philosophy exams

fuck you for making everything cumulative

What does Heraclitus consider ‘Being?"‘

• being happens/is always happening

• being = constant flux

• partly physical, partly concrete

• unity of opposites

• being = becoming

• symbolized by two rivers, day/night

What does Heraclitus consider ‘non-being?’

• the opposite of ‘Being’ that must exist for being to exist

• NOT absolute nothingness

• knowing what is Being and what is not Being.

• not-Being is whatever a thing is not (3pm isn’t 4pm, a wall isn’t a floor)

What does Parmenides consider ‘Being?‘

• Being = reality

• Being always exists

• Being ≠ becoming (becoming = physical)

• the 7 traits of Being - non-physical, ungenerated, imperishable (no end), whole (of a single land), unshaken, complete, ONE.

• Thinks that things that exist aren’t as real as Being

• existence itself fails the criteria of Being; talking ab Being itself in the abstract from anything that exists.

  • Physical existence is what causes everything to not be Being.

What does Parmenides consider ‘ Non-Being?"‘

• Unlearnable and unsayable (ineffable)

  • because if you can perceive it or understand it, it exists in some form, which isn’t possible if it doesn’t exist.

• Sphere motif (meets the 7 criteria), paths/route symbolism

What is the Unity of Opposites?

Heraclitus’ idea that everything needs an opposite to exist, and that opposites exist harmoniously rather than clashing.

• Opposites are co-present

• One brings in the other (like winter into eventually summer)

What are Parmenides’ 7 Traits of things that exist?

• generated/has beginning

• has an end (death or physical deterioration)

• physical

• diversity of matter; NOT a whole

• shaken, always changing

• incomplete

• many, not one (i.e. many cells)

Who were considered the first philosophers? What did they do?

• Homer and Hesoid

• critiqued stories (Mythos) people told; before that, people just believed anything

What can Logos represent (or be represented by)?

• Truth of the universe / ultimate truth

• speech

• fire

Who proved philosophers weren’t useless, and how?

Thalies; used reason and science to deduce there would be a large olive harvest, bought all the olive presses in town and made bank, proving complex thought wasn’t useless.

What is the Archae?

• translates to ‘the beginning’ in greek, but also known as ‘the ruling principle’

• really asking; what is it, where did it come from, and why?

In the Heraclitus fragments, what is the symbolism of being awake and asleep?

Basically saying that being awake is believeing and thinking critically, being aware of yourself (specifically focusing on the senses). criticizes the idea of ‘acting asleep while awake’.

Who were the Sophists? Who were the most famous Sophists?

• Protagoras and Gorgias

• “contemporaries of Socrates”, refers to a “wise person” who will argue for anything and use misdirection to misdirection to make a point.

  • as an insult, refers to someone who uses poor arguments to argue for something untrue

• had a sort of travel-college setup that was only accessible to extremely wealthy men. mostly teachers, rhetoricians, and polticians

• Taught people how to make good, persuasive speeches. basically taught them how to be self-lawyers.

  • Useful because Athens had just begun to use democratic processes

What does Parmenides think about Knowledge and Being?

• Being is the only entity graspable by thought and is genuinely Known. Knowledge can only be of Being

  • opinions = false knowledge; includes guesses, assumptions, and unjustified truth

• Knowledge is about finding out what’s consistently True.

What do Parmenides and Heraclitus think about Knowledge about oneself?

• Parm; thinks that since Knowledge can only be of Being, we can only have opinions about ourselves.

  • literally eludes us

• Hera; thinks the human soul has too many changing parts to get to Knowledge

How did Gorgias prove his arguments?

• Defends Helen of Troy as to make a point that if he can defend her and make the reader sympathize with her, he can make the reader believe anything (to bolster his career).

  • paints her as a victim of persuasion that was compelled to do what she did, rather than it being of free will

Why were the Sophists considered dangerous?

If they can convince anyone of anything, what’s to stop someone from spreading false Truth (logos)?

• more intent on proving the argument rather than spreading the Truth

What does Protagoras use to prove his arguments?

• claims everything is subjective and denies the existence of objective truth

• dangerous, because how does anyone ask anything now, if there’s no truth about anything?

