reason as a source of knowledge Flashcards
what are the two kinds of truth?
analytic
synthetic
define analytic truth
logically, rationally true in the meaning of the words e.g. “a bachelor is an unmarried man”
define synthetic truth
true in how the world is e.g. “grass is green”
what are the two kinds of knowledge?
a priori
a posteriori
define a priori knowledge
acquired through rational thought alone e.g. 2 x 5 = 10
define a posteriori knowledge
can only be acquired from experience of the external world e.g using an experiment to find the temp that water boils
what are the two ways of gaining knowledge a priori? (Descartes)
intuition
deduction
define (rational) intuition?
an intellectual capacity to grasp the truth of a
self-evident proposition directly and non-inferentially
e.g. Descartes’ cogito argument
define deduction
method of using REASON
to derive true propositions
from other propositions
define empiricism
all a priori knowledge is of analytic truths: there is no synthetic a priori knowledge
define rationalism
not ALL a priori knowledge is analytic: some may be synthetic (using intuition and deduction)
define innatism
at least some propositional knowledge is already present in our minds from birth
what 4 synthetic truths does descartes argue for?
— I exist
— God exists
— external world exists
— clear and distinct ideas exist
what does Plato argue about knowledge?
all learning is a form of REMEMBERING innate knowledge from before we’re born
—> proved by Meno’s slave boy
outline Plato’s Meno slave boy example
- Socrates draws 2 x 2 square. Boy says its 4 sq ft
- Socrates draws 8 sq ft square and asks what side length is
- Boy wrongly guesses 4 feet, but after being asked series of questions realises it is the diagonal of the original
—> he hasn’t been taught geometry but can still correctly answer the questions, so geometry must be innate
what are the two types of truth according to LEIBNIZ?
necessary
contingent
define necessary truth (Leibniz)
what MUST be the case
true in every possible world
e.g. 2+2=4
define contingent truth (Leibniz)
what IS the case
could have been false in some other possible world
e.g. Facebook exists
how does Leibniz argue for knowledge innatism?
no amount of a posteriori experience can tell us necessary truths e.g. 2+2=4
—> even if you added 2+2 and got 4 10000 times, you’ll never know what will happen the 10001st time
BUT we still know that 2+2 MUST = 4
so, knowledge of necessary truths is INNATE
(but all knowledge requires some form of experience to uncover… experience is necessary but not sufficient)
how does Leibniz say we access innate knowledge?
innate, necessary truths are unconscious.
we need to discover them (like chipping away a marble block to reveal a statue within) as seen in Plato’s Meno’s Slave Boy example
according to Leibniz, what are the innate concepts?
Being
Unity
Duration
Substance
Change
Action
Perception
Pleasure
buds capp
what are Locke’s arguments against knowledge innatism?
- If innate knowledge exists, its universal
- For an idea to be part of the mind, the mind must be aware of that idea
- So, innate knowledge is knowledge that everyone is aware of
- children and ‘idiots’ don’t know geometry and concepts considered innate
- So, innate knowledge doesn’t exist
how might Leibniz respond to Locke’s children/idiot argument?
its possible to have innate knowledge that we aren’t aware of
what does Locke argue about the nature of knowledge and the mind as opposed to knowledge innatism?
- TABULA RASA: mind born as blank slate, all knowledge is a posteriori
- SIMPLE + COMPLEX IDEAS: explanation of how we can form all concepts from pure experience
—> simple sensations cause simple ideas, complex sensations cause complex ideas, and simple + complex ideas can be converted into each other
give 4 differences between Locke’s simple and complex ideas
- Simple ideas can’t be analysed in terms of other ideas
- Simple ideas are copies of reality, complex ideas don’t have to be
- Simple ideas represent the intended object FULLY
- Words standing for simple ideas are less likely to be misapplied
according to Hume, what does our mind consist of?
IMPRESSIONS (internal feelings + desires; external sense experience) with FORCE and VIVACITY 💥
IDEAS (simple or complex thoughts, beliefs, memories that we can recall and contemplate) which are duller
what is the Copy Principle according to Hume?
all ideas are copies of impressions e.g. God is from extending qualities of good + wise beyond limit
you can’t have ideas of what you haven’t had impressions of, so NO knowledge is innate
describe Hume’s fork
all knowledge is either:
RELATIONS OF IDEAS (a priori, analytic, necessary truths e.g. a bachelor is an unmarried man)
or
MATTERS OF FACT (a posteriori, synthetic, contingent truths e.g. snow is white)
no truth can be a mix of both, so we can’t have meaningful knowledge about the world (matters of fact) purely from intuition and deduction
what is the Missing Shade of Blue problem and how does Hume defend against it?
- person has seen every colour except one particular shade of blue
- a spectrum of every other shade of blue is shown to them, with a blank in the place of the shade they’ve never seen
- they will be able to imagine the idea of the missing shade based on the adjacent shade, showing that we can have ideas that aren’t always derived from corresponding impressions
HUME: the example is so insignificant and trivial we don’t need to worry abt it
OTHER RESPONSES:
— colour is a complex idea; we use simple ideas of other light frequencies to create it
— we don’t actually have the idea of the missing shade, just a rough imagined prediction
innatism essay: assess the claim that there is at least some knowledge of concepts present from the mind at birth
