Question
This thinker’s praeclarum theorema was proved by Bertrand Russell, who interpreted this thinker’s “exoteric” philosophy as a cover for an intensely logical system. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this thinker who drew on Chinese characters in imagining a universal language called the characteristica universalis. This inventor of the “stepped reckoner” machine wrote Théodicée.
ANSWER: Gottfried Leibniz
[10h] Leibniz often explained his hopes for a universal system of logic by imagining future philosophers resolving disputes with this exclamation. You may give common translations or the one-word Latin original.
ANSWER: “let us calculate!” [or “Calculemus!”; accept phrases that add words like “now” or “sir”]
[10m] Isaiah Berlin observed that exclaimers of “Calculemus!” hoped to pull the “trick” of “straightening” this material. This title material of a Berlin “history of ideas” was coined in Kant’s essay on an “Idea for a Universal History.”
ANSWER: crooked timber of humanity [accept “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made”; or Krummholz or krummem Holze; prompt on timber or timber of humanity]
<JB, Philosophy>
Data
Summary
| Tournament | Edition | Exact Match? | Heard | PPB | Easy % | Medium % | Hard % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Chicago Open | 07/28/2024 | Y | 15 | 12.67 | 87% | 40% | 0% |