Final Study guide Flashcards
What two things must we know about something in order to have scientific knowledge of it?
Knowing its cause Knowing that it cannot be other than it is
How is a demonstration different from a syllogism?
A syllogism that gives us scientific knowledge
What exactly does it mean for a premise to be immediate?
not proven through another syllogism - i.e. it is known immediately
How convinced must we be of the premises of a demonstration in comparison to the conclusion?
We must be more convinced of the premises than of the conclusion
According to Aristotle, what was the argument used by some ancient skeptics to show that we can’t know anything?
They say that everything must be proved, and since we never stop proving anything we can’t know anything. But, they say, if the proofs stop at a first premise (All A is B), then that premise isn’t proven, so we don’t know it. So whether our proofs go back infinitely or stop at a first premise, they say we can’t know anything
What exactly does their argument assume?
But they are assuming that we get all of our knowledge by demonstration through premises
What is Aristotle’s solution to their argument?
We know primary premises in another way besides by demonstration.
What is the most basic primary premise of all? (State the version in Metaphysics IV.3 and be complete – don’t leave any part of it out.)
The same attribute cannot at the same time both belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect
Why exactly can’t there be any proof of it?
Because it would have to be proven from a more certain principle and there no principle that is more certain
What exactly is the argument that Socrates gives against Protagoras’ position that everyone’s opinion is true?
If everyone’s opinion is true, no one would ever think anyone else was mistaken So if the opinions of men are always true, then they must be right
According to Socrates, what would Protagoras himself have to say?
Protagoras must admit that the people who think he is wrong are right
What exactly does Protagoras’ position that “man is the measure of all things” mean?
you are the standard (the criterion) of what is true and real. Truth and reality are relative to your perception.
What is the argument that Socrates gives against that position?
not every man is the measure of truth Only the wiser are
Two examples of Socrates’ argument against Protagoras
Who is better judge if music will be harmonious(Training Master or Musician) Who who the better measure of whether wine will be sweet or dry?(A harp play or a vine grower)
What is Aristotle’s response to the argument that things appear differently to those who are sleeping?
Someone who dreams they are in another city doesn’t act like they’re there when they wake up
What is Aristotle response to the argument that the same thing can appear different to the same person through different senses?
If two senses perceive the same thing differently, one will be more authoritative
What is Aristotle’s final response to those who ask who is to judge who is the healthy observer and who is the defective one?
But that’s like asking whether we’re awake or dreaming right now, that we cannot know which is the healthy one and who is the defective one.
According to Aristotle, why did Protagoras’ hold that man is the measure of all things?
He thought this because people have different perceptions of the same thing
What is Aristotle’s solution to Protagoras’ argument?
It is foolish to treat all perceptions equally Clearly some of them must be wrong
Give an example of Aristoltle’s response to Protagoras with the senses
That someone who is blind is injured and shouldn’t be taken for the measure on a thing regarding sight
Give an example of Aristoltle’s response to Protagoras with good and bad
That someone bad like hannibal Lector must be injured in someway
Give an example of Aristoltle’s response to Protagoras with beautiful and ugly
That the measure of beautiful and ugly could be injured by something such as alcohol
List the 4 steps in how we learn primary premises.
All animals can sense Animals that can retain their sense impressions have memory Repeated memories lead to experience And from experience we can generalize universal truths behind art and science
Why is it impossible to demonstrate the last step(of learning primary premises)
Experience tells us that something has worked before, but not why it works
What does Aristotle say that science should start with?
It should go from what is more obvious to us to what is clearer by nature
Does that contradict his statement in Posterior Analytics II.19 that we should proceed from particulars towards universals? Exactly why or why not?
No because he was not referring to scientific knowledge Now we start science by demonstrating from the primary premises
In Aristotle’s specific example of a man becoming musical, what remains the same through that change?
Man remains the same
What part of a changing thing is its form?
The quality that comes to be e.g. the shape of the statue
Which part is the subject?
The part that stays the same and underlies the change e.g. the bronze in the statue
Which part is the privation?
The privation is the previous lack of quality that is gained e.g. lack of the statue shape it will get
Be prepared to identify the subject, form, and privation in any examples of physical change that I may give. I.E. Man becomes tan
Man becomes tan • Subject-Man • Form- tan • Privations- Not tan or pale
What difference does Aristotle identify between natural and artificial things?
The things that exist by nature have in themselves a principle of motion and of rest, products of art have no innate impulse to change
What is the difference between natural things and those artificial things that seem to have their principle of motion inside them too (e.g. cars and rockets)?
The artificial things move due to natural elements inside them In a car natural elements explode to move the engine.
What is Aristotle’s definition of nature? (Be complete – give both parts.)
Nature is a source of motion or rest within a thing, in virtue of itself and not a concomitant attribute
What is Antiphon’s argument that a thing’s nature is the matter it’s made of?
That if you plant a bed, what sprouts from it is wood, not another bed
What is Aristotle’s argument that a thing’s nature is its form rather than its matter? (Not his answer to Antiphon)
We don’t call something a bed whiles its only potentially a bed, but only after it is formed into a bed
How does Aristotle use Antiphon’s own argument to show that nature is form rather than matter?
That people give birth to people, not a blob of elements
Be able to name the four causes and to give Aristotle’s definition of each (not your own).
Material Cause That out of which a thing comes to be and persists o Formal cause The form or pattern o Moving cause The primary source of change or rest o End Cause The end, or that for the same of which something is done
Be able to identify the four causes for specific examples that I give (e.g. Which of the causes is the silver of a bowl? What are the four causes of a dining room table?)
Dining room table Material Cause • What its made of o Wood Formal cause • Its shape or form o What defines it as a table instead of a chair Moving or efficient cause • Who made it o Carpenter moved the matter into a certain form End Cause • What is it for o This is why the carpenter made the table in the first place
According to the view that nature acts out of necessity, if rain falls on corn and the corn then grows, why did the rain fall?
Rain doesn’t fall to make corn grow, but just because when water rises, it cools and then falls
