Ancient Philosophical Influences Flashcards
What are Platos forms?
Plato’s doctrine that there was an ideal, eternal and spiritual world that is real and that existed above our world. The Forms are found in the Realm of the Forms and included Forms of Beauty, Justice and Truth, among other ideals.
Who taught Plato and how did he influence him?
He was taught by Socrates who influenced his theory of forms. Socrates taught that “true knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.” He believed no-one knew the answers and questioned anyone who thought they did.
How did Pre Socratic thinkers influence Plato’s Theory of the Forms?
Thinkers such as Heraclitus and Cratylus argued that everything is in flux and constantly changes, “you cannot step in the same river twice.” Cratylus said that as everything is always changing, you can never find the full truth. Plato therefore argued that truth can be found outside of the physical world.
What was Plato’s background?
He came from a noble background and his parents had great political ambitions for him, however he opted for philosophy.
How did Socrates die?
He was put on trail and found guilty of corrupting the minds of young Athenians as he had taught them to question everything, which led them to deviate from belief in the Gods. Socrates chose to rather then renounce his belief, to drink poisoned hemlock and he died.
What institution did Plato set up?
The academy, a school of philosophy in Athens, thought to be the first ever university. It sought unchanging truth, mathematics being essential to this.
How was Plato influenced by Pythagoras?
Pythagoras stated that mathematical and geometrical truths are fundamentally different from the objects we have around us, they are timeless and changeless unlike the physical world around us, a posteriori thought is therefore deeply flawed.
Why does Plato argue we are able to recognize concepts?
We are able to see what a dog is as we have seen dogs before. Therefore, we are able to recognise concepts such as beauty and justice as we have seen perfect examples of them in the world of the forms.
What is the book the Republic?
Socrates dialogue with his pupils authored by Plato.
How is beauty talked about in the Republic and how does that influence Plato?
Socrates is trying to persuade his pupil Glaucon that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One may look at a flower from afar and say it is beautiful, but up-close their may be flaws such as insect bites. Therefore, you may find another object to be more beautiful. Therefore we can have no firm knowledge from our senses. As a result, Plato argues that there must be an ultimately perfect version in the world of the Forms.
What is Plato’s concept of common property?
Common property is the concepts itself and items can all participate with it to a certain extent.
What is Plato’s understanding of the Real World?
The real world is not real at all, it is merely a world of appearances. The only real world is the world of the forms.
What is the sensible realm?
A world in which we perceive by our senses. Its not the real world, merely a shadowy reflection of the world of the forms. Everything is perceived by senses which will change and develop, eventually dieing.
What type of forms was Plato mostly concerned with?
The forms of concepts rather then tangible objects.
What belief did Plato have that makes him a dualist?
He distinguishes between the body and soul.
What did Plato believe about the soul?
We have immortal souls that belong to the world of forms, before being born into a physical body and placed in a physical realm. The soul when in the body has vague recollections of the true world of Forms. This is why children can have basic knowledge of concepts such as beauty and justice without ever being taught it.
What is the intelligible realm?
The real realm, the one of the forms which can only be encountered through the use of thought and reason. It is transcendent and spiritual, immutable, the most important form in the world being the form of the good.
What is the form of the good?
The ultimate object of enquiry, far superior in perfection then all other forms. All forms have the presence of the good within them. All forms stem from the Form of the good and the form sustains them. The form of the good illuminates them, allowing us to have knowledge of the other forms. There is a hierchary of the forms,. the form of the good being at the top followed by the universal qualities, concepts and ideals, physical living objects and finally physical inanimate objects.
What is the analogy of the cave?
Its a story of chained prisoners in a cave, an attempt to describe the world of the forms. The prisoners have spent their whole lives chained to the walls of a cave at the bottom of a steep slope, they are unable to see anything but the back wall of the cave, the only things they are able to see is the shadows created by the prison guards fire. To the prisoners, the shadows seem real as they cannot see what is happening behind them. Plato says that if one of the prisoners was freed, all he would feel is pain and confusion, blinded by at first the fire and then the sunlight. Finally the prisoner would see the sun and understand what it is truly for, the thing which created the shadows and the creatures now around him. If he would return to the other prisoners, they would find him insane especially as his ability to interpret the shadows would now be different and would even put him to death which can be linked to Socrates death.
What do the chained prisoners represent?
Mankind which is locked up by temperamental desires and temptations. People have never tried to find true knowledge, it doesn’t occur to them that there is more to life then meets the eyes.
What does the shadowy play represent?
We acquire knowledge of concepts through our experience of the physical object but we are mistaken if we think the concepts we grasp are the same as the real thing, the form.
What does the cave represent?
Our imprisoned, immortal soul. Everything we need to achieve true knowledge is already within us, we just need to work to find it.
What does the journey out of the cave represent?
The struggle for the soul to be enlightened with true knowledge, just as the prisoners eyes adjusting to light is hard, so is our journey from comfortable ignorance to wisdom.
What does the sun represent?
The Form of the Good, when the prisoners sees it, he realises that life in the cave was an illusion and any achievements he made within it were meaningless.
What does the outside world represent?
He will be at first blinded by the brightness of the sun, but soon the prisoners eyes will become accustomed to the lights and will be able to see the shadows and outlines of the objects, before being able to see clearly and distinguish one object from the next. True knowledge may be scary at first but we will become accustomed to it and it will live comfortably in our minds.
What does the prisoners return to the cave represent?
Plato says that the prisoner has a duty to return to the cave and tell the other prisoners of his findings, even though he will stumble in the cave and his words will make no sense to the others. The ignorant may mock him but it is still essential for him to complete his task. The enlightened must learn how to see in the dark again in order to communicate with the prisoners in order to lead them to the true knowledge of the son.
