Topic 7.4 & 7.5: The Age of Progress

7.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS:
-Charles Darwin provided a scientific and material account of biological change and the development of human beings as a species, and inadvertently, a justification for
racialist theories that became known as Social Darwinism.
7.5 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
-Positivism, or the philosophy that science alone provides knowledge, emphasized the rational and scientific analysis of nature and human affairs.
-In the later 19th century, a new relativism in values and the loss of confidence in the objectivity of knowledge led to modernism in intellectual and cultural life.
-Philosophy largely moved from rational interpretations of nature and human society to an emphasis on irrationality and impulse, a view that contributed to the belief that conflict and struggle led to progress.
-Freudian Psychology offered a new account of human nature that emphasized the role of the irrational and the struggle between the conscious and subconscious.
-Developments in the natural sciences undermined the primacy of Newtonian physics as an objective description of nature.

Question 1

Multiple choice
Which of the following was a direct challenge to the literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis as proposed by Charles Darwin?
  • The divine right of kings

  • A common human ancestry with primates

  • The Great Chain of Being

  • The Geocentric model of the universe

Question 2

Multiple choice
Herbert Spencer's application of evolutionary principles to human society led to the development of which concept?
  • Social Darwinism

  • Utopian Socialism

  • Existentialism

  • Classical Liberalism

Question 3

Multiple choice
What term did Herbert Spencer coin that became synonymous with Social Darwinism?
  • "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

  • "The Iron Law of Oligarchy"

  • "The Invisible Hand"

  • "Survival of the Fittest"

Question 4

Multiple choice
Which of the following ideologies did Social Darwinism NOT directly contribute to?
  • Racist ideologies

  • Marxism

  • Eugenics

  • Imperialist ideologies

Question 5

Multiple choice
What was the primary focus of Freudian Psychology?
  • The development of the super-ego through social interaction

  • The struggle between the conscious and subconscious

  • The importance of the nuclear family

  • The role of the environment in shaping behavior

Question 6

Multiple choice
Which of the following best describes Positivism?
  • The idea that history is determined by class struggles

  • The philosophy that science alone provides knowledge

  • The theory that economics is the foundation of all social structures

  • The belief in the inevitability of social progress

Question 7

Multiple choice
Who is most associated with the philosophy of Positivism?
  • David Hume

  • John Locke

  • Karl Marx

  • Auguste Comte

Question 8

Multiple choice
Which of the following figures is NOT associated with the rise of irrationalism in the late 19th century?
  • Friedrich Nietzsche

  • René Descartes

  • Henri Bergson

  • Georges Sorel

Question 9

Multiple choice
What did Max Planck's Quantum Theory challenge?
  • The primacy of Newtonian physics

  • The heliocentric model of the solar system

  • Darwin's Theory of Evolution

  • The laws of thermodynamics

Question 10

Multiple choice
Which work by Charles Darwin suggested that human beings developed over time through a process of natural selection?
  • The Interpretation of Dreams

  • The Descent of Man

  • Thus Spoke Zarathustra

  • On the Origin of Species (1859)

Question 11

Multiple choice
Which of the following was NOT a belief held by proponents of Social Darwinism?
  • The justification of forced sterilization

  • The application of eugenics to eliminate 'undesirables'

  • The superiority of Anglo-Saxon or Aryan peoples

  • The necessity of a welfare state to support the 'unfit'

Question 12

Multiple choice
Which term encapsulates the late 19th-century shift from a belief in the objectivity of knowledge to a new relativism in values?
  • Feudalism

  • Rationalism

  • Classicism

  • Modernism

Question 13

Multiple choice
What was the primary influence on Darwin's concept of Natural Selection?
  • Isaac Newton's laws of motion

  • Thomas Malthus' ideas on population dynamics

  • Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance

  • Louis Pasteur's germ theory of disease

Question 14

Multiple choice
Which of the following best characterizes the philosophical stance of Materialism?
  • The material world is an illusion

  • Ethical principles are the foundation of all knowledge

  • Everything, including the human mind and consciousness, is matter

  • Human progress is determined by spiritual evolution

Question 15

Multiple choice
Which of the following is NOT a key aspect of Modernism?
  • Acceptance of social change

  • Embracing industrialization

  • Valuing scientific progress

  • The adherence to traditional belief systems

Question 16

Multiple choice
What did Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy challenge?
  • The foundations of traditional morality and religion

  • The principles of democratic governance

  • The validity of empirical science

  • The effectiveness of capitalist economies

Question 17

Multiple choice
What did Sigmund Freud use to delve into the human psyche?
  • Techniques like dream analysis, talk therapy, and hypnosis

  • Mathematical models of human behavior

  • Physiological experiments on brain function

  • Anthropological studies of primitive societies

Question 18

Multiple choice
Which of the following was NOT a consequence of the developments in the natural sciences in the late 19th century?
  • The undermining of Newtonian physics

  • The questioning of the objectivity of knowledge

  • The emergence of Quantum Mechanics

  • The reinforcement of the geocentric model

Question 19

Multiple choice
Which of the following best describes the impact of Henri Bergson's philosophy?
  • It emphasized change, evolution, and the significance of immediate experience and intuition over rationalism

  • It reinforced the primacy of the Catholic Church in moral guidance

  • It advocated for the return to a feudal social structure

  • It promoted the idea of a static universe unchanging over time

Question 20

Multiple choice
Which of the following works by Charles Darwin provided evidence for human evolution and common ancestry with other species?
  • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

  • The Wealth of Nations

  • The Social Contract

  • The Descent of Man

Question 21

Multiple choice
What did Georges Sorel's advocacy for Syndicalism emphasize as the means to achieve social change?
  • The establishment of a centralized planned economy

  • Revolutionary action and the overthrow of traditional institutions

  • The moral improvement of individuals through education

  • Peaceful democratic reforms

Question 22

Multiple choice
What aspect of human nature did Sigmund Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1899) explore?
  • The impact of socialization on individual behavior

  • The significance of dreams in understanding the unconscious mind

  • The role of genetics in personality development

  • The importance of conscious thought in decision-making

Question 23

Multiple choice
Which of the following is a principle associated with Auguste Comte's Positivism?
  • The rejection of empirical observation in favor of metaphysical speculation

  • The application of scientific methods to the social as well as the natural world

  • The emphasis on the moral superiority of the aristocracy

  • The belief in the inevitability of the collapse of capitalism

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