Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Philosophy > Aristotle > Flashcards

Aristotle Flashcards

1
Q

How did Aristotle examine the world around him?

A

Using his senses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Was Aristotle a rationalist or empiricist?

A

He was an empiricist

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Did Aristotle mostly agree or disagree with Plato?

A

Disagree

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Did Aristotle think change was good or bad?

A

Good. This completely opposes the view of Plato.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What did Aristotle believe everything in existence has?

A

A purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Telos

A

The word to describe something that achieves its final purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Teleology

A

The study of final purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Aristotle

A

384 - 322 BC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What did Aristotle think had a purpose?

A

He believed that everything in existence had a purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What makes something what it is to Aristotle?

A

The ‘form’ (think of formal cause)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What did Aristotle believe about the World of the Forms?

A

He believed there was no separate World of the Forms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What did Aristotle believe was the real world?

A

The Material World

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What did Aristotle believe everything possesses within it?

A

Potential to change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does the change from potentiality to actuality happen through?

A

The 4 causes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What happens when something has achieved its purpose, according to Aristotle?

A

It exists in the new actual state (actuality)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What change does following the 4 causes enable?

A

The change from potentiality to actuality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Potentiality

A

The quality something possesses - something it can do if the conditions are right

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Actuality

A

If the conditions are right, then the potentiality becomes this when it achieves its purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Continuous cycle of change and motion

A

This state of actuality has the potential to change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What did Aristotle believe everything in the world was doing?

A

He believed everything in the world was changing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

For something to reach its telos from potentiality to actuality, what does it need to go through?

A

The 4 causes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Aristotle quote

A

‘Nature does not act without a goal’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What are the 4 causes?

A
  • material cause
  • formal cause
  • efficient cause
  • final cause
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Material cause

A
  • matter
  • what is it made of?
  • e.g., a book is made of paper
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Formal cause

A
  • the form or essence of something
  • what are its characteristics? (the characteristics of the material)
  • e.g., a book = paper can have text on, it can be bent, it’s light to the touch
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Efficient cause

A
  • process
  • how does it happen?
  • e.g., a book = publishers, writer, author
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Final cause

A
  • actuality
  • what is it for?
  • e.g., book = to read, pleasure + enjoyment, education
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What could be a new potential created for a book after the final cause has been achieved?

A

An actual book may then have the potential to be used as fire material

29
Q

What example did Aristotle use to explain his idea of the 4 causes?

A

The example of a sculptor

30
Q

Aristotle’s example of a sculptor

A

This is used to explain the 4 causes. Essentially, this is where the sculptor saw the horse’s form in the block of granite, because that particular block of granite had the potentiality to be formed into the shape of a horse

31
Q

What were each of the 4 causes with Aristotle’s example of the sculptor?

A
  • material cause = the granite
  • formal cause = the granite is carvable, strong, solid, holds its shape + form
  • efficient cause = the sculptor - can’t happen without their vision and the tools
  • final cause = the statue of a horse
32
Q

Strengths of rationalism

A
  • universal, this means that everyone can have the same knowledge and understanding all over the world
  • eternal, this knowledge exists throughout time, so even if you don’t know or understand it, does not mean it does not exist in the same way it always has (think of maths, e.g., 2+2 = 4)
  • supported by René Descartes through his example of wax. We can see, smell, feel wax in it’s solid form and call it wax. If we then light the wax, it becomes a completely different form + has different physical properties, yet we still call it wax. In this instance, the idea of wax cannot be obtained through experience, but through reason.
33
Q

Weaknesses of rationalism

A
  • we cannot gain all knowledge through thinking alone. E.g., think of a coconut. You know it and can recognise and describe it, but you cannot imagine the taste - this is something that only your senses will tell you. You don’t know if you’d like the taste of a coconut without actually tasting it and so, you do need your senses to gain some types of knowledge.
34
Q

Quote to support empiricism

A

‘Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu.’ = nothing is in the intellect which was not first in sense (essentially means that everything starts with the senses)

35
Q

Strengths of empiricism

A
  • takes into account how the world really works (looks at facts + evidence)
  • widely used in science as a method of proving and disproving theories
  • supporter David Hume argues that under normal circumstances, our senses do not lie and the more we repeat something, the better idea we have of it
36
Q

Weaknesses of empiricism

A
  • sense data is indirect, there is mediation between sensation and perception. E.g., where your eyes are, you see the bottom of your nose all the time, but your brain blocks it out, because it knows it’s there, so you don’t see it at all, even though the end of your nose is in your vision at all times. What you see is not without interference.
  • there is no way of knowing if what we are seeing is reality. What if you’re colour blind? Also, how do we know something is actually a certain colour, just because the majority say it is?
  • many people experience hallucinations or lucid dreams, suggesting that the senses can easily be deceived.
37
Q

What is something Aristotle is very famous for saying?

