Philosophy mid term

What sort of attitude does Camus recommend Sisyphus take toward life?

- By accepting the absurd, Sisyphus finds intrinsic value in hi life. -He suggests that Sisyphus might even approach his task with joy -When he accepts his fate the sadness and sorrow seem to leave him

Plato -Theory of Ideas/ Forms -Hyperuranium -"the republic" or the ideal state -Astronomical Knowledge -Cave Analogy

-427-347 BC -Theory of Ideas/ Forms *Ideas are forms: Universals characterized by being perfect, unchanging, and objective entities *Don't depend on thinking, but intelligible through thought processes *2 Worlds: World of Ideas and Models (perfect, unchanging,eternal) vs. World of Things and Copies (imperfect, ever-changing, finite, sense perception) -Hyperuranium *Plato believed in reincarnation *Human experiences are rather just dusting off of a formal life *What you know has nothing to do with what you learn -The Republic (the ideal community) *Justice includes a society with social class division, education and common property -3 Inborn tendencies: *Rationality (reasonable)- rulers *Instinctive (courageous)- soldiers/army men *Materialism (craftmenship)- common people *Definition of Justice: The condition which each citizen does well what he is best fitted for in cooperation with others under the rule of the wise *How does this give birth to an unjust model? An ideal state is one where everyone pursues their own inborn tendency or gift. This gives birth to the spirit of cooperation and a society that work together in harmony -Astronomical Knowledge *Universe constructed with geometric simplicity, elegance and endless motion *A spherical earth lies at the center of a greater sphere of the heavens -Cave Analogy *Comfort Zone *Breaking the Chains (question, doubt, curiosity, tendency to remain comfortable keeps us from breaking free)

Socrates: -Socratic Method

-469 BCE -He didn't write philosophical texts they came from the secondary source of Plato -Soctratic Method: *Didn't form his own opinion *he opposed different discussions *the questioner explores the implications of others' positions *to stimulate rational thinking, and illuminate ideas

Why is Socrates claiming that, far from being an impious corrupter of the youth he is actually a blessing sent by the Gods? What is the meaning of Socrates' metaphor of the Gadfly?

-A blessing because he made people actually think- kept them in motion rather then being ignorant and stagnant -The stings of a critical mind are what keeps a culture alive and in motion. No society that is too pleased with itself will remain strong and healthy for long -Gadfly: Just as a gadfly constantly agitates a horse, preventing it from relaxing and becoming sluggish, he himself is similar in the way he criticizes and agitates the public and keeps them from being stagnant (like swallowing bad medicine).

What was Chaerephon's question to the Delphic Oracle? What did the Oracle reply?

-Asks the Oracle if there is anyone wiser then Socrates -Replied that there was not -The Delphic Oracle was the place of Apollo; human voices that transmitted messages from the God's, and therefore can not be wrong

What do you think Russell means when he says all acquisition of knowledge is an enlargement of the self? Do you think he is right?

-Considering the purpose of the universe, if I force myself to be content with the fact that the universe exists and never consider whether it has a deeper nature or what this nature may be, the self perception is stagnant or lifeless -If I consider that I may exist because of some higher power, this ties my life and my existence to the existence of all things in the universe, creating purpose, motion and a sense of life that enlarges the perception of myself

Augustine

-Fall of the Roman Empire (354-430 CE) -Shift from ancient cultural models to new christian ones -Birth of a new time: Revelation -"The Christian Plato" believed the truth was inside of us by God (self investigation) -"Understand to believe, have Faith to understand." (the idea that when questioning ends Faith begins) -Understanding is necessary and of human nature, but to have faith you have to understand -Through questioning by believing the Truth above we can find the answers -Perfect truth exists and ideally it would be accessible to all but we don't live in an ideal world -Faith and revelation must supplement a faltering human existence -free will, good vs. evil, problem of time (god exists out of time), and argument for theism (defines who God is)

Why does Socrates assume that his condemnation is actually something good?

-He suggests that his soul will depart from him to some other fate (death of his physical body, but his spirit will go on) -Not afraid of death -Peaceful death is greater then a life of torment and toil -Truly lived the good-life and his spirit will pass on

What duty does Socrates undertake as a result of the Oracle's pronouncement? Leading him to understand what?

