Greek Philosophy Flashcards
Plato and preceding what you see
- you recognise a cat because you have an idea of what a cat is
- the knowledge of what a cat is precedes you actually seeing a cat
- Plato suggests the world we live in is a world of appearances but the real world is a world of ideas that he calls Forms
what is a form for Plato
- the idea of what a thing is
- unchanging because its a concept
- not like physical objects what imitate the form and die
- exist in a different reality outside of time and space
- people share common ideas about beauty e.g. irrespective of culture and era but no onw thing or person can embody the Form of Beauty
- beyond human comprehension
- a flower can reveal what beauty is but it is not the whole definition as they just correspond to the form of beauty - they embody it
how does Plato argue we know about the Forms
- when we are born we have a dim recollection of them
- we have an immortal soul that observed the Forms before being incarnated in a body
- but in body memoires of the soul are only dim
- evidenced how people have a basic understanding of something like truth or beauty without being taught it
- we can know something is beautiful even if we do not know about the Form of Beauty
what is education for Plato
- matter of remembering and recalling world of forms
- knowledge of which is in the soul but limited by incarnation of soul in body
- do not learn new things
- learning is process of understanding the reality of how things are
what is the most important form for Plato
- FORM OF THE GOOD
- in world of appearances we can label things as good but this does not tell us all that goodness is
what analogy does Plato use to tell us why the Form of the Good is the most important
- analogy of the sun
- just as sun is source of light necessary for objects to be seen by eye the Form of the Good makes things knowable
- it is also the source of all the other forms
- enables us to understand and assess things
- sight requires both light and the eye to see clearly and the light symbolises the form of the good
what is the implication of Plato’s form of the good
- without the knowledge of the form of the good one does not see clearly the same as trying to see in the dark
- form of good is
“responsible for everything rights and good”
“controlling source of reality and intelligence”
what is Plato’s analogy of the cave
- prisoners at bottom of cave chained up facing wall
- one released and at first is blinded by bright light
- realises behind prisoners is a fire and between them and the fire is a path
- jailors walk along path holding up objects which cast shadows on wall for prisoners
- prisoner had never seen real objects before
- thought the shadows were real - his reality
- now saw him and prisoners been fooled
- real world hidden
- then dragged out cave into sun
- wants to tell prisoners about sun
- eyes no longer accustomed to dark of the cave and other prisoners think journey made him blind
- don’t listen to him and get angry saying all they want is their shadows
what do the tied prisoners in the analogy of the cave represent
- prisoners in an illusory world
- what they think is reality is not
- their situation no different from ours for Plato
- we do not see Forms clearly only illusionary physical world
- physical world imprisons us
what do the statues the jailors have in the analogy of the cave represent
- images of the forms
- only imitations or copies of the true reality of the forms
- have no more idea of the forms than the prisoners chained up
- Plato criticised politicians who lead people but do not actually know the truth
discuss the prisoner been set free in Plato’s analogy of the cave
- forced on prisoner
- people need to be taught how to understand the forms to see clearly
- but act of teaching could be distressing and force others to change their view
what did Robin Waterfield say about Plato’s analogy of the cave
- suggests the prisoners are being attracted to the shadows rather than the real world above represents the way in which culture, tradition and upbringing limit people’s ability to see the world in any other way than how they were brought up
what does the prisoner been able to gradually start to see after leaving the cave represent
- analogy of the philosopher gradually learning to distinguish Forms from the images and copies of them
- eventually the released prisoner comes to contemplate the sun
- sun represents form of good and the sun as source of other forms
- sun sustains all living things in the world above ground
discuss the prisoner wanting to go educate the other prisoners below ground in the cave
- wants to stay above ground and contemplate the Forms but out of duty he feels he must go educate the others
- those who can see the forms e.g. what is true should be the leaders of society not politicians who want to rule out of a desire for power and fame
- knowledge of forms is an essential quality of any ruler so that a ruler governs wisely for society’s good
what does the desire of the other prisoners to kill the released prisoner reflect