What positive lessons can we learn from the Sophists?

think for yourself

What is Socrates being accused of in Socrates’ Apology (Plato)?

• “making weaker arguments appear stronger than they are”

• studying things “above heaven and below earth”

• Teaching 1 & 2 to people

How does Socrates defend himself in Socrates’ Apology (Plato)?

The Sophists make a weaker argument appear stronger than it really is, not Socrates, so it’s a case of mistaken identity

The Presocratic philosophers studied the things in the heavens and below the earth, not Socrates, so it’s a case of mistaken identity.

• soc. was focused more on ethics than science

Socrates denies being a teacher, claiming not to have any knowledge to share and never having taken a fee and never talking only to “students.”

• “…I live in great poverty because of my service to the god.” (Apology 24b

What does the Oracle tell Chaerephon (Socrates’ friend), and how does Socrates react to it?

initially he is surprised that he who lacks knowledge could be wiser than everyone else, but nonetheless Socrates is sure that the oracle does not lie

• soc. is surprised to hear this because he considers himself to not know anything

• Speaking to all those who Athenians consider wise: poets, politicians, and craftspeople. He became unpopular as a result of these public conversations.

What is Socratic Wisdom (Human Wisdom)?

the self-awareness that one does not know anything (truly) important

• socrates modeled a unique self-awareness and humility when he didn’t know something

• growing towards worthwhile things/thoughts (i.e. ‘what is life for’) can only happen with admittance of ignorance and humility

What does Parmenides say about learning?

• you cannot learn which is unlearnable

• one should strive to learn everything they can and pursue Truth

What is a gadfly?

refers to the pain of being revealed as ignorant and how that pain can rouse one to shake off sluggishness and learn (30e).

• A gadfly is a kind of teacher who urges friends to think critically.

Why is socrates important?

texts like Plato’s cultivate the whole human being rather than just preparing a person for a particular career, helping us to attain self-knowledge.

We can learn to reason well from/with Socrates will help us heal from the bad reasoning that plagues our society, especially on social media.

What are the 4 schools of thought?

stoicism, skepticism, epicurianism, cynicism (SECS)

what does heraclitus think about Knowledge

knowledge is possible, it is distinct from mere information accumulation and requires deep understanding of Logos.

• "abundance of knowledge does not teach men to be wise."

According to Heraclitus, true knowledge is universal and accessible to all, but most people fail to grasp it because they are like the "deaf," hearing without comprehending.

what are the LATE charges & defenses in The Apology (plato’s socrates)?

• not representing athenian gods/being impious to them

  • No one believes in spiritual activities who does not believe in spirits (the gods). soc heavily believes his ‘daimon’ is a huge part in his decision-making process

  • socrates considers his philosophy a divine service hes being compelled to do (oracle of delphi’s mission)

  • enduring poverty in order to reverently perform his service to the god

• corrupting the youth

  • denies anyone would intentionally corrupt any1 bc our self-interest would make us want to avoid harm (surrounding urself with corrupted souls) (25c-e)

  • challenges knowledge of and commitment to the art of improving/caring for youth (his accusers dont know shit basically)(24c-25c)

  • if he had been unintentionally corrupting those around him, experts should’ve shown him the error of his ways, but even his accusers lack any such expertise.

what is socrates’ philosophical mission and how does he see it?

• views his philosophizing as a mission from the Gods he must adhere to in Athens (says hes basically stuck to it)

• his main mission:

  • get everyone to care about virtue

  • trying to understand the oracle’s message

  • being the gadfly of athens (waking others up to injustice & critical thought & virtue etc)

    • socrates:athens :: gadfly:horse

How many people were socrates found guilty by?

280 voted guilty, 221 voted not guilty out of a 501 person jury; difference was only 30 people

• if this was switched so that those 30 people voted for socrates to be acquitted, itd be 251; hed only win by one vote

What are the proposed penalties for Socrates in his trial? Why does Socrates suggest what he does?

state suggests death, Socrates suggests free meals in the Pyrantium (where Olympian winners ate their free meals).

