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A Level RE > Philosophy - Plato > Flashcards

Philosophy - Plato Flashcards

1
Q

What does ‘a priori’ mean?

A

.Based on reason
.Knowledge that does not require experience or evidence
.The argument is prior to evidence as it is not required
.These statements already contain a conclusion that is logically necessary

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2
Q

Examples of ‘a priori’ knowledge

A

2+2=4

All bachelors are male

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3
Q

What does ‘a posteriori’ mean?

A

.Based on evidence
.Knowledge that is dependent on experience or evidence
.The argument is post-evidence, meaning after/following on from evidence (think post-mortem - which happens after death)

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4
Q

Examples of ‘a posteriori’ knowledge

A

It is sunny in August

My RE teacher has bad breath

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5
Q

What is empirical evidence?

A

Knowledge acquired through the sense

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6
Q

What did Plato believe about empirical evidence and the world around us?

A

.Empirical evidence cannot always be accepted as fact
.We should not trust our senses
.The world around us is not the real world

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7
Q

For Plato, what was knowledge of true reality?

A

‘a priori’

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8
Q

What does Plato believe about love and beauty?

A

Innate knowledge that is inherited

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9
Q

What is Plato’s theory of reality?

A

.Dualist
.Two forms of reality
.We are in the material one
.There is a perfect unchanging one known as the world of forms

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10
Q

Why does Plato have a problem with art? In particular statues?

A

They are imitations of imitations, even more imperfect than the things they are trying to copy - further from the perfect forms than we already are

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11
Q

What does Plato mean by ‘everything tangible flows’?

A

.Flow means move and change, it won’t remain the same
.Tangible is anything material that we can touch
.He is saying everything in our world will erode with time
.Whereas the world of forms isn’t tangible so it doesn’t change/flow/erode with time
.We can see this change/flow/erosion through our senses

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12
Q

How is Plato’s forms like gingerbread and cutter?

A

.The world of forms has the cutter, the original shape of the material things
.The imitation of these forms in the material world are the gingerbread men, formed from the cutter
.They are not the exact shape as the cutter, but a close imitation
.The gingerbread man is tangible and can change with time (eaten) but the cutter can not be

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13
Q

Why does Plato focus more on concepts like beauty, truth, and goodness rather than cats?

A

Plato focused more on concepts like beauty, truth, and goodness rather than cats because these concepts could be applied to many different scenarios (like a person, a piece of music or a landscape). This led him to suggest that there is a form of beauty where all these different ideas of it correspond to some extent.

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14
Q

How does Plato explain how we can recognize the forms?

A

Plato argues that all humans can recognize true forms since our soul before it was bound to our body, was connected to the world of forms. This means we have a dim recollection of the forms from the moment we are born, meaning we can easily recognize concepts like beauty and goodness.

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15
Q

State the hierarchy of Plato’s forms, including the religious interpretations of the theory

A
  1. The form of the good (Ultimate Being)
  2. The world of forms (Heavenly world
  3. The visible/material world (our world)
  4. Statues/images
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16
Q

Which is the most important form?

A

The form of good

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17
Q

What do all the ideal forms have in common?

A

The presence of good

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18
Q

Once you understand the form of good what can you do?

A

Understand all other forms

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19
Q

What does Plato say good is like? Why?

A

Plato says that good is like the sun, it illuminates everything else, the further you are from it the paler everything is

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20
Q

What is the highest knowledge humans are capable of? according to Plato

A

Knowledge of good

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21
Q

How can someone learn the truth behind the illusion of the material world?

A

Only the person who questions and investigates can learn the truth

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22
Q

What does the cave represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

This represents the material world. The world that contains the imitations of the true forms

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23
Q

What do the shadows represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

These represent the imitations of the forms in the material world

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24
Q

What do the prisoners represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

They represent society and how ignorant it is

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25
Q

What does the escape from the save represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

A person from society and his journey to enlightenment and knowledge

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26
Q

What does the sun represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

This represents the form of forms (the form of good) which is present in every form and makes things knowable and seen

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27
Q

What does the outside world represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

This represents the world of forms (the real world)

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28
Q

What does the return to the cave represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

This represents the enlightened peoples return to society and society’s stubbornness to learn the truth (links back to how they put Socrates to death for trying to teach them)

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29
Q

What does the freed prisoner represent in Plato’s analogy of the cave?

