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500+ Philosophy Trivia Questions & Answers

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Very Easy Philosophy Trivia Questions

These Philosophy trivia questions are perfect for beginners, young kids, and toddlers. If you want to play Philosophy trivia with children, try these very easy difficulty questions to get started.

Easy Philosophy Trivia Questions

These Philosophy trivia questions are perfect for kids in elementary school. If you want to play Philosophy trivia with schoolchildren, try these easy difficulty questions to get started.

1.) Who is known for the phrase 'I think, therefore I am'?

  • Aristotle
  • Plato
  • René Descartes
  • Socrates

2.) Which ancient Greek philosopher is often referred to as the father of Western philosophy?

  • Kant
  • Marx
  • Nietzsche
  • Socrates

3.) What ancient philosopher wrote 'The Republic'?

  • Descartes
  • Hume
  • Kant
  • Plato

4.) Which philosopher is famous for the quote, 'The unexamined life is not worth living'?

  • Aristotle
  • Epicurus
  • Plato
  • Socrates

5.) Who is the philosopher known for his Allegory of the Cave?

  • Heraclitus
  • Plato
  • Pythagoras
  • Socrates

6.) Diogenes of Sinope is known for being a key figure in which philosophical school?

  • Cynicism
  • Epicureanism
  • Existentialism
  • Stoicism

7.) Which philosopher is known for his idea of 'Forms'?

  • Aristotle
  • Kant
  • Plato
  • Socrates

8.) Who is the philosopher famous for writing 'Meditations'?

  • Descartes
  • Kierkegaard
  • Marcus Aurelius
  • Nietzsche

9.) Which Greek philosopher was the tutor of Alexander the Great?

  • Aristotle
  • Epicurus
  • Plato
  • Socrates

10.) What philosopher is known for the 'Apology', a defense speech in court?

  • Aristotle
  • Cicero
  • Seneca
  • Socrates

11.) Who is the philosopher that proposed the theory of utilitarianism?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Jeremy Bentham

12.) Who co-authored 'The Communist Manifesto' with Friedrich Engels?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Karl Marx
  • Max Weber

13.) Which ancient Greek philosopher is known for his work on ethics and politics?

  • Aristotle
  • Democritus
  • Heraclitus
  • Pythagoras

14.) Which philosopher is famous for the quote, 'God is dead'?

  • Blaise Pascal
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Gottfried Leibniz
  • Immanuel Kant

15.) Who is the philosopher known for the theory of natural rights?

  • David Hume
  • John Locke
  • Karl Marx
  • Søren Kierkegaard

16.) What is the study of knowledge called in philosophy?

  • Aesthetics
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Ontology

17.) Which philosopher is famous for the idea of 'I think, therefore I am'?

  • David Hume
  • Immanuel Kant
  • John Locke
  • René Descartes

18.) What does 'tabula rasa' mean in philosophy?

  • Blank slate
  • Divine reason
  • Moral path
  • Universal truth

19.) What philosophical concept states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one?

  • Occam's Razor
  • Platonic Idealism
  • Rousseau's Noble Savage
  • The Golden Mean

20.) In which book is the concept 'the end justifies the means' famously explored?

  • Critique of Pure Reason by Kant
  • Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
  • The Prince by Machiavelli
  • The Republic by Plato

21.) What is the main focus of ethics in philosophy?

  • Artistic expression and creativity
  • Historical analysis and interpretation
  • Moral principles and values governing behavior
  • Quantitative data analysis

22.) Who is known for the concept of 'will to power'?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • George Hegel
  • John Locke
  • Socrates

23.) Who is known for the theory of forms and his Academy in Athens?

  • Aristotle
  • Plato
  • Socrates
  • Zeno

24.) Which philosopher emphasized empirical evidence and scientific method?

  • Francis Bacon
  • Gottfried Leibniz
  • John Locke
  • Karl Marx

25.) What is the name of the Greek philosopher known for his method of questioning to gain truth and clarity?

  • Aristotle
  • Plato
  • Pythagoras
  • Socrates

Medium Philosophy Trivia Questions

These Philosophy trivia questions are perfect for older kids, teenagers, and adults. If you want to play Philosophy trivia with friends and family, try these medium difficulty questions

26.) Which philosopher developed the method of questioning known as 'dialectic'?

  • Aristotle
  • Kant
  • Plato
  • Socrates

27.) Which philosopher is known for the concept of the 'categorical imperative'?

  • Descartes
  • Hegel
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Nietzsche

28.) What is the main focus of existentialist philosophy?