• greek juries split into 2; each side suggested a different penalty and then voted on it

• socrates suggests a prize because he doesn’t believe he’s guilty; he believes he’s been doing a great thing by being the gadfly of athens and awaking the masses

Why did the jury vote so unanimously on Socrates receiving the death sentence?

his suggestion to eat in the prytanium was so ridiclous that it just made the jury want him to die. they were petty that he didn’t beg and grovel like they expected him to

• offering what’s typically a prize likely offended them and made him look arrogant

How did Socrates feel about the outcome of the trial?

• he was fine with it because ‘his daimon’ (consciousness/morals/whatever) didn’t object as it usually would at any point throughout the trial.

• he’d come to peace with his death

  • he didn’t care about dying anyways, what mattered most to him was living a virtuous life

• he also didn’t really see a way out of it anyways, and didn’t care to defend himself differently bc he didn’t think he did anything wrong.

• doesn’t care about public opinion because he wants to pursue the truth and virtue over anything else

Does Socrates see any other way out of the trial besides his sentence?

No, he doesn’t

• says he can’t pay a fine because he owns nothing from doing nothing but philosophizing

• says he can’t stop philosophizing because it’s his mission from God

• says exile won’t work because..

  • if athens already hated what he was doing, he definitely wouldn’t be percieved well as a foreigner

  • either the students will drive him out if he refuses them, or their fathers will on account of corruption

What is death to Socrates?

• death before dishonor (rather die than be a coward)

• refuses to give up on philosophy because he wants to obey the divine, even if that costs him his life

his ideas of the afterlife are either..

• Socrates thinks death is not to be feared since we do not know it is something bad.

• Death is either a dreamless sleep or some sort of afterlife.

  • Even when our body dies (even if there is no afterlife), Socrates does not think this harms us since the soul is the true self

What does Shenfelt think a great idea/historical theory consider? What does he consider the characteristics of the best type of ‘idea generating’ land?

geographical impact (access to oceans & transportation), access of border-crossing

oceans, loose borders = great ideas | mountains, closed borders, land-locked locations = harder to spread great ideas

Why does Shenfelt think the Greeks advanced fastest?

• because they had open coasts and loose borders, and much better means of transport than others

• it’s easier to run away when there’s open borders and seas that allow for easier escape if ur in trouble

  • this highlights how weird it is that socrates never went on vacation or anything

What does Crito think Socrates should do? ( + context of the situation)

• crito comes to visit socrates in prison and tries to convince him to escape

• socrates and crito disagree about this; same POV, not the same values

  • pov as in they agree he shouldnt have been tried @ all

Compare & Contrast Socrates and Crito’s perspectives.

Crito

• doesnt really get philosophy, but cares about his friend

• loyal - doesn’t want the bad guys to win

• wants socrates in exile

  • exile ≠ bad, exile = tradition!

• conventional ideas

  • as in he prioritizes things like bodily survival

Socrates

• loyalty to the law, virtue, and the god

• thinks running away is unjust

• thinks its unjust to go into exile

• unconventional ideas

  • doesn’t prioritize bodily survival, prioritizes a good soul/virtue

What are Crito’s 3 concerns?

• bad public opinion - thinks that socrates’ death will make people think they were too cheap to bail him out or too lazy to help him escape

  • “the many will think of crito et al with a BAD REPUTATION (44b)”

• worried he’s abandoning his sons & leaving them without a father (and leaving his friends)

  • argument from the power of the many to do harm (SONS) (45d)

• worried that accepting death will be letting the accusers win

  • argument from the power of the many to do harm (LETTING ENEMIES WIN) (45C-46a

How does Socrates refute Crito’s 3 concerns?

• crito shouldnt care about public opinion because everyone has an opinion & not all of them are good. he should only care about the opinion of a specialist in the event that it’s relevant

  • expert is outnumbered by the characteristically ignorant masses, so don’t be concerned with your reputation (46c-48

• if people really cared about socrates, they’d take care of his children in death the same way they’d take care of them in exile

  • Crito and others can care for the moral education of his sons (54a)

• the real thing that matters rather than death is having lived a good, virtuous life, not having a physical body

  • Body analogy 47b-48a: “The most important thing is not life, but the good life” (48b)

What is Socrates’ MORAL AND SOCIO-POLITICAL principles (in the crito)?

