Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

PTE > 1.1 - Ancient Philosophical Influences > Flashcards

1.1 - Ancient Philosophical Influences Flashcards

1
Q

Heraclitus

A

‘no man ever steps in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.’
‘Nothing is permanent except change’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Who was Plato?

A
  • the tutor of Aristotle (who went on to tutor Alexander the Great)
  • a rationalist, dualist, and an absolutist: the world does not come from what we have now but from the world beyond this one
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

who was Aristotle?

A

Aristotle wrote ‘Ethics’ and was an empiricist (the world as we see it is what is true)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

rationalism

A

the theory that true knowledge is gained from reason alone (Plato), experience often leads us in the wrong direction - it is unreliable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

empiricism

A

the theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses (Aristotle - science focus)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

absolutism

A

that knowledge is unchanging (Plato)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

relativism

A

the idea that everything changes dependent on point of view (Heraclitus)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

dualism

A

two parts to reality: the world of experience and the world of the forms (Plato)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Who was Socrates?

A
  • Plato’s tutor
  • ‘that man was wisest who knew that he knew little’ - his questioning method was aimed at showing those he talked to that their supposed knowledge was shallow and vulnerable [the puzzle of ethics]
  • executed for ‘corrupting the youth’ by the Athenians (399bc)
  • believed there was a standard of goodness independent of God, God is worshipped because God is good [Euthyphro dilemma - the puzzle of ethics]
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is a dialogue in terms of philosophy?

A
  • plays in which there are a multitude of characters who interact
  • in some, one character speaks at great length while the others encourage
  • others are very interactive and different opinions are expressed and explored
  • used by Plato
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

why write philosophy as a dialogue?

A
  • Plato’s intended readers were not just philosophers and by using dialogue he attempted to reach a more literary audience
  • wanted people to engage in the process of thinking (encouraging them into a particular form of self-investigation and exploration rather than just telling people his doctrines)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is an allegory? (Plato)

A
  • a story with a hidden, normally moral, meaning
  • Plato sets out a description of events in order to make a point (rather than suggesting they are real) eg. the cave
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

summary of Plato’s views

A
  • the material world is constantly changing and therefore is an unreliable guide to knowledge
  • we have knowledge that is fixed/absolute (and this cannot come from the material world)
  • we can ‘think’ or reason our way to knowledge because it is already innate
  • as we have an immaterial soul that used to be a part of the World of the Forms
  • knowledge is reached a-priori (before experience)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

a-priori

A

before experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

a-posteriori

A

after/with experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is the World of the Forms?

A

a reality that acts as a ‘perfect blueprint’ for everything we see and experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

‘no man ever…’

A

‘no man ever steps in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.’ - Heraclitus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

‘Nothing is…’

A

‘Nothing is permanent except change’ - Heraclitus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

evidence in support of Plato (that knowledge is gained by reason)

A
  • we have clear ideas in our mind to organise the world (cat example)
  • we have natural abilities that aren’t learnt (maths)
  • senses are not reliable (illusions, perspective, etc)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

h

A

h

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what did Plato think about knowledge?

A
  • knowledge is stable and trustworthy (does not change and is the same for all - without this we would have chaos)
  • This world is not stable and trustworthy as we are often tricked by what we see (illusion, etc)
  • Therefore knowledge is drawn from reason not experience (rationalism)
  • Reason allows us to grasp the World of the Forms (dualism)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what is a Form?

A
  • an ideal, a perfect concept
  • examples of the best possible version of something
  • Plato described the Forms as eternal (they have always and will always exist)
  • Immutable - meaning they never change
  • Immaterial - they are pure ideas and not made of ‘stuff’
  • soul = mind
  • They exist in the World of the Forms - beyond our world but somehow connected to it
  • They are said to be useful because Plato says we need to understand certain forms to live a good life
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

immutable

A

unchanging

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Is beauty something that exists only in various beautiful things? (Plato)

A

Plato thinks no, this is because even if you went around and destroyed every physical example of real beautiful objects, you would not destroy beauty itself
It is an idea that is totally independent of things in the physical world.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

the hierarchy of the World of the Forms

A

The World of the Forms is arranged in a hierarchy, with the Form of the good, the most important, at the top. The Form of the Good participates in every Form, and once understood through reason, allows us to understand the other Forms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The Timaeus

A
  • Plato writes a creates story in his book: the Timaeus.
  • he describes a creator God he calls the ‘Demiurge’. This is not the classic, perfect, Christian God.
  • He claims that the Demiurge needs to make use of the Forms to create the world (the Forms are blueprints for the perfect world)
  • However, physical matter is itself imperfect (tricky to work with). Because of this the world does not end up as an ideal reflection of the Forms. Instead the world ends up as a messy, changeable, reflection of the Forms.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Demiurge

A
  • the creator God in Plato’s creation story: ‘Timaeus’
  • He claims that in creating the world, the Demiurge needs to make use of the Forms - which are blueprints for how to make the perfect world
28
Q

