Chapter 2-Ancient Greece
what does philosophy mean in greek? how did it begin, what kind of shift took place?
(literally, the love of knowledge or wisdom) began when natural explanations (logos) replaced supernatural ones (mythos).
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) moved to Athens and soon established himself as one of Plato's most brilliant students; -he was 17 years old at the time, and Plato was 60.
- at the Academy until he was 37 years old. - Plato died in 347 B.C., Aristotle moved to Asia Minor, where he engaged in biological and zoological fieldwork. -Aristotle returned to Macedon and tutored the son of King Philip II, the future Alexander the Great, - Why did Aristotle flee Athens? --->Macedon, where Aristotle was born, was an ancient Greek-speaking country to the north of Greece. With the goal of unifying diverse Greek communities into a powerful Greco-Macedonian nation, King Philip of Macedon invaded and conquered a number of Greek city-states, including Athens. When Philip was assassinated in 336 B.C., his 19-year-old son Alexander (Aristotle's ex-student) became ruler, and his subsequent military accomplishments are legendary. -Although Aristotle had many disagreements with Alexander, both preferred "Greek solidarity to city patriotism" - When Alexander died in 323 B.C. at the age of 32, the Macedonian leadership was overthrown in Athens, and Athenian independence was again proclaimed. -because of his association with the Macedonians, Aristotle faced the trumped-up charge of impiety -accused of having taught that prayer and sacrifice were ineffective. - Unlike Socrates, however, Aristotle chose to flee Athens rather than meet his inevitable fate I Aristotle was the first philosopher to extensively treat many topics that were later to become part of psychology. covered -memory reasoning sensation -began his book De Anima (On the Soul) with what is considered to be the first history of psychology. - made substantial contributions to almost every branch of knowledge.
why did Humphrey suggest that instead of being called Homo sapiens, we could more accurately be named Homo psychologicus?
- because unique to humans is that we are all amateur psychologists of a sort. - the very survival of early humans was related to our ability to observe and understand what our con-specifics were feeling and intending to do.
explain Olympian religion
-(little concern w/ordinary human, after life, extravagant life, upper class, noble deeds) -described in the Homeric poems, which tended to be irascible and amoral, little concern with the anxieties of ordinary humans. -beleif in life in life after death through the soul -"breath/soul" did survive death but did so without any of the memories or personality traits of the person whose body it had occupied. -encouraged living one's life in the fullest, most enjoyable way. -ideal life was seen as pursuit of glory through the performance of noble deeds. -tended to have the same characteristics and beliefs as the members of the Greek upper class;
explain Dionysiac-Orphic religion
-(lower class, transmigration of soul, wine + sex,) -a large underclass of peasants, laborers, and slaves + lives were characterized by economic and political uncertainty. -initially based on the legend of Dionysus, the god of wine and sexual frenzy, and his disciple Orpheus. -belief in the transmigration of the soul. -belief came from a story: that during its divine existence, the soul, dwelled among the gods, the soul had committed a sin; punished and locked into a physical body, which acted as its prison. -soul continues circle of births," till redeemed (wanted to be free of this cycle)
Who is Anaximander his respone to Thales? what is *Apeiron*?
-Anaximander, studied w/Thales, said water was a compound of more basic material -Physis was a substance that had the capability of becoming anything or Apeiron: sometimes translated as boundless, indefinite, or infinite.
what was magic used for? what do we believe was the psychological reason for using magic?
-Elaborate methods ( such as words, objects, ceremonies, or human actions) designed to and are able to influence the spirits. -gave early humans the feeling that they had some control over their fate
what was Anaximander's theory of evolution?
-From a mixture of water and earth, there arose fish. Because human infants cannot survive without a long period of protection, the first human infants grew inside these fish until puberty, at which time the carrier fish burst and humans that were developed enough to survive on their own emerged.
Soul comprised of three parts (tripartite)
-Plato created a dualism that divided the human into a body, which was material and imperfect, and a mind (soul), which contained pure knowledge Soul comprised of three parts (tripartite) 1) Rational component 2) immortal, existed with the forms. 3) Courageous (emotional or spirited) component mortal emotions such as fear, rage, and love (eppetitive part of the body and therefore mortal) -humans almost always in state of conflict - if true knowledge is to be attained, the person must suppress the needs of the body and concentrate on rational pursuits, such as introspection. But, because bodily needs do not go away, the person must spend considerable energy keeping them under control -rational component of the soul to postpone or inhibit immediate gratifications -The person whose rational soul dominates is not impulsive. His or her life is governed by moral principles and future goals, not the immediate satisfaction of biological or emotional needs -goal in life, according to Plato, should be to free the soul as much as possible from the adulterations of the flesh - not everyone is equally capable its innate -In his Republic, he discussed a utopian society in which the three types of individuals would have special functions. Those in whom the appetitive aspect dominated would be workers and slaves, those in whom courage (emotion) dominated would be soldiers, and those in whom reason dominated would be philosopher-kings. - felt that education was of limited value for children of low aptitude. To a large extent then, whether one was destined to be a slave, a soldier, or a philosopher-king was a matter of inheritance. Plato created a rudimentary theory of personality. He also had a highly developed philosophy of education that combined his theory of forms with his belief in character types.
on what did Socrates agree with Sophist and on what did he disagree?
