Midterm Study Guide Flashcards
(97 cards)
1
Q
Philosophy Greek roots
A
Love of wisdom
2
Q
philosophy definition in the archetypal sense
A
Fixed body of knowledge
3
Q
A philosopher is a_____
A
Lover of wisdom who has a compelling need to pursue wisdom
4
Q
Areas of philosophy are
A
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Axiology
Ethics
Aesthetics
Political philosophy
Social philosophy
Logic
5
Q
Metaphysics
A
The study of ultimate reality
6
Q
Epistemology
A
Has everything to do with knowledge
Asks questions about knowledge
7
Q
Ethics
A
The study of moral problems, practical reasoning, right vs wrong, virtues and vices, character, moral duty, nature, origin and moral values
8
Q
Social and political philosophy
A
Concerned with nature, origins of government, sovereignty, exercise of power, effects of social institutions on individuals, ethnicity, gender, social status, and strength/weakness of different societies
9
Q
Logic
A
The study of the rules of correct reasoning
10
Q
Axiology
A
The study of values
11
Q
Aesthetics
A
The study of perceptions, feelings, and judgments
12
Q
Ontology
A
The study of being and what it means to exist
13
Q
Wisdom
A
Fundamental understanding of reality as it relates to living a good life
14
Q
Theoretical knowledge
A
Accurate compilation and assessment of factual and systematic information and relationships
15
Q
Practical knowledge
A
Skills needed to do things
16
Q
Mere belief
A
A conviction that something is true for which the only evidence is the sincerity of the believer
17
Q
Willed ignorance
A
Attitude of indifference to the possibility of error/enlightenment; holds on to beliefs regardless of the facts; close minded
18
Q
Philosophical archetypes are philosophers who
A
Express an original or influential point of view in a way that significantly affects subsequent philosophers and nonphilosophers
19
Q
What is the chief goal of wisdom
A
A fundamental understanding of reality as it relates to living a good life
20
Q
What is relativism
A
The belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualities of the observer
21
Q
Absolute or universal knowledge of the truth is
A
Impossible
22
Q
Sage is an archetypal figure who
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Combined religious inspiration with a love of wisdom
23
Q
What do sages do
A
They understand and teach the requirements of the good life
24
Q
What do sages tend to be/ believe in
A
Sages are humanists who believe that the human intelligence and effort are capable of improving conditions of here and now
25
In Chinese cosmology
Everything was influenced by the harmonious working together of heaven and earth following Tao
26
Tao
Is the principle of all existence, the way or path of the universe or moral law
27
The sophists were
The first professional educators
28
What did the sophist argue
The difference between a good argument and a bad one is custom and individual preference
29
What did the sophist believe
Nothing is good or bad by nature but only but custom and preference
30
What was the sophist argument on truth
It is relative and that knowledge is determined by the specific qualities of the observer
31
What is individual relativism
The belief that even in the same place and time, right and wrong are relative to the unique experiences and preference of the individual
32
Who was Protagoras
The most influential sophist
33
What did Protagoras say
Morals are nothing more than social traditions or mores of a society or group and that following local mores is the best way to live successfully and well
34
What was Protagoras’s famous saying
Man is the measure of all things
35
Who was Socrates
The first major western philosopher
36
How do we know what Socrates philosophy was
He wrote nothing so everything we know comes from Plato and Xenophon
37
What did Socrates challenge
He challenges the Sophist views on relativism, moral realism, and might makes right
38
Socrates was a paradigmatic or archetypal individual which means what
Rare human begins whose very nature represents something elemental about the human condition
39
What is the Socratic method
Based on the assumption to draw the truth out of the pupil rather than provide them with the answer
40
What did the Socratic dialectic consist of
A series of guided questions that continually refine the ideas under scrutiny
41
Why did Socrates use irony
To encourage active listening by his pupils
42
What is irony
A way of communication that has at least two levels of meaning (literal or obvious and hidden or real)
43
The most persistent of Socrates teaching was “know thyself” what does this mean
A life devoid of philosophical speculation is hardly a human life, because philosophical reflection can help us discover what is real and important
44
How did Socrates see himself
A physician of the soul
45
What was Socrates beliefs in terms of the real person
He believed the real person was not the body but rather the psyche
46
For Socrates, what is human excellence
A special kind of knowledge that combines technical understanding with the skill and character to apply that knowledge
47
According to Socrates, what does knowledge produce
Behavioral results because behavior is guided by beliefs
48
What is intellectualism
the idea that no one knowingly does wrong
49
Socrates famous saying
To know the good is to do the good
50
Who was Plato
A member of the Athenian aristocracy and Socrates pupil
51
Socrates death led Plato to what
To believe that Athenian democracy was irrational and then founded his Academy to educate wise rulers
52
Platos three levels
The highest was the eternal changless being
The other two were becoming
The Allegory of the cave
53
What was Plato’s stance on knowledge
It was unchanging
54
Why could the sophists not discover the truth
They were only concerned with the world of ever-changing perceptions and customs
55
The republic does what
Contrasts two views of morality
56
What are the two views of morality
Instrumental theory and functionalist theory
57
What is the instrumental theory of morality
Right and wrong must be determine by the consequences our acts produce