A

They represent enlightened people who have left the material world and learnt of the real world, for example philosophers

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30
Q

Where is the analogy of the cave?

A

In Plato’s Republic

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31
Q

For statements

‘If the cave dwellers are happy in their ignorance, it is better to leave them to it’

A

It is all they know, they can be happy like that

It hurts them to leave

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32
Q

Against statements

‘If the cave dwellers are happy in their ignorance, it is better to leave them to it’

A

They can become enlightened and learn true happiness

The pain is worth it for the truth that lies behind

33
Q

Bryan Magee arguments for Plato

A

.He argues that Plato’s theory of the forms and the analogy of the cave encourage people to seek enlightenment rather than stay trapped in the material world

34
Q

Bryan Magee quote for the strengths of Plato

A

‘The theory that there is another word than this…gives value and meaning to our present world’

35
Q

Is Bryan Magee’s argument for Plato strong or weak?

A

Weak, in the analogy of the cave we can see societies stubbornness to seek enlightenment

36
Q

How does Plato’s theory of the forms provide an answer to the problem of evil and suffering?

A

.Some scholars think that the material world is not perfect and it is the actions of the imperfect material beings that cause evil and suffering

37
Q

Is the argument that Plato’s theory of the forms provides an answer to the problem of evil and suffering strong?

A

Yes, even the world is an imitation of the original form of a world and therefore imperfect, so natural disasters and other natural evils can be explained through Plato’s theory

38
Q

3 Strongest points of Plato (IMO)

A

.The analogy of the cave - relatable by many so easy to understand
.Inspires people to seek enlightenment and strive for more knowledge
.Gies a strong and valid argument towards the problem of evil

39
Q

3 most effective arguments for the strengths of Plato

A

.Overcomes problem of evil
.Stephen Evans
.Brain Davies

40
Q

Why is Plato’s theory appealing?

A

It offers a logical and reasonable theory concerned with the idea that there are universal concepts

41
Q

What did scholars such as Immanuel Kent acknowledge?

A

The existence of absolutes - certain things and actions are either one thing or the other, good or bad, instinctively

42
Q

Example of an absolute

A

Beauty - everyone can recognize this and understand it significantly
Maths - it is always true irrelevant of any empirical evidence

43
Q

What does Stephen Evans, a philosopher, argue about Plato?

A

.He offers a rational argument for the existence of another reality/world
.This provides hope that the material world is not all that exists and we can look towards the world of forms as a more perfect form of existence

44
Q

Is Stephen Evans, a philosopher, correct in what he says about the strengths of Plato?

A

Yes, Plato thinks in an ‘a priori’ manner which means based on reason - therefore rationally

45
Q

Brian Davies, a theologian, arguments about Plato?

A

.The analogy helps illustrate Plato’s theory
.Helps people understand the relationship between the divine (God) and human
.People can relate to Plato’s theory, which means they can understand it

46
Q

What do David Hume and Richard Dawkins say about Plato’s theory?

A

.Plato’s ideas about the material world are counter-intuitive it goes against commonsense to say the world around us is an illusion
.The physical world has empirical evidence to back itself up

47
Q

What would Dawkins say about something transcendent?

A

Dawkins would argue that any talk of ‘transcendent’ (a world beyond the physical) is meaningless

48
Q

What does Mel Thompson argue about Pluto?

A

.The world presented in the cave analogy is not reflective of the world we inhabit today
.In this sense both the analogy and the theory are ineffective

49
Q

Does Mel Thompson have a strong or weak argument?

A

Weak, it is a good analogy that society can relate to and understand

50
Q

What is the infinite regression argument?

