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Philosophy > Plato > Flashcards

Plato Flashcards

1
Q

Epistemology

A

The study of knowledge

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2
Q

What are the two types of epistemology?

A

Rationalism and Empiricism

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3
Q

Rationalism

A

Using reason to gain knowledge, knowledge is gained prior to using senses (a priori)

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4
Q

Why might rationalists say their view is correct?

A

Sense experience cannot provide the certainty needed to guarantee that what we claim to know is true. This is because senses are very subjective, so they might not work very well. They are constantly changing and unreliable. People’s senses are different, too, for example, some people are colourblind and a colour they see is different from what somebody else can see - our senses are quite flawed.

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5
Q

Is Plato a rationalist or empiricist?

A

A rationalist

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6
Q

Empiricism

A

Uses sense to gain knowledge, knowledge is gained post using senses (a posteriori)

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7
Q

Give an example of an empiricist

A

Aristotle

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8
Q

What did Heraclitus question?

A

Whether you can step in the same river twice

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9
Q

Why was Heraclitus’ idea about stepping in the same river twice key for Plato?

A

Plato saw similarities between the world and the water in the river - the water is constantly flowing and changing, just as everything in this world changes. He, therefore, thought that there must be another world which is unchanging: the World of the Forms. He bases this on the logic of opposites - everything has an opposite (e.g., hot and cold, old and young). Plato thought that if this world changes, there must be an opposite - a world which does not change.

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10
Q

What is the name of the other world that Plato thought was unchanging?

A

The World of the Forms

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11
Q

Through what logic does Plato build his ideas of the World of the Forms upon?

A

The idea that everything has an opposite. Because this world is in a constant state of change and imperfection, there must be a world that is permanently perfect.

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12
Q

What did Plato believe about what we see in this world?

A

Everything we experience in this world is a vague shadow of what it really is. This world is not real - everything we experience is an imitation and a copy of the Forms.

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13
Q

The World of the Forms

A

A separate, second world of knowledge

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14
Q

The Particulars

A

Objects and properties

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15
Q

What did Plato say about the Particulars?

A

That they are imperfect copies of the Forms. They share in the Form, but some things participate to a greater or lesser extent.

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16
Q

What world are we in, according to Plato?

A

The World of Appearances

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17
Q

What did Plato say gives us the understanding of what beauty is?

A

The Form of Beauty gives us an understanding of what it is, even if we see it in lots of different ways.

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18
Q

Form

A

Perfect expression of something that never changes

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19
Q

Horaton

A

This world based on senses, to Plato, it is a pale imitation of the real world.

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20
Q

Episteme

A

When you have achieved true knowledge of the Forms. For Plato, this is via reason and not sense experience.

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21
Q

Is Plato’s argument a priori or a posteriori?

A

a priori

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22
Q

What is the ultimate Form?

A

The Form of the Good

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23
Q

Why is the Form of the Good the Form of all other Forms?

A

This is because everything has goodness in it

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24
Q

Where does the quality of perfection in each of the Forms come from?

A

It flows down from the Form of the Good

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25
Q

What is the Form of the Good symbolised as in the Allegory of the Cave?

A

The sun. Just as the sun in the Allegory of the Cave gives light to the real world, the Form of the Good illuminates the other Forms. It makes you able to see and experience the other Forms.

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26
Q

What is the episteme?

A

The Form of the Good

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27
Q

The Hierarchy of the Forms

A
  • The Form of the Good
  • Universal qualities, such as justice/truth/beauty
  • Concepts and ideals, such as humour
  • Physical, living objects, such as humans
  • Physical, inanimate objects, such as furniture
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28
Q

Who did Plato believe are the true leaders of society?

A

Philosophers

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29
Q

According to Plato, who can escape the World of Appearances?

A

Plato said that only a philosopher can escape the World of Appearances and, with their reason, see the Forms that lie behind the Appearances.

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30
Q

Why is Plato opposed to using our senses?

A

Because they cloud our judgement and understanding

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31
Q

What does Plato say about innate understanding?

A

Plato says that we are all born with a dim recollection of the Forms. Our immortal soul experiences them when in the World of the Forms before being reincarnated (metempsychosis). When you are back in the physical body, ruled by the senses, the memory is only dim of the Forms. Plato believed that, because people know the basics of truth, justice and beauty without being taught, this is the soul’s recollection of truth (Forms) using reason. We do not learn new things, instead, education is a matter of remembering and recalling the World of the Forms.

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32
Q

Anamnesis

A

The soul remembering the Forms back in a physical body.

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33
Q

What did Plato say about the Forms and our senses?

