ANCIENT PHILOSOPHICAL FIGURES Flashcards
(16 cards)
what is platos analogy of the cave
prisoners are chained to a cave facing a blank wall in a cave(material world), they have to use their senses to guide them, one prisoner is relelased into the real world and he sees the truth of the real world outside of the cave
what does this aim to teach us
empiricism is bad, reason is the best way to approach life
what does the sun represent
the highest form of good, it enables all of the forms to be known through reasoning
what are the world of appearances
the world we live in where things appear to be real but they decay or change and eventually die. the material world we experience is like the cave.
what is the example plato uses
flowers or a person or a puppy are a particular, they become less beautiful over time and we disagree about what is beautiful because we use our senses that arent reliable
what is the world of forms
this contains the immutable forms, this is the real world for plato as it doesnt change, it can be understood through reason rather than through our senses. just like the world outside of the cave.
what are aristotles 4 causes
formal, efficient, material , final
what is the material cause
this describes the matter or subsance that something is made from.
what is the efficient cause
this describes the process of something coming into existence. e.g. the efficient cause of a human are their parents
what is the formal cause
this describes how we know what something is through its shape and characteristics.
what is the final cause
this is the telos/purpose of something
what is the prime mover
aristotle believes this is the reason for change, it draws everything towards itself without doing anything itself. the prime mover attracts so that everything that everything is in a continual cycle of change from actuality to potentiality back to back and so on.
what does aristotle call the prime mover
he calls it God but this is different to a religious God, its a philosophical God, the prime mover is the only example of pure actuality it has no potential to change and is absolute goodness.
what is the Form of Good
the highest form in the hierarchy of Forms. it enlightens and gives understanding to the mind which helps us use reason rather than senses
what are the similarities of the prime mover and the form of Good
theyre both immutable, they both cant be known through the senses. they both are about telos.
what are the differences of the prime mover and the form of Good
the prime mover is apartof the material universe, the form of good is in the world of forms
the prime mover has no connection with things in the world whilst the form of Good participates in the world of form and we can recognise good in the real world.