-Socrates (ca. 470-399 B.C.) like Sophists believed that individual experience is important. ("Know thyself, "The life which is unexamined is not worth living" -however, disagreed with the Sophists' contention that no truth exists beyond personal opinion. -.used a method sometimes called inductive definition, examine concepts as beauty, love, justice, or truth, then ask what it is that makes something beautiful, just, or true. -sought to discover general concepts, thought that these concepts transcend their individual manifestations and are therefore stable and knowable --->was the *essence */ basic nature/ its identifying, enduring characteristics. -did not believe that essences had abstract existence.nwas a universally acceptable definition of a concept—a definition that was both accurate and acceptable to all interested parties. -Once such definitions were formulated, accurate communication among concerned individuals was possible. -*Contrary to the Sophists*, who believed truth to be *personal and noncommunicable*, -although knew what he sought were only verbal definitions, -the goal of life was to gain knowledge. -When one's conduct is guided by knowledge, necessarily moral. ---->For example, if one knows what justice is, one acts justly. -knowledge and morality were intimately related; knowledge=virtue, therefore improper conduct results from ignorance. -unliek other philosphers, he was concerned with existence - 70 years old, he was accused of disrespect for the city gods and of corrupting the youth of Athens. because he caused them to question all things, including many cherished traditional beliefs. -found guilty on both charges and sentenced to death. - end of his trial coincided with a religious observance during which executions were unlawful. -month-long delay, Socrates was imprisoned Apparently, it would have been easy for Socrates to escape - preferred death over exile from his beloved Athens and, in the end, he consumed hemlock, -then realiszed that these individuals really knew nothing, although they thought they did. it was for this reason that the oracle proclaimed him to be the wisest of men.
why was Thales (ca. 625-547 B.C.) so important?
-Thales showed that a knowledge of nature, (minimized supernaturalism), power over the environment -predicted eclipses -developed methods of navigation based on the stars and planets -->offered his ideas as speculations and welcomed criticism to improve on his teaching -often referred to as the first philosopher -travels to Egypt and Babylonia influence of advanced civilizations ---->(For example, knowledge of geometry ). however, knowledge was either practical (geometry was used to lay out the fields for irrigated farming) or used primarily in a religious context (anatomy and physiology were used to prepare the dead for their journey into the next world). -applied geometric principles to the measurement of such things as the heights of buildings.
Pythagorus, proposed first pyscophysical law dualistic universe
-Used mathematics to model to explain and predict things in nature as significant an influence on Western thought -The basic explanation of everything in the universe is found in numbers and numerical relationships --->He noted that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle is exactly equal to the sum of the squares of its other two sides. Although this came to be called the Pythagorean theorem Pythagoras also observed that a harmonious blending of tone: - results when one string on a lyre is exactly twice as long as another. -This observation that strings of a lyre must bear certain relationships with one another to produce pleasant, harmonious sounds was, perhaps, psychology's first *psychophysical law* -realtionship between strings on instuemnt and perceived pleasantness of sounds -pleasant music results from the harmonious blending of certain tones, so too does health depend on the harmonious blending of bodily elements LED HIM TO.... his theory on equilbrium. Equilibrium -The Pythagoreans lived a strict, disciplined life including a crusade against vice, lawlessness, and bodily excess -everythin gin nature was interrelated -They believed that experiences in the flesh (senses) were inferior to experiences in the mind -The Pythagoreans also believed that the universe was characterized by a mathematical harmony -Influenced Plato's philosophy -Invited women to join their organization. + argued for the humane treatment of slaves -Illness was thought to result from a disruption of the body's equilibrium *theorem is applied rationally to imagined triangles, it is flawless; when applied to actual triangles, however, the results are not absolutely correct because there are no perfect triangles in the empirical world because nothing is perfect in the empirical world*. . -Applied mathematical principles to human experience -Numbers and numerical relationships were real and influenced the empirical world - only abrast mathematics, beyond sense, embrace through reason *The Pythagoreans proposed a dualistic universe* 1) One part *abstract*, permanent, and knowable (similar to Parmenides) -Nothing is perfect in the empirical world; perfection is in abstract mathematical world and known only by reas 2)One part *empirical*, changing, and known through the senses, but senses cannot provide knowledge (similar to Heraclitus) -experiences of the flesh are inferior to those of the mind -reasoning is a function of the soul, which the Pythagoreans believed to be immortal
what was the beleifs surrounding spirits?
