philosophical thought

Question 1

what did Heraclitus believe

Answer 1

that the world was in a constant state of flux.
‘person never steps in the same river twice’

Question 2

how did Heraclitus’ view challenge the possibility of gaining knowledge

Answer 2

if everything we experience is always changing then we cannot have knowledge since once we gain knowledge it has changed.

Question 3

how did Plato challenge Heraclitus

Answer 3

there must be an unchanging, perfect world know as the world of forms

Question 4

what do we experience in our world through Plato’s view

Answer 4

we experience imperfect representations of the perfect form. through our ignorance we are unable to see the perfect object.

Question 5

how do we get knowledge of the world of forms

Answer 5

through A Priori knowledge. A posteriori knowledge only reveals a vague shadow of the real world.

Question 6

what is the analogy of the cave.

Answer 6

• prisoners in a cave (us) chained (ignorance)
• see shadows on the walls (objects)
  -a prisoner escaped and is blinded by the sun (form of the good)
• then sees the real world ( world of forms)

Question 7

Aristotles reject to Plato and Platos response

Answer 7

lacks empirical evidence - good as evidence cannot be trusted as they are merely a shadow.

Question 8

criticism of practicality of theory of the forms

Answer 8

the forms have no practicality in our world. a doctor does not think of the ideal form of health.
“even if they do exist, they are wholly irrelevant” - Iris

Question 9

Ockhams razor on Plato

Answer 9

we should not believe explanations that are unnecessarily complicated, such as the world of the forms.

Question 10

what is the form of the good

Answer 10

‘the sun’
the highest form that allows us to see the world of the forms. understanding the form of the good makes it impossible for you to do wrong.

Question 11

what comes under the form of the good

Answer 11

hierarchy of forms suggests that forms such as justice and beauty are just below the form of the good as they are aspects of good. below them are material objects.

Question 12

criticism of Plato and form of evil and the comeback

Answer 12

cannot be a form of evil as the realm of forms are perfect,
Augustine argues that the form of evil does not actually exist as evil is just the absence of good.

Question 13

what are the four causes

Answer 13

-material, what it is made of
-formal, the shape
-efficient, how it came into existence
-final, it’s purpose

Question 14

for Aristotle where does knowledge come from

Answer 14

from careful observation.

Question 15

how does Aristotle explain the challenge of flux

Answer 15

he claims that a complete explanation of any material change will use all four causes.

Question 16

what is Proximate matter

Answer 16

matter that has properties.

Question 17

what is prime matter

Answer 17

has no physical properties, but is theoretically necessary.

Question 18

was Aristotle a dualist like Plato

Answer 18

no, for him the soul was the formal cause of a person but not eternal.

Question 19

what is the prime mover

Answer 19

the final cause of the universe that attracts all things to it which causes motion

Question 20

why can the prime mover not be the efficient cause

Answer 20

then the unmoved mover would be susceptible to change and therefore lose his pure actuality.

Question 21

what does the prime mover think

Answer 21

god reflects only on god, if god thought about the universe and what happens in it, that would mean god would change because gods knowledge would change.

Question 22

what is an opposite view to Aristotle’s idea of purpose

Answer 22

Existentialism believes that only people have purpose, and those are self governed.

Question 23

how does Newton counter Aristotles prime mover

Answer 23

Newton determined that things only stop when met with an equal and opposite reaction. this counters Aristotle as he thought things just stopped so resumed something must keep things in motion (prime mover) when actually something is only stopped by something else

Question 24

how can Aristotle still be held as more scientific than plato

Answer 24

as he used empirical evidence to presume theory, scholars such as newton could not disprove Aristotles a posteriori approach to reality

Question 25

how does Aristotle counter Plato’s argument of form being separate to something

Answer 25

Aristotle thought form was the essence and its defining quality of something, this led him to reject plato as a form of a human cannot be separate from the body (dualism)