a) implied rapid changes involving large numbers of people
b) did not involve more than a hundred human beings
c) progressed steadily from one correct thought to another
d) both a and c
2. Copernicus' main contribution to the Scientific Revolution was
a) a new emphasis on empirical observation
b) to provide an intellectual springboard for criticism of the then dominant position of the earth in the universe
c) the use of the telescope to compile accurate astronomical data
d) the suggestion that the orbits of planets were elliptical
3. The key to the future development of the Copernican revolution lay
a) in the fusion of mathematical astronomy with further empirical data and observation
b) in the development of the telescope
c) in the liberal policies of the church
d) both b and c
4. Copernicus' theory is explained in his treatise entitled
a) On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres
b) On the Motion of Mars
c) Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World
d) none of the above
5. Copernicus' ideas opposed the theory of
a) Ptolemy b) Almagest c) Dante d) Plato
6. An epicycle is
a) an original orbit b) a measurement of time
c) on orbit upon an orbit d) the second section of an orbit
7. Copernicus' new system
a) accepted most parts of Ptolemaic theory
b) predicted more accurately than Ptolemy the location of planets
c) replaced Ptolemaic thought within five years
d) employed new evidence for prediction of epicycles
8. Tycho Brahe
a) opposed the Copernican theory
b) publicized the Copernican theory
c) compiled accurate tables of astronomical observation
d) all of the above
9. Johannes Kepler
a) opposed the Copernican theory
b) suggested that the orbits of the planets were elliptical
c) was a Neoplatonist who drew proCopernican conclusions from Brahe's observations
d) both b and c
10. Which thinker championed deductive reasoning as the way to comprehend the world?
a) Descartes b) Bacon c) Galileo d) Newton
11. Descartes believed that
a) human reason could comprehend the world
b) God did not exist
c) mathematical laws were flawed, only philosophical laws were valid
d) both a and b
12. Why was the existence of God such an important deduction for Descartes?
a) because proof of God necessarily proved the existence of all else
b) because God was the guarantor of the correctness of clear and distinct ideas
c) because the existence of God had not yet been proved satisfactorily
d) because he could then prove his own existence
13. Francis Bacon
a) has been regarded as the father of empiricism and of experimentation in science
b) championed the desirability of innovation and change
c) believed that human knowledge should produce useful results
d) all of the above
14. For Bacon, the goal of science was
a) selfknowledge
b) the realization of absolute truths
c) human improvement
d) both a and c
15. The major scientific question which Newton solved was
a) how and why blood circulates
b) how genes are transmitted
c) how the planets moved in an orderly fashion
d) why people died from particular diseases
16. Newton's great work was called
a) Gravitas
b) Principia Mathematica
c) Gravity and Planetary Motion
d) Physical Properties of the Universe
17. According to the theory of universal gravitation,
a) every physical object in the universe moves through mutual attraction
b) all heavenly bodies had to be enclosed in crystalline spheres in order to move
c) everything that exists is in God and cannot be conceived apart from him
d) both a and c
18. Which best characterizes Newton's attitude toward religion?
a) religion must be rejected because it enshrines error
b) all worldly concerns must be denied in order to receive salvation
c) science and religious faith are compatible and mutually supporting
d) reason urges man to wager that God exists
19. Who among the following rejected the new science as threatening to traditional values?
a) Hobbes and Locke b) Pascal and Bunyan
c) Cervantes and Milton d) Montaigne and Rabelais
20. In Don Quixote, Cervantes' attitude toward oldfashioned romantic chivalry is
a) ridicule and scorn: the author prefers modern science
b) unqualified praise: the author despises hardheaded realism
c) measured and complex: he was part realist, part idealist
d) none of the above
21. Cervantes wanted his readers to remember that
a) nothing is gained without risk
b) happiness depends upon dreams as well as upon reality
c) humility is a sign of weakness
d) religion is the concern of the pope and he should be obeyed
22. Which best characterizes Shakespeare's outlook?
a) he was a Puritan and a revolutionary
b) his political views were expressed in the Glorious Revolution
c) he was a determined opponent of the new science
d) he was a worldly man, a political conservative and a patriot
23. Shakespeare wrote during the reign of
a) Edward VI b) Mary I c) Henry VIII d) Elizabeth I
24. English drama differed from French drama in the 17th century in that
a) English drama was dominated by court and classical models
b) English drama was a blend of many extant forms ranging from classical comedies to Italian short stories
c) English drama was not comedic and concentrated exclusively on tragedy
d) both a and c
25. John Milton is most famous for his work
a) Paradise Lost
b) The Pilgrim's Progress
c) which was concerned with the motives of Satan and all who rebel against God
d) both a and c
26. John Milton believed that
a) it was wrong to have executed Charles I
b) government should have the least possible control over the private lives of individuals
c) human beings must ultimately take responsibility for their fate
d) both b and c
27. The fiery, Puritan preacher who wrote classics of spirituality was
a) John Milton b) John Bunyan
c) Christopher Marlowe d) Oliver Cromwell
28. The primary theme of The Pilgrim's Progress
a) advocates a quest for salvation and "life, life, eternal life"
b) emigration from England to America
c) salvation through good deeds
d) none of the above
29. Blaise Pascal aspired to write a work which
a) reflected the Jesuits
b) supported the ideas of Bacon with stricter evidence
c) reflected the religious skeptics (atheists and deists)
d) both a and c
30. Blaise Pascal was convinced of
a) the correctness of the Copernican theory
b) humankind's utter corruption and the weakness of reason to resolve human problems
c) the importance of the new science for the improvement of mankind
d) both a and c
31. Pascal was heavily influenced by the
a) Huguenots b) Deists c) Jansenists d) Anabaptists
32. Baruch Spinoza believed
a) that everything that exists is in God and cannot be conceived apart from him
b) that life must be regulated by the teachings of the Catholic Church
c) in the independence of man from the bonds of God
d) both b and c
33. Which of the following philosophers wrote Pensees?
a) Pascal b) Spinoza c) Hobbes d) Locke
34. Spinoza's teachings seemed to portray the world as
a) finite and subject to control by the human spirit
b) eternal and human actions as unfree or inevitable
c) eternal, but humans as selfdestructive
d) both b and c
35. Which best characterizes the state of nature according to Thomas Hobbes?
a) a state of divine grace
b) a state of perfect freedom and equality
c) a state of rational and measured existence
d) a state that was nasty, brutish and short
36. Hobbes advocated a commonwealth
a) tightly ruled by law and order, by an absolute monarch
b) liberally ruled by a Parliament which is responsive to the desires of the people
c) ruled by a benevolent despot whose concern for the needs of his people was a determinant in their decision to retain him
d) ruled by Puritans
37. The philosophy of John Locke gave inspiration to the
a) Puritan republic b) monarchy of Charles II
c) American and French revolutions d) monarchy of James II
38. John Locke believed that
a) human knowledge was grounded in the experiences of the senses and in the reflection of the mind on those experiences
b) there were no innate ideas
c) rulers were absolute in their power
d) both a and b
39. "Cunning folk" were
a) people who helped others cope with adversity
b) storytellers who maintained the historical life of the village
c) actively persecuted by the church
d) both a and b
40. Why were elderly women, spinsters or widows most often the object of witchcraft accusations?
a) they were vulnerable in society
b) they were victims of misogyny
c) they sometimes laid claim to magical powers
d) all of the above