Mali Baccalauréat Série TSS (Sciences Sociales)

In psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud, which structural component of the human psychic apparatus operates entirely on the 'pleasure principle' and represents innate biological drives and repressed desires?

• AThe Id (le Ça)
• BThe Ego (le Moi)
• CThe Superego (le Surmoi)
• DThe Conscious Ego (la conscience réflexive)

Which French philosopher asserted in 'Being and Nothingness' that 'existence precedes essence' (l'existence précède l'essence), arguing that humans possess radical freedom and total responsibility for defining themselves?

• AJean-Paul Sartre
• BRené Descartes
• CMichel Foucault
• DAuguste Comte

What philosophical term did Sartre coin to describe the self-deceptive attitude of an individual who flees their freedom and denies responsibility by pretending they are constrained like an inanimate object?

• ABad faith (mauvaise foi)
• BCatharsis (purgation)
• CAlienation (aliénation)
• DRessentiment (ressentiment)

In Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' (Republic, Book VII), what do the chained prisoners and the shadows projected on the cave wall represent?

• AOrdinary human existence trapped in sensory illusion and mere opinion (doxa)
• BThe ultimate world of immutable intelligible Forms (Ideas)
• CA democratic assembly of enlightened philosophers
• DA peaceful communist society living in perfect harmony

In René Descartes' 'Discourse on the Method' and 'Meditations', what is the indubitable foundational truth that withstands radical methodical doubt?

• ACogito, ergo sum ('I think, therefore I am')
• BHomo homini lupus ('Man is a wolf to man')
• CTabula rasa ('The mind is a blank slate')
• DCarpe diem ('Seize the day')

In Immanuel Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason', how does he resolve the dispute between rationalism and empiricism regarding the origin of human knowledge?

• AThrough transcendental idealism: knowledge begins with sensory experience, but is structu…
• BBy asserting that reason alone produces knowledge without any need for sensory perception
• CBy claiming that humans can never know anything whatsoever with certainty
• DBy denying that mathematics has any objective validity

Which ethical theory, founded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, evaluates the moral rightness of an action solely by its consequences in promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number?

• AUtilitarianism (utilitarisme)
• BKantian deontology (déontologie kantienne)
• CAristotelian virtue ethics (éthique de la vertu)
• DStoic asceticism (stoïcisme)

In 'The Leviathan' (1651), how does Thomas Hobbes characterize the pre-political 'state of nature' before the establishment of a sovereign state?

• AA state of war of all against all ('bellum omnium contra omnes'), where life is solitary,…
• BA peaceful, idyllic paradise where noble savages live in natural harmony and equality
• CA legal order governed by universally respected natural property rights
• DA commercial society thriving on free market trade and division of labor

In John Locke's 'Second Treatise of Government' (1689), what are the fundamental inalienable natural rights that government is established to protect?

• ALife, liberty, and property (estate)
• BGlory, conquest, and absolute royal dominion
• CSpiritual salvation, church attendance, and monastic obedience
• DEconomic equality of outcome and collective state ownership

In 'The Prince' (1513), Niccolò Machiavelli introduced a political realism that separated political action from traditional Christian morality by arguing that a ruler must prioritize:

• AThe effective preservation of the State (mantenere lo stato) through virtù and political…
• BStrict personal adherence to the Ten Commandments regardless of the survival of the repub…
• CThe immediate dissolution of all military forces in favor of moral persuasion
• DPassive surrender to fortune (fortuna) without taking calculated action

In 'The Spirit of the Laws' (1748), Montesquieu argued that to prevent political tyranny and safeguard civil liberty, political power must be separated into which three independent branches?

• AThe Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial powers
• BThe Monarchy, the Nobility, and the Peasantry
• CThe Military, the Police, and the Secret Service
• DThe Church, the Universities, and the Press

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels asserted in 'The Communist Manifesto' that the modern State is fundamentally:

• AAn instrument of class domination: an executive committee managing the common affairs of…
• BA neutral arbiter that harmonizes the conflicting economic interests of all social classe…
• CThe supreme earthly embodiment of divine reason and absolute morality
• DAn unnecessary institution that never played any role in economic history

What is the key philosophical distinction between 'positive law' (droit positif) and 'natural law' (droit naturel)?

