Plato & Aristotle: ancient philosophical influences Flashcards
1
Q
Epistemology
A
- the study of knowledge
- 2 types
2
Q
two types of epistemology
- rationalism
A
- using reason to gain knowledge
- a prior knowledge
- self evident
- PLATO is an example of a rationalist = he says that sense experience fails to provide us with any guarantee that what we experience is true
- we have to rely on reason itself to determine whether our opinions can be justified.
3
Q
two types of epistemology
- empirism
A
- using sense to gain knowledge
- posterior as knowlgede is gain after
- aristole is an empiricist
4
Q
introduction
A
- Heraclitus was an ancient Greek Philosopher who thought that the world we experience is in a state of constant change which he called ‘flux’.
- He famously said that a person never steps in the same river twice, since both the river and the person change.
- Plato interpreted Heraclitus as presenting a challenge to the possibility of gaining knowledge. how can we gain true and certain knowledge if everything changes?
- Both Plato and Aristotle in very different ways, attempts to respond to this issue raised by Heraclitus.
- Plato thinks that true unchanging knowledge cannot be gained empirically, we must give up on the attempt to gain knowledge through experience and look to a priori reason alone
- Aristotle thinks that we can understand the causal mechanism responsible for change and thereby gain true knowledge from experience
5
Q
Plato
A
- Like Heraclities, he believed that everythng in the world changes
- therefore there must be a world where things are unchanging (logic of opposite) = this is called the World of Forms
- plato was writing in memory of Socrates (student of him) = through emotion - credibity?
- also a dualist - belief in two seperate elements (body & soul) - soul is trappedin the body from experiencing the true world
6
Q
Plato and the theory The of the forms
A
- Plato thought that we must not be experiencing the world correctly.
- Our minds are trapped in a state of ignorance, which is why we experience imperfect, transient and ever changing things in the world of appearance.
- Therefore Plato believes that the world should have the theory of the forms = where true knowledge can only be gained.
- True knowledge is attained through reason by grapsing exemplars concepts like justice and beauty
- Forms are eternal unlike their physical counterparts, they are perfect examples of different aspects of the world.
7
Q
Heirachy of the forms
The Form of the Good
A
- most important form, which illuminates all of the other forms, because the forms never change to phyical pheneomena.
- True knowledge is a knowledge of goodness
- it is ‘things that are just and so on derive their usefulness and value’
- He argues if someone knows what is good and bad, the person would chose good. it is only ignorance of the causes of immorality.
- E.G. if someone steals/lies they are ignorant of the Form of honesty.
- Plato illustrates how the form of the Good illuminates our knowledge in his allerogy of the cave.
8
Q
experience is flawed
The Allerogy of the Cave
Found in the book REPUBLIC (380bc)
A
- He uses this to help illustrate the relationship between the physical world and the higher world form and how material concerns can blind people to what is truly important
- In his book its a dialogue between Plato and Glaucon, within they discuss what would happen if a group of prisoners realised the world they were watching was a lie. The allergy sets the scence of prisoners in a cave, chained to the wall since childhood and are only able to see shadows cast by objects. The shadows on the cave represent the prisoners limited perception of reality, which Plato uses to convey deeper philosophical concepts.
- A prisoner then escapes and is blinded by the form of the good (the sun) & sees the real world. Then he goes back to his fellow prisoners to tell them but they didnt understand becuse the material world blinds people.
- Plato uses this, allegory as a way to discuss the deceptive appearances of things we see in the real world.
- This story operates by symbolising ignorant prisoner who preferred comfort over freedom.
- -‘and which will concieve to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?’
- this shows experience involves mere shadows of the real and that is why it cannot give us knowledge.= its misleading
- Only a priori reasoning involving understanding of the forms can give us knowledge.
9
Q
Aristoltes rejection to plato’s thought
A
- his theorty faces critism due misinterpretation
- Plato’s theory lacks empirical validity. Aristotle thought that Plato’s theory of forms was an unnecessary hypothesis = because it has no explanatory power regarding our experience
- This is an early version of Ockham’s razor (which is more favourable) and is a general principle in empiricist epistemology, that we should not believe explanations that are unnecessarily complicated, such as a world of forms, when we have a simpler theory that works. (e.g. the four causes)
- scientists better criticise this and claim that the physical world is the only reality there is. Dawkins states that ‘its nonsense to talk of a trascendent ‘other world’ beyond the physical.’