-He was puzzled -He knew the oracle couldn't lie -In response, he started questioning Athenian men of great wisdom (wise politicians, poets and worker) -He came to the realization that these men were all very ignorant to the fact that they know nothing -He is indeed wiser then other men because Socrates was aware of his own ignorance -Conclusion: In general, be humble and never stop searching for more- the idea that you never know everything and differentiate knowledge and wisdom as knowledge barely scratches the surface of wisdom

According to Camus, what about Sisyphus makes his life absurd?

-His punishment is to endure an eternity of hopeless struggle; he has absolutely no hope for reprieve so it is considered tragic

Russell says: "The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual belief of his age or his nation, and from conviction which have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason." What prejudices, habitual beliefs, and unreasoned convictions do you think Russell is referring to here? Do you see these things in people around you?

-Religious beliefs, moral beliefs. and common sense beliefs about ideology -So much of what people ordinarily believe do not match their philosophical contemplation -growing up being fed a certain political/ religious stance becoming the only way you see things

What is it, according to Camus, that enables Sisyphus' to rise above his life's absurdity?

-Sisyphus' return to the bottom of the mountain is the period in Sisyphus' life in which he is the most conscious and aware of his fate - the lucidity he possesses with this understanding enables him to rise above life's absurdity

Aristotle -Metaphysics -Physics/Astronomy

-The Macedonian empire (384-322 BC) -In Plato's academy/ philosophical school but his thoughts differed from Plato's -Metaphysics *Suggests that there is more then a world of ethics, but a world of nature and reality *Platonic Transcendence vs. Aristotle's Immanence: Sensible things aren't separate from forms but exist in particular things (immanent) Aristotle criticizes Plato's theory of forms: 1. How can forms be the causes of things without being in them? 2. How do we explain things that imitate eternal forms? *Seeks the explanation of principles, the profound structures, and the essential causes of reality *Material world leads to truths beyond *Hylomorphic composition: Form (potentiality) and Matter (actuality) *Form and Matter: There is no form without matter and no matter without form *Conclusion of God: fully actual and purely form, "unmoved mover" (a gigantic magnet causing movement), final cause of everything (checked egg does not have an infinite regression) -Astronomical Knowledge: *Thinks plato is right *The earth is a sphere *Planets on their own circular orbits *Earth made of 4 elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air *"5th Element" or "Quintessence": Beyond the earth not made of earthly elements (perfect, eternal, etc)

How are the virtues the souls own ornaments?

-The good life is a life that questions and thinks about things; it is a life of contemplation, self-examination and open-minded wondering -The good life is an "inner life" of inquiring and ever-expanding the mind - He suggests that false ornaments must have been ones that most of the Athenian contemporaries lived- filled with money, social-standing, and sex. Socrates, in contrast, believed that true virtue comes from seeking and ever-contemplating true justice, true beauty, courage, friendship, etc.

How does this compare to the philosophical quest? What implications does this have for the meaning of our lives?

-This story portray the free will we have un out life -To discover the meaning through a leap of faith, the conclusion that life is meaningless, or this third possibility that is suggested to acknowledge and accept the true absurdity of life

How does Sisyphus' condition compare to any normal person's condition?

-This story represents the human condition and is a metaphor of exile to describe the human predicament and the sense that life is a meaningless and futile struggle - The absurdity og Sisyphus' life portrays the contradiction between what we want in the universe (meaning, order, purpose) and what we find in the universe (formless chaos)

What are the early/ general charges against Socrates?

1). Instead of believing in Gods, he teaches physical explanations of phenomena's and his reasons didn't fall back on religion 2). Socrates uses clever rhetoric to make a weaker argument overcome a stronger one; Being a sophist; argumentation

What are the (specific) charges against Socrates brought by Meletus at this trial? How does Socrates rebut them?

Accusations: 1). Corruption of the youth 2). Believing in Phenomena's rather then acknowledging the God's Rebut: -Uses questioning and cross-examination bitterly and dismissively -Bullies and Mocks him repeatedly

Who is the founding father of Logic?

Aristotle

Syllogism

Certain things having been supposed; series of ideas

The myth of sisyphus (summary)

Sisyphus, according to the greek myth, was punished for all eternity to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down to the bottom when he reaches the top