  • Mathematical logic
  • Political systems
  • Scientific discovery
  • The individual's existence

29.) Who wrote the philosophical work 'The Prince'?

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Locke
  • Niccolò Machiavelli
  • Thomas Hobbes

30.) Which philosopher is famous for his radical skepticism?

  • Aristotle
  • David Hume
  • René Descartes
  • Socrates

31.) What is the term for Plato's vision of a perfectly just city?

  • The Apology
  • The Phaedrus
  • The Republic
  • The Symposium

32.) Which Enlightenment philosopher wrote 'A Treatise of Human Nature'?

  • Baron de Montesquieu
  • David Hume
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Locke

33.) Who is known as the father of modern political philosophy and authored 'Leviathan'?

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Locke
  • Niccolò Machiavelli
  • Thomas Hobbes

34.) What philosopher is associated with the phrase 'tabula rasa'?

  • Baruch Spinoza
  • Francis Bacon
  • John Locke
  • Rene Descartes

35.) Which philosopher introduced the idea of 'the noble savage'?

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Locke
  • Thomas Hobbes
  • Voltaire

36.) Who is often referred to as the father of Western philosophy?

  • Aristotle
  • Descartes
  • Plato
  • Socrates

37.) Which philosopher wrote 'The Republic'?

  • Aristotle
  • Kant
  • Plato
  • Socrates

38.) What is the term for the ethical theory that emphasizes duties and rules?

  • Deontology
  • Relativism
  • Utilitarianism
  • Virtue ethics

39.) Who wrote 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Hannah Arendt
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Karl Marx

40.) What is the main focus of existentialism?

  • Economic systems and class struggle
  • Human existence and personal responsibility
  • Metaphysical structures
  • Natural sciences

41.) Who is known for his theory of forms or ideas?

  • Aristotle
  • Hume
  • Kant
  • Plato

42.) What is dialectic primarily concerned with?

  • Artistics aesthetics
  • Emotional expression
  • Logical argumentation and dialogue
  • Political power

43.) Who proposed the 'categorical imperative'?

  • Aristotle
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Mill
  • Nietzsche

44.) Which philosopher is known for his theory of utilitarianism?

  • Aristotle
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Socrates

45.) Which philosopher is associated with the phrase 'state of nature'?

  • Immanuel Kant
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Karl Marx
  • Thomas Hobbes

46.) What is the allegory where prisoners mistake shadows for reality?

  • Kant’s Categories
  • Nietzsche's Übermensch
  • Plato's Allegory of the Cave
  • Sartre’s Nausea

47.) What branch of philosophy deals with the fundamental nature of reality and existence beyond physical phenomena?

  • Aesthetics
  • Deontology
  • Epistemology
  • Metaphysics

48.) Who is noted for the philosophical stance that 'existence precedes essence'?

  • Aristotle
  • Baruch Spinoza
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • René Descartes

49.) Which philosopher is famous for 'The Social Contract'?

  • David Hume
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Karl Marx

50.) What does ontology study in philosophy?

  • Being and existence
  • Cognitive processes
  • Moral dilemmas
  • Scientific laws

Hard Philosophy Trivia Questions

These Philosophy trivia questions are perfect for teenagers and adults. If you want to play Philosophy trivia with family and friends, try these hard difficulty questions for a fun challenge.

51.) Who wrote "The Critique of Pure Reason" as a work of philosophy examining the limits of human understanding?

  • David Hume
  • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
  • Immanuel Kant

52.) In Immanuel Kant's philosophy, what term is used to describe the things as they appear to us?

  • Appearances
  • Noumena
  • Things-in-themselves
  • Transcendentals

53.) Who introduced the "panopticon" as a metaphor for modern disciplinary societies?

  • Jeremy Bentham
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Jürgen Habermas
  • Michel Foucault

54.) Which philosopher is associated with the 'linguistic turn' in philosophy?

  • Ferdinand de Saussure
  • Jacques Derrida
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Martin Heidegger

55.) Which philosopher critiqued traditional metaphysics with his "phenomenological reduction"?

  • Edmund Husserl
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty

56.) Who is the philosopher known for combining existentialism and phenomenology in his works?

  • Gilles Deleuze
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Michel Foucault
  • Simone de Beauvoir

57.) What is the name of the philosophical concept introduced by Aristotle that describes the primary cause of motion in the universe?

