midterm Flashcards
What is the definition of philosophy?
The love of wisdom. The purpose is to help us make sense of the world, critically engage with it, and live lives that are more thoughtful, meaningful, and virtuous.
What are the main divisions of reality according to Aristotle?
All substances are made up of two principles: form and matter.
What is form in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The essence or nature of a thing, its defining characteristics that make it what it is.
For example, the form of a statue is the shape it takes, and the form of a person is the soul or rational nature that defines them as human.
What is matter in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The substrate or material out of which something is made. It is the potentiality that takes on form.
What is Prime Matter?
The underlying, indeterminate potential that, in combination with form, becomes a specific substance. It is pure potential and has no identity until it is shaped by form.
What are Aristotle’s Four Causes?
Material cause, efficient cause, formal cause, and final cause.
What is the material cause?
The form of which something is made.
For example, my sweatshirt is made out of cotton.
What is the efficient cause?
That by which something is made.
An example would be creating a child.
What is the formal cause?
What is it? What is the pattern?
For example, if someone points at a structure, you ask what is it? A statue.
What is the final cause?
Why is it being made?
For example, why did they make an elevator? So people can get up many floors of stairs efficiently.
What is Aristotle’s theory of change?
Change is the realization of potential, and substances undergo different kinds of change in their attributes.
What are the three elements of change according to Aristotle?
Form, privation, and substrate.
What is the nurturing soul?
Present in all living beings, responsible for nutrition, growth, and reproduction.
What is the sensitive soul?
Present in animals (and humans), responsible for sensation, movement, and desire.
What is the rational soul?
Unique to humans, responsible for reasoning, intellect, and higher-order cognitive functions.
What is the concept of an ultimate end in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The final purpose or goal that everything in nature strives toward, which is the good life achieved through the cultivation of virtue and rational activity.
What are the goods of the body?
Health, physical strength, basic needs, pleasures.
What are the goods of the soul?
Intellectual virtue, moral virtue, wisdom, friendship, and relationships.
What are the three dimensions of the human person according to Aristotle?
The body, the soul, and the rational aspect of the soul.
What is the role of government according to Aristotle?
To promote the common good, maintain order, and facilitate human flourishing.
What is learning by abstraction in Aristotle’s philosophy?
The process by which we derive universal concepts from individual sensory experiences.
What are the three levels of thinking?
Sense perception, imagination, and rational thinking.
What is simple apprehension?
Sensing.
What is composition and division?
True and false judgment.
What is reasoning?
Connecting to the universe.
What is the Euthyphro Dilemma?
A challenge to the idea that moral standards could simply be based on the gods’ will, suggesting true morality must be rational and based on a stable, objective standard.
What are Plato’s Forms?
Perfect and eternal entities that exist in a non-material realm, the ultimate reality behind the physical world.
What is eternal law according to St. Augustine?
The perfect, unchanging, divine law that governs all of creation and is known through God’s wisdom.
What is temporal law according to St. Augustine?
The law created by humans to govern society, which is subject to change and can be just or unjust.
What is Augustine’s idea of evil’s origin?
Evil arises from the misuse of free will, where created beings choose to reject or distort the good that comes from God.
What are the types of evil according to Augustine?
Natural evil and moral evil.
What is thin learning?
Basic or superficial knowledge learned without a deep connection to personal values or the broader context of life.
What is thick learning?
Deep, reflective learning tied to moral and spiritual growth, integrating knowledge with one’s life and values.
What are the goods which cannot be lost against one’s will?
Spiritual and internal goods, such as virtues like wisdom, love, and the grace of God.
