CSS Philosophy chapter 3: Modern philosophy MCQs with answers
By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026
61 exam-style questions on Modern philosophy, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.
Pragmatism, existentialism and analytic philosophy15 questions
Ten Modern philosophy questions with answers
Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.
1. In Kant's philosophy, the 'noumenon' is
A
the thing as it is in itself, which we cannot know
B
the thing as it appears to us in space and in time
C
an idea that the mind has formed by long habit
D
one of the twelve categories of the understanding
Show answer
Answer: A. We know things only as phenomena, shaped by our forms of sensibility and categories; things in themselves lie beyond possible knowledge.
2. 'What is rational is real, and what is real is rational' is a saying of
A
Kant
B
Schopenhauer
C
Hume
D
Hegel
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Answer: D. It appears in the preface to Hegel's Philosophy of Right and expresses his idealism that reason is the structure of reality.
3. Spinoza's major work, the 'Ethics', is notable for
A
being a collection of letters written to friends and disciples on theology
B
being in dialogue form between teacher and pupil, in the manner of Plato
C
being a record of his own personal religious experiences
D
being written in geometrical form, with definitions, axioms and proofs
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Answer: D. Spinoza set out his system more geometrico, as proofs from axioms in the manner of Euclid.
4. What does Kant's 'Copernican revolution' in philosophy claim?
A
The earth moves around the sun
B
Our minds must conform to objects as they are in themselves
C
Knowledge is impossible
D
Objects must conform to the structure of our knowing mind
Show answer
Answer: D. Just as Copernicus explained the heavens by moving the observer, Kant explained experience by the contribution of the mind: space, time and categories.
5. Which statement correctly states the main difference between rationalism and empiricism?
A
Rationalists stress experience as the source of knowledge, empiricists stress reason
B
Rationalists stress authority as the source of knowledge, empiricists stress reason
C
Rationalists stress reason as the source of knowledge, empiricists stress experience
D
Rationalists stress revelation as the source of knowledge, empiricists stress custom
Show answer
Answer: C. The central dispute is whether the mind can reach knowledge of reality by reason alone or whether all knowledge begins in sense experience.
6. The 'categories' in Kant's philosophy are
A
types of moral duty that bind every rational being alike
B
the classes of logical proposition, A, E, I and O, in the syllogism
C
pure concepts of the understanding, such as causality and substance
D
the different kinds of beauty found in nature and in art
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Answer: C. The categories, such as unity, substance and cause, are the mind's own concepts that make experience of objects possible.
7. The verification principle of the logical positivists says that a statement is meaningful only if it is
A
approved by the consensus of trained and respected philosophers
B
true by definition or capable of verification by experience
C
agreed to by the majority of educated people in a society
D
useful in guiding practical action and in solving problems
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Answer: B. On this view, 'The Absolute is perfect' is meaningless because no experience could confirm or refute it. Positivists thus regarded most metaphysics as nonsense.
8. Rationalists and empiricists disagree most sharply over
A
whether the mind has innate ideas
B
whether the earth moves round the sun
C
whether God is a person or a principle
D
whether logic uses words
Show answer
Answer: A. Descartes and Leibniz affirmed innate ideas, and Locke attacked them at length.
9. John Dewey's instrumentalism treats ideas and theories as
A
copies of a changeless world of eternal Forms
B
innate truths given to the mind that cannot be revised
C
pictures of facts which reason alone is able to test
D
tools for solving problems, to be judged by their results
Show answer
Answer: D. Dewey saw thinking as problem-solving, and ideas as instruments that are retained or discarded according to how well they work.
10. Which statement correctly compares the three great rationalists on the number of basic kinds of created reality?
A
Descartes admits one, Spinoza two, Leibniz an infinity of monads
B
Descartes admits an infinity of monads, Spinoza two, Leibniz one
C
Descartes admits two, Spinoza only one, Leibniz an infinity of monads
D
Descartes admits two, Spinoza an infinity of monads, Leibniz one
Show answer
Answer: C. Descartes has mind and matter (besides God), Spinoza has the one substance God or Nature, and Leibniz has countless monads. This contrast of dualism, monism and pluralism is a standard one.
61, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 4 topics: Rationalism, Empiricism, Kant and German idealism, Pragmatism, existentialism and analytic philosophy. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.
Is the CSS Philosophy chapter 3 test free?
Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.
How is the chapter test marked?
The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.