Arguments FOR Plato’s World of the Forms

A
  • argument of the opposites
  • Plato is not trying to give a finished account of knowledge with his World of the Forms - tool for advancing independent thinking
  • Plato is right that we are guided by ideals. Our thinking does not seem to come from or reflect the constantly changing world of objects. We think in terms of stable concepts that resemble the Forms
  • We all seem to share an intuitive sense of right and wrong, justice and beauty. With such diverse backgrounds this must come from a single source like the World of the Forms (absolute morality)
  • The deceptive nature of the senses proves that we need a more stable foundation for our understanding of the world
  • Descartes supported Plato’s approach to philosophy when he suggested we can attain ‘clear and distinct’ ideas from reason alone. This requires an effort to ‘withdraw the mind from the senses’
29
Q

Arguments AGAINST Plato’s World of the Forms

A
  • Third man argument - what makes the Form of a man, the Form of a man
  • If there is one Form of the Good, why are there disagreements about what true goodness is?
  • If Plato is correct then there must be a Form of everything? But can this make sense? Is there a Form of the perfect cancer for example? Even though cancer is a mistake, a mutation of the ‘perfect’ cells - Form of mud?
  • There is a total lack of real evidence for the World of the Forms. It is non-verifiable as nothing can prove it. For philosophers like A.J Ayer, this makes it totally meaningless.
  • Plato believes that all particulars participate in a universal/Form that can define it. But this is not how all things work. For instance, does a non-binary person participate in the Form of a man or the Form of a woman - what about trans people given that the ‘Forms’ relate to something beyond the physical body
  • Plato is unscientific to rely on an immaterial world. Wittgenstein said: “Whereof One Cannot Speak, Thereof One Must Be Silent.”
  • David Hume attacks Plato’s approach to philosophy, suggesting it is based “more upon Invention than Experience”. He used observation to discredit the idea that man can be guided by reason, “reason is the slave of the passions”
30
Q

The Argument From Opposites

A

Objects can fit multiple descriptions, for example something can be both ugly and beautiful or tall and short. It is dependent on perspective and point of view. Therefore the senses do not ‘show us’ this knowledge, reflection/reason do.
- a person could seem tall (6foot) until placed among basketball players
- a piece of art could seem beautiful among toddler work but ugly in a professional gallery
- a hand is soft compared to metal but hard compared to pillows
This is only possible if we judge them by fixed ideas in our heads, Forms, not the information they give us.

31
Q

Aristotle’s views on Plato’s Argument from Opposites

A

He though it was inconsistent and irrational, he challenged it with the ‘third man argument’:

32
Q

the ‘Third Man’ argument

A

(Aristotle’s point against Plato’s Theory of the Forms)
- Plato would say that a man is made a man by its relation to the Form of a Man, a man partakes in this form.
- However, what makes the Form of a Man, the Form of a Man?
- This can continue on forever with no end point (infinite regress)

33
Q

Aristotle

A
  • Empiricist
  • Ethical philosopher
  • Difference concept of what a ‘Form’ is
  • Science-focused (amateur biologist)
  • Monist - one world only (no soul, no World of the Forms)
34
Q

Empiricism

A
  • all knowledge is gained from experience
  • truth corresponds to how we perceive the world to be (Plato: cave analogy, illusion, unreliable)
  • scientific progress
  • more practical and accessible (common sense) - not elitist
35
Q

Aristotle’s understanding of reality

A
  • correspondence theory of truth (when our understanding corresponds directly to an image, it is knowledge, if it does not it is opinion)
  • rejected innate rationalism (idea of innate truths) and the World of Forms - empiricism
  • innate capacity to perceive
  • everything has a purpose, end, or goal - Telos/Teleogy eg. strategy - victory, economics - wealth, walking - health
  • induction - moving from a few observations to a generalised conclusion (Aristotle’s downfall, assumption, there are exceptions and uncertainties)
36
Q

correspondence theory of truth

A

when our understanding corresponds directly to an image, it is knowledge, if it does not it is opinion

37
Q

telos

A

purpose (everything has one in Aristotle’s view)

38
Q

induction

A

moving from a few observations to a generalised conclusion (Aristotle’s downfall, assumption, there are exceptions and uncertainties)

39
Q

the 4 causes

A

Aristotle argued that the physical world can lead to knowledge when understood through the 4 causes. These are like 4 questions that lead to a total understanding of something.
Material cause
Efficient cause
Formal cause
Final cause

40
Q

material cause

A

what is it made of? - physical properties

41
Q

efficient cause

A

what brought it about? - who made it?

42
Q

formal cause

A

how is it arranged? - the necessary blueprint

43
Q

final cause

A

what is its purpose? - what its for

44
Q

Occam’s razor

A

The simpler argument that is just as good as a more complicated one, is the better argument.
Comparing Plato and Aristotle it can be claimed that Aristotle’s explains our ability to understand the world just as well, without the need for another ‘world’.
When there is no proof for Plato’s immaterial Forms we are better off without them.

