phil
Plato
-The Purpose of Philosophy: know about purification and virtue
P1- There is such a thing as death
P2- Death is when the soul and body separate
P3- A philosopher is not to be concerned with service to the body
P4- A philosopher is to be concerned with service to the soul
C- Therefore, the aim of philosophy is to practice for dying and death.
Death: separation of body and soul
The soul is the principle of life and movement
There is death, when soul and body separate. Philosophers give service to the soul not the body. Philosophy is to practice for dying and death. Death is separation of soul and body
Opposites:
P1: opposites come from eachother
P2- Between every opposite pair is a 2-way process of becoming
P3- the opposite of living is dead
P4- The movement of life to death is called dying
P5- without a process of opposites, everything would stay the same
C- Therefore, the soul probably exists before physical birth and after bodily death
Opposites exist from each other, every opp pair is processes of becoming. Living opp=dead. Process of life to death is dying. Without opposites, everything would be the same.
Recollection:
P1: Learning is a recollection
P2: To recollect anything, one must have known it before
P3: Specifically, when one perceives one thing, and things of another, that comes from something else
P4: Recollection can be occasioned by things smaller and dissimilar
P5: When caused by similar things the similarity is different in some way
C: Therefore, the soul probably existed before physical birth
Learning is a kind of recollection, to recollect you must known it before. When someones sees one thing, thinks of another, that comes from something else. Recollection is occasioned by smaller and dissimilar things, when caused by similar, the similarity is different, there fore soul existed before birth.
Affinity: (likeness, attraction towards)
- P1 The soul is more like invisible than the body, and the body is more like the invisible
- P2 Pleasure and pain bring the soul back to the body
- C: Therefore, supposing it has been freed of bodily influences through philosophical training, the soul is most like to make its way to world when the body dies. If the soul is polluted by bodily influence, it will ost likely stay bound to world upon bodily death.
The soul is invisible then the body and body is more like the invisible. Pleasure and pain bring the soul back to body, the soul is most likely to make its way to world when body dies. If soul is polluted it would stay bound to world.
The Soul’s Essence
- The soul is essentially alive
- No thing can have contrasting properties
- Death is the opposite of being alive
- C: Therefore, the soul can never be dead
Soul is alive, nothing can have contrasting properties. The opposite of alive is death, the soul can never be dead.
-Substance Dualism- belief that a person’s mind and body are split into two parts, separate from each other
-Transmigration of Souls (Metempsychosis) Reincarnation of the soul, when the soul leaves the physical bodies
-Learning as Recollection- A persons ability to recall what they knew before and when they were born
-The Forms: Idea or thought of a philosophical thing. Idea shows a true essence. Good, justice, and beauty are three forms.
The Tri-Partite Soul Theory- thought that reason, spirit/passion, and appetite are what a soul with justice contains. Rational thinking(prudence), spirit: emotions, character (fortitude), appetitive: physical desires (temperance and moderation
-Human Nature:
-Good and Evil- evil comes from ignorance. Good and evil is how actions and thoughts are seen after death.
-The Role of Reason and Emotion- should control most of the soul. Seeks information from forms. Deals w soul, emotion deals w body. Emotion should sync w reason buy is not always
Logic and Argument
-Deductive Reasoning- if premises are true then conclusion is true
-Valid/Invalid
Valid: if P true then C true
Invalid- the P doesn’t follow C so C can be false
-Sound/Unsound
Sound: argument with true P
Unsound: has false P
-Inductive Reasoning
-Strong/Weak
Strong- if P are true its improbable C wouldn’t be true
Weak: the P don’t lead into a C
-Cogent/Uncogent
Cogent: contains P that all true
Uncogent: contains false P
-Uniformity of Nature Principle- history repeats itself, future continues to involve the past. Things happen in one area tend to happen in areas like it
-Total Evidence Requirement- people should absorb the info and evidence while reading a hypothesis
-Fallacy- defect in argument or mistake in reasoning on allusion to make a bad argument look good
Aristotle
-Genus and Species
Genus- larger group of species
Species- specific type of Genus
-Substance, Matter and Form (Hylomorphism)
SUBSTANCE
- matter + form.