-a ghost or spirit dwelt in everything -events explained as the whims of the spirits
Democritus (ca. 460-370 B.C.) is considered the last of the early Greek cosmologists. redcutionist? elementist? -sensation and perception by Empedocles and Democritus emphasized the importance of eidola (emanations). -BUT! Democritus, sensations and perceptions arise when atoms (not tiny replicas) emanate from the surfaces of objects and enter the body through one of the five sensory systems (not bodily pores) and are transmitted to the brain (not the heart).
-all things are made of tiny, indivisible parts called atoms (from the Greek atomos, meaning "indivisible"). The -differences among things are explained by the shape, size, number, location, and arrangement of atoms. Atoms themselves were believed to be unalterable, but they could have different arrangements -Humans, too, are bundles of atoms, and the soul or mind is made up of smooth, highly mobile fire atoms that provide our mental experiences. - animate, inanimate, and cognitive events were reduced to atoms + atomic activity. -behavior = lawful, therefore his view was *deterministic*/physical monism (materialism) because everything was explained in terms of the arrangement of atoms and there was no separate life force(denied vitalism). - *elementism* because no matter how complex something was, could be explained in terms of atoms and their activity. - exemplified *reductionism*: explained *objects and events on one level (observable phenomena) in terms of events on another level (atoms and their activity)*. -Reductionism is contrasted with elementism in that the former involves two different domains of explanation, whereas the latter attempts to understand a complex phenomenon by separating it into its simpler component parts. -in the brain, the emanations sent by an object cause highly mobile fire atoms to form a copy of them. This match between eidola and atoms in the brain causes perception. -*eidola are not the object itself and that the match between the eidola and the atoms in the brain may not be exact*. - one of the most persistent problems in psychology has been determining what is gained or lost as objects in the environment are experienced through the senses. Democritus was well aware of this problem. - thinking in the brain, emotion in the heart, and appetite in the liver. - five senses—vision, hearing, smell, touch, and taste—and suggested four primary colors—black, red, white, and green from which all colors were derived. -all bodily atoms scattered at death, he also believed that there was no life after death. -*first completely naturalistic view of the universe, devoid of any supernatural considerations*. -not condone a life of hedonism (pleasure seeking). He preached moderation, as did his disciple Epicurus 100 years later.
empiricists are said to be concerned with the process of?
-becoming rather than with being. -Being implies permanence and thus at least the possibility of certain knowledge, whereas a knowledge of empirical events (because they are becoming) can be only probabilistic at best. -Substances that are generated from it are often in conflict, such as fire and water.
what were the first philosophers called and why? what did the Greek word Kosmos refer to? in what word can it be found in the english language? why is orderliness so important?
-cosmologists because they sought to explain the origin, the structure, and the processes governing the cosmos (universe). -However, the Greek word kosmos did not only refer to the totality of things but also suggested an elegant, ordered universe. -kosmos is reflected in the English word cosmetic. -important because an orderly universe is, an explicable universe—an idea that would become central to Western civilization, and one that paves the way for the various modern sciences
Alcmaeon the first to move away from temple medicine and toward more rational, naturalistic medicine was (fl. ca. 500 B.C.).(perhaps a Pythagorean)
-equated health with a balance of such qualities as warm and cold, moist and dry, and bitter and sweet. -If one or more qualities dominates a person's system, sickness results. - the physician's job is to help the patient regain a lost equilibrium, ---->. For example, a fever represented excess heat, and the treatment involved cooling the patient; excessive dryness of skin was treated with moisturizing herbs; - Diagnosis discovering source of the disturbance of equilibrium, find procedure that would restore equilibrium. - InHe was among the first known to dissect human bodies for inquiry (as opposed to funerary practice). For example, he dissected the eye and traced the optic nerve to the brain. -Unlike later thinkers such as Empedocles and Aristotle, who placed mental functions in the heart, Alcmaeon concluded that sensation, perception, memory, thinking, and understanding occurred in the brain. - wanated to rid medicine of superstition and magic, -he used physiological information to reach conclusions concerning psychological functioning. interested in psychological issues, Alcmaeon begins an illustrious tradition later followed by such individuals as Helmholtz, Wundt, James, and Freud.
ARISTOTLE explained memory and recall as the results of _____? how did this contrast with plato? what is associatism?
