Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
POSC 201 JMU HAMMOND EXAM 1 | INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN
POLITICAL THEORY | QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
VERIFIED 2026/2027
POSC 201 JMU HAMMOND EXAM 1
WESTERN POLITICAL THEORY: ANCIENT FOUNDATIONS
1. The word 'politics' derives from the Greek word polis, which refers
to
A. a military alliance of several cities
B. the written laws of a kingdom
C. the ruling council of an empire
D. the city-state as a self-governing community of citizens
D. the city-state as a self-governing community of citizens
The polis was the Greek city-state, and Greek thinkers treated it as the
natural setting of human life and moral development.
Page 1
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
2. Political theory as a field is best described as
A. the statistical analysis of election results
B. the systematic study of justice, authority, freedom, and the best way
to organize common life
C. the history of military campaigns
D. the administration of public agencies
B. the systematic study of justice, authority, freedom, and the best
way to organize common life
It asks normative and conceptual questions about how people ought to
live together, not just how governments happen to operate.
3. A normative question in political theory is one that asks
A. what ought to be the case
B. how many people voted
C. which country is largest
D. what was the case in the past
A. what ought to be the case
Normative questions concern values and standards, such as what justice
requires.
4. An empirical claim differs from a normative claim because an
empirical claim
A. cannot be true or false
B. states a moral obligation
C. can in principle be tested against observable evidence
D. depends only on tradition
C. can in principle be tested against observable evidence
Empirical claims describe how things are; normative claims prescribe
how they should be.
Page 2
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
5. The 'canon' of Western political theory refers to
A. a list of approved government officials
B. a set of laws enforced by the Church
C. a body of influential texts that later thinkers repeatedly engage
D. a military code
C. a body of influential texts that later thinkers repeatedly engage
The canon is the tradition of major works, from the Greeks onward, that
generations of writers debate and reinterpret.
6. Reading a classic text in its historical context means
A. considering the circumstances and debates in which the author wrote
B. assuming the author wrote for modern readers
C. reading only the last chapter
D. ignoring the author's life entirely
A. considering the circumstances and debates in which the author
wrote
Contextual reading helps explain why an author asks the questions he
does and what he is responding to.
7. Which term describes rule by one person in the interest of the whole
community?
A. Monarchy
B. Democracy
C. Oligarchy
D. Tyranny
A. Monarchy
In the classical scheme, monarchy is the good form of one-person rule,
while tyranny is its corrupt form.
Page 3
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
8. In the classical Greek classification, rule by the few for their own
benefit is called
A. Monarchy
B. Oligarchy
C. Aristocracy
D. Polity
B. Oligarchy
Oligarchy is the deviant form of rule by the few, serving the ruling group
rather than the common good.
9. Nomos in Greek thought is generally translated as
A. law or convention
B. reason
C. soul
D. nature
A. law or convention
Nomos means custom or law, and it is often contrasted with physis, or
nature.
10. Physis in Greek thought is generally translated as
A. citizenship
B. convention
C. virtue
D. nature
D. nature
Physis refers to the natural order of things, set against human-made
convention (nomos).
11. The nomos/physis debate asks whether
A. cities should be large or small
B. wars are profitable
C. justice and morality are natural or merely human conventions
D. gods exist
C. justice and morality are natural or merely human conventions
Sophists and their critics disputed whether standards of right come
from nature or from social agreement.
Page 4
POSC 201 JMU HAMMOND EXAM 1 | INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN
POLITICAL THEORY | QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
VERIFIED 2026/2027
POSC 201 JMU HAMMOND EXAM 1
WESTERN POLITICAL THEORY: ANCIENT FOUNDATIONS
1. The word 'politics' derives from the Greek word polis, which refers
to
A. a military alliance of several cities
B. the written laws of a kingdom
C. the ruling council of an empire
D. the city-state as a self-governing community of citizens
D. the city-state as a self-governing community of citizens
The polis was the Greek city-state, and Greek thinkers treated it as the
natural setting of human life and moral development.
Page 1
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
2. Political theory as a field is best described as
A. the statistical analysis of election results
B. the systematic study of justice, authority, freedom, and the best way
to organize common life
C. the history of military campaigns
D. the administration of public agencies
B. the systematic study of justice, authority, freedom, and the best
way to organize common life
It asks normative and conceptual questions about how people ought to
live together, not just how governments happen to operate.
3. A normative question in political theory is one that asks
A. what ought to be the case
B. how many people voted
C. which country is largest
D. what was the case in the past
A. what ought to be the case
Normative questions concern values and standards, such as what justice
requires.
4. An empirical claim differs from a normative claim because an
empirical claim
A. cannot be true or false
B. states a moral obligation
C. can in principle be tested against observable evidence
D. depends only on tradition
C. can in principle be tested against observable evidence
Empirical claims describe how things are; normative claims prescribe
how they should be.
Page 2
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
5. The 'canon' of Western political theory refers to
A. a list of approved government officials
B. a set of laws enforced by the Church
C. a body of influential texts that later thinkers repeatedly engage
D. a military code
C. a body of influential texts that later thinkers repeatedly engage
The canon is the tradition of major works, from the Greeks onward, that
generations of writers debate and reinterpret.
6. Reading a classic text in its historical context means
A. considering the circumstances and debates in which the author wrote
B. assuming the author wrote for modern readers
C. reading only the last chapter
D. ignoring the author's life entirely
A. considering the circumstances and debates in which the author
wrote
Contextual reading helps explain why an author asks the questions he
does and what he is responding to.
7. Which term describes rule by one person in the interest of the whole
community?
A. Monarchy
B. Democracy
C. Oligarchy
D. Tyranny
A. Monarchy
In the classical scheme, monarchy is the good form of one-person rule,
while tyranny is its corrupt form.
Page 3
, Western Political Theory: Ancient Foundations |
8. In the classical Greek classification, rule by the few for their own
benefit is called
A. Monarchy
B. Oligarchy
C. Aristocracy
D. Polity
B. Oligarchy
Oligarchy is the deviant form of rule by the few, serving the ruling group
rather than the common good.
9. Nomos in Greek thought is generally translated as
A. law or convention
B. reason
C. soul
D. nature
A. law or convention
Nomos means custom or law, and it is often contrasted with physis, or
nature.
10. Physis in Greek thought is generally translated as
A. citizenship
B. convention
C. virtue
D. nature
D. nature
Physis refers to the natural order of things, set against human-made
convention (nomos).
11. The nomos/physis debate asks whether
A. cities should be large or small
B. wars are profitable
C. justice and morality are natural or merely human conventions
D. gods exist
C. justice and morality are natural or merely human conventions
Sophists and their critics disputed whether standards of right come
from nature or from social agreement.
Page 4
