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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define: Cogito |
Establishing the existence of a being from the fact that it thinks or is aware |
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Define: Helios |
The Sun |
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Define: Geos |
The Earth |
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Define: Scientia |
Knowledge |
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Define: Tabula Rasa |
Blank Slate |
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Define: Ratio |
Reason |
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Define: Corpus |
Body |
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Res Cogitans |
I am a thinking thing |
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Cogito, ergo Sum |
I think, therefore I am |
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Mens |
mind (intentionality) |
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Substantia |
Standing under, upholding |
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Substratum |
Foundation |
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How does cogito ergo sum serve as the foundation for Descartes' first indubitable belief? |
I think, therefore I am. If there is an Evil Genius that exists to deceive , he cannot deceive Descarte’s belief in his own existence; to doubt is to think, therefore he is a thinking thing. |
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What point about human cognition does Descartes highlight in discussing the diverse ways in which we think about different shapes e.g. the triangle and the chiliagon in Meditation Six? |
One point he makes about human cognition is the distinction between understanding and imagination; to create a mental image of a shape in your mind is imagination. He uses shapes to explain; One can understand a shape that has 3 sides or 1,000; however, one can imagine the shape of a triangle, but not accurately imagine the shape of a chiliagon. Because of this, he believes that understanding is a process of looking inwards to the mind, while imagining is a process of looking outwards to the body. |
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Why is Locke skeptical of substance? At the same time, why does he have difficulty abandoning the concept completely? |
Locke is skeptical of substance in that it is something that cannot be clearly defined by human senses alone; going by Hobbe’s Theory of Meaning, any word that is in use represents a thought whose conceptual context points to some sense experience, and any word that fails to do so is an empty word that has little contextual meaning. Locke’s belief in an atomic theory of substance means that the substance which we see is an aggregate of secondary qualities which are not intrinsically part of the object in question, but rather operations of the primary qualities on our senses. By taking this stance, he is skeptical of the idea of substance in how we understand it, as he believes that we cannot truly explain what substance is, but rather how it acts upon us. |
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What is Kant’s assessment of the field of metaphysics? Why? Explain? |
Kant’s assessment of metaphysics is that it was enduring, but failed, enterprise. He believes this because he asserts that reason will forever pose questions that cannot be answered, as they go beyond the bounds of experience (Ex. Does God exist?) |
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Why does Kant believe that his discovery of synthetic a priori truths is of such significance for the scientific revolution and the history of thought in general? |
Kant believes that synthetic a priori truths are of such significance because they can explain mathematical concepts. For example, defining a straight line as the shortest distance between two points, rather than by its characteristics, helps to create new “truths” which can be discovered. |
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A priori |
Knowledge independent of experience; can be explained by reason alone |
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A posteriori |
Knowledge that depends on experience to be validated |
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Synthetic |
The predicate adds something new to the concept |
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Analytic |
The predicate does not add anything new to the concept |
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Give an example of synthetic a priori |
A straight line is the shortest distance between two points |
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Give an example of analytic a priori |
A planet is a natural satellite |
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Give an example of synthetic a posteriori |
Mars has frozen water |
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What are Kant's two stems of cognition? |
Sensibility - Matter, experience Understanding - Form, concepts Concepts are empty without experience, and experience is empty without concepts |
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Explain the Corpuscular/Atomic Theory of Knowledge |
Based on an analogy of the body/atomic theory of matter; the real world is the microscopic world that we cannot perceive with human eyes alone. Atoms = simple ideas |
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Simple Idea |
That which has no further component parts |
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Complex Idea |
Combination of simple ideas in a single experience |
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Primary Quality |
Intrinsic, inseparable from the object or thing itself (figure, extension, number) |
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Secondary Quality |
The effect which qualities produce on our senses (color, sound) |
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Resemblance theory of Perception |
We perceive only our own ideas, we perceive external objects through the intermediary of ideas, explaining mistakes in perception |
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Both Locke and Descartes apply some form of skepticism in their philosophical methodology. Explain one similarity and one difference in their reasons for using skepticism. |
In using skepticism as an application in their methodology, both Locke and Descartes allow for an explanation in mistakes in perception; Locke believes that we perceive external objects through the intermediary of ideas, while Descartes believes in the possibility of an Evil Genius. Their reasons for using them are inherently different; Descartes goes on to use skepticism to create a new foundation on which the existence of a benevolent God is of high importance, while Locke attempts to explain the true qualities of nature. |
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Summarize Descartes' wax example |
Wax can be identified by using the senses; however, even after it loses all previous qualities when placed near a fire, we are still able to identify it as wax. This is because of the fact that the wax was not the qualities it had, but a body that manifested itself to us. The identification of the wax is on the inspection of the part of the mind only. |