-explained memory and recall as the results of sense perception. This contrasts with Plato's nativistic explanation: Aristotle: -remembering: was a spontaneous recollection of something that had been previously experienced. ----->For example, you see a person and remember that you saw that person before and perhaps engaged in a certain conversation. -Recall: involves an actual mental search for a past experience. -came up w/ The most basic law of association which is the law of contiguity, which states that when we think of something, we also tend to think of things that were experienced along with it. -The law of similarity=when we think of something, we tend to think of things similar to it. -The law of contrast = when we think of something, we also tend to think of things that are its opposite. - law of frequency= in general, the more often experiences occur together, the stronger will be their association. (events can be associated naturally, such as when thunder follows lightning, generally the frequency of occurrence that determines the strength of association) present implications of his theories: -Aristotle's laws of association basis learning theory for more than 2,000 years. -the concept of mental association center of most theories of learning. The belief that one or more laws of association can be used to explain the origins of ideas, the phenomena of memory, or how complex ideas are formed from simple ones came to be called *associationism*.
The Allegory of the Cave
-fictitious prisoners who have lived their entire lives in the depths of a cave. -The prisoners are chained so they can look only forward. -Behind them is a path over which individuals pass, carrying a variety of objects. -Behind the path a fire is blazing, causing a projection of shadows of the travelers and the objects onto the wall in front of the prisoners and for the prisoners, the projected shadows= reality. -*This corresponds to the lowest form of understanding in the divided line* - if one of the prisoners were to escape his bondage and leave the cave, turning toward the fire would cause his eyes to ache, and he might decide to return to his world of shadows, or eventually adjust to the flames and see the individuals and objects of which he had previously seen only shadows. =an understanding of empirical events in the divided line. -The fire is like the sun, which illuminates those events. -suppose prisoner continues his escape and leaves the cave. -Once in the "upper world," the prisoner would be blinded by true reality. -Only after a period of adjustment could he see things in this world and recognize that they were more real than the shadows that he had experienced in the cave. - imagine what might happen to the escaped prisoner if he went back into the cave to enlighten his fellow prisoners. -the prisoner would find it difficult to readjust to the previous life of shadows. -would make mistakes in describing the shadows and in predicting which objects would follow, would be evidence enough for his fellow prisoners that no good could come from leaving the world of shadows. ---->*bound prisoners = humans who confuse the shadowy world of sense experience with reality. The prisoner who escapes, represents the individual whose actions are governed by reason, instead of sensory impressions. -The escaped prisoner sees the real objects (forms) responsible for the shadows and objects in the cave (sensory information) and thus embraces true knowledge. -After such an enlightening experience, an effort is often made to steer others away from ignorance and toward wisdom. ex: Socrates is evidence of what can happen to by trying to free others from ignorance.
Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 B.C.)
-in Athens, he had acquired remarkable proficiency in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease. He kept detailed records w/ precise accounts of disease. -concluded that all disorders (both mental and physical) were caused by natural factors such as inherited susceptibility to disease, organic injury, an imbalance of bodily fluids. -Hippocrates is often referred to as the father of medicine, but this is only correct if we view him as "a culmination rather than a beginning" (Several important physicians before Hippocrates such as Alcmaeon and Empedocles) -took the development of naturalistic medicine to new heights. -The Hippocratics attacked supernatural medicine. For example, epilepsy was called the sacred disease, suggesting possession by an evil spirit. -The Hippocratics disagreed, saying that all illnesses had natural and not supernatural causes (mask ignorance) -The Hippocratics agreed with Empedocles that everything is made from four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—and that humans, too, are made up of these elements. - also associated the four elements, with four humors in the body. 1) earth with black bile 2) air with yellow bile, 3) fire with blood 4) water with phlegm. when humors are properly balanced =healthy - believed that the body has the ability to heal itself and that it is the physician's job to facilitate this natural healing. - "cures" the Hippocratics recommended included rest, proper diet, exercise, fresh air, massage, and baths. - the worst thing a physician could do would be to interfere with the body's natural healing power. -must treat the total, unique patient and not a disease. understanding physician and a trusting, hopeful patient. -not to charge a fee if a patient was in financial difficulty. maxims concerning the practice of medicine are contained in the famous Hippocratic oath which reads, in part, as follows:
What was Thales in search for?
-one single substance from which all others were derived= physis -that primary element was Water (Life depends on water, water exists in many forms)
Zeno's, a disciple of Parmenides, agreed or disagreed w/heraclitus? what was his paradox?