MATTER What is it made of
- exists with form
- resides in (potentiality) undergoes change and actualized by form
FORM What is it
- doesn’t exist independently (neither can exist without the other)
- actualizes matter
HYLOMORPHISM
- the soul is the form/structure of a human body or matter
-Accidents (don’t need to know all 9 just what it is)
Qualities that don’t change the definition of a substance
Secondary characteristics
-Potentiality and Actuality
POTENTIALITY- Possibility for something to change
ACTUALITY- Current state something is in and fulfillment
-Four Causes
-MATERIAL what is it made of
-FORMAL what are the features of the substances
-FINAL what is it for
-EFFICIENT- what brought it about
-The Soul/Life and its various types: Aristotle believed that the soul was the organization of the body.
1. vegetative (plants)- nutrition and reproduction
2. sensible (animals)- nutrition, reproduction, locomotion, sensations, desires
3. rational: nutrition, reproduction, locomotion, snesations, desires, reasons, moralitiy
-Virtue- moral virtues and intellectual (don’t need to know all) USES REASON
Ultimate fulfillment is actualization of every aspect of the soul and achieving happiness through virtues
-Final Cause of the Human Being- eudaimonia (possession of the intellectual and moral virtues and soundness of mind)
Aquinas
-The Soul-Body relationship
- soul gives life and movement
- god directly creates individual human souls with generation of the body
- matter is inert
- hylomorphism: form and body of the soul are connected
- soul gives purpose to body
-Whether the soul exists beyond death
The soul will separate from body and leave in an afterlife
-Articulate the continuity problem in Aristotle and Aquinas’ solution
What happens when a body dies? Soul is immoral continues to live meaning the person continues to live but not physically
-The General Resurrection- end of time when everyone on earth is resurrected (reunion of soul w body)
-Aquinas’ account of human happiness/the final cause
Achieve happiness (unity with God) Look for long term happiness that is good morally and mentally
Eudaimonia: virtues and not chasing short term pleasures
Epicurus and Epicureanism
-Atoms and the Void
Atoms: uncuttable, all matter is made from them (Too small to see)
Void empty space, allows atoms to interact
-General views about the universe
There are three type of pleasure:
1. Natural and necessary
2. Natural and nonnecessary
3. Vain and empty
-The Soul
- soul and body are one and interlinked
- soul dictates emotions
-Death and why we should not fear it
there isn’t an after life, there is no pain in dying
-Epicurean Hedonism
- pleasure is best part of life
- emotional pleasures are ranked better then physical ones (like friendships, or knowledge)
Form- what are it’s essential features
Final cause- what is the purpose of it
Allegory- narrative in which characters, events, settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities
Theme- central idea or message
Alliteration- the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words “sally sells seashells...”
Personification- attributing human characteristics to non-human objects or concepts
Hyperbole- exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally
POV- point of view which story is told
Imagery- descriptive language appeals to sense, creating a mental picture
Setting- time and place story occurs
Irony- contrast between expectation and reality
Genre- category type, such as poetry, drama, fiction
Mood- atmosphere or emotional condition created by the setting
Motif- recurring element in work w symbolic significance
Protagonist- main character “hero”
Allusion- reference to a person, place, event, from history
Metaphor- a figure of speech that compares 2 unlike things w/o “like or as”
Rhetorical Question- question asked for effect not requiring an answer
Symbol- object, person, event that represents something beyond literal
Section III - The Crucible - matching 10 points
· Character description
· John Proctor: farmer and play’s tragic hero who accused of witchcraft, affair with Abigail Williams, hung after refused to confess to witchcraft
· Abigail Williams: main antagonist, leader of girls accused with witchcraft
· Elizabeth Proctor: falsely accused, very virtuous often cold
· Reverand Hale: minister initially supporting witch trials and was expert on “witchcraft” and hated it, sets the hysteria in motion, then later regrets action and wants to save those accused and denounces the trials
· Judge Danforth: deputy governor and presiding judge, honest and convinced he is doing right in rooting out witchcraft, didn’t want to except truth just wanted to stay firm and rather see people die
· Mary Warren: servant in Proctor household and one of the girls who initially accuses others
· Rebecca Nurse: a well-respected elderly woman accused of witchcraft, upright and held highly, falls victim to hysteria when Putnam's accuse her of witchcraft and won’t confess
· Tituba: Reverend Parris’s slave who’s one of the first accused, played voodoo at Abigail's request
· Giles Corey: elderly, Martha is accused of witchcraft, he is pressed to death with large stones
· Thomas Putnam: wealthy, influential, used witch trials to increase his wealth, by accusing and buying their land, held grudges, greedy, personal gain
· Ann Putnam:
Section IV – The Crucible 9 points
· Allegory: McCarthy trials of 1950s, people accused of communism, reflects the dangers of mass hysteria
· Plot: opens with accusations, john proctor wanting to save his wife, Proctor confronts the court, play leads to tragic consequences, condemned and executed based on false confessions
Section V – The Crucible Quotes 5 points
· Danforth
· Hale
· Elizabeth
- I cannot judge you John
· John
- Because it is my name! Because i cannot have another in my life!