A

What stops us having an ideal form of the ideal form? And an ideal form of that ideal form? And so on and so on, this is called infinite regression - it goes on backward forever

51
Q

Does Plato acknowledge the infinite regression argument?

A

Plato acknowledges it in one of his dialogues - if everything is a copy of some previous ideal then it to must have a copy

52
Q

Is the infinite regression argument strong?

A

Yes very, it is ‘a priori’ and based on reason

53
Q

What do logical positivists argue about Plato?

A

.Empiricists, such as logical positivists, would question what about opinion? There are no such values as ‘beauty’ because it is subjective
.It is unlikely that we will come to the same conclusion as to what beauty is, therefore, Plato is incorrect in suggesting there is a perfect form of it

54
Q

Do logical positivists make a strong argument when talking about Plato?

A

Yes, as everyone does have subjective opinions as to what qualities like beauty and goodness are - it is rational and makes sense

55
Q

What do empiricists like John Locke and Bertrand Russel argue about Plato?

A

.They argue that it is not logical to argue that there is a world we can not see, so the theory is not a conclusion of logical reasoning

56
Q

What do John Locke and Bertrand Russel say that reality is based on?

A

They would argue that reality is based on sensory empirical evidence and not a humans reason to decide what is real

57
Q

Do John Locke and Bertrand Russel make a strong argument?

A

Yes, our senses say there is not another world, we should trust our senses as we always have

58
Q

How does Plato lack clarity?

A

.Plato is not entirely clear how the world of forms directly relates to our world
.For example does each cat breed have their own form or is their one form for all cats? Also is there ideals of everything - an ideal cancer?

59
Q

Is Plato’s lack of clarity a strong argument against him?

A

Yes, Plato does not explain everything well or fully so it’s difficult to accept the theory

60
Q

What does Plato say about the senses?

A

They are inferior and we should not rely on them

61
Q

Why shouldn’t we trust our senses?

A

.Plato says we shouldn’t but we have relied on them for thousands of years - it’s the reason we have survived to today
.It is a strong argument as it is true and based on empirical evidence - it is how we survived

62
Q

Mel Thompson quote

A

‘Plato fails to illustrate the attractiveness of the physical world; the scene inside the gloomy cave hardly represents the delights of the senses’

63
Q

Plato remained popular as …

A

he was aware of his audience

64
Q

Why did Plato often use analogies?

A

to explain often difficult concepts in a way that could be more readily understood

65
Q

What is an analogy?

A

when you make a relationship between two or more entities to bring out their similarity

66
Q

What is the modern version of the analogy of the cave?

A

the cinema

67
Q

What does Plato’s audience realise after hearing the analogy of the cave?

A

Plato’s Audience would quickly realise the prisoner represents Socrates, but in a wider sense it represents all philosophers

68
Q

Who wrote the story The Little Prince?

A

French poet and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

69
Q

What does French poet and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry explain in his story The Little Prince?

A

as a young boy he lived in a house with a buried treasure, the treasure was never found but the possibility it exists gives the house a special quality and beauty

70
Q

How does the story The Little Prince relate to the world of forms?

A

Just like how with the treasure was not found, the world of forms has never been found but the possibility it exists gives our world a special quality and beauty

71
Q

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quote

A

’What is essential is invisible to the eye.’

72
Q

Why do we refuse to acknowledge the forms?

A

as to do so is a painful and confusing process

73
Q

Why does it hurt to learn the truth about the world?

A

as it takes us away from the security of our illusions

74
Q

What does the sun represent in the world of forms?

A

The form of good

75
Q

What is the highest of forms?

A

The form of good

76
Q

What happens when you achieve awareness of the form of good?

A

you have achieved true enlightenment

77
Q

What did early Christians do when developing their theology?

A

borrowed a lot from Plato’s work

78
Q

How is the form of good similar to the Christian God?

A

the source of all thing, immutable, eternal, perfect and invisible

A Level RE (29 decks)

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