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127 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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what is reason? |
using logical steps and thought processes in order to reach conclusions |
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what is a rationalist? |
someone who thinks that the primary source of knowledge is reason |
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what is an empiricist? |
someone who thinks that the primary source of knowledge is experience gained through the five senses |
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what is the prime mover? |
aristotles concept of the ultimate cause of movement and change in the universe |
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what is the socratic method? |
the method of philosophical reasoning which involves critical questioning |
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what is an analogy? |
a comparison between one thing and another in an attempt to clarify meaning |
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what is a transcendent? |
being beyond this world and outside the realms of ordinary experince |
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what is dualism? |
the belief that reality can be divided into two distinct parts, such as good and evil or physical and non-physical |
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what is an aetion? |
an explanatory factor, a reason or cause for something |
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what is telos? |
the end or purpose of something |
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what did socrates aim to do through socratic questioning? |
people were forced to admit that either their views didn't make sense or that they didn't know - EXPOSE IGNORANCE |
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what was socrates nickname?
and what does it imply? |
"gadfly" this is an insect which although small can cause immense irritation to a horse |
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what did socrates think it was important that people recognised? |
- the limitations to their knowledge AND - that there may not be any definitive answers or solutions |
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what did Plato found? |
"The Academy" where he taught both males and females until he died aged 81 |
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plato is often regarded as... |
the greatest philosopher who ever lived |
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(plato) what has it been said... and what does this mean? |
that all over philosophy is simply "footnotes on plato" as though other people are simply commenting on questions already raised by him |
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how old was plato when socrates died and why is this significant? |
- around 30 years old and it is said to have had a profound effect on him
- wrote as a way of defending socrates against rumours that tried to discredit his memory |
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what observations lead to plato's theory of forms? |
plato like other philosophers noticed that the physical world is always changing and objects that appear static and solid are changing in ways that might not be immediately apparent to our sense |
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(plato) examples of changes in the physical world... |
- growing - decaying - becoming scratched or stained - hotter or colder - fading in sun - darkening with age |
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what problem does the physical world always changing present? |
how could people attain true and certain knowledge if the objects would not be the same from one morning to the next |
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what conclusion did plato reach to this problem? |
- the things we see in the world around us are in a state of process and change - there are HOWEVER 2 other realities of which we can have certain knowledge - plato called these concepts "forms" or "ideals" |
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plato believed you gain true knowledge through... making him a... |
reason a rationalist |
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why do we have intuition about the forms? |
we have immortal souls and therefore must have lived in the realm of the forms before being born into the material world as physical human beings |
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according to plato the forms are arranged in a... |
hierarchy and are related to each other |
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what is the most important form according to plato? |
the form of the good |
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why is the form of the good the highest? |
- purest and most abstract - furthest away from the physical world - illuminates all of the other forms and gives them their value |
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some examples of higher forms... |
- wisdom - courage - justice |
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some examples of lower forms... and why? |
- blueness - softness because they are more closely related to material objects |
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what is the name of one of Plato's best written works and when was it written? |
the republic 380 bc |
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what does plato want us to understand through his analogy of the cave? |
- the ignorance of humanity when people do not engage in philosophy - the potential for true knowledge that philosophy brings - the relation between the physical world, the material world and the higher world |
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how does plato present this analogy? |
a dialog between socrates and a man named glaucon |
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what criticism does scientist richard dawkins say about plato's analogy? |
it is nonsense to talk of a transcendent other world beyond the physical - the world may be changeable but we can still study it and gain knowledge valuable to our everyday lives |
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aristotle was alongside people to make what criticsm of plato's analogy? |
- on the grounds that it becomes ridiculous when pushed to its logical extremes - e.g. easier to accept ideal concepts of things like infinity or a prime number BUT less happy to accept an ideal form of negative qualities such as spite or jealousy |
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problems with platos theory of the forms... |
- no scientific evidence to support it - cannot access the forms and therefore cannot determine their existence - how universal the forms are? e.g. species of flower, would the ideal tree have big leaves or nuts or berries etc - many would disagree with platos theory that people only do wrong when they are ignorant of what is right, plato is overly optimistic in his view of human nature |
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what is the title of the book in which plato describes the demiurge? |
timaeus 360 bc |
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what did plato believe created the world? and what was it made from? |
a god called the demiurge - made from materials that already existed, but that was a shapeless mess before the demiurge got to work |
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what does plato describe the demigure as being? |
- good - desiring the best for humanity |
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why could the demiurge never create a perfect world? |
although he made the universe the best he could, he was - limited by the materials and - because it is physical and therefore changeable |
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what is the 1st material cause? |
aristotle said this explains what something is made from, eg. a phone is made from glass plastic metal etc |
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what is the 2nd formal cause? |
this gives something its shape and allows it to be identified as whatever it is eg. my phone exists because it looks and acts like a phone |
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what is the 3rd efficient cause? |
the activity that makes something happen eg. the phone is caused by the engineer who desired to make it |
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what is the 4th cause? |
the final cause (telos) this is its purpose, its reason for existing at all eg. a phone exists because of the need to communicate |
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what order do aristotles 4 causes go in?
