1. why are Socrates and Laozi considered paradigms of philosophy? How are they similar and how are they different.

2. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the inquiries into the nature of reality and the constituents of reality. For the following philosophers, what are thier claims about the nature of reality and/or ultimate reality? Why is each philosopher a paradigm of wisdom

(a) Thales

(b) Anaximander

(c) Pythagoras

(d) Heraclitus

(e) Parmenides

(f) Democritus

(g) Zarathustra

(h) Laozi

3. compare and contrast the metaphysics of Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes.

4. Explain the ontological, cosmological, and teleological (design) arguments for rationally demonstrating the existence of a diety? Name one specific problem of each argument?

5. Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud are termed thr "masters of suspicion" by Paul Ricoeur because they claim to reveal what lies behind claims of modern religious beliefs and institutions. What do each contribute to this modern analysis of religious belief?