-opposite of Heraclitus's, Parmenides ------->believed that all change was an illusion. -only one reality; it is finite, uniform, motionless, and fixed and can be understood only through reason. -knowledge is attained only through rational thought because sensory experience provides only illusion. -*believed that being able to speak or think of something implied its existence (reification) because we cannot think of something that does not exist.* ex: show motion was an illusion. ---->Imagine an archer firing at a target. He said that for an arrow to go from the bow (point A) to the target (point B), it must first go half the distance between A and B. Then it must go half the remaining distance, then half of that distance, and so on, never reaching the target since some halfable distance always remains. Therefore, it is logically impossible for the arrow ever to reach the target. The fact that it seems to do so is a weakness of the senses. = Zeno's paradox, can be expressed in many different parables.
what are Empedocles' 4 elements what do they account for in humans? (ca. 490-430 B.C.) his theory of evolution what theory did it resemble? these two forces create an unending cosmic cycle consisting of four recurring phases. law of conservation how is perception created?
-physician and a disciple of Pythagoras. - claimed his soul had been migrating for quite a while: -Instead of one physis, four elements from which everything in the world is made: earth, fire, air, and water. Humans: (earth forming = solid part of the body, water = liquids in the body, air=breath of life, fire providing = reasoning ability) postulated *two causal powers* of the universe: a) love b)strife. Love is a force that attracts and mixes the elements, and strife is a force that separates the elements. Operating together, 1) In phase one, love dominates and there is a perfect mixture of the four elements ("one from many"). 2) In phase two, strife disrupts the perfect mixture by progressively separating them. 3) In phase three, strife has managed to completely separate the elements ("many from one"). 4) In phase four, love again becomes increasingly dominant, and the elements are gradually recombined. As this cycle recurs, new worlds come into existence and then are destroyed. ---->When love dominates, we have an urge to establish a union with the world and with other people; when strife dominates, we seek separation. Clearly, the ingredients are here for the types of interpersonal and extra personal conflicts described by Freud and others much later in human history. similar to the modern law of conservation of energy, which states that energy can take different forms but cannot be created or destroyed...... the four elements and the forces of love and strife have always existed. In fact, all that can ever be must be a mixture of the elements and the two forces. more complex theory of evolution tthan the one by Anaximander. --->In the phase when there is a mixture of love and strife, all types of things are created, - Animals did not form all at once but part by part, and the same was true of humans: -As these various body parts roamed around, they were combined in a random fashion: -creatures mixed partly from male partly from female nature" -when the four elements are acted on by love and strife: "As they mingled, innumerable types of mortal things poured forth, fitted with every sort of shape, a wonder to see" -Most random pairings resulted in creatures incapable of surviving, and they eventually perished. -Some chance unions produced viable creatures * here is an early version of natural selection by the survival of the fittest* - first philosopher to offer a theory of perception. -He assumed that *each of the four elements was found in the blood*. -Objects in the outside environment throw off tiny copies of themselves called emanations, or *eidola (singular eidolon)*, which enter the blood through the pores of the body. -Because like attracts like, the eidola will combine with elements that are like them. The fusion of external elements with internal elements results in *perception*. Empedocles believed that the matching of eidola with their corresponding internal elements occurred in the heart. In sum, *his view was that we perceive objects by internalizing copies of them* -Health occurs when the four elements of the body are in proper balance;
Heraclitus (ca. 540-480 B.C.)wha was his famous saying and why?
-said that: nothing ever "is"; rather, everything is "becoming." Nothing is either hot or cold but is becoming hotter or colder; nothing is fast or slow but is becoming faster or slower. -amazed everythin gin constant state fo flux -assumed fire to be the physis since evrything transforms in its presence -"It is impossible to step twice into the same river" -for example, night-day, life-death, winter-summer, up-down, heat-cold, sleeping-waking. For him, one end of the pole defined the other, and the two poles were inseparable. (was defined by what it was not) -Heraclitus raised an epistemological question that persists to this day: How can something be known if it is constantly changing? point in history that the senses became a questionable means of acquiring knowledge, due to constant change, no object is ever the same as it was, nothing is certain Those seeking something unchangeable, and thus knowable, had two choices. a) They could choose something real but undetectable by the senses (like atomists and the Pythagorean mathematicians) b) they could choose something mental (ideas or the soul), (as the Platonists and the Christians did). Both groups believed that anything experienced through the senses was too unreliable to be known. -Infinitely large, eternal and surrounded the cosmos
The Analogy of the Divided Line?
-those who attempt to gain knowledge by examining the empirical world via sensory experience are doomed to ignorance or, at best, opinion -true knowledge involves grasping the forms themselves, by rational thought. through the divided line: -Imagining =lowest form of understanding because it is based on images -better w/objects themselves rather than their images. Beliefs, however, do not constitute knowledge. --->for example, a portrait of a person is once removed from the person. Reflections in the water are also images because they are a step removed from the objects reflected. -mathematical knowledge is better but still not the highest type because such knowledge is applied to the solution of practical (empirical) problems, and many of its relationships exist only by definition. (ex: pythagorum theorum) -The highest form of thinking true intelligence or knowledge results only from an understanding of the abstract forms. The "good" or the "form of the good" constitutes the highest form of wisdom because it encompasses all other forms and shows their interrelatedness.
in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., the Greeks' explanations of things were still predominately religious in nature...There were two major theologies to choose from, what were they?
