CLASSICS 2902B - (Hippocratic Medicine:
Creation of A Profession) Exam Questions
with Verified Answers (A+)
UPDATED 2026/2027
true or false: one question we have to ask ourselves when we study ancient medicine is how did
physicians see themselves? and what does it mean to be a good physician? -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
to be considered a good physician in antiquity, what 4 major things did physicians need to have/do? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- 1. have technical expertise.
2. ethical considerations.
3. know when to treat/when not to treat.
4. follow up treatment with a likely outcome (prognosis).
what is technical expertise? -CORRECT ANSWERS- the ability to recognize diseases and successfully treat
them.
what hippocratic text demonstrates technical expertise in its instructions for other physicians? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- "airs, waters, places";
it follows the format of if A is the case, then B will be likely to optimize treatment and allow a traveling
doctor to be prepared to know beforehand what type of diseases they will encounter in a given place.
what is prognosis? -CORRECT ANSWERS- you recognize a disease at the outside and can tell beforehand
how the illness/disease will progress;
so you inform your patient what they can expect but also prepare yourself to be able to deal with
anything that you may encounter.
,is prognosis an aspect of technical expertise? -CORRECT ANSWERS- yes!
true or false: having ethical considerations was a MAJOR requirement for a "true physician" in antiquity.
-CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
part of ethical considerations in antiquity was being able to yield to others.
what does this mean? -CORRECT ANSWERS- good physicians knew their limits and their own ability and
were ready to pass a patient onto someone who was more skilled than them if needed.
true or false: in antiquity, every physician needed to ask themselves whether to treat or not to treat a
patient and they needed to know what was curable and what was not. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
what would a good physician know if they found that their patient had an illness that was incurable? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- if it was not curable, they should know how far any treatment may help alleviate
symptoms for a better quality of life for the patient.
true or false: if a physician decided not to treat a patient in antiquity, a lot of blame was placed on them
and they were considered disgraceful for the profession. -CORRECT ANSWERS- false;
there was absolutely NO blame attached to a reasonable refusal to treat a patient.
in fact, physicians at that time were praised for being able to recognize their own limits and not going
beyond those limits.
what does the term "hubris" mean in antiquity? -CORRECT ANSWERS- extreme pride, arrogance, or
overconfidence that leads a person to disrespect others or the gods.
true or false: people that had hubris in antiquity would challenge everyone including gods which
brought about a lot of trouble for them. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
, what did greek doctors think about the concept of hubris? -CORRECT ANSWERS- they wanted to avoid
hubris because they know stories of heroes who were very hubristic and got in trouble with gods.
overall, it was really important for a physician to know their limits and to NOT be ____________
because they did not want to cause any harm to their own profession by showing off or being arrogant. -
CORRECT ANSWERS- hubristic.
true or false: if you are doctor who doesn't know his limits, who is trying to cure an incurable case and
build up hope in his patients/their families for cure but you fail, that looks BAD on yourself but also on
the profession at large.
as such people may be less likely to trust other physicians because they heard stories about arrogant
doctors who basically talk out of their ass and don't know what they're doing/don't know their limits
and ultimately cause more harm than good. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
this is why hubris MUST be avoided by good physicians.
true or false: one hippocratic author thought that it is essential to reject any patient that is incurable
because you don't want to risk any blemish on the profession as a whole. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
what did another hippocratic author argue about making the decision to treat someone as a good
physician? -CORRECT ANSWERS- he argued that any decision to treat a patient should be followed with
an announcement of the likely prognosis/outcome.
(i.e. you should begin your treatment by telling your patient exactly what is going to happen/what the
likely outcome is and choose the most effective treatment).
in addition to choosing the most effective/optimal treatment, it was also important to NOT show that
you are __________ as a physician.
you don't want to show off/make an impression, you're just trying to help people and advance their
reputation. -CORRECT ANSWERS- dramatic.
Creation of A Profession) Exam Questions
with Verified Answers (A+)
UPDATED 2026/2027
true or false: one question we have to ask ourselves when we study ancient medicine is how did
physicians see themselves? and what does it mean to be a good physician? -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
to be considered a good physician in antiquity, what 4 major things did physicians need to have/do? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- 1. have technical expertise.
2. ethical considerations.
3. know when to treat/when not to treat.
4. follow up treatment with a likely outcome (prognosis).
what is technical expertise? -CORRECT ANSWERS- the ability to recognize diseases and successfully treat
them.
what hippocratic text demonstrates technical expertise in its instructions for other physicians? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- "airs, waters, places";
it follows the format of if A is the case, then B will be likely to optimize treatment and allow a traveling
doctor to be prepared to know beforehand what type of diseases they will encounter in a given place.
what is prognosis? -CORRECT ANSWERS- you recognize a disease at the outside and can tell beforehand
how the illness/disease will progress;
so you inform your patient what they can expect but also prepare yourself to be able to deal with
anything that you may encounter.
,is prognosis an aspect of technical expertise? -CORRECT ANSWERS- yes!
true or false: having ethical considerations was a MAJOR requirement for a "true physician" in antiquity.
-CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
part of ethical considerations in antiquity was being able to yield to others.
what does this mean? -CORRECT ANSWERS- good physicians knew their limits and their own ability and
were ready to pass a patient onto someone who was more skilled than them if needed.
true or false: in antiquity, every physician needed to ask themselves whether to treat or not to treat a
patient and they needed to know what was curable and what was not. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
what would a good physician know if they found that their patient had an illness that was incurable? -
CORRECT ANSWERS- if it was not curable, they should know how far any treatment may help alleviate
symptoms for a better quality of life for the patient.
true or false: if a physician decided not to treat a patient in antiquity, a lot of blame was placed on them
and they were considered disgraceful for the profession. -CORRECT ANSWERS- false;
there was absolutely NO blame attached to a reasonable refusal to treat a patient.
in fact, physicians at that time were praised for being able to recognize their own limits and not going
beyond those limits.
what does the term "hubris" mean in antiquity? -CORRECT ANSWERS- extreme pride, arrogance, or
overconfidence that leads a person to disrespect others or the gods.
true or false: people that had hubris in antiquity would challenge everyone including gods which
brought about a lot of trouble for them. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
, what did greek doctors think about the concept of hubris? -CORRECT ANSWERS- they wanted to avoid
hubris because they know stories of heroes who were very hubristic and got in trouble with gods.
overall, it was really important for a physician to know their limits and to NOT be ____________
because they did not want to cause any harm to their own profession by showing off or being arrogant. -
CORRECT ANSWERS- hubristic.
true or false: if you are doctor who doesn't know his limits, who is trying to cure an incurable case and
build up hope in his patients/their families for cure but you fail, that looks BAD on yourself but also on
the profession at large.
as such people may be less likely to trust other physicians because they heard stories about arrogant
doctors who basically talk out of their ass and don't know what they're doing/don't know their limits
and ultimately cause more harm than good. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
this is why hubris MUST be avoided by good physicians.
true or false: one hippocratic author thought that it is essential to reject any patient that is incurable
because you don't want to risk any blemish on the profession as a whole. -CORRECT ANSWERS- true.
what did another hippocratic author argue about making the decision to treat someone as a good
physician? -CORRECT ANSWERS- he argued that any decision to treat a patient should be followed with
an announcement of the likely prognosis/outcome.
(i.e. you should begin your treatment by telling your patient exactly what is going to happen/what the
likely outcome is and choose the most effective treatment).
in addition to choosing the most effective/optimal treatment, it was also important to NOT show that
you are __________ as a physician.
you don't want to show off/make an impression, you're just trying to help people and advance their
reputation. -CORRECT ANSWERS- dramatic.