· Abigail
Section VI – Rhetoric 4 points
· Ethos- How does the speaker establish common values and common ground for speaker and audience? appeals to ethics AKA arguments based on character
Allows a writer to establish common values with their audience. They use language, evidence, respect to those who disagree
· Pathos- How does the speaker anticipate and manipulate the audience’s emotional reaction?
· Logos- How is the message presented, what fig language, does speaker employ to convey message? appeals to logic AKA arguments based on evidence, facts, and reason. Two types of facts: (hard evidence): facts, clues, stats, (inartistic, and (Reason, common sense)- what would a reasonable person think? (artistic appeals)
- Surveys, polls, factual evidence, majority rule, personal experiences
Logical structure of arguments: Degree, Analogies, Precedent
· Rhetoric
Section VII – The Enlightenment: Age of Reason 4 points
· Definition of the Age of Reason – a period in the 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason, logic, and science over religious faith and superstition * values reason over faith
· Proverbs v. Aphorisms- Proverbs are traditional sayings of wisdom/advice: aphorisms are concise statements expressing general truths
· Age of Enlightenment thinkers-
Section VIII – Revolutionary Period Multiple Choice 6 points
· Benjamin Franklin’s Aphorisms meanings: “A penny saved is a penny earned” emphasizes practicality, wisdom, moral lessons
· Patrick Henry purpose, appeals, allusion- “give me liberty o give me death” uses ethos and pathos to incite action and appeal to audience’s sense of urgency (patriotism as well)
· Declaration of Independence purpose - formally declare the American colonies’ independence from britain and justify the decision with grievances listed against the king
Section IX – Transcendentalism Matching, terms and people, 5 points
- Transcendentalism: philosophical movement emphasized the importance of nature, sel-reliance, individual intuiton
- Ralph Waldo Emerson- key figure, wrote “self-Reliance”
- Henry David Thoreau- author of Walden
Section X – Transcendentalism Multiple Choice 8 points
· “Nature” Emerson: focuses on the relationship between humanity and nature, emphasizes intuition and divine in natural world
· “Self-Reliance”- argues for individualism and independence, urges people to trust their instincts
· Walden- reflection on simple living in natural surroundings, explores solitude, nature, self-reliance
Section XI – Romantic Period 7 points
· Elements of Romanticism - focus on individualism, emotion, imagination nature, sublime
· Washington Irving biographical information- known for the legend of sleepy hollow
· “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” plot- follows a schoolteacher “ichabod” in sleepy hollow, who encounters a headless horseman.
· Louisa May Alcott influences- Alcott was influenced by her family’s values of education, abolitionism, and women’s rights
· Little Women classic lit- novel by Alcott, examines the lives of 4 sisters during civil war era, focusing on love, family, and self-improvement
· Emily Dickinson biographical info- known for her reclusive life, poetry, explored death, immorality, and nature uses slant rhyme, dashes, and punctuation to convey complex emotions
General Positions of Freedom of the Will and Determinism
-Incompatibilism/Compatibilism-
Incompatibilism: free will and determinism CANNOT co-exist, if determinism is true, free will is impossible.
Compatibilism: free will and determinism CAN co-exist. We can be free if we act according to our desires
-Hard Determinism- Determinism is true and free will does not exist. Every single event is caused by prior ones. Ex: evolutionary theory, psychological egoism,
-Soft Determinism (general conditions of freedom)- Determinism is accepted, free will is understood as the freedom to act according to desires and reasoning (personal)
-Libertarianism (general conditions of freedom; contra-causal free will)- free will isn’t compatible with determinism, humans have the choice to make decisions
Augustine, Boethius, Aquinas
-Augustine’s hierarchy of goods and the influence God’s grace upon the will
The Gods are arranged hierarchy:
God (Spiritual Gods)
Lower Gods (earthly pleasures)
-Boethius’ notion of freedom and happiness (see p. 230-232 in the textbook) Freedom is the ability to choose in accordance with reason
-Boethius’ formulation and solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge and human free will- He managed this problem by suggesting that God’s “eternal knowledge” doesn’t impose on human actions. God’s knowledge is the understanding of events in nature
-Aquinas’ distinction between natural judgment and rational judgment- NATURAL judgment (instinctual, animals) and RATIONAL judgment (unique to human individual, reason)
René Descartes
-Descartes’ definitions of will and intellect- Intellect is the capacity to understand, reason + will = ability to choose or affirm
-The interaction between intellect and will- Intellect provides knowledge will makes choices
-How does error in judgment occur?