  • First Principle
  • Initial Instigator
  • Prime Mover
  • Unmoved Mover

58.) In Immanuel Kant's theory, what is the term for the objective reality that exists independently of perception?

  • Being
  • Essence
  • Noumenon
  • Phenomenon

59.) What term does Hegel use to refer to the process that resolves the conflict between thesis and antithesis in his philosophy?

  • Dialectic
  • Epistemology
  • Metaphysics
  • Phenomenology

60.) The statement "existence precedes essence" is associated with which philosopher known for founding the existentialist movement?

  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • John Locke
  • Michel Foucault
  • René Descartes

61.) What is the term coined by Heidegger that refers to the concept of "being-in-the-world"?

  • Apperception
  • Brahman
  • Dasein
  • Gestalt

62.) Which philosopher is associated with the "veil of ignorance" concept in his theory of justice?

  • Alasdair MacIntyre
  • Amartya Sen
  • John Rawls
  • Robert Nozick

63.) Which philosophical work introduces the "categorical imperative" as a fundamental principle?

  • Being and Time
  • Beyond Good and Evil
  • Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
  • The Republic

64.) Who wrote the existentialist novel "Being and Nothingness," exploring the concept of freedom and responsibility?

  • Albert Camus
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Simone de Beauvoir

65.) What is the name of the philosophical thought experiment proposed by Boltzmann that questions the nature of our universe's existence due to entropy?

  • Boltzmann Brain
  • Einstein's Thought
  • Schrödinger's Cat
  • Zeno's Paradox

66.) Which philosopher posited that history progresses dialectically through stages of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
  • Herbert Spencer
  • Karl Marx

67.) Which philosopher is credited with championing the idea of "tabula rasa" in epistemology?

  • David Hume
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
  • John Locke
  • Rene Descartes

68.) Which philosopher formulated the "categorical imperative," a central concept in deontological ethics?

  • Georg Hegel
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • John Stuart Mill

69.) Who proposed the "slave morality" theory as a critique of traditional moral values?

  • Arthur Schopenhauer
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Michel Foucault
  • Simone Weil

70.) Which philosopher is known for articulating the "leap of faith" as intrinsic to belief in God?

  • Blaise Pascal
  • Friedrich Schleiermacher
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Søren Kierkegaard

71.) Who proposed the concept of 'categorical imperative', a central idea in deontology?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Immanuel Kant
  • John Stuart Mill
  • René Descartes

72.) Which philosopher introduced the idea of 'eternal recurrence' in their work?

  • Arthur Schopenhauer
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Martin Heidegger

73.) Which philosopher's idea of the 'veil of ignorance' is a critical element in the theory of justice?

  • John Rawls
  • Robert Nozick
  • Thomas Nagel
  • Will Kymlicka

74.) Which philosopher is known for their doctrine of 'perspectivism', which suggests that knowledge is contingent upon the perspective of the knower?

  • Edmund Husserl
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Michel Foucault

75.) Which philosopher is associated with the idea of 'facticity' in existentialism, referring to the objective data of a person’s life?

  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Karl Jaspers
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Søren Kierkegaard

Very Hard Philosophy Trivia Questions

These Philosophy trivia questions are perfect for adults, college students, and advanced students. If you want to play Philosophy trivia with friends, family, or colleagues, try these very hard questions to test your knowledge about Philosophy at its limits.

76.) Which philosopher is known for the idea of 'hyperreality' and simulacra, exploring the nature of reality in postmodern culture?

  • Gilles Deleuze
  • Jean Baudrillard
  • Michel Foucault
  • Roland Barthes

77.) Who developed the concept of 'being-toward-death' as a central theme in existential philosophy?

  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Søren Kierkegaard

78.) In 'Principia Ethica', which philosopher is known for articulating the 'naturalistic fallacy'?

  • Bertrand Russell
  • David Hume
  • G.E. Moore
  • Henry Sidgwick

79.) Which philosopher's work, "Phenomenology of Spirit," addresses the development of self-consciousness and absolute knowing?

  • Edmund Husserl
  • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Karl Marx

80.) Who is credited with the idea of 'the Other' in existentialist and feminist philosophy?

  • Emmanuel Levinas
  • Hannah Arendt
  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty
  • Simone de Beauvoir

81.) Which philosopher's critique of dialectical reason is considered a fundamental critique of Marxism?

  • Antonio Gramsci
  • Herbert Marcuse
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Louis Althusser

82.) Who originally coined the term 'reification', denoting the attribution of real existence to abstract concepts, in their theory of materialism?

