Review for
Intro to Western Philosophy
Test
DO NOW: Take out all notes and handouts
that you have for this class.
This review will touch on the major
themes, names and vocabulary that you
will be tested on on the coming Exam.
I.
Introduction to Philosophy
A. Vocabulary
1. Philosophy
From the Greek: Philo (Love) of
Sophia (Knowledge) - study of ideas about
knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc.
Knowledge
Knowledge is the awareness and
understanding of particular aspects of
reality. It is the clear, lucid information
gained through the process of reason
applied to reality.
Types of Knowledge:
• a priori - - knowledge is possible prior to, any
experience, and requires only the use of
reason.
a posteriori
• (or empirical), where knowledge is possible
only after certain sense experiences, in
addition to the use of reason (e.g. knowledge
of the colour or shape of a physical object, or
knowledge of geographical locations).
II. Socrates
“An unexamined life is not
worth living”
Symposium - a convivial party after a
banquet in ancient Greece with music,
conversation and a free interchange of
ideas
Socratic Dialectic
III. Plato
A. Things to Know:
1. The Apology
2. The Allegory of the Cave
3. Forms
Plato’s Apology
Things you should know:
• Recognizing his ignorance in most worldly affairs,
Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than
other men only in that he knows that he knows
nothing.
• In order to spread this peculiar wisdom, Socrates
explains that he considered it his duty to
question supposed "wise" men and to expose
their false wisdom as ignorance. These activities
earned him much admiration amongst the youth
of Athens, but much hatred and anger from the
people he embarrassed.
Plato’s Apology
Things you should know:
• Socrates likens himself to a gadfly stinging the
lazy horse which is the Athenian state.
Without him, Socrates claims, the state is
liable to drift into a deep sleep, but through
his influence--irritating as it may be to some-it can be wakened into productive and
virtuous action.
Allegory
Allegory - a story in which the characters
and events are symbols that stand for
ideas about human life or for a political or
historical situation
http://study.com/academy/lesson/theallegory-of-the-cave-by-plato-summaryanalysis-explanation.html
II. Aristotle
A.
Things to Know:
1. Empiricism
The Law of Non-Contradiction
Inductive Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
Circular Logic
Using the examples of four types of
logic you have learned about, create
an original example for each.
1
The Law of NonContradiction
2
4
Circular Logic
3
Arab and Jewish philosophers also had a great
influence on the development of scholasticism.
Works of ancient philosophers are translated from
Greek to Arab and finally to Latin and brought to
Europe with the meeting of cultures during the
Crusades and through trade with the Arab world.
The Intellectual life of the Middle Ages is based in
Scholasticism – a method of philosophy/learning that
attempted to reconcile the philosophy of the ancient
classical philosophers like Aristotle with Christian
theology.
The Christian (Catholic) Church was considered above
such earthly concerns and is the center of learning in
Medieval Europe.
St. Augustine
354 – 430 CE
Originally a believer in Manichaeism: A religious
belief that the world is is a constant struggle between
a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material
world of darkness.
Humans are
rational
beings
According to Augustine:
In order to be
rational humans
must have free
will
If humans have
free will then
they can choose
between good
and evil.
According to Augustine, God is all
powerful and all good, therefore he
did not create evil.
Evil is simple the lack of good, similar
to a blind man who lacks sight or a
thief who lacks honesty.
St. Augustine saw Plato’s
philosophy as profoundly
congenial to Christianity in that
Plato’s concept of two worlds,
one eternally perfect and the
other inherently imperfect,
mirrors Christianity’s own
postulation of two worlds,
earthly and divine.
Thomas Aquinas
1225 - 1274
In his work "Summa
Theologica",
Aquinas details five
rational proofs for
the existence of God,
Faith and reason are the two primary tools
which are both necessary together for
processing this data in order to obtain true
knowledge of God. He believed that God
reveals himself through nature, so that
rational thinking and the study of nature is
also the study of God (a blend of
Aristotelian Greek philosophy with
Christian doctrine).
Teleology - a reason or explanation for
something in the function of its end.
For example, a teleological explanation of why
forks have prongs is that this design helps
humans eat certain foods; stabbing food to help
humans eat is what forks are for.
According to Aristotle the teleology of an
acorn was an oak tree.
Ockham’s Razor