Philosophy: Ancient Philosophical Influence Flashcards
Who is Plato?
He is a Ancient Greek philosopher and rationalist. He says we can only gain true knowledge through using our reason.
He also wrote to keep Socrates memory alive and defend his opinions.
Who is Aristotle?
He is a Ancient Greek philosopher and empiricist. He says we can only gain true knowledge through using our senses. He was taught by Plato, yet disagreed with him entirely.
What was Plato’s idea on the world ?
Plato said that the world is constantly changing so we cannot gain true knowledge through our senses. This is because something we just learnt couple change. This lead him to propose the Material world and The World Of The Forms.
Material World: Changing Constantly, Imperfect, Impernament, Transitory, Contradictory, Relative, Superficial, Sensory, and can be measured
World of the Forms: Unchanging, Perfect, Permanent, Outside of Time and Space, No Contradictions, Real, Absolute, What matters most, Beyond the senses, and Immeasurable
What is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave?
A group of people sitting in an underground cave, facing the walls. They are chained up. Behind them, a fire is burning, and its flames cast shadows onto the walls. Between the fire and the cave, there are puppeteers. They hold objects up, this cast shadows on the cave walls. The people who are chained in the cave can only see the shadows of the people and the objects they carry (never the actual people and objects walking past behind them) One of them is set free and encouraged to explore. He can now see that the things he took for reality until now were merely shadows on the wall.
However, he leaves and sees the sun and plants. And he would come to feel sorry for those who remain behind in the cave. Indeed, the people who remain behind in the cave believe he wasted his time in going outside and simply ruined his eyes for nothing. But the man who has been outside knows there is no going back to his old beliefs: his perception of the world has changed forever. They, for their part, would resist his attempts to free them, and would sooner killer him than be led out of the cave, as he was.
What does the Analogy of the Cave show?
~> After we learn the truth we are set free
~> Question everything we call reality
~> It is normal to face criticism when thinking differently
~> Convince people through actions
~> It takes courage to step out of your comfort zone
What is Plato’s Demiurge?
He believed the world was created by a God (Demiurge), this god is good and wants the best for humanity. However, he is limited by his material so the world is never perfect
What is Plato’s Divided Line?
This is an elaboration of the distinction between the visible world and the ideal world that is not not directly seen. There are two realms that we can think about:
~> The Intellectual Realm is a realm of thought and it revolves around the form of the good. This consists of maths, geometry, and philosophical knowledge
~> The Visible Realm is a realm of perception and it revolves around the sun. This consists of opinions, beliefs, and scientific knowledge
What does Plato’s Divided line show?
It show that the intellectual realm is more stable than the visible realm. This is because the intellectual realm occupies proof from science and maths, and the visible realm holds opinions. These opinions are subject to change
What is the Analogy of the Sun?
This is about sight allowing us to understand and access things. For example, The sun (the form of the good) allows us to see and learn the truth, it also sheds light on knowledge we wouldn’t have seen before
What did Aristotle say about Cause?
Aristotle’s big question was what caused everything? This led to him coming up with the 4 cause argument:
~> Material Cause
~> Formal Cause
~> Efficient Cause
~> Final Cause