1) *Olympian religion* 2) *Dionysiac-Orphic religion*
Define: 1) animism 2) anthropomorphism
1) Looking at all of nature as though it were alive 2) projection of human attributes onto nature
The writings of Plato (ca. 427-347 B.C.) can be divided into two periods....
1) first period, Plato essentially reported the thoughts and methods of his teacher, Socrates. When Socrates died, however, Plato went into self-imposed exile in southern Italy, where he came under the influence of the Pythagoreans. 2) After he returned to Athens, he founded his own school, the Academy, subsequent combo of Socratic method with Pythagorean philosophy. Like Socrates, Plato wished to find something permanent that could be the object of knowledge, went further than socrates in study
Plato felt that all was predetermined A complete nativist, people are destined to be slave, soldier, or philosopher-king.
Appetite component -controlling appetite during sleep, is another story -mortal needs such as hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior that must be satisfied. -whenever the rest of the soul, the reasonable, gentle, and ruling part, is slumbering; whereas the wild and animal part, full of food and drink, skips about, casts off sleep, and seeks to find a way to its gratification. You know that there is nothing it will not dare to do at the time, free of any control by shame or prudence
Theory of forms Everything in the empirical world is an inferior manifestation of the pure form, which exists in the abstract. Sense perception is the interaction of the pure form and matter of the world Result is an experience less than perfect. Plato replaced the essence of Socrates with the concept of the forms an aspect of reality that is permanent and therefore knowable
As we have seen, the Pythagoreans believed that although numbers and numerical relationships were abstractions (they could not be experienced through the senses), they were nonetheless real and could exert an influence on the empirical world. As already mentioned, the Pythagorean theorem is absolutely true when applied to abstract (imagined) triangles but is never completely true when applied to a triangle that exists in the empirical world (for example, one that is drawn on paper). This discrepancy exists because, in the empirical world, the lines making up the right angle will never be exact. Plato took an additional step. According to his theory of forms, everything in the empirical world is a manifestation of a pure form (idea) that exists in the abstract. Thus, chairs, chariots, cats, and Corinthians are inferior manifestations of pure forms. For example, the thousands of cats that one encounters are but inferior copies of an abstract idea or form of "catness" that exists in pure form in the abstract. What we experience through the senses results from the interaction of the pure form with matter; and because matter is constantly changing and is experienced through the senses, the result of the interaction must be less perfect than the pure idea before that idea interacts with matter. Plato replaced the essence that Socrates sought with the concept of form as the aspect of reality that was permanent and therefore knowable. That is, Socrates accepted the fact that a thorough definition specified an object's or a concept's essence; whereas for Plato, an object's or a concept's essence was equated with its form. For Plato, essence (form) had an existence separate from its individual manifestations. Socrates and Plato did agree, however, that knowledge could be attained only through reason.
The Basic Difference between Plato and Aristotle
Both interested in essences or truths that go beyond the mere appearance of things, but their methods for discovering those essences were distinctly different. For Plato,---->essences corresponded to the forms that existed independently of nature and that could be arrived at only by ignoring sensory experience and turning one's thoughts inward. VS: Aristotle----> essences existed but could best become known by studying nature. He believed that if enough individual manifestations of a principle or phenomenon were investigated, eventually one could infer the essence that they exemplified. we prefer sight to almost everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things. Plato as the patriarch of rationalism, and Aristotle then as the forerunner of empiricism, but that is misleading in its simplicity. In fact, Aristotle's philosophy shows the difficulty that is often encountered when attempting to clearly separate the philosophies of rationalism and empiricism. the rationalist claims that logical, mental operations must be used to gain knowledge, VS empiricist emphasizes the importance of sensory information in gaining knowledge. *Aristotle embraced both rationalism and empiricism. -He believed that the mind must be employed before knowledge can be attained (rationalism) but that the object of rational thought is the information furnished by the senses (empiricism). -The search for first principles, essences, or universals characterized most early philosophy and, in a sense, continues in modern science as the search for laws governing nature. Plato, first principles are arrived at by pure thought; VS Aristotle, they could also be attained by examining nature directly. For Plato, all knowledge exists independently of nature; VS for Aristotle, nature and knowledge are inseparable. (In Aristotle's view, therefore, the body is not a hindrance in the search for knowledge, as it is for Plato and the Pythagoreans). -Aristotle *disagreed* with Plato on the importance of mathematics. -For Aristotle, logical analysis (such as the syllogism) is a powerful tool, but often his emphasis was instead on the careful examination of nature by observation and classification. -Through this method of observation, definition, and classification, Aristotle compiled what has been called an encyclopedia of nature. - sought to explain several psychological phenomena in biological terms, we recognize him as one of the first physiological psychologists ( --> In some ways, where Plato's philosophy followed in the Pythagorean, mathematical tradition, -->Aristotle's was more in the Hippocratic, biological tradition.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GORGIAS AND PROTAGORAS
