Senior Final Exam Terms Study Sheet

A study sheet containing key philosophers and their main ideas for the senior final exam.

__: “You cannot step into the same river twice” is attributed to this Ancient Greek philosopher.

HERACLITUS

__: This Ancient Greek philosopher believed that perfection exists in the realm of Forms and things on this plane of existence are copies of the perfect Forms in that realm.

PLATO

__: Believed that Form and Matter are not separated and are both present in a substance as “essence” and is differentiated from other substances with the same essence by “accidents.”

ARISTOTLE

__: Applied the philosophy of Aristotle to the Christian faith.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

__: “I think therefore I am” is the basis of all truth in this philosopher’s process.

RENE DESCARTES

__: This philosopher said that religion cannot be the source of morality or ethics. He was a moral absolutist, if something is wrong it is always wrong no matter what.

IMMANUEL KANT

__: Considered the father of Utilitarianism. He said “the moral choice is what brings the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest amount of people.”

JOHN STUART MILL

__: He was considered the first Existentialist philosopher. He believed that the relationship with God is exclusively personal, and he believed the Church distracts people from that personal relationship.

SOREN KIERKEGAARD

__: The father of Communism, he believed that God and organized religion were tools of the wealthy and the powerful to oppress the working class and the poor. He called organized religion “the opiate of the masses.”

KARL MARX

__: Believed that God and religion were the inventions of weak men as a means to control stronger men. He said of the Church, “they muddy the water to make it seem deep.”

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE