PLATO

Question 1

how does plato understand the world

Answer 1

a priori

Question 2

who inspired plato

Answer 2

heraclitus

Question 3

what quote stems from heraclitus

Answer 3

no man can step in the same river twice

Question 4

why can no man step in the same river twice

Answer 4

the river and man are in a constant state of change

Question 5

two key questions plato tries to answer

Answer 5

• is there certain knowledge in a world that is always changing?
• is there one thing or many things?

Question 6

explain this: essence & change cannot coexist

Answer 6

if everything changes, there is no such thing as essence because an essence relies on an unchanging core of something that stays the same regardless of changes in appearance

Question 7

what is a form

Answer 7

ideal version of almost everything we find in the world we live in

Question 8

what are the two world

Answer 8

world of appearances and forms

Question 9

what are the things in the world of appearances called

Answer 9

particulars

Question 10

what are particulars

Answer 10

imperfect representations of the form they partake in

Question 11

ex of particulars

Answer 11

trees - you are really looking at the perfect from of treeness but because of your ignorance are seeing a transient and mutable tree that will decay as it changes

Question 12

how do we get knowledge of the world of forms

Answer 12

a priori reason

Question 13

qualities of reality (WoF)

Answer 13

• intelligible
• known only through reason
• beyond the senses
• true knowledge
• spiritual souls reside

Question 14

qualities of WoA

Answer 14

• visible
• known through senses
• world of opinions
• particulars

Question 15

how do we recognise objects

Answer 15

• we are born with a dim recollection from our prior existence (souls) in WoF
• particulars of Forms all have something in common with their permanent Form
• participate in the Form

Question 16

who are the prisoners in the allegory of the cave

Answer 16

people in our world

Question 17

what is the cave in allegory of the cave

Answer 17

our empirical world

Question 18

what are the chains in allegory of the cave

Answer 18

senses

Question 19

what are the shadows in allegory of cave

Answer 19

particulars

Question 20

who is the escapee in allegory of cave

Answer 20

philosophers

Question 21

what is the sun allegory of cave

Answer 21

form of the good

Question 22

(skip this card) key messages in allegory of cave

Answer 22

• metaphysics - what is real?
• epistemology
• politics

Question 23

what doesn’t have a form

Answer 23

number and evil

Question 24

what is the most important form

Answer 24

form of the good

Question 25

why is the form of the good most important

Answer 25

all forms being perfect will participate in the FoG to an extent (in the case where perfection = good)

Question 26

what forms come second in the hierarchy

Answer 26

beauty, truth and justice

Question 27

what is the aim of everything to plato

Answer 27

goodness

Question 28

greek words for knowledge and opinion

Answer 28

episteme and doxa

Question 29

what is the highest knowledge a human is capable of

Answer 29

knowledge of the good

Question 30

platos belief on philosophers

Answer 30

they are the ones who can discover the truth behind the illusion as they question the world through a priori reasoning - PHILOSOPHER KING AND RULER

Question 31

biggest objector to theory of forms

Answer 31

aristotle

Question 32

aristotle critsicism - practicality

Answer 32

no practical value eg no perfect health, knowledge of an abstract idea is not helpful for diagnosis

Question 33

aristotle third man argument

Answer 33

turns into form of forms

Question 34

karl popper criticism

Answer 34

just because certainty doesn’t exist here, why would it exist elsewhere?

Question 35

wittgenstien criticism

Answer 35

family resemblance argument - rejects the one over many. There are overlapping characteristics like siblings have similar feature

Question 36

stephen law criticism

Answer 36

the form of the bogey argument states you could reach absurd conclusions if you accept platos view - extinct things and things not yet invented

Question 37

who was plato teacher

Answer 37

socrates

Question 38

what stance does plato take

Answer 38

rationalist

Question 39

truth can only be observed fully through the...

Answer 39

mind

Question 40

who described history of philosophy and explain what he said

Answer 40

a.n whitehead - described the whole history of philosophy as footnotes to plato

Question 41

what three philosophers was plato inspired by

Answer 41

socrates, heraclitus, pythagorus

Question 42

what dialogue did plato publish

Answer 42

the republic

Question 43

explain a house as a form (aristotle and plato answer)

Answer 43

- i want to build a house and i have the idea of what a house looks like in my head - where does this idea come from? aristotle - i have experienced many different houses, plato - permeance of the idea of a house in my mind - the house i build may be abandoned and overrun by nature or demolished so cease to exist - SO must be ideal house and my attempt to build one is a copy

Question 44

two important qualities of forms to remember

Answer 44

permanent and non-material

Question 45

what is the consequence of being trapped in bodies

Answer 45

our soul forgets the forms, only remember glimpses

Question 46

how does plato justify new inventions

Answer 46

the inventor is the first to remember the form

Question 47

what is the one over many argument

Answer 47

we are able to recognise forms when we come across the imperfect versions because of dim recollection

Question 48

what does the difficulty to adjust to the darkness represent in the cave analogy

Answer 48

now that the philosopher has seen the truth it is hard to go back

Question 49

what comes below higher forms

Answer 49

the individual forms of chair, tables, cake and all other objects

Question 50

what did plato believe to be the best form of government

Answer 50

a society led by wise philosophers

Question 51

how does he believe that children should be raised

Answer 51

taken from their families and brought up according to their skills as in sparta

Question 52

why did athenian way of ruling lead to death of socrates

Answer 52

athenian democracy taken up by ordinary people, not philosophers, and so they misunderstood socrates and sentenced him to death

Question 53

how does plato develop his theory

Answer 53

similie of the divided line

Question 54

what are the two levels of reality - simile of the divided line

Answer 54

doxa (world of opinion), episteme (world of forms)

Question 55

aristotle criticism study

Answer 55

if forms so important why don't people study them? doctors, politicians etc don't study them and these are highly educated people

Question 56

aristotle criticism - theoretical knowledge does not lead to being able to do something

Answer 56

practical knowledge is learned through practice and observation

Question 57

what do people turn to for certainity

Answer 57

political and religious fundamentalism

Question 58

criticism what assumption did aj ayer refer to

Answer 58

primitive superstition - because we have a name there must be something corresponding to that term in reality

Question 59

criticism who backs up ayer

Answer 59

kortabinksi

Question 60

what does kortabinksi suggest

Answer 60

certain nouns are onomatoids, sentences have to contain genuine instead of abstract concept