Philosophy Exam Flashcards
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is the study of knowledge, reality, and existence
Philosophy
Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom”
What are the main branches of philosophy?
The main branches of philosophy are epistemology (study of knowledge and truth), metaphysics (reality and being), logic (argumentation and reason), ethics, aesthetics, and social/political philosophy (state and government)
Thales of Miletus
Known as the first philosopher, through his observations, Thales determined that the universal/underlying substance of all things was water. Water existed in three forms, solid, liquid, and vapour and all living things relied on water. While his observations were later proven false, Thales was still the first to attempt to explain natural phenomena through reason rather than superstition and myth.
Laozi (Lao Tzu)
Laozi was a mystic who wrote Classic of the Way of Power which was the first expression of the philosophy of Taoism.
Chuang Tzu’s The Butterfly
Confucius
Buddhism
Socrates
Ancient Indian philosophers and Hinduism
Plato
Plato was the student of Socrates
The Socratic Method
This was the method Socrates used to get people to think in ancient Greece. He would start by asking a question that seems innocent and straightforward, then the person would give a simple/common sense definition to which Socrates would offer a counter example that does not fit the definition given. This illustrates that the definition given is incomplete, biased, or uniformed. The process would continue until a suitable definition is constructed or until both parties agree that the topic is more complex than originally thought.
Allegory of the Cave
Imagine people are chained in a cave and can only see the shadows of things their whole lives.
The Tripartite Theory of the Soul
Aristotle
Aristotle was the student of Plato
Middle Ages and Christian Theology
Rene Descartes
John Locke
David Hume
Karl Marx
Charles Darwin
Sigmund Freud
Nietzshe
Existentialism
Sophie’s World
Informal Logic
What is Logic
Laws of reasoning
Principal of sufficient reason
Ockham’s razor
What is metaphysics?
Plato’s theory and form of change
What is reality?
Change and Oneness