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100+ Free Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy Practice Questions
Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy Examination — UNICAN 2026 (Historia de la Filosofía 2º Bachillerato) practice questions are available now; exam metadata is being verified.
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2026 Statistics
Key Facts: Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy Exam
90 Min
Official exam duration at Universidad de Cantabria (UNICAN)
UNICAN PAU Exam Schedule 2026
4.0 / 10
Minimum mark required in Access Phase to blend with Bachillerato GPA
Spanish University Access Regulations
4 Periods
Historical eras covered: Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary
UNICAN 2º Bachillerato Subject Outline
60% / 40%
Weighting of Bachillerato GPA vs PAU Access Phase grade
Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional
Spanish
Official exam language at UNICAN
UNICAN PAU Organising Commission
100
Original practice questions in this OpenExamPrep subject bank
OpenExamPrep
Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy (UNICAN 2026) is a 90-minute university entrance exam assessing text interpretation, philosophical reasoning, and knowledge across Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary philosophy. This English-language MCQ bank is a study adaptation of the knowledge behind the official written exam, not a format simulation.
Sample Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy Practice Questions
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1Which Presocratic philosopher identified water (*hydor*) as the fundamental first principle (*arkhé*) of all nature, marking the transition from myth (*mythos*) to rational explanation (*logos*)?
A.Thales of Miletus
B.Anaximander of Miletus
C.Heraclitus of Ephesus
D.Parmenides of Elea
Explanation: Thales of Miletus is traditionally considered the first Greek philosopher. He proposed that water is the primary substance (arkhé) from which all things originate and to which they return, providing a naturalistic explanation rather than relying on mythological deities.
2According to Anaximander, why must the primary origin (*arkhé*) of the universe be the *Apeiron* (the Boundless or Indefinite) rather than a specific material element like water or fire?
A.Because water and fire are spiritual concepts that cannot exist in physical space.
B.Because a specific, determinate element would destroy its opposite element, preventing the eternal balance of nature.
C.Because the Gods declared in sacred texts that the origin of the cosmos must remain invisible.
D.Because mathematical numbers are the only true reality underlying physical matter.
Explanation: Anaximander reasoned that if one determinate element (such as fire or water) were infinite, its inherent properties would overwhelm and annihilate all opposing elements. Thus, the ultimate source must be neutral, indefinite, and boundless (*apeiron*).
3Heraclitus famous aphorism 'You cannot step twice into the same river' illustrates which central doctrine of his philosophy?
A.The total immobility and unchanging permanence of the physical realm.
B.The illusion of sensory perception, which must be rejected in favor of pure mathematics.
C.The doctrine of universal flux (*panta rhei*) governed by an underlying rational order (*Logos*).
D.The idea that the physical universe was created out of nothing (*ex nihilo*) by a personal deity.
Explanation: Heraclitus maintained that everything in nature is in a state of constant motion, change, and conflict (*panta rhei*). Despite continuous transformation, dynamic equilibrium is maintained by the cosmic law known as Logos.
4What is the core premise of Parmenides' Eleatic philosophy as expressed in his poem *On Nature*?
A.Being is constantly becoming, while Non-Being exists as empty space.
B.All knowledge is subjective opinion (*doxa*) and objective truth is unobtainable.
C.Matter consists of indivisible atoms moving infinitely through a void.
D.Being is (*to eon*), Non-Being is not and cannot be thought or spoken of, rendering change and multiplicity illusory.
Explanation: Parmenides asserted that Being is uncreated, imperishable, continuous, and unchangeable ('What is, is; what is not, is not'). Rational deduction shows that non-being cannot exist; therefore, motion, multiplicity, and change are mere illusions of mortal opinion (*doxa*).
5Democritus and Leucippus resolved the Eleatic problem of change by proposing that all physical bodies are composed of:
A.Indivisible, eternal particles (*atomos*) moving through empty space (*void*).
B.Four distinct roots: earth, air, fire, and water combined by Love and Strife.
C.Qualitatively infinite seeds (*homoeomeries*) controlled by Mind (*Nous*).
D.Mathematical triangles projecting shadow images onto a divine canvas.
Explanation: Atomism reconciled Parmenides' unchangeable Being with observable movement by positing that reality consists of microscopic, indivisible units of matter (*atoms*) which differ in shape and size, interacting within empty space (*the void*).
6Protagoras' famous dictum 'Man is the measure of all things' encapsulates which characteristic Sophistic doctrine?
A.Absolute epistemological realism based on empirical sensation.
B.Philosophical relativism, asserting that truth and values depend on human perception and convention (*nomos*).
C.Rationalist dogmatism claiming that human reason mirrors divine mind.
D.Socratic moral intellectualism asserting that virtue is innate.
Explanation: Protagoras expressed epistemological and ethical relativism: things are for each person as they appear to that person. This Sophistic perspective privileges human custom (*nomos*) over universal objective nature (*physis*).
7What is the primary objective of the Socratic method of dialogue, known as *maieutics* (intellectual midwifery)?
A.To persuade public assemblies using rhetorical tropes and emotional speeches.
B.To transmit pre-fabricated dogmatic doctrines directly from teacher to passive student.
C.To help the interlocutor bring forth latent truth from within their own soul through refutation (*elenchus*) and questioning.
D.To prove that all human knowledge is impossible and advocate complete skepticism.
Explanation: Socrates compared himself to a midwife (*maieutike*). Rather than instilling foreign knowledge, he used questioning to clear away false assumptions (*irony*) and assist interlocutors in giving birth to latent conceptual truths.
8Socrates' thesis of Moral Intellectualism asserts that:
A.Virtue is impossible for human beings because human nature is fundamentally corrupt.
B.Moral action depends entirely on emotional sentiment and gut instincts rather than cognitive reflection.
C.Only professional philosophers are capable of committing evil acts intentionally.
D.Virtue is knowledge (*arete* = *episteme*); no one does evil knowingly or voluntarily, but out of ignorance of the good.
Explanation: Socratic Moral Intellectualism holds that knowing what is truly good leads necessarily to doing what is good. Evil conduct is never intentional pursuit of badness, but a cognitive error or ignorance regarding what constitutes true human well-being.
9In Plato's *Apology*, how does Socrates define his philosophical mission when facing sentence of death by the Athenian court?
A.As an unexamined life is not worth living, serving as a gadfly to awaken citizens to care for the perfection of their souls.
B.As a struggle to gain political office and reform Athenian legal codes by force.
C.As an effort to accumulate material wealth and establish a school of paid rhetoric.
D.As a quest to appease traditional Olympian deities through ceremonial animal sacrifices.
Explanation: Socrates famously declared that 'the unexamined life is not worth living.' He viewed his divine calling as acting as a 'gadfly' (*myops*) to stir the Athenian state from intellectual slumber and spur citizens to prioritize moral excellence over wealth or prestige.
10In Plato's dualistic ontology, what is the primary relationship between sensible objects in the material world and the Forms (*Eide*)?
A.Sensible objects are completely independent entities that create the Forms through empirical abstraction.
B.Sensible objects are imperfect copies or imitations (*mimesis*) that participate (*methexis*) in the eternal, immutable Forms.
C.Forms exist only as subjective mental concepts inside the individual human brain.
D.Sensible objects and Forms are identical in material composition and temporal duration.
Explanation: Plato's metaphysical dualism posits two realms: the Intelligible Realm of non-material, perfect, eternal Forms (*Eide*) and the Sensible Realm of changing, perishable objects that participate in (*methexis*) or imitate (*mimesis*) those perfect paradigms.
About the Cantabria PAU History of Philosophy Practice Questions
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