The Ethics of Ambiguity; Quiz

Take our free The Ethics of Ambiguity; quiz below, with 25 multiple choice questions that help you test your knowledge. Determine which chapters, themes and styles you already know and what you need to study for your upcoming essay, midterm, or final exam. Take the free quiz now!

According to Beauvoir, if every man is free: (from Chapter 3, The Positive Aspect of Ambiguity, Sections 1-3, The Aesthetic Attitude, Freedom and Liberation, The Antinomies of Action)

He cannot will himself free.

He must work to free other men.

He is free to oppress the freedom of others.

His will must remain free.

What example does Beauvoir use to illustrate "The Antinomies of Action"? (from Chapter 3, The Positive Aspect of Ambiguity, Sections 1-3, The Aesthetic Attitude, Freedom and Liberation, The Antinomies of Action)

If those who lead actions against oppression are not under continual scrutiny, they will plan insurrections for their own benefit.

That unwise action against oppressors taken without considering the future will lead to more vicious oppression by opportunists.

That the thinkers who can define the evils of oppression actually become oppressors by making people realize their plight but offering no action to correct it.

Men who commit violence against an oppressor for the cause of freedom become oppressors themselves and must reduce the oppressor as a thing to be removed.

What example did Beauvoir use to show how those who fight for a cause will come to accept certain contradictions. (from Chapter 3, The Positive Aspect of Ambiguity, Sections 1-3, The Aesthetic Attitude, Freedom and Liberation, The Antinomies of Action)

Generals who were willing to pull their soldiers from battle so they could win a more important battle later.

Natives who fought freedom from the British Empire during WWII with the support of Fascist regimes.

Martyrs who were killed by authoritarians who sought to kill their causes, but their deaths gave it more influence.

Politicians who were defeated in elections by foretelling the realized negative consequences of popular programs.

What does Beauvoir claim matters to the serious man? (from Chapter 2, Personal Freedom and Others)

Setting a track to achieve a predetermined goal.

Subjecting himself to the project that defines his ambiguity to himself.

Being able to lose himself in the nature of the object which he prefers to himself.

Using his ambiguity to shape his ethics.

How does Beauvoir claim that "The Ethics of Ambiguity" compare to the individualism of Christian ethics? (from Chapter 3, The Positive Aspect of Ambiguity, Sections 4-5, The Present and the Future, Ambiguity and Conclusion)

Both Christian ethics and the Ethics of Ambiguity depend upon individual devotion.

Christian ethics dispenses salvation to the individual as the Ethics of Ambiguity depends on the individual accepting the nature of their ambiguity.

Christian salvation is provided by an individual source as are the Ethics of Ambiguity.

Both Christian ethics and the Ethics of Ambiguity have their greatest influence on individual practice.