Ancient Philosophical Influences Flashcards
“Does Plato or Aristotle make more sense of reality?”
A: Aristotle’s empiricism makes more sense of reality, four causes, we can gain knowledge form experience. Strong argument as if there was one form of the good, why would we disagree over right and wrong
CA: Plato rationalism better, all have different ideas of telos, cave analogy, more to being good than fulfilling a purpose
E: Bertrand Russell - no empirical evidence of the world of forms existing, modern science - we gain knowledge from experience
A: Theory of the 4 causes is more effective. Plato does not explain how the form of the good participes in our world. Prime mover clearer. Prime mover only draws things to him
CA: Plato - FOTG is better as explains the idea of absolutes Kant in agreement. Can all agree on concepts of earth justice e.g. - there are absolute truths that have always existed
E: subjective, everyone has their own opinion. Incorrect in suggesting there is an ideal form of goodness
Other criticisms of Plato’s rationalism and world of the forms
- Hume & Dawkins: against common sense to argue that the world around us is an illusion. It seems so real. Dawkins - any talk of the “transcendent” is meaningless
- infinite regression: could have an ideal form of an ideal form of an ideal form… Plato acknowledged this
- Logical positivists: no absolute value of ‘Good’, ‘beauty’ etc, is subjective. No one will came to the exact same conclusion. It is better to rely on observations - we can observe whether something is good if it fulfils its final cause
- Learning seems more difficult than remembering - we learn from our senses
- John Locke & Russel: not logical to say there is a world we cannot see.
- Mel Thompson: the cave analogy is not reflective of the world we inhabit so ineffective
- Plato says senses are inferior but we have been relying on them forever. For example our senses help us to gain a fuller understanding of the world
- Unclear on how the forms interact with out world e.g. form of a cat have to be a breed. Ideal of everything e.g. ideal cancer
- Plato just says that there are things in the world of appearances with their perfect counterparts in the realm of the form - he provides no justification
- Empiricists: no empirical evidence for the world of the forms
- Popper: the WoF provided Plato with a way to cope with the uncertainty of life.
Strengths of Plato’s theory of the forms & rationalism
- Brian Davies: the cave helps to illustrate the FOTG and has helped people understand the relationship between God and humans
- Stephan Evans: provides people with hope that the material world is not all that exists, we can look forward to the world of the forms
- Makes sense that there are universal concepts. Kant Acknowledged the existence of absolutes. Everyone has knowledge of beauty without having prior knowledge. Maths is true irrelevant to empirical evidence
- Bryan Magee: encourages people to seek enlightenment, rather than being caught up in the material world
- Explains how everyone has a concept of beauty when we were never explicitly taught. Souls have been to the world of forms
- Heraclitus: everything is changing “you cannot step into the same river twice”: makes sense that there must be a world where everything is eternal and perfect
- We can be deceived by our senses e.g. dreams we are convinced they are true
Criticisms of Aristotle’s prime mover and 4 causes
- Plato & Descartes: senses are unreliable and can deceive us. e.g. dreams, we are convinced it’s real until we wake up
- No evidence that everything has a final cause. Some deny there is a purpose of the universe. No empirical evidence to support the existence of a prime mover. We experience motus but this does not prove there is a being causing the movement
- The PM causes a logical contradiction as is not caused by anything else. Goes against what Aristotle himself thought was impossible.
- Hume & Russel: the universe is a brute fact
- modern science suggests the universe has a definite beginning. More difficult to assume that the universe has a purpose: not evident that even the parts have a purpose. Evolution is a random process
- Purpose is a human construct: some things do not have a purpose
- _Russell, Sartre & Dawkins_Fallacy of composition: even if every part the human body had a purpose it would not follow that that the person as a whole has a purpose.
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David Hume: Fallacy of affirmation of the consequent argues that we may be able to observe cause and effect but it does not necessarily follow that the effect was a result of the cause.
-Nietzsche/ nihilism: & Sartre & Camus: life has no objective purpose. We need to create a life for ourself
Strengths of Aristotle’s Prime mover and 4 causes
- 4 causes seems effective due to the prime mover. Provides clear reason as to why movement and change happens. Argues everything has a final cause. Nothing comes from nothing so there must be an ultimate cause.
- 4 causes are supported by clear empirical evidence
- A posteriori arguments better. Plato says we cannot trust our senses however much of what we learn comes from our senses
- Supported by the Christian community
- If an object fulfils it’s purpose it is good. Goodness is not found in another world
The Forms - Plato
-Heraclitus: ‘no man can step into the same river twice’
- the ideal single version of things found on earth
- our souls belong to the world of the forms
- we do not actually learn things it is all recollection
Two realms:
1. Realm of the Forms - spiritual world
2. Realm of appearances - our world: like the analogy of the cave - gives the illusion of reality but is only an imitation
- Form of the Good: highest form - all other forms have goodness of perfection from participating in the good
- Below it are higher forms such as beauty
Aristotle’s objections to the theory of the forms
- If Forms were so essential to true understanding, why does no one study them
- The Forms have no practical value: there is no perfect health for example. Knowledge of abstract ‘health ‘ does not help a diagnosis or prescription
- Issue of infinite forms. Platonists argue that some things have no form - for example there is form of number, but of oneness twoness…. Therefore there is an infinite number of forms
Aristotle - causation
The four causes:
1. Material cause: the substance of which something is made
2. Formal cause: the shape of which the material is it
3. Efficient cause: its maker
4. Final cause: it’s function
The Prime Mover:
- every part of a human has a purpose
- every person as a whole has a purpose
- the universe has a purpose - a final cause
- The final cause for Aristotle is God
Explaining the complexity of existence using evidence - things are all changing - groundwork’s of scientific inquiry.
- Aristotle’s God happens to attract as it is in his nature.
- The universe does not have an efficient cause as it is eternal
- Prime Mover is not a creator buy creates change by exercising a ‘pull’ on things
- The Prime Mover is the only example of pure actuality it has no potential to change and is absolute goodness
