Ancient Philosophical Influences

• Who was Heraclitus?

  An ancient Greek philosopher
• What concept did Heraclitus introduce regarding the world?

  Constant change, called 'flux'
• What did Heraclitus famously say about rivers?

  A person never steps in the same river twice
• How did Plato interpret Heraclitus' challenge?

  It questioned the possibility of gaining knowledge
• What conclusion did Plato draw from Heraclitus' challenge?

  True knowledge cannot be gained empirically
• What does Plato suggest we should rely on for knowledge?

  A priori reason alone
• How did Aristotle's view differ from Plato's regarding knowledge?

  Knowledge can be gained from experience
• What did Plato believe about our experience of the world?

  We are trapped in ignorance
• What is the term Plato uses for the true reality?

  The world of forms
• What are particulars according to Plato?

  Imperfect representations of forms
• How does Plato illustrate his theory of forms?

  Through the allegory of the cave
• What do the shadows in Plato's cave represent?

  The objects we experience in reality
• What happens when a prisoner escapes the cave?

  He sees the real world of forms
• What does Plato argue about experience and knowledge?

  Experience reveals mere shadows of reality
• How does Aristotle criticize Plato's theory of forms?

  It lacks empirical evidence
• What does Aristotle think about the necessity of Plato's forms?

  They are an unnecessary hypothesis
• What is Aristotle's view on the relationship between forms and change?

  Forms cannot explain the change we experience
• What is the principle similar to Ockham's razor in Aristotle's critique?

  Don't believe unnecessarily complicated explanations
• What are Aristotle's four causes aimed at explaining?

  Knowledge from experience
• What is the material cause of an object?

  What a thing is made of
• What is the formal cause of an object?

  Its essence or defining characteristic
• What is the efficient cause of an object?

  What brings the being into existence
• What is the final cause of an object?

  The end goal or purpose of a thing
• How does Aristotle view the relationship between form and matter?

  Form cannot be separated from matter
• What did Aristotle argue about the final cause of the universe?

  It must be a prime mover
• What did Francis Bacon criticize about Aristotle's final causation?

  It has no place in empirical science
• How does modern science view purpose in the universe?

  It operates without purpose
• What does modern science suggest about the telos of a seed?

  It results from its material structure
• What is the significance of Aristotle's theory of the four causes?

  It explains change and knowledge from experience
• What does Aristotle's rejection of dualism imply?

  Form and body are inseparable
• How does Aristotle's view differ from Plato's regarding the essence of things?

  Essence is tied to the material object
• What is the third man argument against Plato's theory of forms?

  It leads to infinite regress of forms
• How does Plato respond to the third man argument?

  Forms cannot partake in anything but themselves
• What is the argument from recollection?

  Knowledge of forms is innate and pre-birth
• How does Plato illustrate the argument from recollection?

  Through Socrates and the slave boy
• What does anamnesis refer to in Plato's philosophy?

  The process of re-remembering forms
• What is the conclusion of Plato's argument regarding knowledge?

  Knowledge must be a priori
• How does Hume respond to Plato's concept of perfection?

  Perfection can be conceived from imperfection
• What does Hume suggest about mathematical knowledge?

  It can come from experience
• What alternative explanation does Aristotle provide for moral and aesthetic concepts?

  Evolution could explain these concepts