MH History of Ideas 2

Question 1

Which Enlightenment thinker argued in 'The Social Contract' that legitimate political authority derives from the general will of the people?

Accepted Answer

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Answer

Rousseau's 'The Social Contract' (1762) introduced the concept of the 'general will' as the basis of legitimate sovereignty.

Question 2

The concept of 'paradigm shift' in scientific development was introduced by which 20th-century philosopher of science?

Accepted Answer

Thomas Kuhn

Answer

Thomas Kuhn's 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions' (1962) popularized the idea that science progresses through periodic paradigm shifts.

Question 3

Which ancient Greek concept, central to Aristotle's ethics, refers to human flourishing or living well?

Accepted Answer

Eudaimonia

Answer

Eudaimonia, often translated as 'happiness' or 'flourishing,' is the highest good in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Question 4

The idea that history moves through dialectical stages of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis is most closely associated with:

Accepted Answer

G.W.F. Hegel

Answer

Hegel developed the dialectical method as a logic of historical development, later adapted (and materialized) by Marx.

Question 5

Mary Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' (1792) primarily challenged which prevailing assumption?

Accepted Answer

That women were inherently irrational and suited only to domestic roles

Answer

Wollstonecraft argued that women appeared irrational only because they were denied equal education, not due to natural inferiority.

MH - Master of Humanities Practice Test