Philosophy has been one of the lights of human civilization for millennia. From Plato and Confucius to bell hooks and Jacques Derrida, philosophers have and continue to deepen the human relationship with the world and expand our love of truth.
But sometimes it’s time to put down the philosophy tomes, put a pause on your big thoughts, and test your knowledge. If you’re a would-be philosopher or simply a devotee of wisdom, try out these philosophy trivia questions and answers to prove your knowledge.
How old was Nietzche when he became a university professor? Who wrote ‘The Phenomenology of Spirit?’ How did Socrates die? What in the world is a Platonic form? If you can answer any or all of these questions, you’re well on your way to true wisdom–and to finishing this quiz.
Once you’re done with the philosophy trivia quiz, try out these quizzes on Harry Potter questions, book quotes, and book trivia questions.
Peter Strawons hails from which country?
England
American
Canada
Australia
Who is often considered the first of the Scholastic Philosophers?
Anselm of Canterbury
Al-Farabi
Boethius
Avicenna
Which philosopher acted as a tutor to Alexander the Great?
Archimedes
Pythagoras
Aristotle
Plato
What nationality was the philosopher Martin Heidegger?
German
French
Italian
Austrian
Rudolf Carnap was born in which country?
Finland
Germany
Russia
Austria
Jose Oretga Y Gasset was born in which country?
Italy
USA
France
Spain
Wu-Wei is a notion associated with which philosopher?
Thales of Miletus
Pythagoras
Lao Tzu
Siddhartha Gautama
The Book of Healing and Canon of Medicine were works by which medical philosopher?
Boethius
Avicenna
Al-Farabi
Anselm of Canterbury
The Book of Virtue and The Book of the Way are works by which philosopher?
Siddhartha Gautama
Lao Tzu
Pythagoras
Thales of Miletus
In what year did Al-Ghazali die?
22ce
444ce
777ce
1111ce
What year saw the birth of John Locke?
1832
1632
1232
1432
Willard Van Orman Quine was from which country?
USA
England
France
Holland
What nationality was Thomas Aquinas?
16th
13th
9th
19th
What nationality was philosopher William James?
Canadian
Irish
American
English
Incoherence of the Incoherence’ is a famous work by whom?
Averros
Moses Maimonides
Al-Ghazali
Pierre Abelard
Consolation of Philosophy’ is a work by which influential philosopher?
Anselm of Canterbury
Al-Farabi
Boethius
Avicenna
Which philosopher was born in 280BC in China?
Boethius
Augustine
Han Feizi
Plotinus
What nationality was philosopher Titus Brandsma?
English
Spanish
French
Dutch
Complete the title of a famous work by Simone de Beauvoir ‘The Second…’?
Woman
Man
Tier
Sex
Karl Popper hailed from which country?
Austria
American
Finland
Germany
In what year did Gilles Deleuze write ‘What is Philosophy?’?
2001
1981
1991
1971
In what century did the Philosopher Plotinus live?
3rd
6th
9th
14th
Gilbert Ryle was born in which country?
Canada
England
USA
Australia
Hans-Georg Gadamer famously wrote the work ‘Truth and _____’?
Dare
Reason
Method
Man
Which of the following philosophers served Ostrogoth King of Italy?
Al-Farabi
Boethius
Anselm of Canterbury
Avicenna
Which of these was a pupil of Socrates?
Plato
Archimedes
Aristotle
Pythagoras
Who was sent to Athens aged 17 to study at Plato’s Academy?
Aristotle
Archimedes
Plotinus
Pythagoras
John Stuart Mill came from which country?
Wales
Scotland
Ireland
England
What was the middle name of Karl Popper?
Liamund
Diamond
Friamund
Raimund
Siddharta Gautama was the founder of which religion?
Sikhism
Judaism
Buddhism
Christianity
In Praise of Folly (1509) is a work by whom?
Erasmus
Nicholas of Cusa
Niccolo Machiavelli
Francis Bacon
Friedrich Nietzsche was born in what decade?
1730s
1840s
1770s
1870s
Fill in the blank in the title of a famous Jean Paul Sartre lecture ‘Existenalism is a …’?
Fraud
Ending
Rationalism
Humanism
Arne Naess is a philosopher from which country?
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Norway
What nationality is philosopher Julia Kristeva?
Bulgarian
French
Russia
Ukrainian
Complete the name of the famous work by John Rawls ‘A Theory of….’?
Man
People
Justice
Life
What was the middle name of American philosopher Charles Peirce?
Fanders
Sanders
Danders
Landers
Ludwig Wittgenstein was born in which year?
1889
1962
1923
1765
What nationality was Auguste Comte?
Russian
French
Italian
Spain
Ernst Bloch and Karl Jaspers hailed from which country?
England
France
Germany
Spain
Which country was home to Niccolo Machiavelli?
Spain
France
Sweden
Italy
Mao Zedong stated which philosopher was ‘the Philosopher of the people’?
Lao Tzu
Confucius
Erasmus
Mozi
Complete the famous Pythagoras quote…’All things are…’?
Here
In the Eye
God
Numbers
What nationality is Saul Kripke?
American
Israeli
Russian
Canadian
Francis Bacon published his seminal work Novum Organum in which year?
