Test Bank for Inventors of Ideas, 4th Edition by Donald Tannenbaum
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Course
Political Science
Institution
Political Science
Test Bank for Inventors of Ideas: Introduction to Political Thought, 4e 4th Edition by Donald Tannenbaum, Briana L. McGinnis. Full Chapters (Chapter 1 to 20) are given with answers.
Part I. INTRODUCTION.
1. The History of Political Thought: Introducing the Challenge.
Part II: FOUNDATIONAL CONC...
Test Bank for Inventors of Ideas, 4th Edition by Donald Tannenbaum, McGinnis
Chapter 01 4e Tannenbaum
Answers Included ✅
Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. A normative question asks, what should we do, and why?
a. True
b. False
2. Political theory focuses on how things are, rather than how things should be.
a. True
b. False
3. Descriptive statements describe an ideal or imaginary world.
a. True
b. False
4. Prescriptive statements tell us how things should be.
a. True
b. False
5. Many authors in the Western Canon think that people in the “East” are inferior or backwards.
a. True
b. False
6. “The West” only refers to places that are very similar to each other.
a. True
b. False
7. Contemporary thinkers narrowly focus on logic and reason.
a. True
b. False
8. The state of nature is a key feature of medieval thought.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
9. What is the name for the collected works of Western thinkers?
a. The Greats
b. The Western Collection
c. The Western Canon
d. The Euro-American Books
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Chapter 01 4e Tannenbaum
10. What is the best definition of a normative statement?
a. A description of how things are
b. An opinion about how things should be
c. An objective scientific statement.
d. A quotation from a philosopher in support of a position.
11. What is not a type of “data” in political theory methodology?
a. Traditional texts
b. Paintings and songs
c. Statistics and mathematical proofs
d. Popular culture
12. Which of the following is not a danger of using the term “Western” to describe works of philosophy?
a. It makes politically constructed designations seem natural
b. It fails to account for differences in when texts were written
c. It is a blunt tool that could be more accurate
d. It exaggerates regional differences, while downplaying commonalities
13. What is not a characteristic of early modern thinkers
a. Materialism
b. Thought experiments
c. Critical theory
d. Scientific and technological progress
14. What does the ancient method of “idealism” refer to?
a. That coming up with a perfect, or ideal, world is the most important part of philosophy
b. Ideals like justice, truth and virtue are real entities, and worthy objectives in themselves
c. Finding the perfect, or most beautiful, answer to a question is an ideal goal
d. Ideals like justice, truth and virtue are instrumental and only used to gain wealth and power
15. Why is it important to distinguish between prescriptive and descriptive approaches?
a. Because philosophers only make prescriptive statements
b. Failing to understand this difference leads us to expect scientific answers to philosophical problems
c. We cannot fully understand a concept like justice without descriptive statements
d. Scientists require us to make prescriptive statements
16. Which of the following is a descriptive statement?
a. Everyone should have the right to vote
b. All people deserve the right to be happy
c. All people in this room are younger than 20 years of age
d. All people in this room are equal
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Chapter 01 4e Tannenbaum
17. Which of the following is a prescriptive statement?
a. The goal of society is justice
b. Nobody in this room is more than 6 feet tall
c. Everybody who has voted is a citizen
d. Society is made up of individual people
18. What is not a time period used to characterize thinkers?
a. Ancient
b. Contemporary
c. Modern
d. Pre-Modern
19. What influential book developed a groundbreaking critique of dividing the world between West and East?
a. Orientalism by Edward Said
b. The Republic by Plato
c. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
d. The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
20. What are some important things to consider when thinking about what the best society looks like?
21. What kind of perspectives might be the most prevalent within the Western Canon?
22. Why is “All people are created equal” a prescriptive statement, and not a descriptive one?
23. What are some examples of normative questions? Why are they normative and not descriptive?
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Chapter 01 4e Tannenbaum
24. Can we understand philosophical texts outside of their historical periods? Or do we need to consider their
biographies? Should we “stick to the text,” or put them in their historical context?
25. How might the historical era in which a philosopher lived impact what they write about?
26. How might our current historical era impact the type of political theory being produced today?
27. Is there value to using the Western Canon? Why or why not?
28. How can the difference between descriptive and normative statements help us clarify philosophical concepts?
29. How should we decide normative questions? What sort of arguments or proof should we look for?
30. Why might we seek out alternatives to the Western Canon?
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