Plato Multiple Choice Questions
1. Agamemnon chose to be a ___ in the tale of the afterlife.
A. King
B. Lion
C. Private man
D. Eagle
Answer: D. Eagle
2. Thrasymachus enters the dialogue demanding ___
A. Fanfare
B. Admiration
C. Money
D. Recognition
Answer: C. Money
3. Thrasymachus’ “justice” is a form of ____
A. Democracy
B. Oligarchy
C. Timocracy
D. Tyranny
Answer: D. Tyranny
4. Which is not one of the three basic “necessities” of man as given by Socrates?
A. Food
B. Shelter
C. Clothing
D. Pleasure
Answer: D. Pleasure
5. The amiable old father of Polemarchus is named.
A. Euripides
B. Cleitophon
C. Cephalus
D. Charmenides
Answer: C. Cephalus
6. What is “justice” as submitted by Polermarchus?
A. Everything is permitted
B. Do unto others as you would have done unto you
C. The interest of the stronger
D. Give good to friends and evil to enemies
Answer: D. Give good to friends and evil to enemies
7. Socrates enjoys but eliminates most of the verses of which poet?
A. Pindar
B. Sophocles
C. Homer
D. Catullus
Answer: C. Homer
8. Which is not one of the three basic “classes” of citizens as given by Socrates?
A. Guardians
B. Producers
C. Senators
D. Auxiliaries
Answer: C. Senators
9. _____ and _______ are the two primary headings of education.
A. Science and literature
B. Gymnasium and Music
C. Philosophy and Mathematics
D. Soul and spirit
Answer: B. Gymnasium and Music
10. Socrates divides narration into _____ and ______
A. Discursive. Digressive
B. Narrative, imitative
C. Straight, slant
D. Dialogue, description
Answer: B. Narrative, imitative
11. Socrates refers to his inquiry into poetry and music as a ___
A. Bowdlerization
B. Survey
C. Purgation
D. Examination
Answer: C. Purgation
12. Of which metal is the auxiliaries allegorically composed?
A. Silver
B. Gold
C. Iron
D. Brass
Answer: A. Silver
13. Guardians must be made of ____
A. Silver
B. Gold
C. Iron
D. Brass
Answer: B. Gold
14. The fundamental aim of the State is toward whose happiness?
A. The ruling class
B. The guardians
C. The craftsmen
D. The whole
Answer: D. The whole
15. There are how many principal virtues?
A. None
B. Four
C. Three
D. Seven
Answer: B. Four
16.______ is not a virtue as given by Socrates.
A. Wisdom
B. Eloquence
C. Courage
D. Temperance
Answer: B. Eloquence
17. Socrates’ method of inquiry is called ____
A. Dialectic
B. Lecture
C. Discussion
D. Dialogue
Answer: A. Dialectic
18. Which is not one of the three principles of the human soul?
A. Reason
B. Passion
C. Compassion
D. Appetite
Answer: C. Compassion
19. Which is considered the ”highest” principle of the soul?
A. Reason
B. Will
C. Valor
D. Strength
Answer: A. Reason
20.______ is the great evil of the State.
A. Expansion
B. Discord
C. Harmony
D. Greed
Answer: B. Discord
21._______ is the baser form of knowledge.
A. Speculation
B. Insight
C. Opinion
D. Hypothesis
Answer: C. Opinion
22. The “highest” occupation for man as given by Socrates is ______.
A. War
B. Production
C. Philosophy
D. Artistic creation
Answer: C. Philosophy
23.______ are permitted to lie for the benefit of all.
A. Guardians
B. Republicans
C. Senators
D. Auxiliaries
Answer: A. Guardians
24. The “wings” Socrates refers to when speaking of a youth’s initiation into war are __
A. Horses
B. Stilts
C. Wings
D. Chariots
Answer: A. Horses
25. What, says Socrates, should kings study in order to make the
State a possibility?
