Literature

101 Philosophy Trivia Questions to Expand Your Mind

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?

22

444

777

111

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

1790

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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