300+ TOP Plato MCQ Questions and Answers Quiz

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, imitative11. 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

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