45
Q

the theory of the Prime Mover

A
  • Aristotle
  • everything in motion is moved by something else, this shows that the universe is a single causal system
  • this series cannot go on forever (cannot be an infinite regress) because why then would it exist at all
  • so there must be an unmoved move which is a cause of motion but does not move in itself - the Prime mover
46
Q

qualities of the Prime Mover

A

The Prime Mover:
- must be an eternal substance
- must lack matter, made entirely of thought
- must lack potentiality (can’t just have the potential to move things, it must always be doing so)
- acts as a final cause - an object of love - because being loved does not involve any change in the beloved
- must think of something, and whatever he is thinking of he must think of eternally.
- must be thinking about himself as if he was thinking about anything else he would be somehow degraded (value of a thought depends on the value of the object)
- the object of thought does not include the contingent affairs of individual human beings

47
Q

For Aristotle

A
  • gives an explanation based on physical experiences (that things are caused by others)
  • Four Causes can be readily applied to things that exist within the world as a way of explaining them
48
Q

Against Aristotle

A
  • difficult to evaluate because it often lacks clarity (Plato wrote in clear prose with examples)
  • some things do happen without clear purpose
  • rejected ‘inuitive knowledge’ and Plato’s idea of the Forms too quickly
  • some thinkers such as Dawkins claim it makes no sense to talk of the purpose of the universe, it is simply a result of chance
  • theists often object to Aristotle’s unmoved mover because the God he presents is almost irrelevant to the universe
  • The concept of Telos does not align with evolution and natural selection. Natural things are not developing towards perfection, they are adapting randomly to survive.
49
Q

Wittgenstein on Plato

A

‘Whereof One Cannot Speak, Thereof One Must Be Silent.’

50
Q

David Hume

A
  • described as a sceptical philosopher
  • became disheartened with ancient philosophy on the grounds that it was too ‘hypothetical’ and ‘invented’
  • sought to reform philosophy by turning to experience as the sole foundation for knowledge
  • the mind is a ‘table rasa’ from birth - meaning a ‘blank slate’
  • all our ideas result from experience (empiricist)
  • reflected on honest observations of human nature and concluded that we are not purely rational. Man is driven by emotions and desires more than anything.
51
Q

David Hume on Plato

A

David Hume attacks Plato’s approach to philosophy, suggesting it is based ‘more upon Invention than Experience’. He used observation to discredit the idea that man can be guided by reason, ‘reason is the slave of the passions’. To make progress, Hume maintains, we need to ‘reject every system … however subtle or ingenious, which is not founded on fact and observation’.

52
Q

‘more upon…’

A

‘more upon Invention than Experience’ - David Hume on Plato’s approach

53
Q

‘reason is the…’

A

‘reason is the slave of the passions’ - David Hume

54
Q

‘reject every… however subtle…’

A

‘reject every system … however subtle or ingenious, which is not founded on fact and observation’ - David Hume

55
Q

Rene Descartes

A
  • described as the father of modern philosophy
  • intention was to establish a new, more certain foundation for philosophy. He achieved this through a process of hyperbolic doubt
  • found that he could easily doubt the sense and experiences, but the truth he could not doubt was that of his own existence: ‘I think therefore I am.’
  • this truth was reached though pure reason alone, making it an innate a-prior truth. This realisation paved the way to establish knowledge through ‘clear and distinct’ rational thought. (rationalist)
56
Q

‘I think…’

A

‘I think therefore I am’ - Rene Descartes

57
Q

Descartes on Plato

A

Descartes supported Plato’s approach to philosophy when he suggested we can attain ‘clear and distinct’ ideas from reason alone. This requires an effort to ‘withdraw the mind from the senses’

58
Q

‘If understanding and…’

A

‘If understanding and true belief are two different kinds, then absolutely there are these ‘things by themselves’ forms that are not perceivable by us, but only thinkable’ - Plato, Timaeus

59
Q

A perfect society will only occur when ‘philosophers…’

A

Perfect society will only occur when ‘philosophers become kings in this world, or until those we now call kinds and rulers really and truly become philosophers…’ - The Republic 473d

60
Q

‘And so in every…’

A

‘And so in every way they would believe that the shadows of the objects we mentioned were the whole truth’ - The Republic 515c

61
Q

‘And we say that…’

A

‘And we say that the particulars are objects of sight but not of intelligence, while the forms are the objects of intelligence but not of sight’ - The Republic 507b

62
Q

‘those who have eyes for…’

A

‘…those who have eyes for… beautiful things and just acts… but unable… to see beauty itself and justice itself,… have opinions, but cannot be said to know any of the things they hold opinions about.’ - The Republic 479e

63
Q

‘those whose hearts…’

A

‘those whose hearts are fixed on the true being of each things are to be called philosophers…’ - The Republic 480

64
Q

‘the highest form of…’

A

‘the highest form of knowledge is knowledge of the form of the good, from which things that are just and so on derive (borrow) their usefulness and value.’ - The Republic 505a

65
Q

Plato’s analogy to sight

A

Sight requires both light and the eye to see clearly. Light symbolises the Form of the Good. Plato’s implication is that without the knowledge of the Form of the Good one does not see clearly; the same as trying to see in complete darkness.

PTE (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions