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Ancient Greek Philosophy: Plato

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Ancient Greek Philosophy: Plato Ancient Greek Philosophy: Plato The influence of Socrates: Doctrine of the Forms: The Cave Analogy: aim- to help us understand our position in the realm/ world of appearances and the importance of gaining an understanding of Socrates was greatly admired by Plato. Socrates never wrote any of his In the Realm of Forms exists a true or perfect form of everything. EG. A the truth work down. Plato, however, wrote a series of dialogues, the most famous form of beauty. A FORM is unchanging. It is not a physical thing, but a of which is called The Republic. The dialogues put across philosophical CONCEPT or idea. It is the eternal idea of what a thing is. Our soul Analogy Understanding ideas through conversation. Socrates appeared in many of Plato’s originally existed in the Realm of Forms (how it got to our body is never In an underground cave prisoners have These prisoners are living in the Realm of been kept chained there, their whole life. Appearances. They are trapped by the dialogues. It is thought that in his early dialogues the character of really explained). We have some recollection of the forms and that is why They are chained with their backs to a wall chains and are unaware of reality. They Socrates actually shows us what Socrates thought. Socrates was we are able to recognise beauty…and cats. We have A PRIORI and their heads facing forward. symbolise humans who are imprisoned in sentence to death for “corrupting the youth”. knowledge of these forms. We can recollect these forms without the physical world of appearances, who cannot see the forms. experience. Although only vaguely. Behind the prisoners is a road. People The models could be seen as the Forms of In the realm of appearances there are imitations, shadows and imperfect walk along the road carrying various which the prisoners can only see a very images of the forms which we experience using our senses. You may also models and statues. The fire casts a weak imitation of. Just as we see shadow of the models on the wall the imitations of the true forms. refer to these as the ‘PHENOMENA’. Experiencing something with your prisoners face. The prisoners know no senses is called EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE. (Knowledge gained through our reality other than these shadows. 5 senses). Knowledge gained from experience is called A POSTERIORI. A prisoner is then released. When he turns The fire represents the sun which So what we experience in the Realm of Appearances is like when you around he sees the fire and the models. illuminates the world we live in. It gives look into some water and see a very blurry image being reflected. You The fire will hurt his eyes and he won’t light to the world. The pain and confusion Plato and the Soul: know what is is, but the image is far from perfect. recognise any of the objects being carried. he is experiencing represents the pain we He will think the shadows are more real. feel when we begin to question the world Plato was a DUALIST. This meant he believed body and soul were However, his eyes will become around, realising we may have been different entities. He also believed that the soul was IMMORTAL, meaning accustomed to the fire and his wrong. understanding of the models will improve. it was endless. It cannot stop existing or be destroyed. The soul, The prisoner is then forced from the cave- The forced exit from the cave and the pain according to Plato, is ETERNAL. Meaning it always has and always will he doesn’t want to leave. The sun dazzles represent his struggles with have new him, once again he is in pain and can’t see views and understandings forced on him, exist. clearly. The longer the prisoner is outside challenging his view of reality. The The Form of the Good: the cave the more he is able to prisoner is now in the Realm of the Forms. understand, learn about his surroundings. The sun- which lights up his new world and His wisdom grows. He realises that the sun allows him to understanding the true All the forms are related and are in a hierarchy (order of value). At the is illuminating the world, helping him gain Forms is the Form of the Good. Without the top is the Form of the Good. The most important form is the Form of the new knowledge. The sun also supports all sun we cannot survive and without the Good and this forms gives value to all other forms. Justice, wisdom, life and the seasons. form of the good we cannot understand the other forms. honesty and courage etc. are all aspects of good. True knowledge = Plato believed in to separate realms/ worlds: knowledge of the good, and this is what philosophers seek. Ignorance Whilst the prisoner does not want to leave This represents the hostility faced by causes immorality. If someone knows what good is and what bad is, they this world of new understanding, he feels philosophers when trying to enlighten Realm of Appearances Realm of Forms he must go and educate the prisoners still others about the truth. More specifically it This realm contains MATERIAL This realm contains SOULS or will choose good. in the cave. However, the prisoners are represents Socrates who was killed for BEINGS. Humans, cats, dogs, spiritual essences. No material very hostile to the suggestion they should ‘corrupting the youth’; with his ideas and leave the cave. They are so reluctant they philosophy worms etc. beings. are willing to kill the freed prisoner if he tries to lead them out the cave. Strength Weakness Things in this world CHANGE. This realm is UNCHANGING and Positive Negative Shows that there is Is the Realm of Forms really “more real”? Stubbed toe People grown and die. Trees PERMANENT. It parallels real life. Robin Waterfield “It fails to illustrate the attractiveness of MORE TO REALITY example or Scientific discovery. No practical use to grow. Dead things rot. These comments how the prisoner could be the physical world; the scene inside the than that which we forms. drawn back to the shadows, like we are gloomy cave hardly represents the delights things are CONTINGENT- they observe. drawn back to our traditions and cultures of the senses.” didn’t always exist, they rely on Are we really happy to accept there is a perfect form of because it is where we feel comfortable. Mel Thompson something else to exist and will cat, dog, and computer mouse? Reductio ad absurdum. stop existing. It encourages us not to accept things at It can be interpreted many ways, making it face value. unclear. Many people would argue that people who do wrong know that their action is wrong but do it anyway. Supported by Heraclitus: This realm is TRANSCENDENT. It Provides clear imagery to help illustrate It implies that our senses are useless- yet “You can never step in the same is beyond human understanding. the Doctrine of the Forms. we have survived for a very long time using river twice”. Use of empirical evidence cannot prove the existence of them. the Realm of Forms. Plato tries to make his analogy out to actually be a fact of how we live our lives, People’s idea of perfection changes. rather than a hypothetical situation. The jump to a real life situation isn’t really there. Ancient Greek Philosophy: Aristotle Aristotle was an empiricist. He thought the way to deepen his Aristotle saw that the world around him was in a state of constant motion. Characteristics of the Prime Mover: understanding was through experience. He thought the only knowledge To Aristotle motion means change. He was able to experience this we could have is of the empirical world (that which we can experience change with his senses, making the evidence of change EMPIRICAL. Necessary: God is something which has always existed and always had though our senses). Therefore, his statement that the world was in constant change was A to exist. God does not depend on anything or anyone to exist. POSTERIORI. Aristotle disagreed with Plato about his idea of Forms. He did not believe Eternal: God has no potential. God cannot change. If God cannot change there was a separate ‘ideal’ realm. He believed that a ‘form’ was Things change because they exist in an ‘actual’ state and have the then God cannot stop existing. If God cannot stop existing God must distinctive to each object. Key question for Aristotle: Why are things the ‘potential’ to become another. These states are known as ‘actuality’ and always have existed. way they are? He realised there were different ways to answer this ‘potentiality’. The state something is in and the state it can change into. Perfectly good: Badness corresponds to a lack of something. God is pure question…this lead to his Theory of the Four Causes. actuality, so contains everything. Therefore, God must be perfect. What caused this desk to be the way it is? Immaterial: All physical matter has the potential to change. God cannot change, therefore is immaterial. God is immaterial so cannot perform any physical activity (remember God can be the final cause without physical activity. Consequently, God is spiritual and pure thought. God cannot think of anything that could cause a change therefore God must only think of his own pure state or perfection. Actuality- Cow Potentiality- Beef Burger Evaluation 1. Material cause. What is the thing made from/ what does it consist of? Something has caused these things to CHANGE.
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