Philosophy Lecture Review Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Hume.

What is the difference between knowledge and opinion in Plato's divided line?

Knowledge is certain and pertains to the unchanging Intelligible World, while opinion is fallible and pertains to the changing Visible World.

What are the ways of knowing (cognitive faculties) associated with each of the four sections of Plato's divided line?

Conjecture (Imagination), Belief (Perception), Understanding (Reasoning/Mathematics), Knowledge/Science (Intellect/Forms).

What is the real world for Plato?

The Intelligible World of Forms/Ideas.

Can we have knowledge of the material world according to Plato?

No, only Opinion.

What metaphysical level of the divided line is illustrated by the shadows in the allegory of the cave?

The lowest level: Images/Shadows (objects of Conjecture).

Does the inside of the cave demonstrate the world of Ideas or the material world?

The material (visible) world, because it contains shadows and the physical objects casting them.

What is the difference between the material and the immaterial world in Plato's Theory of Forms?

The material world is physical and changing, while the immaterial world is non-physical and unchanging.

What is the epistemological purpose of the Allegory of the Cave?

To illustrate the progression of the mind from ignorance to true knowledge through philosophical education.

How does the allegory of the cave illustrate Plato's rationalism?

It shows that true knowledge comes from reason turning away from the deceptive senses.

Explain Aristotle's notion of scientific knowledge by naming its 3 characteristics.

Scientific knowledge is abstract, universal, and causal.

How does scientific knowledge for Aristotle differ from practical knowledge?

Scientific knowledge seeks universal truths; practical knowledge seeks wisdom for action.

What are the two elements that combine to form an individual substance for Aristotle?

Matter (hyle) and Form (morphe).

What is Aristotle's 'hylomorphic' description of an individual object?

An individual object is a composite of matter (potential) and form (actualizing essence).

Explain Aristotle's concepts of actuality and potentiality.

Potentiality is the capacity to become, actuality is the realization of that potential.

Why does Aristotle reject Plato's theory of the Forms?

Aristotle rejected the separate existence of Forms because they couldn't explain particulars or change.

Name each of Aristotle's four causes.

Material Cause, Formal Cause, Efficient Cause, and Final Cause (Telos).

Explain Aristotle's notion of abstraction.

Abstraction is the mental process of identifying universal form from observing particulars.

What are the 3 faculties of the soul for Aristotle?

Vegetative, Perception, and Reason/Cognition.

What do Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle's notions of the soul have in common?

All see the soul as the principle of life and associate its highest capacity with reason or intellect.

Name at least 2 beliefs that cannot be doubted according to Descartes.

His own existence as a thinking thing and the existence of God.

How does Descartes explain the interaction between mind and body?

They are distinct substances but closely united and interact causally.

What is the difference between imagination and pure understanding for Descartes?

Imagination requires picturing objects; understanding grasps abstract concepts without images.

Explain Descartes' divisibility argument in the context of the mind/body division.

The body is divisible, the mind is indivisible; therefore, they are distinct substances.

What is the origin of impressions for Hume?

Direct sensory experience or feelings.

What is the origin of ideas for Hume?

Ideas are copies derived from preceding impressions.

Explain the distinction between impressions and ideas for Hume.

Impressions are direct, vivid perceptions; ideas are fainter copies of impressions.

What are the 3 ways in which Hume says ideas associate with each other?

Resemblance, Contiguity, and Causality.

What are the 3 characteristics of a causal relation for Hume?

Contiguity, Succession in time, and Constant Conjunction.

Does the mind perceive objects or impressions according to Hume?

Impressions.

What are the 2 kinds of knowledge statement captured by Hume's Fork?

Relations of Ideas and Matters of Fact.