PEARSON EDEXCEL A LEVEL RELIGIOUS
STUDIES PAPER 1 QUESTION PAPER 2025
(9RS0/01: Philosophy of Religion)
Q1. Plato’s analogy of the cave suggests that the physical world is...?
A. A reflection of the pure Realm of the Forms.
B. The only true reality.
,C. A place of eternal happiness.
D. Controlled by a Prime Mover.
Answer: A.
Rationale: In Plato’s simile of the cave, prisoners mistake shadows (physical world) for
reality. The journey out of the cave represents philosophical education toward the
Forms .
Q2. What is the ‘Form of the Good’ in Plato’s theory?
A. A moral rule for living.
B. The ultimate source of reality, knowledge, and truth, like the sun.
C. A physical object in the sky.
D. The Prime Mover.
Answer: B.
Rationale: The Form of the Good is the highest Form. Just as the sun illuminates
physical objects, the Form of the Good illuminates the other Forms and makes
knowledge possible.
Q3. According to Aristotle, a ‘Telos’ refers to...?
A. The material composition of an object.
B. The efficient cause of a thing.
C. The end, purpose, or final cause of a thing.
D. A logical fallacy.
Answer: C.
Rationale: ‘Telos’ is Greek for 'end' or 'purpose.' In Aristotle’s Four Causes, the Final
Cause is the purpose for which something exists (e.g., the telos of an acorn is a tree) .
Q4. Which of the following is NOT one of Aristotle’s Four Causes?
A. Material Cause
B. Efficient Cause
, C. Formal Cause
D. Spiritual Cause
Answer: D.
Rationale: Aristotle argued we understand an object through its Material (what it’s
made of), Formal (its form), Efficient (the source of change), and Final (purpose).
'Spiritual' is not a cause in his system.
Q5. How does Aristotle’s ‘Prime Mover’ move the universe?
A. Pushing it from outside.
B. As an object of desire and thought.
C. Through random chance.
D. By creating it ex nihilo.
Answer: B.
Rationale: The Prime Mover is pure actuality with no potential. It moves the universe as
a final cause (cause of attraction), drawing the universe toward it like a beloved attracts
a lover .
Q6. Plato’s view of the body can best be described as...?
A. A prison or tomb for the soul.
B. A vehicle for resurrection.
C. Sacred and eternal.
D. Identical to the soul.
Answer: A.
Rationale: Plato viewed the body as a hindrance to the soul’s pursuit of true knowledge
(Forms). He famously described the body as a "prison" (sema) in Phaedo.
Q7. ‘Episteme’ and ‘Doxa’ are Greek terms used by Plato to distinguish...?
A. Emotional vs. Rational thought.
B. Animals vs. Humans.
STUDIES PAPER 1 QUESTION PAPER 2025
(9RS0/01: Philosophy of Religion)
Q1. Plato’s analogy of the cave suggests that the physical world is...?
A. A reflection of the pure Realm of the Forms.
B. The only true reality.
,C. A place of eternal happiness.
D. Controlled by a Prime Mover.
Answer: A.
Rationale: In Plato’s simile of the cave, prisoners mistake shadows (physical world) for
reality. The journey out of the cave represents philosophical education toward the
Forms .
Q2. What is the ‘Form of the Good’ in Plato’s theory?
A. A moral rule for living.
B. The ultimate source of reality, knowledge, and truth, like the sun.
C. A physical object in the sky.
D. The Prime Mover.
Answer: B.
Rationale: The Form of the Good is the highest Form. Just as the sun illuminates
physical objects, the Form of the Good illuminates the other Forms and makes
knowledge possible.
Q3. According to Aristotle, a ‘Telos’ refers to...?
A. The material composition of an object.
B. The efficient cause of a thing.
C. The end, purpose, or final cause of a thing.
D. A logical fallacy.
Answer: C.
Rationale: ‘Telos’ is Greek for 'end' or 'purpose.' In Aristotle’s Four Causes, the Final
Cause is the purpose for which something exists (e.g., the telos of an acorn is a tree) .
Q4. Which of the following is NOT one of Aristotle’s Four Causes?
A. Material Cause
B. Efficient Cause
, C. Formal Cause
D. Spiritual Cause
Answer: D.
Rationale: Aristotle argued we understand an object through its Material (what it’s
made of), Formal (its form), Efficient (the source of change), and Final (purpose).
'Spiritual' is not a cause in his system.
Q5. How does Aristotle’s ‘Prime Mover’ move the universe?
A. Pushing it from outside.
B. As an object of desire and thought.
C. Through random chance.
D. By creating it ex nihilo.
Answer: B.
Rationale: The Prime Mover is pure actuality with no potential. It moves the universe as
a final cause (cause of attraction), drawing the universe toward it like a beloved attracts
a lover .
Q6. Plato’s view of the body can best be described as...?
A. A prison or tomb for the soul.
B. A vehicle for resurrection.
C. Sacred and eternal.
D. Identical to the soul.
Answer: A.
Rationale: Plato viewed the body as a hindrance to the soul’s pursuit of true knowledge
(Forms). He famously described the body as a "prison" (sema) in Phaedo.
Q7. ‘Episteme’ and ‘Doxa’ are Greek terms used by Plato to distinguish...?
A. Emotional vs. Rational thought.
B. Animals vs. Humans.
