Philosophy · Unit 1

What is Philosophy?

Wondering, asking why, and thinking for yourself

Philosophy is what is left when a question cannot be settled by looking, measuring or asking an authority - and every science began as a branch of it before it found a method.

The unit covers what philosophy is and is not, wonder as a starting point, why asking why repeatedly is a technique rather than a nuisance, and what thinking for yourself actually requires.

This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 23
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-5

What this unit covers

What Philosophy Is
Wonder and Curiosity
Asking Why
Who Philosophers Are
Thinking for Yourself

Where this fits

The first unit in the track. No prerequisites.

Where people slip

Philosophy is not about having opinions. It is about having reasons, and being willing to give up the opinion if the reasons do not hold.

How the unit is structured

What is Philosophy? runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 23 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Asking Why

Fill the blankLevel 1
1. Philosophers dig deeper by asking the small word '____' again and again.
- whycorrect
- yum
- bye
- maybe
Asking why over and over helps uncover the reasons behind an idea.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
2. When a philosopher hears an answer, they often follow up by asking...
- But why is that so?correct
- Can we stop now?
- What is for lunch?
- Who cares anyway?
Philosophers dig deeper by asking why, looking for the reasons behind an answer.
Match the pairsLevel 2
3. Match each question with what it mostly digs for.
Answer: Why? = A reason; How do you know? = The evidence; What do you mean? = The meaning; What if it were different? = Another possibility
Different questions dig for different things, like reasons, evidence, meaning, or new possibilities.
Put in orderLevel 2
4. Put these thinking steps in a sensible order, from first to last.
Answer: Notice something puzzling -> Ask why it is that way -> Think of possible reasons -> Pick the reason that fits best
Good thinking starts with noticing a puzzle, then asks why, explores reasons, and chooses the best.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
5. Which are useful follow-up questions when someone makes a claim? Select all that apply.
- How do you know?correct
- What do you mean?correct
- Can you give an example?correct
- Why are you so annoying?
- Who cares anyway?
Helpful follow-ups ask for evidence, meaning, and examples, not insults.
Odd one outLevel 4
6. Which of these is NOT part of the Socratic method?
- Giving long lectures without any questionscorrect
- Asking a series of questions
- Testing beliefs for consistency
- Drawing out hidden assumptions
Socrates questioned people rather than lecturing, so long lectures are the odd one out.

Thinking for Yourself

Choose all that applyLevel 2
7. Which of these are good habits for thinking for yourself? Select all that apply.
- Ask for reasonscorrect
- Be willing to change your mindcorrect
- Check the evidencecorrect
- Believe something only because it is popular
- Agree with everyone to avoid trouble
Good independent thinking rests on reasons and evidence, not popularity or fitting in.
Fill the blankLevel 2
8. A careful thinker is willing to ____ their mind when they find better reasons.
- changecorrect
- close
- hide
- lose
Being ready to change your mind for good reasons is part of thinking well.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
9. Thinking for yourself mostly means...
- Working out your own reasons instead of just believing whatever you are toldcorrect
- Always disagreeing with everyone
- Never reading any books
- Copying the first answer you see
It means weighing the reasons yourself, not simply accepting a claim without question.
Odd one outLevel 2
10. Which is NOT a good way to think for yourself?
- Believe it just because everybody doescorrect
- Ask for the reasons
- Weigh the evidence
- Consider other points of view
Following the crowd without reasons is the opposite of thinking for yourself.
True or falseLevel 2
11. Thinking for yourself means you must never listen to anyone else's ideas at all.
Answer: False
Thinking for yourself means judging ideas by their reasons, which still includes listening to others.
Sort into groupsLevel 3
12. Sort each move as good thinking or lazy thinking.
Answer: Ask for evidence = Good thinking; Consider another view = Good thinking; Weigh the reasons carefully = Good thinking; Believe it because it is popular = Lazy thinking; Repeat a slogan without checking = Lazy thinking
Good thinking checks reasons and evidence, while lazy thinking just goes along with the crowd.

