47. By anguish, Sartre means
A. grief.
B. a feeling of total and deep responsibility.
C. a feeling of having no control over one\s fate.
D. a sense of uncertainty about whether one\s action is objectively right.
Answer: B. a feeling of total and deep responsibility.
48. Sartre claims that when he speaks of forlornness, he means that
A. god does not exist and we must face all the consequences of this.
B. we can never truly know another human being.
C. we are not responsible for our passions.
D. all of the above.
Answer: A. god does not exist and we must face all the consequences of this.
49. According to Sartre, we are condemned because
A. we did not create ourselves.
B. we all will die.
C. we all have sinned.
D. we are born evil.
Answer: A. we did not create ourselves.
50. According to Sartre, the existentialist finds the fact that God does not exist
A. liberating.
B. clarifying.
C. distressing.
D. unimportant.
Answer: C. distressing.
51. Sartre claims that if existence precedes essence, then
A. there is no determinism.
B. man is free.
C. there is no such thing as human nature.
D. all of the above.
Answer: D. all of the above.
52. In Sartre’s view, humans are responsible for
A. their actions.
B. their passions.
C. both a and b.
D. neither a nor b.
Answer: C. both a and b.
53. Sartre claims that the value of one’s affection is determined by
A. the way one acts.
B. the way one feels.
C. the way one thinks.
D. all of the above.
Answer: A. the way one acts.
54. Sartre claims that a person is nothing more than
A. a rational animal.
B. a series of undertakings.
C. a collection of unrealized potential.
D. a cog in a machine.
Answer: B. a series of undertakings.
55. Sartre claims that according to existentialism, there is no reality except in
A. passion.
B. action.
C. contemplation.
D. appetite. 63. which existentialist is often called the “grandfather of existentialism” and the “socrates of
Answer: B. action.
56. Existentialism Is a Humanism is a work by
A. martin heidegger
B. jean-paul sartre
C. soren kierkegaard
D. friedrich nietzsche
Answer: B. jean-paul sartre
57. Which Existentialist is often called the “Grandfather of Existentialism” and the “Socrates of Copenhagen”?
A. martin heidegger
B. jean-paul sartre
C. albert camus
D. soren kierkegaard
Answer: D. soren kierkegaard
58. Which Existentialist preferred to think of his philosophy as “Absurdism” and himself as an
“Absurdist”?
A. soren kierkegaard
B. friedrich nietzsche
C. martin heidegger
D. albert camus
Answer: A. soren kierkegaard
59. Which of the following concepts was invented by Kierkegaard?
A. absolute mind
B. repetition
C. recollection
D. dialectic
Answer: B. repetition
60. which of the following movements has Kierkegaard least influenced?
A. protestant theology
B. analytic philosophy
C. existentialism
D. postmodernism
Answer: B. analytic philosophy
61. Existential philosophy has such a widespread and rapid impact on society because
A. we inherently sense its truth
B. it is compatible with christian theology
C. it eliminated the middle man
D. we inherently sense its truth
Answer: C. it eliminated the middle man
62. In Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard discusses
A. the dialectic between allegiance to god and allegiance to god\s law in his heart
B. ethical relativism
C. antinomianism
D. the elevation of the spirit of the law over the letter of the law
Answer: A. the dialectic between allegiance to god and allegiance to god\s law in his heart
63. Which of the following is not true about Sartre’s conception of consciousness?
A. consciousness can be an object of the phenomenological description.
B. consciousness does not only mirror the external reality, but also creates an array of possibilities.
C. consciousness is a property of the self.
D. consciousness is sometimes overwhelmed by freedom.
Answer: A. consciousness can be an object of the phenomenological description.
64. According to Sartre, freedom
A. is the free will possessed by every human individual.
B. results from our free choice.
C. is one of the most desirable goals that humans are striving for.
D. is something we cannot escape from.
Answer: A. is the free will possessed by every human individual.
65. Which of the following illustrates Sartre’s notion of “bad faith”?
A. one blames her past for what she is today.
B. one rejects to be responsible for the war which he was only forced to get involved in.
C. one believes that human life is determined by a kind of divine providence.
D. all of the above.
Answer: D. all of the above.
66. Sartre claimed that “hell is other people” because
A. he believed the mere presence of others robs one of one\s freedom.
B. he believed others are existentially inferior to oneself.
C. he believed others are a part of our society.
D. he believed others are merely objects like tables and chairs.
Answer: C. he believed others are a part of our society.
67. Who believed that man makes himself.
A. husserl
B. sartre
C. heidegger
D. kierkegaard
Answer: B. sartre
68. Which philosopher wrote this famous book Either/Or
A. husserl
B. sartre
C. heidegger
D. kierkegaard
Answer: D. kierkegaard
69. Man is condemned to be free
A. husserl
B. sartre
C. heidegger
D. kierkegaard
Answer: B. sartre
70. Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward
A. husserl
B. sartre
C. plato
D. kierkegaard
Answer: D. kierkegaard
71. Brentano’s understanding of philosophy as
A. radical science
B. rigorous science
C. philosophy of science
D. cognitive science
Answer: A. radical science
72. Philosophy as Rigorous Science book by
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: D. husserl
73. The major theme repeated in phenomenology is
A. back to the texts
B. back to the things themselves
C. becoming
D. continue in traditions
Answer: B. back to the things themselves
74. first stage of Husserl’s philosophy dealing
A. psychologism
B. existentialism
C. descriptive phenomenology
D. transcendental phenomenology
Answer: A. psychologism
75. Second stage of Husserl’s philosophy dealing
A. psychologism
B. existentialism
C. descriptive phenomenology
D. transcendental phenomenology
Answer: C. descriptive phenomenology
76. Third stage of Husserl’s philosophy dealing
A. psychologism
B. existentialism
C. descriptive phenomenology
D. transcendental phenomenology
Answer: D. transcendental phenomenology
77. Transcendental subjectivity is the notion of
A. kierkegaard
B. heidegger
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: D. husserl
78. The Devil and the Good Lord wrote by
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: B. sartre
79. Husserl’s new conception of intentional content
A. noema
B. pure
C. dasein
D. being
Answer: A. noema
80. Fear and Trembling is the work of
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: A. kierkegaard
81. Critique of Dialectical Reason is the work of
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: B. sartre
82. Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology is the work of
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: D. husserl
83. Philosophical Fragments is the work of
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: A. kierkegaard
84. phenomonolgy means the study of
A. subjectivity
B. appearance
C. essence
D. consciousness
Answer: B. appearance
85. According to phenomenology the nature of truth is
A. objective
B. experimental
C. transcendental
D. subjective
Answer: D. subjective
86. who employ the term phenomenology for the first time
A. kierkegaard
B. lambert
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: B. lambert
87. Give the name of the philosopher who used the notion intentionality for the first time
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: C. brentano
88. Husserl employs the notion of natural attitude in order to
A. approve geomaterial truths
B. to negate the life world
C. to criticize the view of modern science
D. to affirm logical facts
Answer: C. to criticize the view of modern science
89. bracketing is a process of
A. suspend the real world
B. reinstate natural attitude
C. suspend life world
D. suspend essence
Answer: B. reinstate natural attitude
90. Being for-itself is the mode of
A. existence of consciousness,
B. existence of knowledge
C. existence of perception
D. existence of the unconsciousness
Answer: A. existence of consciousness,
91. “Man is condemned to be free.” Are the words of
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: B. sartre
92. Author of Philosophy of Arithmetic
A. kierkegaard
B. sartre
C. brentano
D. husserl
Answer: D. husserl