10
Q
(430bc)socrates
who was he?
A
- Teacher of Plato
- regarded the founder of modern philosophy
- He believed that people needed to be trained philosophically and challenege superficial assumptions, if they were to form sound judgement
- He emphaises the importance of one’s knowledge and being open to the absence of definitive solutions
- He was likened to a ‘gadfly’ by some, causing irritation by challenging established truths.
11
Q
Plato Demiurge
A
- Plato attributed the creation of the world to a God called the demiurge ,depited as a craftsman/worksman
- in his work Timaeus (360bc) he describes how the demiurge is belovenet and desires the best for humanity = strives for perfection within the limitations of materials
Despite the Demiurges efforts, the physical world remains imperfect - Plato compares the goodness of the Demiurge to the form of the good, suggesting that the Demiurge’s goodness is relative to this ideal standard rather than being the ultimate source of goodness
12
Q
ARISTOLE understanding of reality
A
- rejected rationalism
- an empirisit: knowlegde is gain through our senses
- one of his observation of the worlds was that everything has a purpose (TELOS) = to know things properly we need to understand its purpose.(its essence)
- he pondered the question of causality, seeking to understand why things exist and what their essence is.
- He used the term ‘aetion’, often translated as ‘cause’, to explore different kinds of explanations, encompassing both origin and explanation.
- Aristotle recognised that objects can have multiple explanations for their existence on different levels.
- For example, the cause of a desk could be attributed to its material (wood), its maker, its structural features, or its intended purpose.
- Each explanation offers a different perspective on why the things/desk exists, ranging from its physical components to its functional role.
correspondence theory of the truth: when our understanding mirrors an object we have knowledge of but when it mirrors poorly, we only have an opinion.
13
Q
aristoles 4 causes
A
Aristotle believe the physical world is a mutable change (always changes), imperfect and transient (not eternal).
It moves in a state of potentiality to actuality
Reality can be explained in four different ways: four causes = which accounts for and explain the phenomena of the physical world.
- material - what the item is made of (E.G. a bronze statue is made out of bronze)
- formal - how the material is arranged together. - he argues in the mind we can imagine the form.
- efficient cause: Who/what made the particular arrangement
- final cause - the telos/the reason or purpose behind it. “That for which a sake is done”
14
Q
aristole prime mover
A
- Aristotle contemplated the existence of the universe as a whole, focusing on the efficient cause and final cause.
- He rejected the idea of an endless chain of cause and effect, proposing that the cause of the universe is God, the Prime Mover.
- The Prime Mover is in a state of pure actuality, causing movement by attracting everything towards its perfection.
- Aristotle deduced several conclusions about the nature of God, including God’s independence, eternality, perfection, and transcendence beyond time and space.
- God, as the Prime Mover, serves as the final cause of everything in the universe, drawing all towards itself without being affected.
- Aristotle’s concept of God influenced Christian theology, portraying God as changeless, timeless, and beyond suffering or persuasion.
15
Q
evaluation on the prime mover
A
- Aristotle’s work is often challenging to understand due to its lack of clarity
- Some criticise Aristotle - they suggest that he should have been open to other forms of knowledge. instead of rejecting Plato’s belief in a more real world beyond the physical one.
- Critics challenge Aristotle’s idea of the universe having a purpose or “telos,” arguing that it may exist without a predetermined reason or goal. - chance
- Aristotle’s depiction of God is irrelevant to the universe
- Aristotle has a focus on purpose and causation which scholars like BERTRAND RUSSELL disagree as they claim it is by chance and the world is just “brute fact”. Another scholar to follow up on this is A.J.AYER who argues that we have limited knowledge and experience on causation therefore we cannot talk about a purpose or a course for the universe or world.
- To argue the universe must have a purpose is wrong. It just exists by chance. what is that purpose?
- Dawkins- “The universe we observe has no design, no purpose…”
- Hume also made this point as part of his criticisms of the cosmological argument.= the fallacy of composition.
