1.2 - Plato´s rationalism

Question 1

Who was Plato?

Answer 1

First philosopher (427-347 b.c.) who is classified as a rationalist, famous pupil of Socrates. Everything we know about Socrates, we know through writings of Plato.

Question 2

Explain Socrates’ ´intellectual midwifery´ method.

Answer 2

Socrates asked his fellow Athenians questions about what it takes to live well. Its main objective is to assist others in their philosophizing by asking questions in order to give birth to true ideas.

Question 3

Name 2 of Plato´s branches of philosophy.

Answer 3

metaphysics and epistemology.

Question 4

Explain metaphysics.

Answer 4

branch of philosophy that asks and tries to answer the pre-eminent philosophical questions : why is there something rather than nothing? what is the world made of? (investigation of such questions is called ontology).

Question 5

Which 2 philosophers are associated with two views about what exists and what does not?

Answer 5

Parmenides of Elea (510-440 b.c.) and Hercalites of Ephese (600-540 b.c.).

Question 6

Who was Hercalites and what was his view.

Answer 6

Hercalites came from Ephesus and was known in his time as ´the obscure´. He was convinced that change (flux) is at the heart of existence.

Question 7

Explain Hercalites´ panta rei (everything flows)

Answer 7

We can only truthfully claim that ´nothing is´ , ´everything becomes´.

Question 8

What is one of Hercalites´ famous fragments in which he formulates his view?

Answer 8

The essence of reality is change. You cannot step twice in the same river, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you (everyone changes a little bit so you are not exactly the same you were yesterday).

Question 9

Explain how we can get to knowledge according to Hercalites.

Answer 9

Because we´re continuously changing, we are not able to attain knowledge. Only those few people who are capable of grasping the hidden and fundamental law can arrive at knowledge.

Question 10

Who was Parmenides and what was his view.

Answer 10

He was a physician from Elea. He argues in his poem ´on nature´ against the view by Hercalites and others about ´change is in the essence of reality´. For him, it is their senses that mislead human beings into thinking that things are changing all the time.

Question 11

Give some examples of Parmenides´ thinking that senses are misleading.

Answer 11

The water that feels hot to me is lukewarm for you, the table is a different shape for me than it appears to my companion who is standing 3 yards away from me.

Question 12

Give some examples of Parmenides view that there is a permanent and unchanging reality.

Answer 12

My friend and I are looking at the same table, the water has one temperature.

Question 13

Explain shortly the differences between Parmenides view and Hercalites view (their methaphysical discussion).

Answer 13

For Parmenides ´being´ is real and ´change´ is not, for Hercalites ´change´ is real and ´being´ is not.

Question 14

What are epistemological issues?

Answer 14

Issues having to do with our Socratic question (what is knowledge?)

Question 15

Explain the empiristic view of knowledge.

Answer 15

Knowledge is perception. Someone may assert that he ´knows´ the table is white because he ´saw´ that the table is white.

Question 16

What is Plato´s view of equating knowledge with perception?

Answer 16

With the perceived world constantly changing, our perception (and so our knowledge) will vary from moment to moment and person to person. Knowledge becomes relative to the observer and his own perceptions and beliefs.

Question 17

What were the views of Protagoras (490-420 b.c.)

Answer 17

To me my perception is true, and for you your perception will be true - Man is the measure of all things (homo mensura).

Question 18

Explain Protagoras´ homo mensura.

Answer 18

That opinion is true to each person which he acquires through sensation. So no one can ever be wrong about anything.

Question 19

Explain Plato´s famous allegory of the cave.

Answer 19

There are prisoners chained with their hands and necks in a cave, so that their gaze is fixed on a wall. Behind them is a fire. Between the prisoners and the fire there is a low raised walkway. On the walkway you see people holding up statues of figures and animals. The fire casts the shadows of these figures on the wall in front of the prisoners. Because they have never seen such things, they think these are real objects. They mistake appearance for reality. Only when they´re free they will find true knowledge.

Question 20

Explain what makes Plato a rationalist.

Answer 20

For Plato, human reason constitutes the source of knowledge. We can gain knowledge about the reality through our capacity for reasoning.

Question 21

Explain Plato´s theory about reincarnation.

Answer 21

The immortal soul belongs to the world of forms. The soul has seen all the forms, but we forgot about them when our souls were born into our bodies. The forms are still accessible through our reason. If we reason well, we can remember the forms we saw before birth and so we can come to know the real world.

Question 22

Explain Plato´s dialogue ´Meno´

Answer 22

A slave is poorly educated and knows little about geometry. Socrates wants to show Meno that the slave could remember mathematical knowledge he knew before birth, if he would only reason properly (in Plato´s views, learning-by-recollection or anamnesis). Socrates draws a 2x2 square in de sand (ABCD). He asks the slave how long the sides of another square need to be, compared to the one drawn in the sand, to have a surface that doubles the size of this one. The slave gives the wrong answer by saying 4 feet. Socrates then draws AEGI , now there is a big square consisting of 4 squares, each with the same surface are as the original square. Socrates draws the diagonals in those 4 squares, resulting in a tilted square inside the big one (DBFH). The slave sees that the 4 triangles that made up this tilted square are twice the size of the original square that consists of 2 triangles. According to Socrates the slave has figured out by his own reasoning that the sides of the new square need to be as long as the diagonal of the original square. Meno is now convinced of Plato´s theory that to learn is to be reminded of what we knew in prenatal existence, even though the slave had help from Socrates.