A. The art of war
B. Poetry
C. Philosophy
D. Politics
Answer: C. Philosophy
26. The main focus of argument in the Republic seeks to determine.
A. The origin of man
B. Peloponnesian War Instigator
C. The nature of the just life
D. Who should be king of Athens?
Answer: C. The nature of the just life
27. Which of the following is not a cardinal virtue?
A. Courage
B. Temperance
C. Justice
D. Patience
Answer: D. Patience
28. The Greek word hubris means _______
A. Greed
B. Love
C. Fairness
D. Arrogance
Answer: D. Arrogance
29. A three-part deductive argument is called
A. An analogy
B. A syllogism
C. A triad
D. A parable
Answer: B. A syllogism
30. Polytheism is _____
A. An illogical argument
B. The belief in many gods
C. The state of overabundance
D. Clothing worn by the Greeks
Answer: B. Discord
31. What does The Analogy of the Divided Line demonstrate?
A. The dimensions of the equator
B. Levels of intellect
C. Levels of social class
D. Divisions of family allegiances
Answer: B. Levels of intellect
32. What does the Allegory of the Cave demonstrate?
A. How justice can be exacted
B. How to build prisons
C. How to house the homeless
D. How ignorance may be brought to the knowledge
Answer: D. How ignorance may be brought to knowledge
33. According to Socrates, who would be the best ruler of the ideal state?
A. An autocrat
B. A philosopher
C. A polytheist
D. A tyrant
Answer: C. A polytheist
34. Which poet does Plato claim to love best?
A. Pindar
B. Aeschylus
C. Sappho
D. Homer
Answer: D. Homer
35. The myth of Er tells ______,
A. The story of Helen
B. The story of Perseus
C. The story of death and reincarnation
D. The story of the founding of Athens
Answer: C. The story of death and reincarnation
36. The highest level of intellect is called __
A. Unattainable
B. Dialectic
C. Omniscience
D. Eclectic
Answer: B. Dialectic
37. Of whom has it been said that Plato rationalized into existence three hundred years before his birth?
A. Julius Caesar
B. Copernicus
C. Jesus Christ
D. Karl Marx
Answer: C. Jesus Christ
38. In Plato’s “The Republic”, who does Socrates suggest should rule over society?
A. The military
B. An elite group of “philosopher-kings”
C. An elected parliament
D. Nobody; no man should rule over any other man
Answer: B. An elite group of “philosopher-kings”
39. In Plato’s “The Republic”, Socrates argues for freedom of expression and against censorship.
A. True
B. False
Answer: B. False
40. What is the primary subject of Socrates’ dialogues with Theaetetus?
A. The origin of the universe
B. The best form of civic government
C. The nature of human knowledge
D. Whether or not God exists
Answer: D. Whether or not God exists
41. Plato and his most esteemed student, Aristotle, both appear in the painting “The School of Athens” by which Renaissance master?
A. Michelangelo
B. Titian
C. Leonardo da Vinci
D. Raphael
Answer: A. Michelangelo
42. Which subject does Socrates discuss in ”Euthyphro”?
A. Piety and our duties toward the gods
B. How to determine if a war is just
C. The purpose of art and music
D. The need to discipline children properly
Answer: A. Piety and our duties toward the gods
43. In Plato’s “Crito”, Crito tries, unsuccessfully, to convince Socrates to do which of the following things?
A. Renounce his philosophy
B. Become the new king of Athens
C. Flee from Athens
D. Urge the masses to rise up in revolt
Answer: C. Flee from Athens
44. What is the subject of Plato’s “The Symposium”?
A. Love
B. Death
C. War
D. Justice
Answer: A. Love
45. In “The Symposium”, what Greek playwright suggests that all human beings are seeking their missing other halves?
A. Sophocles
B. Euripides
C. Aeschylus
D. Aristophanes
Answer: D. Aristophanes
46. Which of Plato’s works describes the trial of Socrates and Socrates’ defense against charges that he was corrupting the youth of Athens?
A. Meno
B. Crito
C. Timaeus
D. The Apology
Answer: D. The Apology
47. According to Plato’s “Phaedo”, what was Socrates’ demeanor in his cell, as he awaited his pending execution?
A. Pleasant, calm, and resigned to his fate
B. Saddened and depressed
C. Angered by the injustice of his sentence
D. Extremely afraid
Answer: A. Pleasant, calm, and resigned to his fate
48. What is Plato’s aim in The Republic?
A. To define justice
B. To prove that Justice is worthwhile to pursue its own sake
C. To prove that justice is the advantage of the stronger
D. To define justice and to prove that it is worthwhile to pursue its own sake
Answer: D. To define justice and to prove that it is worthwhile to pursue its own sake
49. Which of Socrates’s interlocutors asserts that justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger?
A. Adeimantus
B. Thrasymachus
C. Glaucon
D. Polemarchus
Answer: B. Thrasymachus
50. Which of the following terms best describes Thrasymachus?
A. Platonist
B. Pre-Socratic
C. Sophist
D. Politician
Answer: C. Sophist