Chapter 11 Self-Quiz

. Epicurus thinks an important key to happiness lies in natural science because

it leads to technological breakthroughs that enhance the quality of life.

it can show us that some of our fears are unfounded.

knowledge is something good in itself.

we should aim to keep our wills in harmony with nature.

. Hedonism

recommends pursuing every pleasure, so as to maximize happiness in life.

is a doctrine that disparages pleasure and recommends virtue as the key to happiness.

is compatible with denying oneself many pleasures.

has nothing to say about pain, fear, or sorrow.

. We do not need to fear the gods, Epicurus says, because

they are uninterested in us.

gods are by nature loving and kind.

there are no gods.

when we are, death is not; and when death is, we are not.

. According to Epicurus, someone who thinks happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain will

be unjust to others, if it will increase pleasure for himself.

indulge her every desire.

be an untrustworthy friend.

be content with having little.

. A Stoic

believes that our happiness or unhappiness is entirely within our own control.

says "Grin and bear it," no matter how unhappy something makes you.

cares for no one and nothing but his or her own freedom and happiness.

prefers nothing, shuns nothing, and is indifferent to everything.

. When Stoics advise us to keep our wills in harmony with nature, they

mean that if something feels natural to us, we should "go with the flow"and "just do it!"

deny God.

contradict Plato and Aristotle, who emphasize living in accord with reason.

are in effect advising us to do our duty.

. A Stoic thinks we should

seek virtue more than happiness.

never seek pleasure as an end.

always be virtuous, because virtue produces the greatest pleasure.

be skeptical of all claims to know what virtue is.

. A skeptic will

assert that nothing can be known.

assert that we can know only the contents of our own minds.

suspend judgment about what reality is like.

refuse to ask why.

. With respect to the question, "Does a criterion of truth exist?" the skeptic

asserts with Xenophanes of Colophon that it does not.

claims that an infinite regress is the only criterion available.

engages in circular reasoning to prove the existence of a criterion.

suspends judgment.

. Happiness, says the skeptic,

is unavailable to humans, since knowledge is unavailable.

must be founded on sure and certain understanding of the true nature of reality.

is available only to those who have gone through the pangs of skeptical doubt and come out into the clear light of knowledge on the other side.

is a by-product of giving up the demand to know.

Quiz Content