• a just person does not harm others

• one must never do harm in return for being harmed

• one must fulfill promises/agreements

• one must obey laws of one’s city/country or persuade it as to the nature of justice (civil disobedience)

• tacit consent / social contract - whoever remains in the city must obey its laws

• one must never value anything (even family or survival) over goodness/virtue

What does Socrates say Athens did for him (and thus, shouldn’t violate their laws because of?)

• born, educated, and created here

• city allowed his parents to get together and have him

• fostered an environment for HIS children

• he values loyalty deeply & following the laws bc you cant have civilization without laws

  • also breaking lots of little laws build up to breaking bigger laws

What is the 3-audience socratic ignorance analysis strategy described by Professor Robert Wolff in his book About Philosophy?

• first is the naive audience who takes socrates literally when he says “i am ignorant”

  • based on their own supposed superiority

• second is more sophisticated audience- thinks “he is NOT ignorant”

• third audience is the most sophisticated - thinks “he IS ignorant”

  • this group understands how all knowledge relates to all knowledge so that one who knows nothing knows everything, and a person who (i.e.) truly knows justice is just; this is the knowledge socrates has searched for all his life

What kind of knowledge did Socrates seek, as described by Professor Robert Wolff?

a deeр sense of knowledge in which true knowers can give an exhaustive what they know account of

• they understand how that knowledge relates to all other knowledge

• have incorporated that knowledge into their lives in ways that have transformed them

  • i.e. for Socrates, the person who truly knows justice becomes just, the person who knows truth becomes truthful, and the person who knows beauty becomes beautiful. so, in this sense, if one knows anything, they know everything; ‘human excellence’, or aretê in Greek.

    • its eluded socrates all his life BECAUSE he is ignorant

What is an example of Socrates’ commitment to law?

He tells the story of when the Council “wanted to try ten generals who had faild to pick up the survivors of the naval battle (at once w/out their seperate trials) and Socrates “was the only member of the presiding committee to oppose doing something contrary to the laws

• they were about to kill him for this but did it anyways

What is an example of Socrates using civil disobedience (resistance of tyranny)?

Socrates was asked to bring Leon of Salamis in for possible execution, but he would not do it, even though Socrates believed that he would be killed by the Thirty Tyrants as a result.

What does Socrates think of his trial and accusers?

• he believes the jury has not harmed him

  • hes not angry bc his ‘daimon’ didn’t object

• he thinks there’s possible redemption for his accusers through harassing his sons the same way they’d harassed him (if they ask for money or say they’re some1 when they’re not)

Would Socrates disagree with Parmenides?

Yes

• Socrates initially posits the Theory of Forms, arguing that abstract concepts (like Beauty or Goodness) exist separately from the physical world.

• Parmenides systematically dismantles this theory, presenting five arguments that highlight logical contradictions in how particulars "participate" in Forms.

What did MLK fight for?

racial justice, poverty, and pacifism; anti-war, anti-violence

What is MLK’s position on ‘tension’? How does it relate to Socrates?

• tension is necessary for change

  • “myths & half-truths” = white supremacy. he needs to wake people up from this like socrates

  • need to face something you dont normally face to ‘create tension in the mind’ (both socrates and him do this)

    • by ‘create’, he means bring to light

What does MLK mean by positive and negative peace?

positive peace - prescense of justice, absence of tension; real peace/’just’ has been found out

negative peace - peace created by the avoidance of tension (seems like peace but it’s just ignoring the bigger problem)

How does MLK relate to Socrates’ gadfly metaphor?

• king believes we need a gadfly (like himself) to bring positive peace to reality; gadflies bring tension to the surface & point out injustices that’d otherwise be swept under the rug

• king was a gadfly the same way socrates was; except he pointed out white supremacy instead of legal injsustices

  • also both historically unpopular

Who was MLK most disappointed in his letter?

the church - theyd made people gloss over the actual issue and make black people out to be the problem (bad timing, unwelcome, etc)

Would Socrates agree or disagree with MLK that “human progress rarely rolls in on the wheels of inevitability?”

King viewed civil disobedience as a necessary tool for social reform, Socrates viewed lawbreaking as inherently unjust, believing that if one disagrees with a law, the proper recourse is to persuade the state or leave, not to break it.