01
Choose one
1 point
Which description best captures Hobbes’s idea of a state of war?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
03 Hobbes and the Social Contract Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 03 Hobbes and the Social Contract, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Choose one
1 point
Why might a peaceful promise fail to provide security in the state of nature, according to Hobbes?
- A
People do not understand what promises mean
- B
People are naturally unable to cooperate
- C
No power can reliably deter people from breaking agreements
- D
The sovereign has already settled every dispute
03
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best describes the covenant that establishes Hobbes’s sovereign?
- A
The people covenant with one another to authorize a sovereign
- B
The sovereign promises each person a private reward
- C
Each person makes a separate covenant with the sovereign
- D
The people covenant with a rival authority to limit the sovereign
04
True or false
1 point
In Hobbes’s theory, a person cannot genuinely surrender the basic liberty to resist a direct threat to their own life.
- A
True
- B
False
05
True or false
1 point
Hobbes describes the sovereign as a party to the covenant who promises subjects particular terms in return for their obedience.
- A
True
- B
False
06
Written response
1 point
What term does Hobbes use for a condition without a common government capable of making and enforcing laws?
07
Written response
1 point
What term does Hobbes use for the political community formed when individuals authorize a common power to act on their behalf?
08
Fill in the blank
1 point
Hobbes’s first law of nature directs people to when peace is attainable.
09
Fill in the blank
1 point
Under Hobbes’s second law of nature, people should be willing, when others are willing too, to give up to do whatever they judge necessary for survival.
10
Choose all
1 point
Which factors does Hobbes identify as reasons people may fear one another in the state of nature? Select all that apply.
- A
Competition for scarce goods
- B
A reliable common authority enforcing laws
- C
Distrust of one another
- D
Seeking status
11
Choose all
1 point
Which roles does Hobbes’s sovereign need sufficient power to perform? Select all that apply.
- A
Making and enforcing laws
- B
Resolving disputes
- C
Being a monarch rather than an assembly
- D
Defending the community
12
Open ended
1 point
People sharing a road fear that others may attack them or seize their goods. Using Hobbes’s reasoning, explain how authorizing a common authority could change their security and what they give up in return.
13
Choose one
1 point
A political community is deciding whether its sovereign should be a monarch or an assembly. Which conclusion best fits Hobbes’s central concern?
- A
A monarch is essential because assemblies cannot maintain peace
- B
The key issue is whether a final authority can maintain peace, whether it is a monarch or an assembly
- C
An assembly is essential because monarchs cannot settle disputes
- D
The sovereign’s form matters more than its ability to enforce laws
14
Choose one
1 point
Which situation best describes Hobbes’s state of nature?
- A
A society governed by civil laws but lacking a monarch
- B
A condition without a common government able to make and enforce laws
- C
A community in which people have already authorized an assembly
- D
A temporary period when a sovereign suspends ordinary laws
15
True or false
1 point
For Hobbes, a state of war means that people are constantly fighting one another.
- A
True
- B
False
16
Choose one
1 point
People sharing a road fear that others may seize their goods. According to Hobbes’s reasoning, what would best make peaceful cooperation more reliable?
- A
They should rely on promises because fear disappears once people make an agreement.
- B
They should let each person decide independently when force is justified.
- C
They should authorize a common authority to make and enforce rules.
- D
They should divide the road into separate territories with no shared rules.
17
Choose one
1 point
Why does Hobbes think people are roughly equal enough to make one another vulnerable, even when they differ in physical strength?
- A
Even a physically weaker person may use strategy or cooperation to threaten a stronger one.
- B
People have equal strength and therefore cannot gain advantages over one another.
- C
Physical strength is the only ability that matters in a conflict.
- D
People are safe from one another whenever they lack equal access to weapons.
18
Written response
1 point
What term does Hobbes use for the rational rules that guide people in seeking peace?
19
Choose one
1 point
Which principle does Hobbes identify as the first law of nature?
- A
To obey whichever person has the greatest physical strength
- B
To surrender every liberty, including the liberty to resist a direct threat to one’s life
- C
To keep every agreement even when no power can enforce it
- D
To seek peace when peace is attainable
20
Written response
1 point
What term does Hobbes use for the political community established when individuals authorize a common power?