What Philosophy Is

Fill the blankLevel 1
13. Philosophy comes from Greek and means the love of ____.
- wisdomcorrect
- money
- speed
- gold
Sophia means wisdom, so philosophy is the love of wisdom.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
14. What does the word 'philosophy' mean, from its ancient Greek roots?
- Love of wisdomcorrect
- Love of money
- Fear of change
- The study of maps
Philosophy comes from Greek philo (love) and sophia (wisdom), so it means love of wisdom.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
15. Which of these are questions that philosophy asks? Select all that apply.
- What is real?correct
- What is the right thing to do?correct
- What can we truly know?correct
- What is the fastest car?
- What is the capital of France?
Philosophy asks big open questions about reality, right and wrong, and knowledge.
Guess the numberLevel 2
16. The English word 'philosophy' is built by joining how many ancient Greek words together?
Answer: 2 words
Philosophy joins two Greek words, philo (love) and sophia (wisdom).
Odd one outLevel 2
17. Which one is NOT a big philosophical question?
- What time does the shop open?correct
- What is real?
- What is fair?
- What can we know?
A shop's opening time is a simple fact to look up, not a deep philosophical question.
Match the pairsLevel 3
18. Match each branch of philosophy with what it studies.
Answer: Ethics = Right and wrong; Logic = Good reasoning; Epistemology = Knowledge; Metaphysics = What exists
Each branch of philosophy focuses on a different big question.

Who Philosophers Are

Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. Which of these was a famous philosopher in ancient Greece?
- Socratescorrect
- Cleopatra
- Napoleon
- Mozart
Socrates was a famous philosopher who lived in ancient Athens, in Greece.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
20. Which of these people were philosophers? Select all that apply.
- Socratescorrect
- Platocorrect
- Confuciuscorrect
- Beethoven
- Serena Williams
Socrates, Plato, and Confucius were all famous philosophers, while the others are known for music and sport.
Fill the blankLevel 2
21. Socrates liked to teach by ____ people rather than lecturing at them.
- questioningcorrect
- ignoring
- feeding
- paying
Socrates asked people questions to help them examine their own beliefs.
Match the pairsLevel 2
22. Match each famous thinker with what they are remembered for.
Answer: Socrates = Asked lots of questions; Plato = Wrote The Republic; Aristotle = Studied many different subjects; Confucius = A teacher from ancient China
Each of these thinkers is remembered for something different in the story of philosophy.
Odd one outLevel 2
23. Which one is NOT an ancient Greek philosopher?
- Cleopatracorrect
- Socrates
- Plato
- Aristotle
Cleopatra was a ruler of Egypt, while the others were Greek philosophers.
Guess the numberLevel 4
24. In roughly what year BC was Socrates put to death in Athens?
Answer: 399 BC
Socrates was sentenced to death and died in 399 BC by drinking hemlock.

Wonder and Curiosity

Multiple choiceLevel 1
25. Many thinkers say philosophy begins with a feeling of...
- Wondercorrect
- Boredom
- Anger
- Hunger
A sense of wonder, a curious amazement, is often called the starting point of philosophy.
True or falseLevel 1
26. Philosophers say that curiosity and wonder are a good starting point for thinking.
Answer: True
Wonder makes us ask questions, which is where philosophy begins.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
27. Which of these show a sense of wonder? Select all that apply.
- Asking why the sky is bluecorrect
- Being amazed that anything exists at allcorrect
- Wondering how birds know where to flycorrect
- Refusing to ask any questions
Wonder shows up when we feel curious and amazed and start asking questions.
Type the answerLevel 2
28. What feeling, a mix of curiosity and amazement, do thinkers say philosophy begins in?
Answer: wonder
Philosophy is often said to begin in wonder.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
29. Wondering 'why is there anything at all instead of nothing?' is an example of...
- Philosophical wondercorrect
- A simple math sum
- A spelling test
- A weather report
Big open questions that fill you with curiosity are exactly what philosophical wonder looks like.
Choose all that applyLevel 4
30. Which of these capture the philosophical idea of wonder? Select all that apply.
- Amazement that starts a search for understandingcorrect
- A curiosity about even ordinary thingscorrect
- A wish to stop asking questions
- Boredom with the whole world
Wonder is curious amazement that drives us to seek understanding.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Choose all that apply
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Put in order
Sort into groups
True or false
Type the answer

Practise What is Philosophy?

120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about What is Philosophy?

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

Stoicism and What You Can ControlStoic philosophers distinguish between what depends on your choices and what does not. The idea is meant to guide attention, judgement and action without pretending difficult events do not matter.August 8, 2026 · 5 min read

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