58
What is the functionalist theory of morality
Right and wrong can only be understood in terms of the way they affect out overall functioning as human beings
59
What are the four cardinal virtues
Temperance
Courage
Wisdom
Justice
60
Who was Aristotle
Platos pupil and tutor of Alexander the Great
61
Aristotle was what kind of philosopher
A philosophical naturalist
62
What is naturalism
The belief that reality consists of the natural world and that the universe is ordered
63
Aristotle on form and matter
Form can be abstracted from matter but cannot exist independently from matter
64
What is matter
Common material study found in a variety of things
65
What are Aristotles four causes
Material cause (what it is made of)
Formal cause (the form it takes)
Efficient cause (triggering motion that beings the thing)
Final cause (the ultimate purpose for which it exists)
66
What is the inner urge
A drive to become its unique self
67
What are Aristotle’s three souls
Lowest- vegetative or nutritive soul
Middle- sensitive or sentient soul
Highest- rational soul
68
According to Aristotle the good is
That which all things aim
69
What does Eudaimonia (happiness) mean
Being really alive rather than just existing
70
What does happiness require according to Aristotle
Activity, good habits, and practical wisdom
71
What is Aristotelian moderation based on
The concept of wisdom hitting the mark between to much and not enough
The golden mean
72
What is the difference between virtue and vices
Virtue- hitting the mark of moderation
Vice- being off by too much or too little
73
What is Hedonism
Pleasure is identical with good and pain is identical with evil
74
What did hedonist believe in
They thought material items = happiness
Quantity > quality
75
Epicureanism
Happiness came intrinsically
Quality> quantity
76
What did cynics believe
The very essence of civilization is corrupt
Manners are hypocritical
Material wealth weakens people
Civilization destroys the individual
77
What did the death of Socrates shows the cynics
Not even the wisest person can control other people or external events
78
What did cynics conclude
The less an individual needs to be happy, the less vulnerable they will be
79
What did stoic virtues include
Strength of will
Courage
Dignity
Maturity
80
What did the stoic doctrine say
Everything has a price reason can reveal
81
What did the stoics teach
Only great struggle could produce greatness of character
82
What did James Bond Stockdale refine
Epictetus’s principle of life and communicated it to a growing audience
83
How do we know anything?
- ponder whether there is really a physical world outside of your mind or if your mind is all that exists
- consider whether or not it is all right to go on believing in an external world even if it does not exist
84
Other minds
- explore what you can really know beyond the contents of your mind
- consider the possibility that there might be much less or much more conscious life than you assume
85
The Mind-Body Problem
- There are two states within a person: mental states and physical states
- How these states interact and whether or not they are mutually exclusive is a problem that bothers philosophers
86
The Meaning of Words
Words allow us to understand the universe, communicate with each other, and invent things
But the mystery is how words have this power
87
Free Will
- explain what you mean when you say you could have done something other than what you did
- explain what you and the world would have to be like for this to be true
88
Right and Wrong
Does the universe have a standard for ethics and morality?
Given that humans act according to their motives and that motives are innumerable, a single standard for ethical behavior seems farfetched.
89
Justice
- identify which causes of inequalities are morally wrong
- determine which methods of interfering with these inequalities are morally right
90
Death
- What happens when we die?
- Is dying a bad thing or a good thing?
91
The Meaning of Life
For one’s life to have meaning, it has to be part of something bigger than itself. But to follow this line of reasoning could lead to the conclusion that life is pointless after all
92
Socrates (consolations)
Unpopularity
unpopular enough to be put to death but we can take comfort in the fact that he is still remembered, not his accusers. We can also take comfort in knowing that the injustices we face probably pale in comparison to those he endured.
93
Epicurus
Money
taught us that most of the best things in life, like friendship and knowledge, are free while magnificent wealth and power rarely satisfy. As he put it, “when measured by the natural purpose of life, poverty is great wealth; limitless wealth, great poverty”
94
Seneca
Frustration
taught us that “what makes us angry are dangerously optimistic notions about what the world and other people are like.” Thus “our greatest furies spring from events which violate our sense of the ground rules of existence.” (83) But if we are prepared for the worst we will be less frustrated when bad things happen.
95
Montaigne
Inadequacy
taught us not to expect too much from ourselves because we are all ridiculous creatures. We feel inadequate largely because “conventional portraits” of ourselves “leave out so much of what we are.” (128) What is left out is that we are all primates who, despite supposedly noble ideas, spend most of our time caring for our bodies.
96
Schopenhauer
Broken heart
said that the real foundation and purpose of romantic attraction and love is our biological drive to preserve the species. This knowledge helps comfort a broken heart because it shows that only biology has been temporarily thwarted. And it is a gift when pain yields knowledge.
97
Nietzche
Difficulty
taught that misfortune is better for us than good fortune; we learn from obstacles and difficulties: “fulfillment is reached by responding wisely to difficulties that could tear [us] apart.” (230) What makes us feel good is not always good for us while what makes us feel bad is not bad for us. Joy may be proportional to the suffering one endures
