Ancient Philosophical Influences

Question 1

Was Plato a Rationalist or an empiricist?

Answer 1

A rationalist

Question 2

Was Aristotle a rationalist or an empiricist?

Answer 2

An empiricist

Question 3

What was the problem that lead to Plato’s theory of the Forms?

Answer 3

The physical world was always changing, so how could there be true knowledge about objects if they were always changing?

Question 4

How did the observation of an ever-changing world lead to rationalism?

Answer 4

Plato though the only way to true knowledge was reason because of the state of change in the world

Question 5

How does Plato use the example of Justice to support his Forms argument?

Answer 5

Plato asserts that if we find something with our five sense we only find the imitation of that thing, whereas if we see someone being Just, we recognise it as Justice because we know what “true justice” is, and even though this action is not “perfect justice” it shares an imitation of it

Question 6

How can the metaphor of a circle be used in relation to the forms?

Answer 6

Circles in the material world will not be perfect, there will always be a lump or imperfect part, but we recognise it as a circle because it is a refection of the Perfect Form of the Circle

Question 7

How did Plato believe we knew the Forms?

Answer 7

From birth

Question 8

I) What was the most important of all the forms?

II) Why?

Answer 8

I) The form of the good

II) It illuminated all other Forms and gives them their value (Justice, Wisdom, Courage)

Question 9

What did Plato believe caused immorality?

Answer 9

Ignorance

Question 10

How did Plato link Philosophy to Virtue?

Answer 10

If people were to become Philosophers and look for the form of the Good, they would become more moral

Question 11

What was Plato’s version of a God called?

Answer 11

The Demiurge

Question 12

How did the Demiurge create the world, according to plato?

Answer 12

He used material that was already there, and was thus limited by these materials (Demiurge comes from the greek word for craftsman)

Question 13

Did Plato see the demiurge as the source of goodness/

Answer 13

No

Question 14

What was the analogy of the cave?

Answer 14

Prisoners were chained to a wall and were shown shadow puppets. They believed these to be the true goings-on of the world, but were deceived. One of the prisoners escapes and tells the others of the true world but they shun him

Question 15

Who is the Philosopher in the analogy of the cave?

Answer 15

The prisoner who escapes. The knowledge he brings of the “true world” is an analogy for the truth brought by philosophers

Question 16

What is the biggest criticism of Plato?

Answer 16

There is no evidence for this “other world” he speaks of. Plato simply asserts it

Question 17

What is Richard Dawkins major criticism of Plato?

Answer 17

It is nonsense to talk of a transcendent, “other world”. Though the physical world changes, it is still a valuable study

Question 18

I) What was Aristotles major criticism of the Forms?

II) What analogy did he use to illustrate this?

Answer 18

I) It becomes ridiculous when pushed to its logical extremes
II) If there is a perfect form of a plant, then there is a perfect rose, but then there is a perfect red and a perfect white rose, but then there is a perfect petal etc etc

Question 19

What was Plato’s response to this?

Answer 19

There is nothing compelling us to take the idea that far, and it is more important to focus on the Forms of qualities

Question 20

I) What is a key criticism of the Form of the Good?

II) Who presents this argument?

Answer 20

I) Good is just an expression of likes or dislikes of a person (Emotivism)
II) A.J. Ayer

Question 21

What was Aristotle’s criticism of the Form of the Good as a concept?

Answer 21

There can not just be “Good”, it must correspond to an action or scenario

Question 22

What is a key criticism of Plato’s view on immorality?

Answer 22

Many people know the actions they carry out are wrong, and do them anyway

Question 23

what did Aristotle believe was the best way to gain knowledge?

Answer 23

Observation of the world around us

Question 24

What was the main question Aristotle was interested in?

Answer 24

Causation - What caused things

Question 25

What word did Aristotle use that roughly means cause but for which there is no accurate translation?

Answer 25

Aetion

Question 26

What are the 4 causes Aristotle proposed?

Answer 26

1. Material
2. Formal
3. Efficient
4. Final

Question 27

What is the Material cause?

Answer 27

An explanation of the matter something is made of

Question 28

What is the Formal cause?

Answer 28

A things shape, such as what defines a table as a table and not a lump of wood

Question 29

What is the Efficient cause?

Answer 29

How something comes to be

Question 30

What is the Final cause?

Answer 30

A things purpose, or “Telos”

Question 31

How is the form of the good linked to the Final cause?

Answer 31

A thing is “Good” when it fulfils its Telos

Question 32

What were the 2 causes the bothered Aristotle in relation to the universe as a whole?

Answer 32

Efficient and Final

Question 33

How did Aristotle come to the conclusion that there was a “god”

Answer 33

The constant change of the world

Question 34

What was Aristotle’s version of God called?

Answer 34

The Prime Mover

Question 35

How did Aristotle define the Prime Mover (2)

Answer 35

1) “Pure actuality” with no potential to change or to be acted upon
2) The first of all substances. It caused movement

Question 36

How did Aristotle believe the Prime Mover caused motion?

Answer 36

It pulled the universe towards it

Question 37

What are the 5 key attributes of a God according to Aristotle?

Answer 37

1) Does not depend on anything else for its existence
2) Eternal
3) Perfectly good
4) Immaterial
5) The purpose of everything