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1. material 2. formal 3. efficient 4. final / telos |
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what is aristotles argument? |
a posteriori because it is based on the world around us and not any prior knowledge |
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what did Heraclitus say that Aristotle agreed with? |
"you can never step in the same river twice" |
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what is the title of Aristotle's book in which he writes about the prime mover? |
metaphysicis |
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what 5 conclusions does aristotle reach on god's nature? |
1. NOT dependant on anything for its existence 2. eternal - due to a lack of potentiality 3. must be perfect - as badness is linked to an absence of something but god is pure actuality 4. immaterial - beyond time and space 5. transcendent - ultimate telos for everything else |
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why does aristotle describe the prime mover as being the final cause? |
because it is the object of desire and love for the world, drawing everything to it without being affected |
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what part of the bible is said to be similar to aristotles ideas on the prime mover? |
the new testament - hebrews 13:8 |
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what criticism of his ideas on "telos" did dawkins and bertrand russel make? |
that it makes no sense to talk of a "purpose" for the universe - the universe simply exists and there is nothing that it is "supposed to do" RESULT OF CHANCE |
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why do theists often object to aristotles concept of god? |
that the prime mover is almost irrelevant to the universe as it has no interaction with it and is unaffected by it their own experiences of god might contradict aristotles logic |
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what does platos rationalism mean? |
that reason is the source of all knowlege - due to the physical world being in a constant state of flux example of this logic = maths problems - two odd numbers equal an even |
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what does aristotles empiricism mean? |
the primary source of knowledge is experince = 1st we see the world through our senses then we form our concepts eg. we cannot imagine a colour we have never seen |
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aristotles use of teleology...
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- everything has an end or purpose - |
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****** soul mind body ****** |
new topic starts |
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what is the soul? |
often understood to be the non-physical essence of a person |
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what is consciousness? |
awareness or perception |
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what is substance? |
a subject which has different properties attributed to it |
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what is dualism? |
the belief that reality can be divided into 2 distinct parts e.g. good and evil or physical and non-physical |
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what is substance dualism? |
the belief that the mind and the body both exist as two distinct and separate entities |
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what is scepticism? |
a questioning approach which does not take assumptions for granted |
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what is materialism? |
the belief that only physical matter exists and that the mind can be explained in physical terms as chemical activity in the brain |
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what is reductive materialism?
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otherwise known as identity theory - the view that mental events are identical with physical occurrences in the brain |
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what is a category error? |
a problem of language that arises when things are talked about as if they belong to one category when in fact they belong to another |
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what is plato's view of the soul called? |
a tripartite view |
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"aristotles assumption that all hings have a telos is in correct" discuss |
evaluate the criticisms with regard to religious experience with regard to hume |
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what questions does aristotle pose when considering the nature of the soul?
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- what is it that makes us essentially human? - what distinguishes a living person from a dead one? |
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what is aristotle often considered to be the founder of?
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psychology as a science |
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in what way does aristotle refer to the soul? |
same sense as a formal cause |
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what is the name of descartes work? |
discourse |
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what time period was descartes writing?
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17th century |
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what revolution was descartes profoundly influential in? |
the scientific revolution |
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what is hyperbolic doubt? |
*descartes* a system of extreme doubt in order to attempt to identify what could be known for certain |
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what is descartes 1st certainty? |
I think therefore I am
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what is the pineal gland? |
a very small organ located in the centre of the human brain |
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what quote did descarte say about the pineal gland? |
"the principle seat of the soul" in a 1640 letter |
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what did he think the pineal gland is in relation to the soul and body? and why? |
- thought that because other parts of the head usually come as pairs eg. 2 hemespheres of the brain, 2 eyes etc BUT only one pineal gland it strongly suggests that this is the connection point between the material person and the immaterial soul |
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in what book did dawkins say humans are nothing more than "survival machines" |
hhe selfish gene 1976 |
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in what book did dawkins say refer to the soul as "mystic jelly"? |
the river out of eden 1995 |
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what argument do both bertrand russel and dawkins make? and who was 1st? |
1st = russel that religious belief in an immortal soul has no sound basis |
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what two types of soul does dawkins identify?
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wrote about... soul 1 = the view that the soul is distinguished as a spiritual, supernatural part of a person and soul 2 = a more Aristotelian understanding of the soul - as personality and individuality - motivated to make choices |
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what soul did dawkins accept and why? |
soul 2 as it does not include the possibility of life after death or a connection with any divine or supernatural being |
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who was anselm? |
an 11th century, benadictine monk and arch bishop of canterbury |
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what book did anselm write? |
proslogian |
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what did anselm say?
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"that God is that which nothing greater can be thought" |
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what analogy did guanilo use to criticise anselms ontological argument?
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the island he said that the greatest island he could imagine had sandy beaches on one side, and snowy slopes for skiing on the other - HOWEVER just because he can imagine it doesn't mean it exists |
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what does anseln respond to guanilos island by saying?
and what problem arose from this response? |
that it can only apply to necessary beings "necessary" is a predicate and these cannot be used to prove somethings existance - anselms definition if god states that he MUST exist |
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what do we call the problem with anslems response to guanillo?