• APositive law consists of enacted legal rules written and enforced by a specific human sta…
• BPositive law is always morally perfect, while natural law contains arbitrary human errors
• CPositive law applies only to animals, while natural law governs human commerce
• DPositive law exists only in international treaties, while natural law is restricted to lo…

In Aristotle's 'Nicomachean Ethics', how is justice as 'equity' (l'équité / epieikeia) defined in relation to strict written law?

• AA rectification of the law where the written law is deficient due to its universal formul…
• BThe blind and mechanical execution of statutory penalties without any judicial discretion
• CThe complete abolition of all written legal codes in favor of random executive decisions
• DAn economic subsidy granted equally to all citizens regardless of need

In aesthetic philosophy, how does Immanuel Kant define the 'judgment of taste' (le jugement de goût) regarding the beautiful in the 'Critique of Judgment' (1790)?

• AA disinterested, universal satisfaction that pleases without a concept
• BAn assessment of whether an object produces immediate physical or economic utility
• CA purely subjective culinary preference with no claim to universal agreement
• DA logical deduction derived from mathematical formulas

What is Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's view of art in his 'Lectures on Aesthetics'?

• AArt is the sensible manifestation of the Idea (das sinnliche Scheinen der Idee), embodyin…
• BArt is merely an inferior, deceitful imitation of physical objects (a copy of a copy)
• CArt exists solely to provide sensory amusement without conveying any intellectual or hist…
• DArt is an unguided mechanical accident produced without conscious human intention

Which prominent 20th-century Malian thinker and writer is associated with UNESCO and the saying 'In Africa, an old person who dies is a library that burns' (En Afrique, un vieillard qui meurt est une bibliothèque qui brûle)?

• AAmadou Hampâté Bâ
• BCheikh Anta Diop
• CFily Dabo Sissoko
• DSeydou Badian Kouyaté

What is the historical and philosophical significance of the Manden Charter (Charte du Mandén), an oral charter associated with the early Mali Empire?

• AAn oral constitutional tradition addressing social peace, civic duties, dignity, and comm…
• BA commercial treaty with medieval European trading companies
• CA decree mandating the complete abolition of all local clan lineages
• DA military manual outlining scorched-earth defensive tactics

In Malian and West African social philosophy, what is the customary peace-building mechanism of 'Sanankuya' (cousinage à plaisanterie / joking relationship)?

• AAn institutionalized social pact between specific clans and ethnic groups allowing playfu…
• BA ritualized duel fought with weapons to settle clan rivalries
• CA monetary tribute paid annually to the imperial treasury
• DA formal judicial execution ordered by tribal courts

In his seminal work 'Nations nègres et culture' (1954), what central thesis did Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop defend regarding the history of African civilization and philosophy?

• AAncient Egyptian civilization was deeply African in population and language, serving as t…
• BAfrican societies had no historical connection to ancient Nile Valley civilizations
• CPre-colonial Africa was completely devoid of technology, urbanism, and statecraft
• DEuropean colonization was the sole source of historical documentation in Africa

What is the primary thesis of the philosophical position known as 'hard determinism' regarding moral responsibility?

• ABecause all human actions are strictly caused by antecedent conditions, free will is an i…
• BHumans possess complete unconditional free will and are entirely responsible for their ac…
• CDeterminism applies only to non-human nature, leaving human minds completely unconstrained
• DDeterminism and free will are perfectly compatible because freedom simply means acting wi…

In 'The Myth of Sisyphus' (1942), Albert Camus identifies the 'absurd' as the fundamental confrontation between:

• AThe human longing for meaning, order, and clarity, and the silent, irrational indifferenc…
• BThe working proletariat and the capitalist owners of production
• CReligious faith and scientific empirical evidence
• DDemocratic freedom and totalitarian military dictatorship

Which ancient philosopher defined the human being as a 'zoon politikon' (political animal), asserting that humans can achieve moral and intellectual excellence only by participating in a polis (city-state)?