- death of Socrates
- he Plato’s teacher and condemned to die for impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens by teaching them philosophy
what did Plato believe was the task of the philosopher
- to seek knowledge of a timeless word
what states does plato distinguish between
- state of belief (the prisoners)
- state of knowledge (the freed prisoner)
- two people looking at same painting
- one says about colour and content (state of belief) belief based purely on what he sees
- the other comments on ideas behind the painting - does not confuse the particular with universal - state of knowledge
define empiricism
- all knowledge of matter of fact derives from experience and senses and the mind is not furnished with a set of concepts in advance of experience
- based on scientific evidence and observation
define rationalism
all knowledge of matter of fact derives from reason alone without recourse to experience
what did Aristotle believe about learning and picking up knowledge
- preoccupied with changes in the natural processes
- we established an idea of something after seeing several examples of it
- i form an idea of a teacher after many experiences
- the idea or form of a teacher does not have a separate existence
what does Aristotle and Plato think we are innately born with
- Plato believed born with innate ideas
- Aristotle though innate reason which is empty until we have sensed something
- (A) rejected almost everything (P) argued
how did (A) reject (P) form of the good
- argued humans have to work out what is good and bad not appeal to some heavenly perfect realm but by looking at the world as it was
- by studying things in this word we can work out what they should be like
- plato turns his back on this world in some sense but (A) is fully engaged with it
what makes something good for Aristotle
- if it fulfils its nature
- it is defective if it is not what was intended by nature to be
- to work out what makes a good doctor, study doctors
give a cute short Aristotle quote
- “all men desire to know”
- investigated nature of things and how we explain why they exist
- wanted to explain why things exist as they do
what are Aristotle’s four causes
- explanation of why an object exists
- material (L1)
- efficient
- formal
- final
what is the material cause
matter or substance something is made from
what is the formal cause
what gives the matter its form or structure - arrangement of matter
what is the efficient cause
- cause of an object or thing
- why it exists
what is the final cause
- the reason why something is the way it is
- purpose
- why it is towards which it is moving
- teleological
function of an object or reason an action is done
discuss telos and teleology
- final goal or purpose of something
- study of nature by attempting to describe things in terms of their pupose
what is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic purpose or telos
- extrinsic - purpose imposed by a human use e.g. fork
- intrinsic - natural teleology argues natural entities have intrinsic purposes irrespective of human use or opinion e.g. acorn
- things can be both - fish intrinsic purpose is reproduction their extrinsic purpose is to be eaten
how does Aristotle believe the world is changed
- whole of natural world shaped and changed by dynamic of the four causes
- everything we part of chain of cause and effect
- but any chain needs a trigger moment e.g. the Prime Mover
discuss the Prime Mover
- always existed
- not dependent on relationship with other things
- without it there would be nothing else and no motion to be imparted from one thing to another
- exists necessarily
- its mode of being is good
- all change on earth requires it - everything in universe in constant state of change
- is not moved itself
what does Aristotle NOT mean about the Prime Mover
- that the unmoved mover is simply at the origin of a sequence of events starting off everything in motion in the first place
- more subtle
- change is eternal
- there could not have been a first change as something would have had to happen to change that and so on
sum up the Prime Mover
- because there is eternal movement there must be a mover moving objects without itself being moved and this mover is an eternally existing substance
- the source of all movement
what is the Prime Mover in relation to Aristotle’s four causes
- a final cause
- it does not start off the movement by giving some sort of a push but is the purpose or telos of the movement
what is Aristotle saying by saying the Prime Mover is the final cause
- that the Prime Mover is God
- but remember that is God caused motion by efficient physical means he himself would be changed so he causes the movement by drawing things towards himself while remaining unaffected
- the final cause of movement is the love of and desire for God
what does Aristotle think about God and his existence
- God has necessary existence
- he does not depend on anything else for his existence
- never changes
- eternal
- necessarily good by nature as eternal
- incorporeal
