Metaphysics Midterm Flashcards
Aporia
A state of confusion
Introduced in Platos Meno
- “Yet I have made many speeches about virtue before large audiences on a thousand occasions, very good speeches as I thought, but now I cannot even say what it is.”
Wonder: from Aristotle’s Metaphysics I.2 982b10 and following
“For by way of wondering, people both now and at first began to philosophize, wondering first about the strange things near at hand, then going forward little by little in this way and coming to impasses about greater things, such as about the attributes of the moon and things pertaining to the sun and the stars and the coming into being of the whole.”
Wonder- People in awe of discoveries and want to know more, although all knowledge is not achievable for human beings
- Introduced in Aristotle’s Metaphysics
-Shared fundamental aspect of life
-Wondering: a more developed sense of curiosity- more questions on the unknown
Eros:
Means Sexual Desire
-Diotima says that Eros is a lover of wisdom
-Like eros, humanity is in between ignorance and perfection, as we are constantly searching for more.
-He is neither mortal nor god
(Here, introduces the idea that gods don’t feel lust or desire because they are all-knowing)
- Socrates says that humanity has a lust for desire/ knowledge
From Plato’s Symposium, pg.53
Definition as Species Genus and Specific Difference: Aristotle’s Categories
Formula for defining something:
species+genus+specific differnce
example: human+animal+creativity+intalect+ speech
Genus:
Represents a broader category that encompasses several related species. For example, “animal” is the genus for “human” and “dog.”
Specific Difference:
The characteristic that sets one species apart from other species within the same genus. For example, “rationality” would be the specific difference that distinguishes “human” from other animals within the “animal” genus.
RATIONALITY MAKES US HUMAN
Divided Line: degrees of Being from Plato’s Cave:
Degree of Being-
- God/one
- Mathematical objects (#2)
- Physical realities (a man)
- Images (drawing of a man/stick figure)
It can be related to social media and government: people talk to “images” rather than realities. Presidency: one person distracts us from seeing that there are many branches of govt in control
Is concerned with the stability of these beings
Are mathematical things more real than us? YES- #2 lasts forever
Diotima states that humans are always changing.
Ladder of love
one body, all bodies
Appreciation for Physical beauty leads to the understanding of intellectual beauty.
“the beauty of this one body is brother to the beauty of any other…worlds beautiful bodies is really one and the same.”
-LOVE AND APPRECIATION FOR ALL
Ladder-
Loving physically
Loving ways of life
Loving wisdom
Loving soul
Loving all
Four causes:
Material, Formal, Efficient, Final
Material- (wood, iron, copper, etc)
Formal- the preceding force that pushes the material into being (construction worker making a table out of wood)
Efficient- Function of that thing
FINAL- the ultimate purpose or goal
(getting out of bed, go to class, get degree, good job, comfort, happiness)
-Chain of causality- doing things for a final cause.
Final Cause: instrumental vs. in itself, accidental vs. necessary, causal vs. chance
Instrumental vs. In Itself:
Instrumental: The purpose serves as a means to something else. For example, a pen’s purpose is instrumental because it exists to help write words.
In Itself: The purpose is an end goal in itself, not just a means to something else. For instance, happiness or fulfillment might be considered a final cause “in itself”—they are pursued for their own sake, not as a step to another purpose.
Accidental vs. Necessary:
Accidental: The purpose is incidental or secondary rather than essential. For example, if a tree provides shade, that shade is an accidental purpose because the tree’s primary purpose isn’t to give shade.
Necessary: The purpose is essential and inseparable from the thing’s nature. A heart’s purpose to pump blood is necessary, as it’s vital for the heart’s role in the body.
Causal vs. Chance:
Causal: The purpose or result happens as a direct and intentional outcome. A teacher’s goal to educate students is causal because it’s a deliberate purpose.
Chance: The purpose or outcome happens by coincidence, not by design. For example, if someone finds a dollar on the ground, the “purpose” of going outside was not to find money, but it happened by chance. questions correctly.
Accidental final cause: Getting a good grade due to an unexpected easy test question.
