1.1: Ancient Philosophical Influences Flashcards
Influences of Plato: Socrates
Developed the Socratic method of questioning. He used this to challenge the accepted ideas of the time.
Was Plato’s mentor/teacher.
Influences of Plato: Pythagoras
Developed a version of atomic theory based on ratios and numbers as the building blocks of everything. He also conceived the distinction between the body and soul.
Influences of Plato: Heraclitus
Talked about how knowledge can be extracted from the world.
The Theory of the Forms
He saw the world was changing and certain concepts were unchanging. He reached these conclusions:
- Although the people who understand these concepts change and die, the concepts don’t.
- Understanding of these concepts was not perfect.
- This led him to believe that there must be perfect versions of these concepts.
- Because they are perfect, they are spiritual and unchanging and so must inhabit a separate realm.
- Our soul tethers us to this realm and so when we learn we are simply recalling knowledge.
The Analogy of the Cave
Prisoners are chained up against a rock wall. A fire is alight behind them and puppeteers cause images to be cast onto the wall ahead of them. They accept these images as real. One prisoner is freed and sees that it is all an illusion. He escapes the cave and sees real objects. He goes back to tell the others but they don’t believe him and kill him.
The hierarchy of the forms
Highest form is the form of the good. Then goes: Higher forms Lower forms Material objects Images
The divided line
The way we perceive things is split in a ratio of 2:1. Things perceived by the Form of the Good are The Forms and mathematical objects. The Forms are perceived with reason and mathematical objects are perceived with understanding. Things perceived by the sun are physical objects (perceived with belief) and images of physical objects (perceived with imagination)