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a logical fallacy and begs the question |
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what was guanilos book entitled? |
"on behalf of the fool" |
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what is the teleological argument based on? |
observation |
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is the teleological argument a priori or a posteriori? and why? |
a posteriori because it looks at the world around us to draw conclusions |
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what does the teleological argument say there are examples of in the world? 4 things |
- complexity - order - beauty - purpose |
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what analogy can sum up how the teleological argument looks at the world? |
like someone might look at a painting and draw conclusions about the artist |
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is the ontological argument a priori or a posteriori and why?
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a priori because it uses reason to draw conclusions |
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what is the word that refers to the ontological arguments use of logic?
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deductive |
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what is the main point of the ontological argument? |
that everything in the world is contingent - dependent on something else for existance for example, the human dependency on oxygen APART FROM GOD |
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according to the ontological argument god is a... |
necessary existance |
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what 4 qualities did william james identify of a religious experience? and what do they mean? |
- noetic quality = the experience goves the person an understanding of important truths - passivity = are the recipent of the experience rather than the instigator - transcience = last no longer than a few hours but the effects last a lifetime - ineffability = impossible to explain in ordinary language |
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what book did william james write? |
the varieties of religious experience |
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what century was william james writing in? |
18th |
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what does william james say on how convincing religious experiences can be? |
"they are as convincing to those who have them as any direct sensible experiences can be" "and they are, as a rule, much more convincing than results established by mere logic ever are" |
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what is rudolph ottos book called? |
the idea of the holy |
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what 3 qualities did he say the divine would be defined by? |
1. mystery = the realisation that god is incomprehensible and can never fully be understood 2. being of ultimate importance 3. god is attractive and dangerous = a sense of privilege felt but also an awareness that god cannot be controleld |
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why was otto's book important? |
because it was the first time someone had tried to understand the otherness of religious experince |
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what pattern do conversion experiences tend to follow? |
- a feeling of dissatisfaction with their "current system of ideals" - a search at both an intellectual and emotional level for a basis to make a decision - point of crisis = a sense of gods presence - this is followed by a sense of peace and joy = a desire to share their faith - change in direction an example would be a career change |
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what is the 1st step in the pattern of conversion experiences? and where is this quote from? |
"current system of ideals" our experince of god H.D Lewis |
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what quote does william james say on conversion experience? |
"to say a man is converted means that religious ideas, previously peripheral in his consciousness now take a central place" |
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what is an example of conversion experince in the bible? |
new testemant saul - changes his name to paul once converted |
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what style of argument are religious experiences sometimes used to support? |
a posteiori |
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what is swinburne's principle of credulity? |
experience is usually reliable and the balance of probability says that experience can be trusted - swinburne argues that if we think that we are experiencing god then we should be prepared to believe that we really are |
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what example does swinburne use to explain his principle of credulity? |
that when you think you recognise a friend in the supermarket it usually is them |
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what is swinburnes principle of testimony? |
that usually people tell us the truth and that in most cases we can believe what we are told - we should go with the balance of probablity when we are told something and NOT make different rules for religious experience |
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what three parts did sigmund freud seperate the human mind or "psyche" into? |
the ego the superego and the id |
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what is freud's idea of the ego? |
the layer of the mind that is obvious to us - concious mind - aware of our opinions and decisions |
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what is freuds idea of the id? what does it contain? |
the unconscious self not immediately obvious, contains memories and repressed emotions and desires that we do not want to admit to ourselves |
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what is freuds idea of the superego? when does it develop? |
inner moral voice that tells us what is right and wrong developed as we grow up, peer group/family tell us what is acceptable until it is imprinted on our personality |
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what does freud argue that religious experience is? |
a symptom of "infantile neurosis" |
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what was freuds view on religion and religious experience? |
- people are unable to cope with adult life and so they construct an imaginary parent figure to look after them - they mistake the own moral commands of their super ego for the voice of "god" |
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what type of explanation for religious experience does feuerbach provide? |
a naturalistic explanation |
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what was ludwig feuerbach's book entitled? |
the essence of christianity |
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what was feuerbach's view on religious experience?
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a psychological interpretation - when people worship god they are in fact worshipping their own human nature for example... they want the world to be a fair place so they invent a god that rewards good and punishes evil - have origins in the mind rather than coming from god |
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what is the main difference between the ideas of freud and donald winnicot? |
winnicot did not think that people would be mentally healthier without these illusions |
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what quote does winnicot say about those who cannot make distinctions between illusions and relaity? |
they have "hallmarks of madness" |
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when does donald winnicot argue that the illusion of religious experience becomes madness? |
when people try to impose their illusions on other people and expect them to give it credibility as being real |
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what neurophysiological study can argue against religious experience? |
1980's by michael persinger |
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what does the 1980's study by michael persigner suggest? |
that people who think they have had a religious experience are actually just unaware that they are in a magnetic field - effects of magnetism as opposed to god |
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what quote does bertrand russel use to argue against religious experience? and when was it said? |
"the fact that a belief has a good moral effect on a man is no evidence whatsoever in favour of its truth" in a radio debate 1948 |
