1.1 Ancient philosphical influences Flashcards
What is Rationalism ?
Rationalism is the view that the primary source of knowledge is reason, in the strictest sense, a priori reason.
What is Empiricism ?
The idea that observations via our senses lead us to an understanding of the world.
What is reason ?
Using logical thought in order to reach conclusions.
Who was an empiricist ? why?
Aristotle was an empiricist who believed that the we could gain knowledge from the world.
Who was a rationalist? why?
Plato was a rationalist , he rejected empiricism and believed that the most important aspect of reality lay beyond this world.
What does a priori mean ?
A priori is knowledge that is not dependent on experience, can be known ‘prior’ to experience, e.g. triangles have three sides.
What does a posteriori mean?
A posteriori is knowledge which is dependent on sense experience, it can only be known after sense experience.
