plato & aristotle Flashcards
plato’s teacher ?
Socrates (469-399bc)
Plato’s birth and death date?
427-347bc
Plato’s student ?
Aristotle (384-322bc)
Socrates key quote:
I cannot teach anybody anything
I can only make them think
plato was a rationalist, what does this mean?
opposite to empiricist
believed certain truths about the universe were knowable by mind alone
believed humanity’s greatest power was that of reason ( what animals lack)
people do bad things when using emotion over reason
Realm of the forms?
where a perfect form of everything exists. e.g. The ideal chair
they are permanent and non material ( spiritual )
we long for permeance of the forms and always dissatisfied with the transience of the world.
this is why a cake I bake will cease to exist (eaten or decay) and is only permanent in the forms
what’s our relationship to the forms?
Plato says our souls belong naturally in the realm of the forms,the realm of reality. we are trapped in bodies and born into this world and the consequence of this is forgetfulness. We forget about the realm of the forms but remember glimpses of it. I can aspire to make the ideal cake and the more you reflect on the concept the clearer your memory becomes
Plato’s two realms ?
1- realm of the forms ( spiritual souls and true beings )
2- realm of appearances ( the world where things look more or less like their originals in the realm of the forms
hierarchy of forms: form of the good?
the sun equivalent - highest of forms
Below it come other higher forms like beauty
And below these are the individual forms of chairs,cakes and all other objects etc
Plato’s view on perfection
Eternity is part of perfection as perfection cannot be destroyed so the forms are perfect versions of inferior things
Plato’s view on will
Like the Greeks didn’t believe in such a thing for if we had the knowledge we would always do the right thing. Plato would explain wrongdoing as the result of ignorance or incomplete knowledge, the same would go for pursuing material things as this means you’re ignorant of the true good in the realm of the forms
The allegory of the cave ?
the shadow world subjected to the prisoners is their reality ( low level awareness on simile of the divided line )
When prisoner is released he sees the real objects and learned what previously believed was an Illusion, at last able to look at the fire. ( represents sun ).. form of the good Difficult due to only seeing shadows before. Ascent to the outside world represents philosophical enlightenment. Mocked by fellow prisoners if revealed the truth parallels how those with true insight won’t be understood by those without referencing Socrates murder
Aristotle’s objections
- if forms were so essential to true understanding why don’t doctors and politicians study them
- no practical value, perfect health doesn’t exist for that is different to a 70 yr old vs the youth
- practical knowledge is learned through observation not intellect
- ft
Other objections ?
- no empirical evidence
- karl popper: Plato can’t find certainty in a world of continual change so he is determined to find it somewhere else
- empiricist say other than sense experience we know nothing about the world a priori
Plato’s idea outlined in republic
Only philosophers see through appearances so in his version of democracy only philosophers are fit to rule
Aristotle’s nicomachean ethics criticism of Plato
lack of order and priorities in determining what is actually good
What was Aristotle the first of ?
Empiricist
Rationalism vs empiricism
Aristotle believe we didn’t unlock information that lay dormant in our minds but rather learn it from the outside world - our knowledge is not innate
Aristotle’s proof of how knowledge of an artist is different to that of a mathematician
Infant prodigies all happened in certain disciplines like maths over the humanities as art cannot be taught
Aristotle’s four causes
Material cause- substance of what something’s made from
Formal cause- design that shapes the formal concept i.e. A designers drawings
Efficient cause- its maker or builder
Final cause- purpose or function e.g. Table , house
Material cause
Without the material a thing could not be :
‘ that out of which a thing comes to exist and which continues, is called cause, for example , the bronze of the statue, the silver of the bowl..’
Formal cause
Shape of something. Only a bowl because its shaped in the form of a bowl
What does transcendent mean
Beyond our everyday experience of the world
What does immanent mean
Present in the world of our normal experience
Efficient cause ?
Something external brings about the effect
Final cause ?
The purpose for which something exists
Aristotle believes nature is purposive and if we examine the human body everything has a purpose
A good person is one who fulfils their purpose
What does teleology mean
A term used to describe any theory in which everything is related to its goal or purpose ( four causes ) telos is Greek for goal
Aristotle’s views on god and universe?
believed god was not like Abrahamic religions imaginings but still perfect and everlasting
Believed god and universe were co-eternal and universe didn’t have beginning
Petitionary prayer would be redundant as god is not listening
God only interested in himself
Prime mover
Aristotle’s god
Creates motion by drawing all things to himself as ultimate final cause
Not to be confused with aquinas prime mover who’s also a creator
The prime mover vs Plato’s form of the good
Similarities: neither directly or personally concerned with the world/ neither created it
Differences : prime mover is conscious but mental activity concerned with meditation of itself whereas form of the good is never said to have any consciousness
Scientific objections to Aristotle’s theories
- attempted astronomy and chemistry with no access to equipment i.e. Telescope and lab
- modern science could counteract
Philosophical objections to Aristotle’s theories
- his notion of purpose contradicts our understanding of mental intentions
- the fallacy of composition ( just because one human has purpose doesn’t mean we all do )
- Bertrand Russel says he’s finding purpose where it doesn’t exist: “ the universe is just there and that’s all”
- Big Bang theory and modern cosmology would argue against any kind of god
