Ancient philosophical influences

Question 1

What is Aristotles main argument?

Answer 1

• The physical world can give us information
• Empiricism is the superior way to gain knowledge
• Observation of the natural world using the senses

Question 2

What is Aristotles understanding of reality?

Answer 2

• Something can have multiple explanations for its existence
  SO made the 4 causes…

Question 3

Material cause

Answer 3

What something is made from

Question 4

Formal cause

Answer 4

The shape of something

Question 5

Efficient cause

Answer 5

How something came to be

Question 6

Final cause

Answer 6

Somethings purpose or end goal/telos

Question 7

When does Aristotle feel as if something can be deemed as good?

Answer 7

Once it has fulfilled its telos

Question 8

What is the prime mover?

Answer 8

What causes potentiality to move to actuality.
It causes the constant chain of cause and effect.
It is pure actuality
It causes change and motion as it attracts things towards it

Question 9

Actuality

Answer 9

The fulfilment of a potential

Question 10

Potentiality

Answer 10

The capacity for something to happen

Question 11

What are the 5 conclusions about the prime mover?

Answer 11

• It doesn’t depend on anything else to exist
• It is eternal
• It is perfectly good
• It is beyond time and space (transcendent)
• It is the final cause of everything in the universe

Question 12

What is Platos main argument?

Answer 12

• This world is an imitation of another
• This world is constantly changing so cannot hold true knowledge
• There must be a real where things are eternal and unchanging (The Realm of the Forms) which we can gain knowledge of using reason

Question 13

What is Platos theory of the forms?

Answer 13

The things we experience through our senses are imitations of their ideal forms.
Forms are unchanging and eternal versions of what we experience in the physical world.
We have an understanding of forms since birth since we previously experienced them.
THEREFORE we have eternal souls and were in the realm of the forms before birth

Question 14

Form of the good

Answer 14

Allows the should to understand truths in the realm of the forms

Question 15

Higher forms

Answer 15

Concepts/ideals

Question 16

Lower forms

Answer 16

Parts of higher forms seen in phenomena/objects

Question 17

Particulars

Answer 17

Physical, imperfect, mortal things

Question 18

What do the aspects of the cave analogy represent?

Answer 18

The cave = our material world
Prisoners = humans who do not use reason
Escaped prisoner = humans who question and reason
Outside of the cave = realm of the forms

Question 19

Why do theists object to Aristotles concept of God?

Answer 19

It transcendent meaning it does not interact with the universe - it is irrelevant to the universe

Question 20

Aristotle criticism : cause and effect

Answer 20

Perhaps cause and effect is an infinite chain, there might not be any need for anything to start this

Question 21

Aristotle criticism : Russel, Sartre and Dawkins

Answer 21

Does the universe need a telos?
Perhaps it just exists with no reason or goal and is the result of chance

Question 22

Aristotle criticism : rejecting reason

Answer 22

He rejects the use of reason completely, it would be bad to confine ourselves to only empirical knowledge.

Question 23

Plato criticism : Dawkins

Answer 23

It is nonsense to talk of a transcendent other world as science has proved that the physical world is reality.
It is also an abstract idea in itself

Question 24

Plato criticism : Aristotle

Answer 24

Platos argument is illogical when pushed to logical extremes as it is hard to accept that there is ideal forms of spite/jealousy

Question 25

Plato criticism : universal?

Answer 25

Everyones idea regarding the perfect form of something is different - disproving that we lived in the realm of the forms

Question 26

Plato criticism : “good” and “bad”

Answer 26

We all have different concepts of goodness.
AJ Ayer - when we talk of something being good/bad we are expressing an emotional reaction, not true knowledge

Question 27

Plato criticism : elitist and unfair

Answer 27

Plato infers that only intellectuals are capable of goodness

Question 28

Criticism of empiricism

Answer 28

Our senses can mislead us

Question 29

Criticism of reason

Answer 29

Reason is limited unless it has experiences to provide it with information. Eg you do not know if its raining outside unless you look

Question 30

Similarities of the Prime Mover and Form of the good

Answer 30

They have both influenced the Christian understanding of God.
Plato - God is perfect goodness/permanent/unchanging
Aristotle - God is the cause of everything and not caused by anything else

Question 31

Differences of the Prime Mover and Form of the good

Answer 31

Humans might be able to experience the from of the good, but not the prime mover

Question 32

Heraclitus

Answer 32

Cast doubt on the possibility of gaining knowledge because the world is constantly changing.

Question 33

Heraclitus quote

Answer 33

“A man never steps in the same river twice”

Question 34

Nietzsche

Answer 34

Called the form of the good a ‘dangerous error’ and claimed philosophers tend to invent ideas to justify their emotional prejudices, such as a desire for power

Question 35

Wittingden’s rejection of the forms

Answer 35

Rejects the one over many argument (idea that different particulars share a common property that makes them all the same)
There are a series of overlapping characteristics - just as members of a family resemble others.

Question 36

Aristotle’s third man argument (rejects Plato)

Answer 36

To find the similarity between a man and the form of man, one needs a third form of man, and this always requires another form. The explanation of the original similarity is never given; it is only put off to the next level.

Question 37

Stephen Law’s criticism of Plato

Answer 37

The idea that there are forms for everything can be carried to absurdity.

“The form of the Bogey!”