Gorgias (ca. 485-380 B.C.) was a Sophist whose position more extreme than Protagoras's. -Protagoras concluded that, because each person's experience furnishes him or her with what seems to be true, "all things are equally true." -Gorgias, however, regarded the fact that knowledge is subjective and relative as proof that "all things are equally false." -Furthermore, because PERCEPTION IS SUBJECTIVE, there can be no objective basis for determining truth. - Gorgias's + Protagoras's, exemplified nihilism because it stated that there can be no objective way of determining knowledge or truth. -The Sophist position = solipsism = the self can be aware of nothing except its own experiences and mental states. - Nothing exists; if it did exist, it could not be comprehended; and if it could be comprehended, it could not be communicated to another person. 1) physical world, can only be experienced through sense impressions, and the relationship between the physical world and sense impressions cannot be known. 2) Second, we do not think in terms of sense impressions but in terms of the words used to describe those impressions. Therefore, there is an unbridgeable gap between the sensory events caused by the physical world and the words used to describe those events. 3) third, because the meaning of the words that are used to express thoughts are unique to each individual, there is an another unbridgeable gap between one person's thoughts and those of another. Therefore, accurate communication among individuals is impossible. -the effect of words on the mind is like the effect of drugs on the body. - words were essentially deceitful. - words do not describe things as they are in the physical world but our own beleifs of it.
How does one come to know the forms if they cannot be known through sensory experience?
How does one come to know the forms if they cannot be known through sensory experience? *seen as anticipating many of the modern ideas of cognitive psychology* Plato's answer was influenced by the Pythagorean notion of the immortality of the soul. The reminiscence theory of knowledge Prior to coming into the body, the soul dwelt in pure, complete knowledge. -All knowledge is innate and can be attained only through introspection - thus, all true knowledge comes only from reminiscence, from remembering the experiences the soul had prior to entering the body. -sensory information began to contaminate this knowledge. -ignore sensory experience and focus one's thoughts on the contents of the mind. Plato was a rationalist, nativist and an idealist - stressed mental operations (rationalist) to gain knowledge already in the soul/already innate (nativist). -was idealis becuase believed that ultimate reality consisted of ideas or forms.
importance of greek philosophy
In Popper's view, science began when humans began to question the prevailing stories about themselves and the world. The Greek cosmologists broke loose from the accepted traditions and engaged in critical discussion. Suggested a biological basis for mental and physical health Developed treatments Promoted self-awareness and a virtuous life
EARLY GREEK MEDICINE
In The Odyssey, Homer described medical practitioners as roaming around selling their services to anyone needing them. The successful practitioners gained a reputation that preceded them; a few became viewed as godlike, and after their deaths, temples were erected in their honor. -temples were named in honor of *Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. believed to be the son of Apollo and the father of Hygeia, the goddess of health. An ancient statue of Asclepius shows him with a snake wrapped around a rod. The snake symbolized mystery, power, and knowledge and was employed in several healing rituals. The rod and snake (sometimes called a caduceus) continues to symbolize the medical profession. At the temples, priests practiced medicine in accordance with the teachings of the famous deceased practitioners. The priests kept such teachings largely secret and this temple medicine became very popular. In fact, insofar as the ailments treated were psychosomatic (or trivial and transitory), temple medicine was likely effective because treatment was typically accompanied by an abundance of ritual and lengthy ceremony. For example, patients would need to wait before being seen by a priest, drink "sacred" water, wear special robes, and sleep in a sanctuary. During the period of sleep—a high point in treatment—the patient (it was claimed) often had a dream in which a priest or god would directly cure the patient or tell him or her what to do in order to be cured.
THE RELATIVITY OF TRUTH? sophist epistemological questions? who were the sophists shift from physical to human concerns
In fact, they believed that anything is true if you can convince someone that it is true. Nothing, they said, is inherently right or wrong, but believing makes it so. These philosophers were called Sophists. The Sophists were professional teachers of rhetoric and logic who believed that truth was relative, and therefore no single "Truth" was thought to exist. This belief marked a major shift in philosophy. The question was no longer, What is the universe made of? but, What can humans know and how can they know it? In other words, there was a shift toward epistemological questions. The Sophists Professional teachers of rhetoric and logic, truth is relative - no single truth exists Sophists Protagoras Gorgias Xenophanes
Milesian Philosophers, who were they?
