Plato & Aristotle: Ancient Philosophical Influences

• Who was Heraclitus?

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

  The world is in a state of constant change
• What did Heraclitus mean by saying a person never steps in the same river twice?

  Both the river and the person change
• How did Plato interpret Heraclitus' challenge to knowledge?

  Knowledge is impossible due to constant change
• What is Plato's conclusion regarding knowledge acquisition?

  Knowledge must come from a priori reason
• How does Aristotle's view differ from Plato's regarding knowledge acquisition?

  Knowledge can be gained from experience
• What does Plato believe about the world we experience?

  It is imperfect and transient
• What does Plato call 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 prisoners in Plato's cave represent?

  People trapped in ignorance
• What do the shadows on the wall symbolize in Plato's allegory?

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

  He sees the real world and the 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 Ockham's razor in relation to Plato's theory?

  We should not believe unnecessary explanations
• What are Aristotle's four causes?

  Material, formal, efficient, final causes
• 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 change in the universe?

  It can be explained by the four causes
• What does Aristotle reject about Plato's theory of forms?

  The separation of form from things
• What did Francis Bacon criticize about final causation?

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

  It operates without purpose or telos
• What does Aristotle argue about the final cause of the universe?

  It must be a prime mover
• What is the relationship between actuality and potentiality?

  Actuality is the current state; potentiality is possible future states
• What does Aristotle's theory of the four causes aim to explain?

  Knowledge gained from experience
• What does Aristotle think about the essence of a human being?

  It cannot be separated from their body
• 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 of anything but themselves
• What is the argument from recollection?

  Knowledge of forms is innate and pre-birth
• What does Plato conclude about the source of knowledge?

  It must be a priori, not a posteriori
• What does Plato argue about perfect concepts?

  They must exist in the world of forms
• How does Hume respond to Plato's idea of perfection?

  We can conceive perfection from imperfection
• What does Hume suggest about mathematical knowledge?

  It could come from experience
• What does Aristotle's empiricist teleology focus on?

  Understanding change through causal processes
• What is the significance of the four causes in Aristotle's philosophy?

  They explain the change in the universe
• How does modern science view Aristotle's final cause?

  It is seen as a metaphysical issue