• AAristotle
• BDiogenes the Cynic
• CEpicurus
• DZeno of Citium

What is the philosophical meaning of 'alienation' (Entfremdung) in the economic and philosophical manuscripts of Karl Marx?

• AA condition under capitalism where the worker loses control over the product of their lab…
• BA medical mental illness curable through individual psychiatric therapy
• CThe voluntary renunciation of worldly possessions by Christian monks
• DThe legal deportation of foreign nationals from a sovereign territory

Which theory of truth maintains that a proposition is true if and only if it corresponds to an objective fact or state of affairs in reality?

• AThe correspondence theory of truth (théorie de la vérité-correspondance)
• BThe coherence theory of truth (théorie de la cohérence)
• CThe pragmatic theory of truth (pragmatisme)
• DThe consensus theory of truth (théorie du consensus)

Which historic military clash in 1235 saw Sundiata Keïta decisively defeat King Soumaoro Kanté of the Sosso Empire, leading to the unification of Mande clans and the founding of the Mali Empire?

• AThe Battle of Kirina (Bataille de Kirina)
• BThe Battle of Tondibi
• CThe Battle of Medina
• DThe Battle of Noukouma

What major global impact resulted from Emperor Mansa Musa's famous pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in 1324?

• AMali's enormous gold wealth gained international fame, depressing gold value in Cairo and…
• BThe immediate conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by Malian imperial armies
• CThe complete conversion of all Mande populations to strict Wahhabism
• DThe establishment of a direct maritime trading fleet connecting Gao to Lisbon

Under which ruler did the Songhai Empire reach a high point of administrative centralization while Islamic scholarship flourished in Timbuktu?

• AAskia Muhammad I (Askia the Great, 1493–1528)
• BSonni Ali Ber (Sonni the Great)
• CMansa Sakura
• DAskia Daoud

Which decisive battle in 1591 marked the collapse of the Songhai Empire following an invasion by the Saadian Sultanate of Morocco?

• AThe Battle of Tondibi (Bataille de Tondibi)
• BThe Battle of Alcácer Quibir
• CThe Battle of Kirina
• DThe Siege of Sikasso

Which 19th-century Islamic scholar and military leader established the Toucouleur Empire (Empire Toucouleur) spanning the Upper Senegal and Niger rivers, capturing Ségou in 1861?

• AEl Hadj Umar Tall (Oumar Saidou Tall)
• BSamori Touré
• CSeku Amadu
• DBabemba Traoré

During the French colonial assault on the fortified city of Sikasso in May 1898, which legendary king of Kénédougou chose suicide over capture, declaring 'Sayi an ka fisa ni malo ye' (Death is preferable to dishonor)?

• AKing Babemba Traoré
• BTiéba Traoré
• CKoumbi Saleh
• DBiram Ngoné Coumba

Which military and political leader of the Wassoulou Empire mounted a prolonged armed resistance against French colonial expansion from 1882 until his capture in 1898?

• AAlmamy Samori Touré
• BModibo Keïta
• CMamadou Lamine Dramé
• DCheikh Amadou Ba

Under French colonial rule, the territory comprising modern Mali was administered as part of the Federation of French West Africa (AOF) under which primary colonial name?

• ASoudan français (French Sudan)
• BOubangui-Chari
• CMoyen-Congo
• DCôte d'Or

In October 1946, a historic pan-African political conference took place in Bamako, resulting in the creation of which major anti-colonial movement across French West and Equatorial Africa?

• AThe Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA)
• BThe Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
• CThe African National Congress (ANC)
• DThe Convention People's Party (CPP)

Which political party, led by Modibo Keïta, became the dominant nationalist party in French Sudan and led the country toward independence?

• AUnion Soudanaise-RDA (US-RDA)
• BParti Progressiste Soudanais (PSP)
• CBloc Démocratique Sénégalais (BDS)
• DMouvement Socialiste Africain (MSA)

In 1959, prior to full independence, French Sudan and Senegal united to form which political entity that briefly achieved independence in June 1960 before dissolving two months later?