  • Georg Lukács
  • Karl Marx
  • Max Weber
  • Theodor Adorno

83.) What philosopher developed the concept of the 'Problem of Induction' to criticize the empirical approach to knowledge?

  • David Hume
  • Immanuel Kant
  • Isaac Newton
  • John Locke

84.) In 'Being and Nothingness', who introduces the idea of 'bad faith' as an attempt to deny one’s own freedom?

  • Albert Camus
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Simone de Beauvoir

85.) Who developed the concept of the 'moral landscape', proposing that moral questions have objectively true answers?

  • Christopher Hitchens
  • Daniel Dennett
  • Richard Dawkins
  • Sam Harris

86.) Which philosopher developed the idea of 'dialetheism', where a statement can be both true and not true simultaneously?

  • Arthur Prior
  • Bertrand Russell
  • Graham Priest
  • W.V. Quine

87.) Who coined the term 'the banality of evil' to describe the normalization of evil acts by ordinary people?

  • Hannah Arendt
  • Max Horkheimer
  • Simone Weil
  • Theodor Adorno

88.) Which philosopher's theory of 'negative dialectics' sought to critique identity thinking in Western philosophy?

  • Herbert Marcuse
  • Jürgen Habermas
  • Theodor Adorno
  • Walter Benjamin

89.) Who wrote 'The Saturated Phenomenon', furthering the study of phenomenology and exploring the limits of consciousness?

  • Gilles Deleuze
  • Jacques Derrida
  • Jean-Luc Marion
  • Michel Henry

90.) Who is credited with formulating the 'externalist perspective' in the philosophy of mind, emphasizing the role of the environment in the formation of mind?

  • Daniel Dennett
  • Hilary Putnam
  • Jerry Fodor
  • John Searle

91.) Which philosopher is known for introducing the notion of 'assemblage theory' in post-structuralist philosophy?

  • Félix Guattari
  • Gilles Deleuze
  • Jean-François Lyotard
  • Michel Foucault

92.) What philosopher is credited with introducing the concept of the 'subaltern' in postcolonial theory?

  • Edward Said
  • Frantz Fanon
  • Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
  • Homi Bhabha

93.) Which philosopher is known for the idea of the 'hermeneutic circle' in understanding texts and art?

  • Hans-Georg Gadamer
  • Martin Heidegger
  • Paul Ricoeur
  • Wilhelm Dilthey

94.) Which philosopher is known for his critique of Western metaphysics through the concept of 'destruktion' in his work 'Being and Time'?

  • Immanuel Kant
  • Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Martin Heidegger

95.) In 'The Phenomenology of Spirit', who introduced the concept of the 'dialectic of master and slave'?

  • Arthur Schopenhauer
  • Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
  • Karl Marx

96.) What term did Søren Kierkegaard use to describe the individual's leap of faith in religious belief, beyond rational evidence?

  • Dualism
  • Leap of Faith
  • Nihilism
  • Non-conformity

97.) In 'Naming and Necessity', who argued against descriptivism with the introduction of rigid designators?

  • Frege
  • Quine
  • Russell
  • Saul Kripke

98.) What philosophical movement, led by Derrida, involves the deconstruction of texts to reveal the hidden mechanics of language?

  • Deconstruction
  • Postcolonialism
  • Postmodernism
  • Structuralism

99.) Which philosopher’s work introduced the concept of the 'state of exception' particularly in 'Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life'?

  • Giorgio Agamben
  • Jacques Derrida
  • Michel Foucault
  • Roland Barthes

100.) Who wrote 'The 120 Days of Sodom' critiquing governance from a perspective of radical freedom and libertinism?

  • Denis Diderot
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Marquis de Sade
  • Voltaire

102.) Which philosopher formulated 'naturalized epistemology', integrating philosophical questions with empirical science, specifically psychology?

  • Carl Hempel
  • David K. Lewis
  • Gilbert Harman
  • Willard Van Orman Quine

+400 more Philosophy trivia questions

Looking for even more Philosophy trivia?

TriviaBear has over 500 Philosophy trivia questions and answers for you to enjoy, ranging from easy to very difficult, and we're adding more every day.

Philosophy trivia is all about fun questions and answers related to big ideas and thinkers that help us understand life and existence! When you dive into Philosophy trivia, you'll explore interesting topics like ethics, reality, and knowledge. I love sharing these questions with you because they can really make you think and spark awesome conversations. So, whether you're a Philosophy expert or just curious, let's enjoy some exciting trivia together!

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