Aristotle’s definition of metaphysics
the study of being insofar as it is being
Aristotle’s definition of nature
internal principle of motion and regarding itself and not incidentally
(having intent)
Example: A rock naturally falls to the ground because its “nature” is to move towards the center of the Earth, according to Aristotle
Not alive: Earth, air, fire, water
(BUT THEY HAVE MOTION AND REST)
Are-
Two categories
- Nature- motion/rest/alive/not alive
- Other- math, man-made objects
Things with a “nature”: These are things that have their own internal principle or force that allows them to move or be at rest. This category includes everything that happens naturally, whether it’s alive or not.
For instance:
Alive things like plants and animals move and grow according to their own internal principles (they don’t need to be pushed or pulled by something else).
Non-living things like earth, air, fire, and water also have this kind of “natural” behavior. They might not be alive, but they have their own ways of moving and coming to rest. For example, fire rises, and water flows downward; these actions are part of their “natural tendencies.”
Things without a “nature” (other category): This includes things like mathematics and man-made objects, which don’t have their own principles of movement or change. Instead:
Mathematical concepts (like numbers or shapes) are ideas and don’t move or change by themselves in the natural world. They exist in our minds or as abstract principles.
Man-made objects (like chairs, buildings, or cars) also don’t have a natural way of moving
Explain the difference between asking whether virtue can be taught and what virtue is. (Meno first five pages)
Socrates asserts that Meno can’t ask the question, ‘Can virtue be taught,” without knowing what virtue is in the first place (he doesn’t even know what virtue is). Meno’s question is ethical, whereas asking what virtue is is metaphysical. This is because asking Meno to define virtue without giving a quality of virtue is asking him to go beyond superficial answers and seek a deeper understanding of it. Socrates asks many metaphysical points during their conversation, such as recollection. Socrates says that recollection is the process of discovering knowledge from within through questioning. If virtue is considered a form of knowledge, then according to the theory of recollection, it can be “taught” by guiding individuals to recall the understanding of virtue. Socrates demonstrates this concept by questioning an uneducated slave boy about geometry, leading the boy to seemingly discover complex mathematical truths through guided questioning, implying that the boy simply remembers knowledge. However, they concluded that there are no teachers of virtue. Therefore, it cannot be taught.
Aristotle’s definition of the human
The human being is an animal with logos
RATIONALITY (logos) MAKES US HUMAN
What is the difference between seeing one beautiful thing and Beauty Itself?
“A man who has been led this far into the mysteries of love, who has contemplated, step by step, all of the different kinds of beauty in the proper ascending order, as he reaches the end of his journey, approaching the true goal of Love, he will now see a truly wonderful sight: a vision of the very nature and Form of the Beautiful.”
“Beauty will not appear to him as a face or a hand or any other part of the human body. It will not appear as any single argument or branch of knowledge. It will not appear as any being we know on earth or in heaven. What he will see is Beauty, in itself and by itself, be alone, endless and whole. And only then will he understand how all beautiful things derive their beauty from this alone, and that while all beautiful things may come and go and change, this Beauty will neither grow nor diminish nor suffer any change, but wil remain always one and the same.”
Appreciation for Physical beauty leads to the understanding of intellectual beauty.
Ladder-
Loving physically
Loving ways of life- appreciating laws and customs
Loving wisdom- “beautiful ideas and speeches”
Loving soul- “this Beauty will neither grow nor diminish nor suffer any change, but wil remain always one and the same.”
Loving all
How does Diotima explain that philosophy is the lack of wisdom?
“It follows that Love must be a lover of wisdom and that all lovers of wisdom, that is, all philosophers, like Love himself, are somewhere in between total ignorance and complete omniscience.”
Philosophers are always searching for more knowledge, but humanity is incapable of being all-knowing
incompleteness- desire- wonder
humanity always being in a state of wonder
What is Diotima’s description of the human condition as passing away into decay, and what is her argument that we desire eternal things instead?
“All kinds of decay and renewal take place in his skin, his hair, his bones, and blood, in his whole body for that
matter, and not only in his body, but in his soul, too. His thoughts and ways and beliefs. pleasures, pain, fears nothing remains the same. New elements appear as old ones disappear.”
We desire eternal ways of life through procreation.
We procreate to extend our life by creating something new.
We study to replenish information that has disappeared, and we replace whatever was lost with a fresh memory.
Diotima refines the example, pointing out that their warriors willingness to die comes from a desire to be immortalized for their bravery
WE REPLACE OLD WITH NEW
