Ancient philosophical influences Flashcards
who is plato?
Plato is a rationalist that believed that the only way to obtain knowledge was through a priori reasoning
What is Plato’s view on reality?
PLATO’s CAVE:
- to show his view on reality, he used the analogy of the cave
- a man is stuck in the cave and can only see whats right in front of him
what he can only see in front of him is the world of appearances
- whats outside the cave, that he cant see, is the world of forms
What is the world of appearances?
- this world that is perceived by our senses, so is therefore constantly changing
- we cannot be certain of the a posteriori knowledge gained from this world as its just opinion (doxa)
what is the world of forms?
- this world can only be accessed through reason and logic
- this world is a place where true, perfect knowledge (episteme) exists and can only be obtained through a priori reasoning
what are the forms?
- plato states that everything that shares the same name or feature must have a perfect form that must exist in the world of forms
- plato states that forms are non physical, unchanging and perfect
Why does plato believe in the forms?
- The Recognition Argument
- The Copies Argument
What is the Recognition Argument?
premise 1: we can recognise ideal forms of things in particulars
premise 2: if we can recognise them, it means we have some knowledge of them
premise 3: it is impossible to obtain knowledge of the forms a posteriori
premise 4: therefore, we must have innate knowledge of the forms a priori
conclusion: therefore, the forms exist
What is the Copies Argument?
premise 1: if there are multiple objects that are similar, then they are copies of an exemplar
premise 2: all red things we see are similar
premise 3: so all red things are copies of an exemplar of red
conclusion: therefore, the form of red exists
What is the Form of the Good?
The Form of the Good is the origin of knowledge for object, as its the cause of their goodness and truth; just as the sun is the cause of growth
Why does Plato believe the Form of the Good exists?
premise 1: if there are multiple things that have the same feature, then they are copies of a perfect copy of that feature
premise 2: all forms have have the same feature - in that they are perfect
premise 3: so all forms are copies of of an exemplar of perfection
conclusion: therefore, the form of the good - the form of perfection- exists
what is a weakness of the copies argument?
THIRD MAN FALLACY:
- plato assumes that everything similar must have a form
- if that’s true, then men(people) must also have a form: the form of man
- but then this would cause an infinite regress of the form of man as there would be something shared between the form of man and men
How does plato overcome the weakness of a posteriori reasoning?
- a posteriori arguments continue to be disproven by science
- it is safer to assume that our knowledge of the perfect version of things (forms) comes a priori
- therefore, the forms must exist as there would be no reasonable explanation as to why we can recognise them
Who is Aristotle?
Aristotle is an empiricist who believes that the best way to obtain knowledge is through a posteriori reasoning as the world is always changing
what is Aristotle’s view on reality?
- he believes that all things move from potentiality to actuality
- all things do this in order to reach their telos(purpose)
- he believes that the telos for humans is eudaimonia/flourishing
- he believes that in order to flourish you must live a virtuos life
What are the four causes for Aristotle?
- Material cause (what that thing is made of)
- Efficient cause (the cause that has brought that thing into existence)
- Formal cause (what gives an object its form/definition)
- Final cause: (the purpose an object has)
What is Aristotle’s argument for the Prime Mover?
premise 1: everything that changes must have a final cause
premise 2: there cannot be an infinite regress of final causes
conclusion: there must be an ultimate cause that causes everything to change
What is the prime mover?
the prime mover is an eternal, necessary and transcendent entity
- it is the only thing that doesnt move from potentiality to actuality since it is already actualised
- it causes motion in everything else by attraction; as it moves things from potentiality to actuality
- everything wants to be like the prime mover because of its perfection
what is a weakness of Aristotle’s view on reality?
SARTRE: EXISTENTIALISM
- “existence precedes essence”
- things don’t need to reach their telos as there doesn’t need to be a reason for its existence
- humans are the ones that pose purpose onto things
what is a weakness of Aristotle’s view on reality?
DARWINISM: EVOLUTION
- shows that apparent purpose in nature is due to random mutations and natural selection, not by purpose
What is Aristotle’s response the evolution weakness?
ZOOLOGY:
- zoology today explains the characteristic of animals using the concept of purposes
- every feature the animal has is for a purpose/reason
what is a weakness of Aristotle’s view on the existence of the prime mover?
HUME: FALLACY OF COMPOSITION
- just because each constituent part of something has a particular characteristic, doesn’t mean that something as a whole has that particular characteristic
BERTRAND RUSSEL:
- just because each individual human has a mother, doesn’t mean that humankind has a collective mother
What is Aristotle’s response to fallacy of composition weakness?
LEIBNIZ: PRINCIPLE OF SUFFICIENT REASON
- if something exists, there must be a reason why it exists
what is the overcoming for the weakness of the third man fallacy?
- forms dont need their own form as they are already perfect
what is a weakness of the recognition argument?
- a posteriori reasoning has helped with the development of things such as science and technology
