Ancient Philosophy Flashcards
Plato
427-347
- things learned through reason not observation
Plato rationality
Reason is humanities greatest attribute
bad acts are a result of lack of reason
always following reason will lead us to the right decisions being made and good lives
Platos forms
Spiritual, non material, permanent and passive
Things made on earth are imperfect imitations of the forms
Souls belong in this realm
Realm of the forms
we were trapped in bodies so no longer in RoF
we have forgetfulness as a consequence
remember glimspes of the RoF
learning is recollection of RoF from previous life
realm of appearances
things look more/less like their originals in the rof
inferior in every way to rof
hierarchy
RoA gives us hints of what RoF is like
anything true here must be more fully true there
form of the good> higher forms > individual forms
form of good
highest of forms
then other ‘higher’ forms a
individual forms lowest
simile of cave
plato thinks those with true philosophical insight cannot be understood by people unable to see past roa
objections
good subjective- appears in different ways - not one single good
pure doesnt mean eternal
forms have no practical application in life
practical knowledge
no evidence
empiricism
aristotle
learn things from learning and practise
doesnt believe knowledge is dormant
believes knowledge is based on observation
four causes
aristotle
material cause- substance
formal- design
efficient- maker/ builder
final- purpose/ function
final cause
aristotle
used to argue for purpose of humans
good= fulfils purpose well
aristotle weaknesses
errors in observation show weakness in reliability of empiricism as a source of knowledge
eg. said women are deforms and have fewer teeth than men + people who aren’t smart were born to be slaves
democritus
experience just gives changing opinion
episteme only comes from reason- achieved things empiricism could not
believed if a rock was continuously cut into pieces
would get so small its no longer divisible
called these a-toms
not true
