You won’t have to wade through any confusing philosophy texts to do well with philosophy on the MAT. To excel on the MAT analogies on philosophy, all you need to know are history’s major philosophers, their works, and some basic philosophy terms.
Philosophical terms that appear on the MAT test
Brush up on your knowledge of philosophy by studying these terms and their definitions.
Empiricism: Theory that knowledge comes mainly from sensory perception
Ethics: Moral philosophy, concepts of right and wrong
Existentialism: School of philosophy based on the concept of free will
Idealism: Theory that reality is mentally constructed
Logic: Study and use of reasoning
Logical Positivism: Analytic philosophy that combines empiricism and rationalism
Neoplatonism: Mystical philosophy based on the teachings of Plato
Philosopher: Someone who studies fundamental questions and uses rational argument
Pragmatism: The idea that theory should come from practice
Rationalism: Method that uses deductive reasoning
Transcendentalism: Belief that the spiritual is more important than the material
Important philosophers that appear on the MAT test
The following lists important philosophers you should get to know before taking the MAT.
Aristotle: Greek philosopher and student of Plato; wrote Poetics
Bacon, Francis: English philosopher
Bradley, Herbert Francis: British idealist who wrote Appearance and Reality
Descartes, René: Frenchman known as the “Father of Modern Philosophy”
Dewey, John: American philosopher concerned with education and social reform
Gandhi, Mahatma: Indian leader who advocated nonviolent civil disobedience
Hobbes, Thomas: English political philosopher; wrote Leviathan
Hume, David: Scottish philosopher known for empiricism and skepticism
James, William: American philosopher and psychologist
Kant, Immanuel: German philosopher who wrote Critique of Pure Reason
Leibnitz, Gottfried: German philosopher and mathematician
Locke, John: English philosopher and empiricist; wrote An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Macchiavelli, Nicolo: Italian philosopher and author of The Prince
Marx, Karl: German philosopher, economist and proponent of communism; wrote The Communist Manifesto
Mill, John Stuart: British philosopher and political economist
More, Thomas: English philosopher and humanist who wrote Utopia
Nietzsche, Friedrich: German philosopher known for the idea of the death of God; wrote Beyond Good and Evil
Peirce, Charles Sanders: American philosopher known as the “Father of Pragmatism”
Plato: Greek writer and author of The Republic
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques: Swiss philosopher and author of The Social Contract
Schopenhauer, Arthur: Atheist German philosopher who wrote The World As Will and Representation
Smith, Adam: Key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment
Socrates: Greek philosopher known for work in ethics and the teacher of Plato; inspired the Socratic Method
Tzu, Sun: Ancient Chinese philosopher and author of The Art of War
Voltaire: French philosopher and author of Candide
Zedong, Mao: Chinese communist leader
Important philosophical works that appear on the MAT
The following lists important works in the field of philosophy you should familiarize yourself with before taking the MAT.
Appearance and Reality: By British idealist Francis Herbert Bradley
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding: By John Locke. Asserts that the mind is a blank slate at birth
The Art of War: Ancient Chinese book by Sun Tzu about military strategy
Beyond Good and Evil: By Nietzsche; criticizes past philosophers on their acceptance of religious principles
Candide: French satire by Voltaire
The Communist Manifesto: Political manuscript by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Critique of Pure Reason: Influential work by Kant in which he describes the relationship between knowledge and experience
Leviathan: By Thomas Hobbes. Focuses on society and government
Poetics: An analysis of tragedy by Aristotle
The Prince: Political work by Machiavelli where he asserts that the truth is more important than an ideal
The Republic: A Socratic dialogue by Plato
The Social Contract: By Rousseau; focuses on political community
The World as Will and Representaion: Primary work of Schopenhauer; he writes that all of nature has a will to life and that suffering comes from the desire for more
Utopia: Fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More