Philosophers who lived in Miletus circa 500 BCE Thales Anaximander Anaximenes In search of the physis (first principle) Natural philosophers, materialists
what religion does pythagorium theory have commonalities with?
We see many elements in common between Dionysiac-Orphic religion and Pythagorean philosophy. -Both viewed the body as a prison from which the soul should escape;he soul should minimize the lusts of the vile body that houses it by engaging in the rational contemplation of unchanging truths. - Both accepted the notion of the transmigration of souls, and both believed that only *purification* could stop the "circle of births." -The notion of transmigrations is a spirit of kinship with all living things. this why accepted women into their organizations, argued for the humane treatment of slaves, and were opposed to the maltreatment of animals.
Anaxagoras (ca. 500-428 B.C.), seeds?
a close friend of Pericles, taught that all things in the world as we know it were originally mixed together. Like Empedocles, believed nothing can come from nothing. -postulated an infinite number of elements called "seeds." -----> examples water, fire, hair, bread, meat, air, wet, dry, hot, cold, thin, thick, wood, metal, and stone -seeds do not exist in isolation. each contains all the others -How then do objects become differentiated? Waterfield explains: "Everything is present but in different proportions" It is the difference in the proportion of the seeds present that give objects their characteristics: -Mind, he said, is pure in the sense that it contains no other elements. Also,not necessarily present in other elements. Where it is present, life exists.
what is reification?
because can think of a person after his or her biological death, it was assumed that the person must still exist, "anything the mind could conjure up was assumed to be real"
and why are these 2 terms important for learning about early psychology?
both were involved in early attempts to make sense out of life. Early humans made no distinctions between animate (living) and inanimate objects or between material and immaterial things.
what is theory of mind?
how young children develop the skills that allow them to know what other persons are likely thinking and intending (interest to modern psychologist)
rationalist VS empricist
rationalist = those claiming that there are certain permanent and therefore knowable things about the universe or about humans (Senses are relaible) VS empiricists.= those saying that everything in the universe, including humans, is constantly changing and thus incapable of being known (senses not reliable)
To know any thing, according to Aristotle, we must understand four aspects of it. That is, everything in nature follows from what four causes?
▪ *Material cause* is the kind of matter of which a thing is made. For example, a statue is made of marble. ▪ *Formal cause* is the particular form, or pattern, of a thing. For example, a given piece of marble may be in the form of Venus. ▪ *Efficient cause* is the force that transforms the material thing into a certain form—for example, the energy of a sculptor. ▪ *Final cause* is the purpose for which a thing exists. In the case of a statue of Venus, the purpose may be to arouse pleasure in those who view it. The final cause is that for the sake of which something exists. -exemplifies teleology because, everything in nature exists for a purpose. ( meant that everything in nature has a function built into it) called entelechy. -*Entelechy* = keeps an object moving or developing in its prescribed direction until its full potential is reached. -The final cause of living things is part of their nature; it exists as a potentiality from the organism's very inception. ----> example: acorn has the potential to become an oak tree, but it cannot become a frog -nature itself has a grand design or purpose. -categories of things in nature remain fixed, thus denying evolution. ------->The scala naturae = refers = nature is arranged in a hierarchy ranging from neutral matter to the unmoved mover, which is pure actuality and is the cause of everything in nature. - the unmoved mover = what gives all natural objects their purposes. the closer to the unmoved mover something is, the more perfect it is. -Among animals, humans were closest to the unmoved mover, with all other animals at various distances behind us. -his scala naturae does create a phylogenetic scale of sorts, making it possible to study "lower" animals in order to understand humans. -All objects in nature have a purpose, and nature itself has a purpose. (TELEOLOGICAL, PREDESTINED)
The Hierarchy of Souls. For Aristotle, as for most Greek philosophers, a soul is that which gives life; therefore, all living things possess a soul. According to Aristotle, there are three types of souls, and a living thing's potential (purpose) is determined by what type of a soul it possesses. WHAT ARE THE 3 TYPES?
▪ A vegetative (or nutritive) soul is possessed by plants. It allows only growth, the assimilation of food, and reproduction. ▪ A sensitive soul is possessed by animals but not plants. In addition to the vegetative functions, organisms that possess a sensitive soul sense and respond to the environment, experience pleasure and pain, and have a memory. ▪ A rational soul is possessed only by humans. It provides all the functions of the other two souls but also allows thinking or rational thought. -Because it is the soul that gives a living organism its distinctive properties, to ask whether body and soul exist independently was, for Aristotle, a meaningless question: "We can dismiss as unnecessary the question whether the soul and the body are one: it is as though we were to ask whether the wax and its shape are one" (
