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paper 1 epistemology content > innatism content > Flashcards

innatism content Flashcards

1
Q

what is a priori and a prosteriori knowledge

A

a priori = knowledge acquired without need of experience
a prosteriori = knowledge which is acquired with experience

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2
Q

what is an analytic vs synthetic proposition

A

analytic = true by definition
synthetic = true in virtue of how the world is

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3
Q

what is a neccessary vs contingent truth

A

necessary = must be true - opposite is a logical contradiction = square has 4 sides
contingent = must be true - oppositie is not a logical contradiction = sky is blue

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4
Q

whatis rationalism vs empiricism with examples of philosophers

A
  • rationalism = reason is the source of our knowledge - and innate knowledge too
    —> plato, descartes
  • empiricism = experience is the source of our knowledge - no innate knowledge
    —> locke, hume, berkeley
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5
Q

what is prepositional knowledge

A
  • knowledge that something is the case
  • knowledge of truthful sentances
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6
Q

what is innatism

A

the claim that is some prepositional knowledge is a priori and within us from birth

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7
Q

what are the 4 arguments for innatism

A
  • argument from recollection - plato
  • argument from necessary truths - liebniz
  • missing shade of blue - liebniz
  • synthetic a priori knowledge - kant
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8
Q

what are 4 arguments against innatism

A
  • argument from universal assent - locke
  • mind is a tabula rasa - locke
  • copy principle, law of identity - hume
  • fork - hume
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9
Q

what is claimed to plato about recollection in his dialogue “meno”

A
  • new knowledge is always impossible to acquire because if we already know the knowledge, we will have no reason to inquire more about it and if we do not know then we wont be able to judge whether the answer is right or wrong because we would lack the knowledge
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10
Q

what is a paradox

A

a self contradictory statement

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11
Q

what is platos response to the paradox put forward in “meno”

A
  • learning is just a process of recollection
  • our souls = immortal and come from the realm of forums
  • so we already contain all of our knowledge
  • we faintly recall this when we encounter things or are asked questions we faintly recall this
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12
Q

what does socrates try to show in “meno” through the slave boy

A
  • socrates can tease the knowledge of geometry out of an uneducated slave boy by asking guided, closed questions
  • shows that knowledge is a process of recollection where the knowledge is innate but just need to be asked the right questions
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13
Q

write the formal version of the argument from recollection P1, P2, P3, C1, C2, C3

A

P1) the slave boy has not been taught about geometry
P2) Socrates only asks questions, without teaching or explaining so he doesnt teach the boy anything
P3) after the discussion the boy has some geometrical issues
C1) therefore, the boys knowledge of geometry didnt come from teaching but rather experience
C2) therefore, the boy must have some innate knowledge of geometry
C3) therefore, there is innate knowledge and learning is a process of recollection

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14
Q

what are some issues with socrates demonstration in “meno”

A
  • the boy may have learnt from elsewhere
  • the questions were close so socrates is guiding him
  • the boy couldve used logic/reasoning/deduction not memory
  • the discussion could be imagines so this may not work in reality
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15
Q

plato claims that our immortal souls exist in the real of forms - what is this, what are forms

A
  • forms = unchanging essance of things
    —> form of justice, animals, numbers ect
  • plato wanted to understand how it is thay we recognise distinct objects as being a part of the same group
    —> we recollect that they are the imperfect examples of the perfect froms they represent
    —> e.g we never experience two-ness but we recognise when there are two things
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16
Q

what does platos cave anaolgy say and represent

A
  • allegory for a philosophers journey from the physical realm of opinion and falsehood to the realm where they can see the truth
  • the physical world we experience is a copy of the real world which only philosophers can access through reflection and contemplation
  • the cave = when the released prisoners return to their friends in the cave to help them, they are deemed useless and silly
17
Q

what is the formal version of the argument against innate ideas from locke —> universal assent

A

P1) if a concept or item of knowledge is innate, it must be universally known
P2) for something to be known it has to be assented to —> to agree with, accept and be aware of the statement
P3) children and “idiots” are not able to assent to basuc principles such as the law of identity and non contradiction
C1) therefore, there are no concepts or items of knowledge that are innate

