plato & aristotle

Question 1

plato’s teacher ?

Answer 1

Socrates (469-399bc)

Question 2

Plato’s birth and death date?

Answer 2

427-347bc

Question 3

Plato’s student ?

Answer 3

Aristotle (384-322bc)

Question 4

Socrates key quote:

Answer 4

I cannot teach anybody anything

I can only make them think

Question 5

plato was a rationalist, what does this mean?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Realm of the forms?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

what’s our relationship to the forms?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Plato’s two realms ?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

hierarchy of forms: form of the good?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Plato’s view on perfection

Answer 10

Eternity is part of perfection as perfection cannot be destroyed so the forms are perfect versions of inferior things

Question 11

Plato’s view on will

Answer 11

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

Question 12

The allegory of the cave ?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Aristotle’s objections

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

Other objections ?

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

Plato’s idea outlined in republic

Answer 15

Only philosophers see through appearances so in his version of democracy only philosophers are fit to rule

Question 16

Aristotle’s nicomachean ethics criticism of Plato

Answer 16

lack of order and priorities in determining what is actually good

Question 17

What was Aristotle the first of ?

Answer 17

Empiricist

Question 18

Rationalism vs empiricism

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Aristotle’s proof of how knowledge of an artist is different to that of a mathematician

Answer 19

Infant prodigies all happened in certain disciplines like maths over the humanities as art cannot be taught

Question 20

Aristotle’s four causes

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Material cause

Answer 21

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..’

Question 22

Formal cause

Answer 22

Shape of something. Only a bowl because its shaped in the form of a bowl

Question 23

What does transcendent mean

Answer 23

Beyond our everyday experience of the world

Question 24

What does immanent mean

Answer 24

Present in the world of our normal experience

Question 25

Efficient cause ?

Answer 25

Something external brings about the effect

Question 26

Final cause ?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

What does teleology mean

Answer 27

A term used to describe any theory in which everything is related to its goal or purpose ( four causes ) telos is Greek for goal

Question 28

Aristotle’s views on god and universe?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Prime mover

Answer 29

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

Question 30

The prime mover vs Plato’s form of the good

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Scientific objections to Aristotle’s theories

Answer 31

• attempted astronomy and chemistry with no access to equipment i.e. Telescope and lab
• modern science could counteract

Question 32

Philosophical objections to Aristotle’s theories

Answer 32

• 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