Philosphy Of Religion Flashcards
what is rationalism?
knowledge is gained my reason
What is empiricism?
knowledge gained through senses
what is revelation?
knowledge is revealed through encounter with god
what is contingent?
depend on things
what is subjective?
perspective held by one person
what is particular?
object in the material world is reflected
what is actuality and potentiality?
if it is actually something and if it has potential to be more
what is theory of the forms?
eternal and real idea e.g. beauty
what is the form of the good?
highest/ultimate form
what is concept/ideal?
the form of the object e.g. its beauty
what is particular/phenomena?
actual instance of eg a cat in material world reflects the form of the cat
what is the material cause?
what something is made of
what is the efficient cause?
what makes the object
what is the formal cause?
form of the object
what is the final cause?
the telos/purpose
what is the prime mover?
source of all movement
what is telos?
purpose
what is transcendent?
separate
what is immutable?
un-changing
what is motus?
change or motion
what is epistemology?
study of knowledge
what is pure actuality?
perfect
what is objective?
perspective held by everybody
what is matter?
substance it’s made from
What did Aristotle say?
‘there is nothing in the mind except what was first in the senses’
who was the greatest of Plato’s pupils?
Aristotle
was Aristotle a rationalist or empiricist?
empiricist
who came up with the theory of the prime mover?
Aristotle
what are the characteristics of the prime mover?
- Thinking of itself
- Pure actuality
- Eternal
- Draws attention to itself
3 Strengths or Aristotle
- 4 causes make logical sense
- it is based on sense experience which can be tested
- everything does have a purpose
3 weaknesses of Aristotle
- having a purpose is a mental process
- prime mover cannot be tested
- something’s don’t have a purpose
was Plato an empiricist or rationalist?
rationalist
what did Plato say?
‘there must be another eternal,perfect and unchanging’
what are the 2 worlds?
world of appearance
world of the forms
what is the world of appearance?
the material world-where we are
what is the world of the forms?
reality concept/form- this is the real world
what is a priori?
you are born with knowledge and you remember it through your lifetime and through experiences
what is a posteriori?
knowledge through experience and senses
what are the 4 elements of the form of the good?
justice
beauty
truth
equality
what is the analogy used to consider the world of the forms?
analogy of the cave
is Plato a priori or a posteriori
a priori
3 weaknesses of Plato
- no empirical evidence
- what if we are in the world of the forms?
- we might not all see the form of the good in the same way
3 strengths of Plato
- helps us to understand imperfections in the world
- senses can be deceiving
- explains continuous change