18
Q

give two reasons why lockes argument against innatism about universal assent is unconvincing and a reason why it is convincing

A
  • makes logical sense
    BUT
  • there will always be exceptions to a theory and a well thought out one would account for them
  • we can know things without being conscious of them so P2 (for something to be known it must be assented to) is wrong
19
Q

what is the law of identity and non contradiction and who cannot assent to these examples

A
  • identity = whatever is, is
  • non contradictin = it is impossible for the same thing to be and not to be
  • children + idiots —> those with severe mental illnesses or learning disabilities
20
Q

what does empiricism claim about being a tabula rasa and what are the two places we get experience from

A
  • being born a blank slate at birth and through experience, we come to know the world
  • 2 places we get experience from
    1) the external world —> gained via our senses
    2) our internal operations —> knowledge is gained from experiencing our own minds
21
Q

what is the formal argument from liebniz about necessary truths P1, P2, P3, C1, C2

A

P1) we have knowledge on some necessary truths
P2) sense experience only provides us with information about particular instances
P3) necessary truths go beyond particular instances
C1) therefore, necessary truths cannot be known through sense experience
C2) therefore, necessary truths must be in some sense present in the mind —> innate

22
Q

what are some examples of necessary truths that locke thinks are innate

A
  • law of identity, non contradiction
    -liebnzes law = if two things share all the same properties then they must be the same thing
  • the causual principle = that everything must have a cause
23
Q

what is liebnizes veined block of marble analogy

A
  • the mind is like a viened block of marble
  • there are veins which shape the way a sculptor will sculpt a slate of marble
  • similarly there are innate necessary truths which shape the way we experience the world
  • the way a sculptor chisles away at a block of marble, so too does experience chisel away at our mind to create our knowledge
  • in this way room is made for the role of experience in being the source of our knowledge but it is not the source of all our knowledge
24
Q

summarise lockes view of the mind

A
  • mind is transparent —> for something to be in it we must assent to it
  • there is no universal assent to knowledge claims —> so there is no innate knowledge
  • we cannot distinguish between innate knowledge and knowledge from experience —> they feel the same
25
Q

summarise liebnizs view of the mind

A
  • the mind isnt transparent —> we dont have to be aware of everything in our mind
  • there is universal assent to knowledge —> only knowledge of necessary truths is innate, we are simply unaware of our assent to these
  • we can distinguish between innate knowledge and knowledge from experience —> innate knowledge is of necessary truths and knowledge from experience is contingent
26
Q

what is humes copy principle
- what are impressions and ideas and simple ideas

A
  • we have no completely original ideas even in our imagination
  • impressions = the direct experiences of something, clear
  • ideas = our memories/reflections/copies of impressions, unclear, less vivid, fainter
    simple ideas = single copies of sense impressions, used to create complex ideas
27
Q

how does Hume claim we get the idea of God from experience

A
  • impressions of the qualities of God which we can see around us and combine that with our impression of finite things such as our own existance to create infinity
28
Q

what is the missing shade of blue argument and how might hume respond

A
  • on a colour chart, one colour is missing
  • we can form an idea of the missing shade
  • it is an idea that has not come directly from an impression
  • implies that humes copy principle is incorrect about how we gain ideas through experience
  • humes response would be that it is just one unique case and just one example cannot prove the theory to be incorrect
  • also to defend hume, missing colour is probably a combo of the two shades either side —> still an issue though because colous are simple ideas so cannot be made up of other simple ideas, they have to be founded in experience
29
Q

what are the two prongs of humes fork

A
  • if any prepositional knowledge doesnt fit into either of the catagories then it cannot be prepositional knowledge and is “consigned to the flames”
    1) relations of ideas/concepts —> necessary, analytic, a priori
    2) matters of fact —> contingent, synthetic, a prosteriori
30
Q

what is a compatibalist - kant

A
  • there are innate truths mixed with our experiences of the world which shape all our knowledge claims
31
Q

what is synthetic a priori knowledge for kant

A

SP = true or false in virtue of how the world is —> not a logical contradiction to deny them
AK = knowledge known prior to experience
- SAPK = knowledge of the world known prior to experiencing the world —> time, space, causuality

paper 1 epistemology content (7 decks)

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