PHI 201 Midterm (1)

GCC midterm

What is philosophy?

The love of wisdom, knowledge, and a way of life

What is critical thinking?

the ability to look at a problem from a different perspective

What were Socrates methods?

Socrates used dialectical questioning, also known as the Socratic method, to stimulate critical thinking and illuminate ideas. His approach encouraged dialogue and self-reflection to uncover underlying beliefs.

Where was socrates from?

Athens, Greece 

Where was Socrates born

Alopece an Athenian Deme

Describe Socrates’ death

Socrates died in 399 BC after being sentenced to drink poison hemlock for corrupting the youth of Athens and impiety. He accepted his fate calmly, believing in the importance of his philosophical principles.

where did socrates debate questions

in public spaces such as the Agora and the lyceum

Describe Plato’s myth of the cave

-a set of dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon (Plato’s brother) 

-group of men shackled to cave walls, with light behind making shadows (Shadows = reality) 

-man escapes > struggles to see > sees truth > attempts to free prisioners > P thinks he is crazy 

What does the myth of the cave mean

A matter of sorting out what is real, and that we are all prisoners of our own  

-we mistake material objects for the real thing

What are Plato’s “Forms/ideas”?

The basis of knowledge for viewing things for what they really are > one reads a word & only understands because they possess that idea > but if it’s a foreign language, just letters

Where does truth reside (Plato)

Truth resides in the ideas

Plato belives reality is divided into how many worlds: 

2: the physical world and the world of forms

(Plato); The Physical World

The world we see around us—constantly changing, imperfect, and temporary.

(Plato); The world of forms (ideas)

A higher, non-physical realm that is perfect, eternal, and unchanging.

What is The theory of forms (Plato)

• Everything in the physical world is just an imperfect copy or reflection of a perfect “Form” that exists beyond it.

• Example:

  • All beautiful things in the world share in the Form of Beauty, but none of them are perfect Beauty itself.

  • A round ball is imperfect, but it imitates the perfect Form of a Circle.

The Forms are more real than the things we see — they are the true reality.

What does Plato believe about the soul

Plato believed the soul is immortal and has seen the Forms before birth.

What does Plato Believe about knowledge

• Learning is therefore “recollection” — remembering what the soul already knows.

Plato = Idealist

→ He thought the truest reality is not what we see, but the unchanging ideas behind it.

• The Forms =

• perfect, eternal templates of all things.

• The goal of philosophy

• = to understand these Forms and live in harmony with truth and goodness.

Plato’s View of Politics: Goal of Politics

• The purpose of politics, for Plato, was to create a just and harmonious society — one that reflects the same order and balance as a just soul.

• In other words, a good government helps people live virtuously and seek truth — not just chase wealth or power.

What does Plato believe is the ideal state:

Plato describes an ideal city-state (polis) ruled by reason and organized into three classes, each reflecting a part of the soul:

What are Plato’s three classes (castes) during gov

Kings (philosophers), Guardians (soldiers), producers (farmers artisians, merchants)

Plato’s best gov:

• A just hierarchy ruled by philosopher-kings who know the truth.

• Justice: Everyone performs the role they’re best suited for.

• Corrupt governments: Drift further from wisdom → end in tyranny.

• Politics should mirror the harmony of the soul — reason in charge, spirit supporting, desire obeying.

Plato’s School

The academy

Who was Aristotle?

• Greek philosopher (384–322 BCE)

• Student of Plato, teacher of Alexander the Great

• Founded his own school in Athens called the Lyceum

• Studied nearly every subject: logic, biology, ethics, politics, art, and science

What was the name of Aristotle’s school and what was unique about it?

• The Lyceum, in Athens

• Students there walked and discussed ideas — called Peripatetics (from “to walk around”)

• Focused on observation, classification, and empirical study (learning from experience)

What is Aristotle’s idea of form and matter?

• Everything is made of both matter and form.

• Matter = what something is made of (the physical stuff).

• Form = the structure or essence that makes it what it is.

• Example: A bronze statue → matter = bronze, form = shape of the statue.

• Unlike Plato, Aristotle believed form exists within the object, not in a separate world of Forms.

What are Aristotle’s Four Causes (ways to explain why something exists)?

• Material Cause – What it’s made of

  • (e.g., marble for a statue)

• Formal Cause – The shape or design (the plan of what it is)

  • (e.g., statue’s form or idea)

• Efficient Cause – The agent or force that makes it

  • (e.g., sculptor)

• Final Cause – The purpose or goal (its telos)

  • (e.g., to honor a god or decorate a temple)

What was Aristotle’s political philosophy?

• Humans are “political animals” — we naturally live in communities.

• The polis (city-state) helps people achieve the good life.

• Believed in a constitutional government (mix of democracy and oligarchy) — balance of classes and power.

• Rejected Plato’s rigid class system; emphasized the middle class as key to stability.

• Best government: one ruled by virtue and reason, aiming for the common good, not personal gain.

Quick facts about Aristotle’s life

• Born in Stagira, northern Greece.

• Joined Plato’s Academy at 17, stayed ~20 years.

• Later tutored Alexander the Great.

• Founded the Lyceum around 335 BCE.

• Wrote over 200 works (only ~30 survive), including Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Poetics, Metaphysics, and On the Soul.

Who were the Cynics?

• Founded by Antisthenes, a student of Socrates.

• Famous Cynic: Diogenes of Sinope (lived in a barrel, rejected wealth).

• Believed happiness comes from living simply and according to nature.

• Rejected social status, luxury, and possessions — saw them as distractions.

• Virtue = the only true good; independence and self-sufficiency are key.

What did Cynics think about society and wealth?

• They criticized social conventions and materialism.

• Believed people should live with no dependence on money or approval.

• Their lifestyle was meant to shock people into questioning values.