A
  • Our bodies have souls
  • When the body dies, the soul is then free to go back to the World of the Forms
  • So we go back to the World of the Forms and gain true knowledge of this world
  • We then get reincarnated back into a physical body, so for a time, we apply the true knowledge of the Forms that we can remember (e.g., being able to distinguish good and bad or a dog from a horse)
  • But, over time, we start to listen back to our senses once more and are taught to rely on them (e.g., the smell of smoke or the appearance of danger, such as fire)
  • We slowly block out our souls and our senses take over
34
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: cave symbolism

A

Our world

35
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: outside the cave symbolism

A

The World of the Forms

36
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: chains symbolism

A

Can symbolise either the body or our senses

37
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: shadows symbolism

A

What we believe are real

38
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: walkers on the walkway symbolism

A

Politicians in our world who spread the shadows and illusion that we have

39
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: when the chains break symbolism

A

Either the breaking of the senses, as you are gaining knowledge, or the dying of the body (therefore, the escaped prisoner is your soul leaving the body), or it could be your reason coming through and taking over your senses

40
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: the painful journey out of the cave symbolism

A

The journey of epistemology. It is not easy to reject your senses and use your reason.

41
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: the sun symbolism

A

The Form of the Good that illuminates all of the Forms; this is episteme.

42
Q

The Allegory of the Cave: running back into the cave to tell the other prisoners symbolism

A

This could be seen as Socrates trying to teach us the way + we reject Socrates or it could even be reincarnation - the soul coming back into the physical world and again getting rejected (the prisoner is remembering the physical world through anamnesis).

43
Q

Plato

A

Lived around 427 BC - 348 BC

44
Q

What school did Plato set up?

A

‘The Academy’

45
Q

What are some of the problems with the Theory of Forms?

A
  • is there such a thing as an ‘absolute good’?
  • the Forms and the physical world
  • Materialist view
  • are there real Forms of everything?
  • awareness of Forms
46
Q

Criticism of the Forms: is there such a thing as an ‘absolute good’?

A

Central to Plato’s theory is ‘The Form of the Good’, but some people would argue that moral goodness is a posteriori (through experience). In addition, it can be argued that there is not an absolute good, for instance, something that may be seen as rude in one culture, in a different culture, may be regarded as polite.

47
Q

Criticism of the Forms: The Forms and the physical world

A

Plato’s allegory seems to give a sense of ‘gloom in ignorance’ rather than ‘ignorance is bliss’. Even if our sensory world is not reality, it does not mean to say that it cannot be enjoyed in full.

48
Q

Criticism of the Forms: Materialist view

A

Although Plato references the Realm of the Forms, there is no empirical evidence of such a world. Materialists would argue that without evidence, Plato’s theory can never be proven and is, therefore, wrong.

49
Q

Criticism of the Forms: are there real Forms of everything?

A

Plato doesn’t really reflect on the existence of mundane objects, such as a box, and prefers to focus on concepts, such as beauty. It can be interpreted that even Plato struggled with his theory - at times, he suggests that there has to be a Form for everything, yet at other times, he doesn’t seem so sure. At points in ‘The Republic’, he seems to argue that there are only Forms for ‘opposites’, for example beauty and ugliness or good and bad, but later on in ‘The Republic’, he talks of Forms for everything, such as beds and tables.

50
Q

Criticism of the Forms: awareness of Forms

A

If we were to accept the idea of an eternal world of Forms containing the ultimate truth, how would we ever come to a full understanding of these whilst living in the world of the senses? If our only true understanding of the Forms is from our soul living amongst the realm before achieving bodily existence, how are we able to gain sufficient knowledge of concepts, such as truth, beauty and goodness for it to have any positive impact on our lives as we live them now?

51
Q

What did Alfred North Whitehead say about Plato?

A

He famously stated that the history of philosophy is ‘a series of footnotes to Plato’

52
Q

What is the best-known of Plato’s dialogues?

A

The Republic. This set the standards and boundaries for future Western philosophy and views the role of the state as not just an agent of control, but as an agent of virtue.

53
Q

Criticism of the Forms: what is the ‘nature’ of the Forms?

A

Plato talks about them as separate ‘things’ that are unchanging, perfect, eternal and invisible, but what does this really reveal about their actual nature? There is not much detailed discussion of them and instead, a reliance on analogies, such as the Cave.

54
Q

Criticism of the Forms: there could be an infinite regress of Forms

A

A group of things of the same type creates a Form, but saying that there is a Form introduces an additional factor, this group is therefore not the same as it was originally, because the collective Form has been added, but because it is not the same, another Form makes up this new collection, creating a series of infinite regress.

E.g.,

  • there are 3 beds of the same type
  • so a Form of these 3 beds is created
  • 3 beds + this Form is not the same as the original beds, for there is an additional factor
  • so there is another Form for the 3 beds + the Form of the 3 beds
  • and there is another Form for this and so on
  • creating a series of infinite regress
55
Q

Criticism of the Forms: what is the relationship between the Forms and the Particulars?

