Philosophy Trivia

Test your knowledge of philosophy.

Points available: 10

1:

What TV comedy series featured a song about the drinking habits of various philosophers?

  • A) Saturday Night Live
  • B) Mad TV
  • C) Monty Python's Flying Circus
  • D) Laugh-In
2:

Who is considered to be the founder of modern philosophy?

  • A) Friedrich Nietzsche
  • B) Rene Descartes
  • C) Nicolo Machiavelli
  • D) Francis Bacon
3:

Which philosopher is thought by many to have written Shakespeare's plays?

  • A) Francis Bacon
  • B) William Godwin
  • C) John Bagnell
  • D) Rene Descartes
4:

"Thus Spake Zarathustra," a piece of music featured in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey," was also the title of a philosophical work by which author?

  • A) Friedrich Nietzsche
  • B) Rene Descartes
  • C) Nicolo Machiavelli
  • D) Francis Bacon
5:

Who originally said "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am")?

  • A) Friedrich Nietzsche
  • B) Rene Descartes
  • C) Nicolo Machiavelli
  • D) Francis Bacon
6:

Which ancient philosopher was a teacher to Alexander the Great?

  • A) Plato
  • B) Socrates
  • C) Aristotle
  • D) Plutarch
7:

What famous author wrote a philosophical work on Christian science?

  • A) Mark Twain
  • B) Lewis Carroll
  • C) Jonathan Swift
  • D) Nathaniel Hawthorne
8:

Which philosopher is best known for writing about gaining power by unscrupulous methods?

  • A) Nietzsche
  • B) Machiavelli
  • C) Bacon
  • D) Descartes
9:

Which philosopher, who also attempted to be a scientist, claimed that men have more teeth than women do?

  • A) Socrates
  • B) Plato
  • C) Aristotle
  • D) Plutarch
10:

According to the BBC, who is the greatest philosopher of all time?

  • A) Aristotle
  • B) Frederich Nietzsche
  • C) Melvyn Bragg
  • D) Herbert Spencer