Lecture 1: Prehistory & Classical Antiquity Flashcards
Preliterate civilization
Civilization before writing was invented
Animism
Explanation of the workings of the world and the universe by means of spirits with human-like characteristics
Pictogram
An information-conveying sign that consists of a picture resembling the erosion, animal or object it represents
phonogram
A sign that represents a sound or syllable of spoken language; forms the basis of writing systems
Logograph
A sign representing a spoken word, which no longer has a physical resemblance to the word’s meaning
Scholastic method
Study method in which students unquestioningly memorize and recite texts that are thought to convey unchanging truths
Place coding system
System in which the meaning of a sign not only depends on its form but also on its position in a string
Fertile Crescent
Region in the Middle East with a high level of civilization around 3000 BCE; included the Ancient Mesopotamian and the Ancient Egyptian civilizations
Philosophy
Critical reflection on the universe and human functioning; started in Ancient Greece
Syllogism
Argument consisting of three propositions; major and minor premise and conclusion. The goal of logic is to determine which syllogisms lead to valid conclusions and which do not
Dark Ages
Name given in the Renaissance to the Middle Ages, to refer to the lack if independent and scientific thinking in that age
Renaissance
Cultural movement from the 14th to the 17th century based on a rediscovery and imitation of the classical Greek and Roman civilizations
Zeitgeist
Word used in the history of science to indicate that the time was right for a certain discovery; the discovery did not originate from a single genius, but from a much wider development leading to the discovery
Matthew effect
The tendency to give more credit to well-known scientists than they deserve; increases the perceived impact of these scientists
Hindsight bias
The assumption that individual scholars in history books knew much more than they actually did
What is representation and why was it so important
Representation is when things are denoted with symbols and relations between things are denoted with relations between symbols; it made it possible to have shared representations, which meant ideas could be spread easily and could be sustained over generations
What repercussions did the discovery of agriculture have
People could stay in one place, which allowed them to not focus only on survival and therefore have more time and they also had the means (language/writing) —> led to scientific thinking
What questions are linked to ontology and epistemology
Ontology; what is the world like
Epistemology; how do we know what’s true
What was the most important point of Heraclitus
Panta rei = everything flows, nothing stays the same
What is rationalism and empiricism
Rationalism; knowledge can be known by reasoning and thinking - people are born with knowledge
Empiricism; humans are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa) and knowledge is acquired through sensory perception and observation
T/F; Socrates was a student of Plato
False, Plato was a student of Socrates
Plato was a … (rationalist/empiricist)
Rationalist
What is nativism
The claim that there is innate knowledge that humans are born with
What three distinctions did Plato make of the soul
- Reason (brain)
- Sensation and emotion (heart)
- Appetite and lower passion (liver)
Aristotle was an … (rationalist/empiricist)
Empiricist
What is one big distinction between the Greeks and the Romans
The Romans were much more practical than the Greek, they made more technological inventions and improvements
What happened to schools in the Hellenistic period (3)
They get a strong psychological-practical component;
- stoicism; it is best to minimize your feelings
- Epicureanism; happiness is the ultimate pursuit, which you achieve by living your life as balanced as possible
- skepticism; refrain from judgement
What 4 changes did book printing results in
- Knowledge came within much more reach
- No more rarity of books and fear of destruction
- No more transcription errors
- Multiple scholars could work on the same copy
What are 5 biases in historic writing
- Too much countered on persons; whoever made the discoveries isn’t very important since they probably would have been made anyways —> zeitgeist
- Matthew effect
- Hindsight bias
- Ethnocentrism
- History reviews are summaries of summaries
What is ethnocentrism
Authors have a tendency to attach excessive weight to the contribution of their own group and that of their readers
Explain the main point of Plato’s cave
Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners’ reality, but are not accurate representations of the real world. The shadows represent the fragment of reality that we can normally perceive through our senses, while the objects under the sun (outside of the cave) represent the true forms of objects that we can only perceive through reason. One person is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are actually not the direct source of the images seen. A philosopher aims to understand and perceive the higher levels of reality like the person freed from the cave. However, the other inmates of the cave do not even desire to leave their prison, for they know no better life.
What are 3 kinds of knowledge that Aristotle identified
- Productive knowledge - concerned with making things
- Practical knowledge - concerned with rules on how to act
- Theoretical knowledge - concerned with truth
What 3 things is knowledge based on according to Aristotle
- sensory experiences
- induction
- logic —> it does not tell us what to think but how we get from premise to conclusion
What effect did the Protestant reformation have
Since they wanted to rebel against the Catholic Church, they gave more importance to education and critical thinking
What are 3 characteristics of preliterate civilizations
- Know-how knowledge without theoretical knowledge
- Fluidity of knowledge
- Myths and stories in which human traits are projected on objects/events
When did the prehistory turn into history
Around 5000 BC when language developed
What is the most important thing that Phyrro emphasized
- Articulates skepticism
- maintains that one can never know anything for sure
- the importance of justifying knowledge claims
Why were Plato’s books very widely available
Because his view appealed to the church
What is the peripatetic principle
Nothing is in the intellect that wasn’t first in the senses, our mind was initially empty when we are born, and is filled by the knowledge we gain from observation.
What were 3 reasons for why the medieval times suffered a severe decline in scientific knowledge
- The church did not encourage critical thinking and was not interested in natural sciences
- There was political upheaval
- Economic downfall
What were 4 post-medieval developments in Western Europe
- Establishment of schools/universities
- Increased mobility of scholars
- Discovery of Ancient Greek/Arabic texts
- Growing impact of Aristotle’s work