• AThe Mali Federation (Fédération du Mali)
• BThe Conseil de l'Entente
• CThe Union of African States
• DThe Senegambia Confederation

On which exact date did the Sudanese Republic declare its complete national independence, proclaim the sovereign Republic of Mali, and retain the historic name 'Mali'?

• A22 September 1960
• B20 June 1960
• C4 October 1958
• D19 November 1968

What major monetary decision was taken by the government of President Modibo Keïta on 1 July 1962 to assert national economic sovereignty?

• ACreation of the national Malian Franc (Franc malien) and exit from the CFA Franc zone
• BAdoption of the Nigerian Naira as official legal tender
• CImmediate dollarization of the entire Malian banking system
• DRe-establishment of pre-colonial cowrie shells as the national currency

On 19 November 1968, the First Republic of Mali was terminated by a military coup d'état led by which officer, who established the Military Committee for National Liberation (CMLN)?

• ALieutenant Moussa Traoré
• BColonel Amadou Toumani Touré
• CCaptain Thomas Sankara
• DGeneral Gnassingbé Eyadéma

In March 1991, massive popular demonstrations in Bamako led by students (AEEM), trade unions (UNTM), and democratic associations culminated on 26 March in the overthrow of Moussa Traoré by:

• AA military intervention led by Lieutenant-Colonel Amadou Toumani Touré that created the T…
• BDirect foreign military intervention by the United Nations
• CThe restoration of the French colonial governor-general
• DAn armed invasion by neighboring states

The National Conference (Conférence Nationale) convened in Bamako in July–August 1991 established the institutional framework for Mali's Third Republic, leading to the election of which president in 1992?

• AAlpha Oumar Konaré
• BIbrahim Boubacar Keïta
• CModibo Keïta
• DDioncounda Traoré

At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, which 'Big Three' allied leaders met to coordinate final military strategy and outline the post-World War II order?

• AFranklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin
• BHarry Truman, Clement Attlee, and Charles de Gaulle
• CWoodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, and David Lloyd George
• DDwight Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, and Georgy Zhukov

Announced in March 1947, the Truman Doctrine established which central concept of American foreign policy during the Cold War?

• AThe policy of containment (endiguement) to halt the global expansion of Soviet communist…
• BImmediate economic and military isolationism from all European affairs
• CUnilateral nuclear preemption against non-aligned third world nations
• DA formal military alliance with the Soviet Union against imperial Japan

What was the landmark significance of the Bandung Conference held in Indonesia in April 1955?

• AIt brought together 29 newly independent Asian and African nations, denouncing all coloni…
• BIt finalized the military partition of Germany and Austria between NATO and the Warsaw Pa…
• CIt created the European Economic Community (Common Market)
• DIt launched the first United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Middle East

Mali spans three major latitudinal bioclimatic zones from north to south. Which zone covers the southernmost part of the country, including Sikasso and parts of Koulikoro, and generally receives the greatest annual rainfall?

• AThe Sudanian zone (zone soudanienne)
• BThe Sahelian zone (zone sahélienne)
• CThe Saharan zone (zone saharienne)
• DThe Equatorial rainforest zone

What is the unique geographic shape of the Niger River's course across Malian territory?

• AA vast northern crescent (boucle du Niger) that flows northeast toward the Sahara before…
• BA straight north-to-south canal flowing directly into the Gulf of Guinea
• CA closed interior lake with no outlet to the ocean
• DA west-to-east transversal line flowing into the Red Sea

What is the ecological and economic importance of the Inner Niger Delta (Delta Central du Niger), centered around Mopti?

• AIt is a vast wetland ecosystem supporting flood-recession agriculture (décrue), major fre…
• BIt is an uninhabited barren salt flat unusable for agriculture
• CIt is an offshore oil drilling basin with deepwater ports
• DIt is a glaciated mountain range providing hydroelectric power to coastal cities

Created in the colonial period and supplied through the Markala diversion system, which major public agricultural development scheme manages gravity-irrigated farmland used especially for rice and sugarcane?

• AL'Office du Niger (ON)
• BLa Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement des Textiles (CMDT)
• CL'Autorité du Bassin du Niger (ABN)
• DL'Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du fleuve Sénégal (OMVS)