WORD POWER
The Genius Section
MEANINGFUL PHILOSOPHY
BY Rob Lutes
- assumption – A: theory that the
simplest explanation is the most
likely one. B: slippery-slope
argument. C: the act of taking
something for granted. - altruistic – A: demonstrating
great intellectual ability. B: showing
unselfish concern for others.
C: believing all things are true. - aestheticism – A: devotion to
beauty. B: study of the human form.
C: use of narcotics to seek truth. - consensus – A: notion that we
can know nothing. B: acceptance
of reason as the source of truth.
C: agreement reached by a group
as a whole. - ethics – A: logical conclusion.
B: moral principles.
C: elaborate argument. - fallacy – A: change of opinion.
B: mistaken idea. C: a paradox. - empirical – A: verifiable by
observation. B: meant to control
vast populations. C: understood
only through faith.
- absurdism – belief that
A: time does not exist.
B: the world is ending.
C: the universe has no purpose. - hedonist – person who
A: values the pursuit of
pleasure above all else. B: believes
happiness is unattainable.
C: follows a doctrine blindly. - utopian – A: unoriginal.
B: elegant in its simplicity.
C: impossibly ideal. - consumerism – A: pursuit of joy
through eating. B: preoccupation
with the acquisition of goods.
C: doctrine advocating free trade. - ipso facto – A: by that very fact.
B: based on what was known at that
time. C: from that perspective. - metaphysics – branch of
philosophy that deals with
A: desire. B: human suffering.
C: the nature of reality.
This month’s quiz features some of the language
philosophers use to articulate their thoughts
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