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The quiz will be given at the beginning of class on Dec. 2. You will have between 15-20 minutes to complete the quiz. In general, all quizzes will be composed of a series of short answer questions from which you must choose 5 to answer. This quiz will cover the work of Boethius, Augustine, and the al-Ghazali and ibn Rushd. Here, generally, is what you should now. 1. Why must all rational beings have free will according to Philosophy (in Boethius)? 2. How does Boethius articulate the problem of free will in his Consolation? 3. You should be able to simply describe the basic problem of theodicy and its connection to the problem of free-will. 4. What is the basic solution to this problem? What is the distinction between simple and conditional necessity? 5. What are the basic problems associated with Islamic philosophy and how these differ from those dealt with in Christian philosophy (and their similarities). 6. What is al-Ghazali’s relation to philosophy? What are his main criticisms of it? How does he break down the science? 7. You should be able to trace out the path of Ghazali’s intellectual development (Deliverance from Error) –where does he start, why does he start, where does he end up, and why does he end up there? 8. You should be able to articulate what Ghazali means by inspiration and how this is distinguished from reason and philosophical science. 9. You should be able to articulate both what Ghazali’s basic claims are about the rational or philosophical understanding of “causal relations” and why he rejects these understandings (that is, what is he trying to show or prove here). 10. You should be able to trace out ibn Rushd’s basic response to Ghazali. In particular, how he conceptualizes the relation between philosophy and religion. 11. Remember the distinction that Rushd draws between who can/should engage in philosophical reasoning, and who should not –i.e. how he tries to avoid the dangers that Ghazali finds in philosophy. 12. You should be able to sketch quickly the basic arguments that Rushd uses to show that philosophy is not irreligious. 13. You should be able to sketch out at least one or two of the arguments he uses to refute (or attempt to refute) Ghazali’s position in the Tahafut. 14. Of course, study the reading questions. |