Who founded Stoicism and when?

• Founded by Zeno of Citium (around 300 BCE in Athens).

• Taught at the “Stoa Poikile” (Painted Porch) — where the name “Stoic” comes from.

What are the main beliefs of Stoicism?

• Live according to reason and nature.

• Accept what you cannot control; focus on what you can (your own actions and attitude).

• Emotions come from false judgments — inner peace comes from wisdom.

• Virtue = the highest good.

• The wise person stays calm and content no matter what happens (inner strength).

What is the Stoic idea of “logos”?

• The logos is the rational order of the universe.

• Everything happens for a reason, and we should align our will with it.

Who founded Epicureanism and when?

• Founded by Epicurus around 307 BCE in Athens.

• He taught in his home garden — called “The Garden.”

What did Epicurus teach about pleasure and happiness?

• Pleasure = the highest good, but not wild indulgence.

• True pleasure = absence of pain and fear (a calm, simple life).

• Seek moderate pleasures, friendship, and peace of mind.

• Avoid excess and anxiety — especially fear of gods and death.

What did Epicureans believe about gods and death?

• Gods exist but don’t interfere in human life.

• Death is nothing to fear — when we die, we no longer feel anything.

• So, live joyfully and wisely in the present.

What are some common logical fallacies?

• Ad Hominem – attacking the person instead of the argument

• Straw Man – misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack

• False Dilemma – presenting only two options when more exist

• Slippery Slope – claiming one step will lead to an extreme outcome without proof

• Circular Reasoning – the conclusion is included in the premise

• Hasty Generalization – drawing a conclusion from too little evidence

• Appeal to Authority – relying on authority rather than logic

• Post Hoc (False Cause) – assuming one thing causes another just because it happened first

Ad Hominem

attacking the person instead of the argument

Straw Man

misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack

False Dilemma

presenting only two options when more exist

Slippery Slope

claiming one step will lead to an extreme outcome without proof

Circular Reasoning

the conclusion is included in the premise

Hasty Generalization

drawing a conclusion from too little evidence

Appeal to Authority

relying on authority rather than logic

What are the dispositions of critical thinking?

Traits or habits of a good thinker:

• Open-mindedness – willing to hear other views

• Intellectual humility – recognizing your own limits

• Curiosity – desire to seek truth and evidence

• Fair-mindedness – treating all arguments equally

• Skepticism – not accepting claims without good reason

• Persistence – sticking with complex problems

Where was St. Augustine from and what was his occupation?

• From North Africa (Hippo, modern-day Algeria)

• Christian bishop, philosopher, and theologian

What are Augustine’s 2 most famous writings?

1. Confessions – spiritual autobiography about his conversion

2. The City of God – contrasts the earthly city (human pride) with the heavenly city (God’s love)

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Who influenced St. Augustine and what were his key ideas?

• Influenced by Platonism/Neoplatonism and Christian theology

• Believed in the existence of the soul, free will, and the idea that evil is the absence of good

• Thought true happiness is only found in God

Which ancient philosopher influenced Aquinas the most?

Aristotle

What religious order was Aquinas part of, and when did he write?

• Dominican Order (Order of Preachers)

• Wrote during the Medieval period (13th century)

What are Aquinas’s “Five Proofs” (Five Ways) for God’s existence?

• Motion – there must be a First Mover (God)

• Causation – there must be a First Cause

• Contingency – everything depends on something; God is the necessary being

• Gradation – degrees of perfection imply a most perfect being

• Teleology (Design) – order in nature implies a designer

What’s the difference between rationalism and empiricism?

• Rationalism: Knowledge comes from reason and innate ideas (Descartes, Plato).

• Empiricism: Knowledge comes from experience and the senses (Locke, Hume).

What does “I think, therefore I am” mean?

• Cogito, ergo sum — even if everything is doubted, the act of thinking proves one’s existence.

What did Descartes say about doubt?

• Practiced methodical doubt — doubting everything to find what cannot be doubted.

• Goal: to build knowledge on certain, rational foundations.

What field of math did Descartes contribute to?

• Analytic geometry (linking algebra and geometry).

Was Descartes a rationalist or empiricist?

Rationalist

What school of thought were Locke and Hume part of?

• Both were empiricists — believed knowledge comes from experience.

What did John Locke believe about the mind?

• The mind is a “tabula rasa” (blank slate).

• All knowledge comes through experience (sensation and reflection).

What was Hume’s skepticism about?

• He doubted our ability to know causation or necessary connection — we only see one event follow another, not the cause itself.

• He questioned religion and the self as permanent identity — believed the “self” is just a bundle of perceptions.

Where was Kant from and what was his “Copernican revolution”?

• From Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

• “Copernican revolution” = the idea that the mind shapes experience, not just receives it.

What are Kant’s 3 major “Critiques”?

1. Critique of Pure Reason – limits of human knowledge

2. Critique of Practical Reason – moral philosophy

3. Critique of Judgment – aesthetics and teleology

What’s Kant’s “idealism” and the “phenomenal vs. noumenal” distinction?

• Transcendental idealism: we only know things as they appear to us (phenomenal world), not as they are in themselves (noumenal world).

• The mind actively organizes experience using categories like time and space.

What are Hegel’s most famous works?

• Phenomenology of Spirit

• Science of Logic

What are “negations” and how does history work in Hegel’s philosophy?

• History develops through dialectical movement:

  • Thesis → Antithesis → Synthesis

• Each stage negates and preserves the last — progress through conflict and resolution.

• History = the unfolding of Spirit (Geist) realizing freedom and self-consciousness.

Who did Hegel influence?

• Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and later existentialists and idealists.

What are the 3 parts of the soul (Plato)

the rational (logistikon), spirited (thymoeides), and appetitive (epithymetikon)