CEL 100 ASU Exam 2 Study

Ontology

The study of being or what truly exists beyond the physical world.

Context: What is being discussed in The Republic

Epistemology

The study of knowledge

Context: What is being discussed in The Republic (think allegory of the cave specifically)

Eidos

The perfect "idea" of a thing

Context: The Philosopher KNOWS what beauty is (think back to painting in lecture)

Philosophy

Love of wisdom

Context: philosopher distinguishes appearance from reality, loving truth itself.

Philodoxer

Lover (philo) of opinion (doxa)

Context: Contrasted with a philosopher, think of a philodoxer as a sophist

Dialectic

The rational, questioning method that leads from hypotheses to ultimate truths (especially the Good).

Context: What Socrates uses during his dialogue (where Socratic method is derived from)

Eristics

Argumentation for the sake of victory rather than truth.

Context: Contrary to dialectic, think sophists

Sciences

Disciplines like arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and harmonics.

Context: "These studies train the soul to think abstractly and turn it toward the intelligible world, preparing it for dialectic and the vision of the Good."

Unconcealment (Aletheia)

The process of revealing or disclosing truth

Context: education is the soul's "turning" from shadows toward the light of truth — the act of unconcealment. (allegory of the cave)

Psyche (Soul)

The living principle of a person; composed of rational, spirited, and appetitive parts.

Context: Tripartite soul, (rational, spirited, appetitive)

Thumos

The spirited, courageous part of the soul — source of righteous anger and ambition. (Think Achilles)

Context: Should be sided with the logical part of the soul. When corrupted it becomes pride or aggression

Psychopathology

Study of the disordered soul

Context: Think psychopath

Tyrannical soul

Represents a psychological breakdown: enslaved to lawless appetites, full of fear and internal civil war.

Context: Think of Kim John Un, living in constant fear, driven by appetite of power

Thauma (Wonder)

The feeling of amazement or curiosity that begins philosophy.

Thaumatopoios / Thaumatopoiesis

Wonder-making or illusion-producing — the poet's craft.

Context: Allegory of the cave, people controlling the shadows are thumaworkers

Thrasos

Excess of spiritedness; recklessness.

Context: Achilles, what Socrates refutes as a rational soul

Eternal Drunk

Context/definition: What Glaucon argued a "good life" would entail

Lingering Death

Context/definition: When your soul/body is unhealthy, your existence is merely lingering death

Divine Spark

Context/definition: What Glaucon argues reason derives from.

Politeia

Constitution, regime, or order of the city.

Res Publica

Latin translation of Politeia — public affair.

Kephalē (Head)

Head — metaphor for the rational ruling part.

Polemarch

Leader of war.

Context: Also the name of a character in the republic. Cephalus' son.

Defines justice as: give others what is owed to them

Dikē (Justice)

Justice — harmony and proper function of parts.

Physis (Nature)

Natural order or essence.

Myth of the Metals (Noble Lie)

Founding myth that citizens are born with gold, silver, or bronze souls.

Context: Socrates refutes this myth and instead proposes the tripartite soul (rational, spirited, appetitive)

Techne

Craft, art, or practical knowledge. Justice is compared to a techne — every craft has a proper function and benefit to its object. Ruling is a techne serving the good of the ruled.

Mortal Currency

Material or earthly rewards — wealth, honor, pleasure. Plato contrasts "mortal currency" (temporary satisfactions) with "immortal goods" (truth, virtue, and the soul's salvation).

Tyrant's Roof

Symbolic "roof" under which the tyrant hides in fear; psychic prison. The tyrant is trapped in his own internal chaos — surrounded by flatterers, but inwardly enslaved to his own passions.

Context: You want to vote for a communist, ask a citizen under their rule how it was under their roof

Ecthroi / Polemioi

"Enemies" or "opponents." Socrates describes the irrational parts of the soul as polemioi (at war) when not ruled by reason. Justice is inner peace; injustice is civil war within the soul.

Glaucus (Son of Ariston)

Plato's brother and interlocutor

Mimesis

Imitation or representation.

Context: What Plato cites is wrong with poets. Plato condemns mimetic poetry for imitating appearances rather than truth. Poets stir emotions, leading the soul away from reason.

Chthonic

"Of the earth" or "underworld." In the *Myth of Er*, souls travel through chthonic regions between incarnations — symbolizing moral consequence and purification.

Exegesis

Critical interpretation or explanation of a text.

Context: Socrates performs exegesis on Homer to purge immoral myths that miseducate guardians (warriors) about the gods and virtue.

Moral Turpitude

Moral corruption or vice.

Context: The tyrant's life exemplifies moral turpitude — enslaved to lust and fear, he becomes the most unjust and miserable man.

Thaumatopoios

A creator of illusions or spectacles. Plato calls poets "wonder-makers" because they fabricate emotional illusions that deceive rather than enlighten.

Context: Allegory of the cave shadow casters

To Opine (Doxazein)

To form opinion or belief without knowledge. Those who "opine" grasp only appearances — they stand between ignorance and knowledge, dwelling in the realm of the visible.

Relativism

The belief that all values or desires are equally valid. In the democratic soul, every impulse is treated equally; there is no hierarchy of good. Plato critiques this as moral chaos leading to tyranny.

"729 Times Happier"

Ratio expressing the philosopher's superior happiness.

Context: Plato calculates that the philosopher, whose soul is ordered by reason, is 729 times happier than the tyrant — whose soul is enslaved to desire. Symbolic of geometric harmony vs. psychic chaos.