philosophy test 1

phil 101 kennedy @ bellarmine uni

“the first western philosopher"

thales

the first to approach questions objectively

thales

all things are ultimately water

thales

who said “the many are related by the one”

thales

who said “all things are number”

pythagoras

what does “all things are number” mean

math is the language of nature or reality

example of the connection between math and reality

music can be expressed mathematically

who introduced the concept of form

pythagoras

who said “form is the application of limit to the unlimited”

pythagoras

who said “you cannot step into the same river twice”

heraclitus

who said “all things are in flux”

heraclitus

what did heraclitus believe was the central fact of reality

change

who believed that fire is the best representation of reality and why

heraclitus, because it is always changing

what is logos and who believed it

heraclitus believed that it is the thought that steers all things

who believed that nothing exists without conflict, and all things are good and just

heraclitus

who believed that change is unreal

parmenides

who created the principle of intelligibility

parmenides

parmenides’ principles about change

change requires that something new comes to be, it cannot come from nothing, and it cannot come from something because then it already was

what is parmenides’ key assumption

being is absolute, it is undivided and unqualified

who created paradoxes to support parmenides

zeno

“reductio”

to reduce with contradictions, from Zeno

who created the parable of the millet seed and Achilles & the tortoise

zeno

name the three sophists

protagoras, thrasymachus, callicles

what did the sophists have in common

all relativists, truth is relative to circumstance

who thought that rhetoric was the most important teaching

the sophists

who said “man is the measure of all things”

protagoras

who said “justice is the advantage of the stronger”

thrasymachus

who said the rules are made by the weak

callicles

who said that humans invented morality

callicles

who asked “what is a good human life?”

socrates

who said “the unexamined life is not worth living”

socrates

who said “a good person cannot be harmed” and what does it mean

socrates, true self is the soul, no one can turn you evil

who said “it is better for you if someone proves that you are wrong than for you to prove that they are wrong” and what does it mean

socrates, you’re learning something if you are corrected

what did socrates describe himself as and why

a midwife, because he is just the guide for knowledge within people

who said “knowledge is virtue, ignorance is vice” and what does it mean

socrates, people seek what appears to be good

who said “the process by which we gain knowledge is dialectic”

socrates

what is the name of the university that plato started

the academy

what was plato’s “golden thread” (driving factor)

he was a passionate objectivist, there is a truth that is knowable

what are the four elements of knowledge

idea has to be true, has to be backed by reason, has to endure or last, and must be taught by instruction and not persuasion

connect the allegory of the cave to reality

the visible world is the dark world of the cave and the intelligible world is the bright world of light outside the cave

what is the most real thing in terms of good, according to plato

the sun

in plato’s eyes, why do humans make mistakes

we are mostly encountering shadows and not intelligible knowledge

what’s another name for the forms

true objects of knowledge

define the forms

the eternal, changeless, immaterial essences or patterns of which the things we see are but poor copies

t/f forms are more real than the physical objects that are copies of them

true

what is the highest form? the most real thing? the source of all that is?

the form of the good

what are the four levels of knowledge in order?

imagination, opinion, science, dialectic

what’s the difference between opinion and science

opinion is something not backed by reason, we can’t explain it, whereas science is backed by reason, we can explain it

what are the 3 parts of plato’s moral theory

he agrees that knowledge is virtue and ignorance is vice, theory of the soul, and virtue is the fulfillment of function

what are the three parts of the soul and what are their functions

reason: limits and time management, spirit: motivation, desire: seeks pleasure

which part of the soul should be the driver of the chariot

reason

when reason fulfills its purpose, what does it become

the virtue of wisdom

when spirit fulfills its purpose, what does it become

the virtue of courage

when desire fulfills its purpose, what does it become

the virtue of moderation

when all three parts of the soul are fulfilled, what does it become

the virtue of justice

name the 4 cardinal virtues

the virtue of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice