The gate of Plato’s Academy had an inscription reading, “let no one ignorant of [this field] enter here.” For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this field. Many early modern philosophers were inspired by the use of axioms and demonstrations in a text of this field, Euclid’s Elements.
ANSWER: geometry [accept Euclidean geometry or geometrical method; prompt on mathematics]
[10m] Medieval scholastics called Euclid’s challenging 5th Proposition the “bridge” of these animals. Jean Buridan names a thought experiment about one of these animals who is unable to choose between food and water.
ANSWER: donkeys [or asses; accept pons asinorum or Buridan’s ass]
[10h] This philosopher supposedly introduced geometry to Greece after returning from a visit to Egypt. This philosopher identified water as the arche (“ARK-ee”), or first principle.
ANSWER: Thales
<Jordan Brownstein, RMP - Philosophy> ~20116~ <Editor: Jordan Brownstein>