-Is God responsible for our errors?
Thomas Hobbes
-Hobbes’ empiricism- Hobbes believed that knowledges comes from sensory experiences… leading us to understand the world
-Hobbes’ materialism- everything is made of matter of motion, he disagreed with spiritual
-Appetite, aversion, love, hate and deliberation- human desires/actions are driven by appetites (desires) and aversions (avoidance) + deliberation = process of weighing options based on drives
-Hobbes’ psychological egoism (focus on desire/appetite)- Hobbes believed all human actions come from self-interest
-The possibility of happiness- The possibility of happiness comes from fulfillment of desires leading to completion
-The sources of conflict in the state of nature- Individuals only act according to whatthey want to do, leading to competition + violence
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke
-Rousseau’s characterization of the state of nature (freedom, perfectibility, amour de soi-même, the passions)- the state of nature= peaceful time when humans can feel free + independent.
-Rousseau’s view on the development of self-consciousness and time-consciousness- believed when humans develop= self-conscious
-Rousseau’s view on the influence of civilization and society (remember the amour propre)- civilization corrupts the natural goodness of the world. creates Inequality and competition.
-Burke’s response to the real effects of Rousseau’s view on freedom and human nature- criticized Rousseau and argued that human nature flaws and civilization structure is stable and has freeedom
John Locke
-The Natural Law- Natural law is the moral law that applies to all humans through virtue of their nature and reason-gives them- life, liberty, property
-Freedom and License- natural duty to do things, restrained by natural law- freedom (acting according to reason) and license (acting without a regard for others)
-The purpose of the social contract (think of the desire for freedom and security)-
Niccolò Machiavelli
-The revision of what constitutes virtù – Machiavelli redefined virtu- necessary for political success rather then traditionally like modesty and honesty
-His general view of human nature and one example (see ch. 17 of The Prince)- Viewed human nature as self-interested and driven by desire for power.
St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Maximos the Confessor
-Augustine’s 4 characteristics of sin- sin is irrational, sin is not a thing (absence of good), sin is perversity, sin is a perversion of the hierarchy of being (hatred, confusion of nature of things)- Thought sin was pride, disobedient, ignorance, concupiscence
-Augustine’s hierarchy of goods- He believed goods are ranked in order of importance, God being the highest good.
-Augustine’s view on original sin, concupiscence and God’s grace with respect to human action- Original sin corrupts human nature and concupiscence leads to human sin. God’s grace saves us and helps us overcome these desires
-Maximos’ distinction between the natural and gnomic (deliberative) will- Natural will (will toward good, God) and gnomic will (will deliberating and chooses between good and evil)
David Hume
-Hume’s skepticism- Hume was skeptical about our ability to know anything with certainty
-Hume’s definition of necessity/determinism- Necessity (connection between causes and effects) determinism (all events are caused by prior ones in chain of causes)
-The nature of a voluntary act- all voluntary acts come from human desires and these acts may be influenced by external causes
The Baron D’Holbach and Pierre Simon de Laplace
-D’Holbach’s hard determinism- argued that every event that invludes human actions are determined by prior causes (no free will)
-Laplace’s “Demon” and the purpose of the thought experiment- something with a superior mind, knows all things, predict future events, hypothetical being that knowing position and motion of every particle in the universe you could predict the future. Deterministic view where free will is just an illusion
Sigmund Freud
-The Psychical Apparatus (id, ego and super-ego)- Id (primitive desires), ego (rational decision maker) and super ego (moral conscience)
-Reality and Pleasure principles- guides the ego to delay gratification in accordance with world’s realities. Pleasure principles drives the id to seek gratification
-Why is Freud a hard determinist?- Freud is hard determinist because he thinks human behavior is determined by unconscious forces like repressed desires and childhood experiences
-Defense Mechanisms - Strategies employed by the ego to protect itself from anxiety and internal conflict, including repression, denial, projection, and rationalization.