Religious Studies- Plato and Aristotle Flashcards
Plato
Wanted to understand the world through reason
The physical world could provide the truth
The world is in a constant state of flux
Matter is inherently evil so he doesn’t trust the physical world
Pre existing matter
Something has always existed
Opposite of ‘creatio ex nihilo’
Matter in the universe is in some form eternal
‘Something is no more x than it is y’
Can’t call a person short or tall as they’re are millions of examples where they aren’t and are the opposite
Can’t find what makes something x or y in this realm
Only find partial explanations
Doctrine of heracliteanism
Named divine teacher
Society was doomed for destruction
Find a more civilised way to live
Looking for the eternal
Theory of the forms
Perfect examples of everything in this realm
We inhabited it before we were born
The philosophical person is trying to get back there
What is truth, beauty etc?
Can only find those forms in our minds or in the realm
Dualist-
soul and body are separate
Existed a world beyond this
Plato believed this
Absolutist-
Objective truths exist- universal and unchanging
Things are either wrong or right
Rationalist
Knowledge based of use of reason
Reality has a logical structure
Can’t work it out using our own reason
Knowledge and reasoning
A priori
Knowable without prior experience
A posteriori
Only knowable after experience
Plato- souls are like a horseman One horse is spirit (easily controlled) One is appetite (difficult to control) And horseman is our reason We must develop control
Platos idea
True knowledge can’t be found in a world which is in a constant state of flux
No true knowledge can be found
Realm of appearances
The reality we live in
Every dog in this reality participates in the ideal dog in the realm of forms
Only access with our reason
Everything is just an imitation of the true essence of the object
Beauty
People say it exists but can’t agree on what it is
Form
Concept
Individual beautiful entities
Imitations( paintings, photos, reflections)
Allegory of the cave
Prisoners chained to wall in cave
See shadows on wall and believe that is real
One escapes and sees they are just shadows
If they escaped cave they would see what is actually real
If they returned they wouldn’t be believed
Job of informed is to lead the ignorant out of the cave
Only philosophers can leave, it is their job
Aristotle He contrasted with Plato Wanted to learn about the world He was an empiricist He rejected the theory of the forms
He examined the world using his senses
His argument is A posterior
Telos- final purpose of something
Everything has to change to reach his
Potentially- Actuality
Potentially is the quality something possesses- something it can do if the conditions are right
If there are it becomes actuality
It has the potential to change
The four causes
For something to teach its telos it must go through these
The material cause-
substance from which it is made or create
The efficient cause-
The cause that brings it into being
The formal cause-
Closest to the idea of the forms
Plan or idea that leads to the creation of the object
The final cause-
Describes what something is for- its telos
Change
Something’s undergo irreversible changes- wood burning to ash
Decay can be reversed but the formal cause stays the same
Things that achieve their full potential are fully actualised and to achieve their telos is called flourishing or eudaimonia
When humans have virtuous lives and achieve happiness Aristotle believed they were flourishing
Substances
- are evident but will decay/die e.g an animal
- evident but will not decay or die but could change e.g time
- that immune to change e.g the number 2 will never change
The prime mover Has no form Fully actualised and has no telos Aristotle's idea of God End to which all matter is moving and aspiring
Not a creator God as matter has always existed
Can’t have a relationship with the prime mover
Final cause behind everything is the prime mover
He has no divine plan
Only thinks about himself, if he thought about the world, Aristotle believes he wouldn’t be perfect
Horizontal (linear causes) First domino is moved by PM Problems -efficient cause not final cause Infinite regression
Vertical (ultimate) causes
He is the ultimate explanation of why things exist- a final cause
He is necessary or else there would be nothing
He is unchanging- pure actuality
Not physical- thought
Simple
Impersonal and transcendent
Evaluation
Existence of universe is brute fact- it requires no final cause- Russell
Where do matter come from if prime mover is thought
If Pm is God not very friendly
Must be something that isn’t subject to change, decay or death or the whole world would be subject to it
It isn’t as time doesn’t decay
Must be an eternal substance which isn’t subject to these things
Prime mover is a supreme object of desire- the best thing there could be
It can be compared to the God of classical theism
Prime mover. God. Perfect 👍 Transcendent. 👍 Unconcerned. Loving, benevolent Moves everything to purpose. 👍 Cannot be contacted. Prayer, REs Doesn't create The creator
Criticism of Aristotle
Isn’t the Big Bang a better explanation for motion and change?
An expansion with no God
Can’t find evidence that God is just PM
Purpose is a human invention in a lot of cases
What’s the purpose leopards? To chase antelopes. What’s the purpose of antelopes. To run away from leopards?- Dawkins
Camus, keirnegard have questioned as to whether the universe has a purpose
Nature has no purpose, it simply evolves
The search for meaning is purely human
How much is simply random?
Fallacy of composition
If everyone on earth has a mother for the earth have a mother?
What if humans just create the purpose of everything?
Less purpose than what Aristotle thought