1220
1620
1420
1820
Plotinus was a philosopher from which country?
Italy
Egypt
China
India
Sun Yat Sen stated which philosopher was ‘the Philosopher of the people’?
Mozi
Lao Tzu
Confucius
Erasmus
Francisco Suarez hailed from which country?
Italy
Spain
France
Mexico
What year saw the birth of Plato?
427AD
42BC
42AD
427BC
Which of these philosopher has a crater on the moon named after them?
Avicenna
Al-Farabi
Anselm of Canterbury
Boethius
Which philosopher is regarded as the father of Daoism?
Pythagoras
Thales of Miletus
Lao Tzu
Siddhartha Gautama
Which philosopher was born in 384 BC in Greece?
Plato
Archimedes
Aristotle
Pythagoras
Which philosopher was born in 570bc in Greece?
Siddhartha Gautama
Pythagoras
Lao Tzu
Thales of Miletus
Which of the following Philosopher was not from China?
Confucius
Lao Tzu
Erasmus
Mozi
In what year did Friedrich Nietzsche die?
1850
1900
1800
1950
David Hume hailed from which country?
England
Scotland
Ireland
Wales
In which country was Aristotle born?
Spain
France
Greece
Italy
In what century did Karl Popper live?
20th
17th
18th
19th
What year saw the birth of Immanuel Kant?
1324
1524
1724
1924
Where did Aristotle set up his Lyceum school?
Rome
Athens
London
Madrid
From which country did Erasmus hail?
Italy
Holland
Germany
France
Which of the following philosophers is most associated with Utilitarianism?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach
JS Mill
Auguste Comte
What nationality was Miguel de Unamuno?
Brazilian
French
Spanish
Dutch
Which philosopher is attributed with the quote ‘All things are numbers’?
Pythagoras
Siddhartha Gautama
Thales of Miletus
Lao Tzu
In what century did Gilbert Ryle live?
18th
19th
17th
20th
In what year was Confucius born?
200AD
551BC
7BC
1671
Which is regarded as the founder of Chinese philosophy?
Pythagoras
Thales of Miletus
Siddhartha Gautama
Lao Tzu
In which country was Anslem of Canterbury born?
Italy
England
France
USA
Which of these philosopher was accused of treason and executed in 523?
Al-Farabi
Boethius
Avicenna
Anselm of Canterbury
What nationality was Immanuel Kant?
French
German
Dutch
Italian
In what year did Jean Paul Sartre refuse the Nobel Prize for Literature?
2004
1964
1944
1984
What was the first name of the famous philosopher Machiavelli?
Paulo
Niccolo
Allesandro
Pablo
What year marked the birth of Aristotle?
38AD
38BC
384BC
384AD
Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini in what modern day country?
Thailand
India
Nepal
Pakistan
What year saw the death of Niccolo Machiavelli?
1927
1327
1527
1727
John Langshaw Austin famously wrote ‘How to do things wit ____’?
Time
Days
Hands
Words
Dao De Jing is a work by which famous philosopher?
Lao Tzu
Thales of Miletus
Pythagoras
Siddhartha Gautama
Which philosopher was brought up in the Chinese province of Lu?
Parmenides
Confucius
Heraclitus
Lao Tzu
Complete the famous Jean Paul Sarte quote ‘Hell is Other….’?
Ideas
People
Men
Women
John Duns Scotus was from which country?
Denmark
Scotland
French
Italy
What nationality was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche?
German
Italian
Dutch
French
Complete the Bertrand Russell quote ‘War doe not determine who is right – only who is ___’?
Alive
Dead
Wrong
Left
Which philosopher is attributed with the quote ‘Every Realm of nature is Marvellous’?
Pythagoras
Plato
Archimedes
Aristotle
In what year was Benedictus Spinoza born?
1632
1232
1832
1432
In which year did Karl Marx die?
1883
1983
1833
1923
Which philosophers father was physician to King Phillip of Macedon?
Plato
Archimedes
Aristotle
Pythagoras
Which philosopher is often considered the last of the Roman philosopher?
Anselm of Canterbury
Avicenna
Al-Farabi
Boethius
What nationality was Theodor Adorno?
Dutch
Swiss
German
Russia
What nationality was Rene Descartes?
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
French
Thales of Miletus was born in which country?
Turkey
Spain
France
Greece
What century did David Hume live and work?
17th
19th
18th
16th
What year did Edmund Burke die?
1590
1990
1390
1797
Republic and Apology were major works of which philosopher?
Plato
Pythagoras
Aristotle
Archimedes
What completes the title of a landmark Michel Foucault work ‘The Order of….’?
Things
The Mind
Man
Us
What year saw the birth of Karl Marx?
1618
1818
1718
1918
What was the name of Siddhartha’s Gautama’s first son?
Zallufa
Rahula
Kindera
Mandua
Where was Ludwig Wittgenstein held as a POW in the first World War?
UK
Spain
Italy
France
What nationality was philosopher Ramon Llull?
Italian
Spain
French
Israel
Which of the following was heavily influenced by Jeremy Bentham?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
JS Mill
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach
Auguste Comte
What nationality was the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein?
Dutch
Dutch
French
Austrian
When did Simone de Beauvoir release The Second Sex?
1949
1969
2009
1989
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