A

Plato considers the Forms to be knowledge and the Particulars to be associated with opinion; these are complete opposites, as opinion can be wrong, but knowledge is infallible. How can the Particulars ‘partake’ in the Forms as Plato says when they are two separate entities?

56
Q

Characteristics of the Material World

A
  • transitory (moves in time and space)
  • relative
  • changing
  • impermanent
  • superficial
  • contradictory
  • sensory
  • can be measured
  • imperfect
57
Q

Characteristics of the World of the Forms

A
  • outside of time and space
  • real and absolute
  • unchanging
  • permanent
  • what matters most
  • no contradiction, they are not subject to opinion
  • beyond the senses
  • immeasurable
  • perfect
58
Q

Difference between dualism and materialism

A

Dualism is the belief that reality can be divided into two distinct parts (body and soul), but materialism is the belief that only physical matter exists. Humans are only one substance - physical. It is the belief that everything about you comes from a physical part of you, e.g., consciousness comes from the brain etc.

59
Q

Was Plato around before or after Christ?

A

He was a pre-Christian thinker

60
Q

Theory

A

A rational and thoughtful explanation of the general nature of something

61
Q

Who was Plato taught by and who did he teach?

A

Plato was taught by Socrates. Plato taught Aristotle.

62
Q

What did Plato think the fundamental building blocks of reality were?

A

The Forms

63
Q

How did Plato think true knowledge was only possible?

A

By knowing the Forms

64
Q

What is the highest and most fundamental Form of them all, according to Plato?

A

The Form of the Good

65
Q

Who did Plato think could have knowledge of the Form of the Good?

A

Only philosophers and very clever people. He believed that it is for this reason they should rule society.

66
Q

What did Plato say we have to use to achieve genuine knowledge?

A

Reason

67
Q

What is Plato considered by many to be?

A

The father of philosophy

68
Q

What is the meaning of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave?

A

We are the prisoners in the cave, the things we see around us are those shadows on the cave wall. Just like the prisoners in the cave, we are taken in by the shadows and mistake shadows for reality. We suppose that we can see the real world, but the real world cannot be seen.

69
Q

Why are the Forms more real than the particular things we experience around us?

A

Because those particular things depend for their existence on the Forms.

70
Q

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, what represents the Form of the Good?

A

The sun shining outside the cave

71
Q

What did Plato say those who want real knowledge must do?

A

They must ignore the senses

72
Q

What does reasoning allow us to do, according to Plato?

A

Through reasoning, we can recollect what we have somehow always known.

73
Q

What does sense perception not give us according to Plato?

A

Knowledge

74
Q

What would be the case if the Forms didn’t exist?

A

No knowledge would be possible

75
Q

Criticism of the Forms - Form of the table (as an example)

A

What would something like the Form of a table be like? It would surely have to contain properties common to all tables, but it seems that the properties defining a table can differ - e.g., the Form could not be square/round/rectangular, big/small or metal/wood etc, because all tables have different characteristics. So, what kind of table would it be?

76
Q

Features of empiricism

A
  • knowledge is based on experience and experimentation
  • experimental science is the paradigm of knowledge
  • experience and experiment rarely, if ever, produce certainty
  • some empiricists believe that mathematics can be certain
77
Q

Features of rationalism

A
  • knowledge is based on the use of reason or logic
  • mathematics is the paradigm of knowledge
  • genuine knowledge is certain
  • experience does not produce certainty and does not conform to reason. Be careful about sense experience, for it might not tell you the truth. Your senses can often deceive you (this is what Plato actually believed).
  • therefore, experience is, at best, second-class knowledge
78
Q

Criticism of the Forms: negative characteristics and qualities

A

Some characteristics of the world don’t fit will with Plato’s theory of Forms, e.g., disease or evil. Do they have a Form? It could be argued that negative characteristics and qualities don’t have Forms, because they are simply a lack of another quality (e.g., disease is a lack of health and evil is a lack of good)

79
Q

Criticism of the Forms: The Third Man argument

A

Surely the Form must participate in that Form itself, but everything must participate in the Form so there must be another Form of that thing for this to participate in. Although, this new Form will need another Form to participate in, because it will also hold the characteristic of itself, leading to an infinite regress of Forms.

79
Q

Criticism of the Forms: The Third Man argument

A

Surely the Form must participate in that Form itself, but everything must participate in the Form so there must be another Form of that thing for this to participate in. Although, this new Form will need another Form to participate in, because it will also hold the characteristic of itself, leading to an infinite regress of Forms.

80
Q

Someone who criticised Plato

A

Nietzsche

81
Q

What did Nietzsche say about Plato?

A

‘Plato was a coward in the face of reality who flees to the ideal.’

Philosophy (5 decks)

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