Study Guide for Philosophy Test #3

Here’s a structured study guide based on your notes. You can work through each section, quizzing yourself on key terms, relationships, and arguments.

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## 1. Plato’s “Myth of the Cave”

| Cave Element | Symbolic Of… |

|--------------------------------|-------------------------------|

| Prisoners | Us (ignorant humans) |

| Shadows | Our perceptions of physical objects (mere reflections) |

| Physical Objects | The Forms (true reality) |

| Steep & Rugged Ascent | The philosopher’s path to enlightenment |

| Sun | The Good (highest Form) |

| Return to the Cave | Socrates’ death (forced return) |

Study Tips:

- Be able to draw the cave diagram and label each part.

- Explain why the sun corresponds to the Good, and how the ascent parallels “dialectic.”

- Describe why returning to the cave symbolizes Socrates’ fate.

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## 2. The Two “Realms”

Realm of the Forms

- Unchanging, eternal, non‑material, perfect, source/original

Physical World

- Changing, temporal, material, imperfect, copies

Inside the Cave (our everyday epistemic state)

- Metaphysics: Images (shadows) vs. Physical objects

- Epistemology: Conjecture & belief

Outside the Cave (the philosopher’s knowledge)

- Metaphysics: Scientific & moral Forms; the Good (sun)

- Epistemology: Understanding & dialectic

Study Tips:

- Create a two‑column table and list the five characteristics under each realm.

- Be able to contrast “opinion” (doxa) with “knowledge” (epistēmē).

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## 3. The Simile of the Line

Four levels of cognitive awareness, divided into two sections:

1. Visible Realm (lower half)

- Images → imagination (eikasia)

- Physical things → belief (pistis)

2. Intelligible Realm (upper half)

- Mathematical objects → thought (dianoia)

- Forms & the Good → understanding (noēsis)

Study Tips:

- Sketch the divided line and label each segment with its corresponding cognitive state and object.

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## 4. “Recollection” & Knowledge

- Learning as anamnesis—recollecting eternal Forms that the soul knew before birth.

- Eternal concepts (e.g. Pythagorean Theorem) as examples of recollection.

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## 5. Key Figures & Positions

| Thinker | Position | Key Idea(s) |

|------------------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|

| Plato | Dualist | Reality = Forms + physical world; Myth of the Cave; Simile of the Line |

| George Berkeley | Monist, Empiricist, Idealist | Esse est percipi (“to be is to be perceived”); rejects substance; only minds & ideas exist |

| John Locke | Empiricist | Ideas are the immediate objects of knowledge; unknowable “substance” underlies qualities |

| Samuel Johnson | Critic of Berkeley | “I refute Berkeley” (emphatically asserts the reality of the external world) |

| Ronald Knox | Theological response | God’s mind continually perceives all things—grounds Berkeley’s esse est percipi |

Study Tips:

- For each thinker, write out their core argument in 2–3 sentences.

- Quiz yourself: “How does Berkeley resolve Locke’s substance problem?”

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## 6. Core Concepts

1. Metaphysical Monism / Dualism / Pluralism

2. Primary vs. Secondary Qualities (Locke)

3. Idealism (“If a tree falls…”)

4. Substance (Locke’s mysterious support)

5. Esse est percipi (Berkeley’s motto)

Study Tips:

- Define each term and give a quick example.

- Practice connecting terms: e.g., how “idealism” ties to Berkeley’s empiricism.

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### Self-Quiz Suggestions

- Fill-in-the‑blank: “The _______ represents the highest Form, the Good.”

- Short answer: “Explain why, for Plato, the physical world is only a copy.”

- Compare & contrast: “Locke vs. Berkeley on substance.”

- True/False: “Berkeley accepts Locke’s notion of a material substratum.”

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Final Advice:

- Draw diagrams (Cave + Divided Line).

- Use flashcards for key terms, thinkers, and symbols.

- Explain aloud each concept as if teaching a friend.

Good luck on your test!