A

‘Nothing comes from nothing’

38
Q

Why did Aristotle believe in a Prime Mover?

A

He believed that if you’ve got nothing, you get nothing and, as there is something here, this something must have come from something else, which for Aristotle, is the Prime Mover.

39
Q

Is Aristotle comparing the Prime Mover to starting off a set of dominoes?

A

No

40
Q

How is the Prime Mover different from setting off a set of dominoes?

A

Aristotle focuses on the Prime Mover as the originating (first) cause of all motion that SUSTAINS the pattern of change from potentiality to actuality. With the dominoes, the person actioning the movement does not sustain it, whereas the Prime Mover does.

41
Q

What else does the Prime Mover do other than just set things in motion?

A

The Prime Mover also sustains things

42
Q

Which of Aristotle’s 4 causes is the Prime Mover?

A

The Final Cause

43
Q

Why is the Prime Mover the final cause?

A

This is because the Prime Mover has no material, formal or efficient causes and is in itself pure actuality. It does not change, but its existence is ‘necessary’ (must exist and cannot fail to exist). It has no potentiality and only has purpose (this is to sustain, cause and effect)

44
Q

What does the Prime Mover being ‘necessary’ mean?

A

It must exist by definition - the Prime Mover created itself. Something else cannot have made the Prime Mover or how was that caused?

45
Q

Give a problem with the Prime Mover

A

If the Prime Mover is unchanging and unmoving then how is its purpose to sustain the process of cause and effect?

46
Q

Give a response to the criticism about the Prime Mover, where given its unchanging and unmoving nature, it surely would be unable to sustain things?

A

The Prime Mover does not move or have any knowledge or desire to move or change. Attraction is the answer to the problem - everything in the universe is attracted to the Prime Mover. (we are the nails and the Prime Mover is the magnet). We are attracted and pulled to the Prime Mover + this means that things constantly change. The Prime Mover isn’t aware of this, in the same way that a magnet isn’t aware it’s attracting nails. The Prime Mover only thinks about itself and is only aware of itself. The magnet doesn’t interact in any way, just as the Prime Mover doesn’t interact.

47
Q

Give some qualities of the Prime Mover

A
  • transcendent
  • necessary
  • unchanged
  • perfection
  • pure goodness
  • eternal
  • impersonal
  • final cause
48
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: transcendent

A

It is separate and external from the universe, change and motion

49
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: necessary

A

It cannot fail to exist

50
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: unchanged

A

It is not changed and remains in a pure state of ‘actuality’ with no potential

51
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: perfection

A

The Prime Mover has no potential (potential means need to change / improve), but is pure actuality

52
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: pure goodness

A

If you lack goodness, you cannot be perfect.

53
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: eternal

A

Exists outside of time, so is not affected by time passing

54
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: impersonal

A

Does not know (gain knowledge) or interact with the universe as this would result in change

55
Q

Qualities of the Prime Mover: final cause

A

The reason why the universe is the way it is - constant motion from actual to potential. This constant cycle is because of the Prime Mover, it’s its cause and its purpose.

56
Q

Where was Aristotle born and how did this impact him?

A

He was born in Macedonia so was viewed as an ‘outsider’ at the time, for you really needed to be from Athens for full acceptance.

57
Q

Was Aristotle a rationalist or an empiricist?

A

Empiricist

58
Q

What did Aristotle believe a ‘form’ was?

A

He believed that the ‘form’ is within the object itself and is its characteristics.

59
Q

Metaphysics

A

All about studying the structure of reality

60
Q

What did Aristotle claim that all natural things have?

A

A final cause and an end or purpose

61
Q

How can Aristotle’s view that all things have a purpose be criticised?

A

Natural things, such as the appendix, don’t seem to have a purpose

62
Q

How did Albert Camus criticise Aristotle?

A

He argued that the universe is not purposeful, but chaotic. He undermines the whole claim of Aristotle that the universe has a final cause and claimed that human beings decide the purpose of things depending on what they want to achieve.

63
Q

What did David Hume argue about the final cause?

A

He said that even if everything in the universe has a final cause, it would be wrong to suggest that the whole universe has a final cause. This is his view of the Fallacy of Composition.

64
Q

What did Aristotle believe is the first cause behind everything?

A

The Prime Mover

65
Q

Does Aristotle accept infinite regress?

A

No

66
Q

What is the Prime Mover often referred to as?

A

The Unmoved Mover

67
Q

Give a criticism of Aristotle’s Prime Mover

A

It doesn’t fit well with the rest of Aristotle’s philosophy. What evidence is there? Aristotle usually focuses on what is in the world around him.

68
Q

Give some criticisms of Aristotle

A
  • why limit knowledge to the material world?
  • does the universe have a purpose?
  • Aristotle’s concept of the Prime Mover seems to contradict his other ideas

Philosophy (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions