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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Chesterton, why is Bernard Shaw hampered in his thinking?
(a) He can only tell lies that he believes.
(b) He is not humorous enough.
(c) He is too logical in his arguments.
(d) He tells too many lies.

2. In Chesterton's story about the sailor, what mistake does the man make?
(a) He does not take enough fresh water.
(b) He thinks England is a new island in the South Seas.
(c) From the harbor, he sets out in the wrong direction.
(d) He navigates by the sun rather than by the stars.

3. What document does Chesterton refer to by the word "orthodoxy"?
(a) The Nicene Creed.
(b) The Disciples' Creed.
(c) The Athanasian Creed.
(d) The Apostles' Creed.

4. What is the title of the essay that H. G. Wells wrote on skepticism?
(a) Skepticism from a Philosophical Viewpoint.
(b) Doubts of the Instrument.
(c) Understanding the Skeptical Mind.
(d) The Creeds and Hierarchies.

5. What does Chesterton say concerning the boundaries of the will?
(a) The will frees a man.
(b) The will has boundaries only if it is not a free action.
(c) The will defines a man's actions fully.
(d) The will is limiting to the man.

Short Answer Questions

1. What examples does Chesterton give of lunatic thinking?

2. What words does Chesterton prefer when referring to nature?

3. How does Chesterton feel about the book Orthodoxy once it is completed?

4. According to Chesterton, who is the only person to whom a modern realistic novel would not be boring?

5. As the determinist is confronted with the problem of sin, what does Chesterton say that he believes in?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter III, The Suicide of Thought, what is Chesterton's opinion of the skeptic? Why does the skeptic not have the right to speak out against anything? Why, contrarily, is he always speaking out against things?

2. Considering the fact that elf land is more rational than the scientific world is, why does Chesterton say that magic flourishes in elf land?

3. In Chapter IV, The Ethics of Elfland, what does Chesterton give as the first two principles of democracy? How does he convey a sense of wonder even in these principles?

4. Chesterton says that a perfect view of the world combines a searching mind with the feeling of being welcomed. What does this mean? How does it relate to Christianity?

5. Chesterton assumes that he and his reader will share the common ground of agreeing that an interesting, active life is preferable to simple existence. Is this a fair starting point? Why or why not?

6. In Chapter I, Introduction in Defense of Everything Else, Chesterton states that he hates the defense of something that cannot be proved or disproved. How is this important for the rest of the book?

7. Why does Chesterton's second notion of fairyland entail praise?

8. What does a pragmatist believe and how does he compare to a determinist? What is Chesterton's opinion of pragmatism? How is pragmatism fundamentally separated from the truth?

9. The second problem with modern thought is that it is intellectually weak and helpless. What does Chesterton mean by this idea? How is it manifested in everyday life, much less intellectual circles?

10. Materialistic fatalism has been credited with being merciful, though Chesterton says this is far from the truth. Why can fatalism not be merciful?

(see the answer keys)

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