Philosophy Test 1 Study Guide
What are the three greek words that apply to wisdom?
Sophia- wisdom Episteme- knowledge Techne- skills
Why did Socrates consider himself a "stranger"
He describes himself as a stranger. He is strange in the sense that he isn't like the other people of Athens. Some of the things that make him "strange" is his appearance and occupation, he does not accept payment for tutoring, had progressive views of women, argued that there was no reason for women to not recieve education, had progressive views of pedophilia.
What was Socrates relationship to the city of Athens?
He is a critic of democracy. Democracy at the time was a subject of tyranny, a very new form of government. Socrates believed that not everyone posessed the intellectual ability to vote about leaders. He was also a soldier in the Peloponesian war.
What is Socrates's theory of harm
Socrates argues that good men benefit those around them, bad men harm others. No man wants to be harmed so no person would want to corrupt the youth because they don't want to be harmed. In another sense, Socrates believes the Athenians are only harming themselves if they get rid of Socrate because Athens would fail to question there morals. Socrates believes he can be physically harmed but his soul cannot be harmed.They can harm his body, but not his soul (soul consisting of intellect,spirit and appetite)
What is the definition of wisdom from the text
Wisdom is knowing what one does not know and using knowledge you have and applying it in proper terms, including the limitations of the knowledge. Socrates says that human wisdom is worthless because people think they can apply "wisdom" to all things.
What is Socrates's argument that he is doing the best he can for his children by accepting his sentence
If socrates were to flee, his kids would be like strangers to the city. No city would want someone who disobeyed the law and so Socrates woud have to take them to a bad city. It is better for his children to stay in athens
What is the divided line (visible/intelligable, different ways of known things, which is more perfect, etc.)
"That which can be known": We have intelligable and visible things. Thought and understanding fit into the intelligable cateogry and beliefs fall into the visible category. Intelligable: Thought (theories/hypothesis) and Understanding (corresponds to first principle or thing being appealed to) Visible: Belief (actual things in the world like a picture of the table) and Imagination (images, representations) like the real table. In order to claim knowledge we must appeal to higher thing "most perfect thing".
What are the reasons Crito gives Socrates for why he should escape (his own reputation, opinions of majority, responsibility for his children, injustice)?
1.) Crito will suffer a poor reputation:on Crito. Crito also states that people will believe that Crito values money over friendship. 2.) Socrates is unjust for hastening his death as his enemies wished when he could save it 3.) Socrates is betraying his sons 4.) Socrates is taking the easy path, lacking courage, being a coward 5.) Crito says that Socrates should pay attention to the majority opinion because they inflict great evils 6.)By not leaving, Socrates will bring shame upon himself and his friends
What are the methods of recovery in terms of the educational package?
1.) Direct recovery- a student can recover their own soverignty 2.) Indirect recovery-through a deal or by apprenticeship
What are the examples percy gives of encountering the preformed symbolic complex?
1.) Grand Canyon- people talk about experiencing "it". But what is it- experiencing the canyon or the experience itself. 2.) Couple in Mexico- they are from the Midwest, traveling to "it". The couple experiences anxiety over the authenticity of their experience. When they finally reach "it", the native village, they defer their soverignty to their friend, an ethnologist. 3.) Young man in france-
What are the main criticisms leveled against King and the Birmingham campaign by sympathetic church leaders
1.) His actions are untimely: There is no right time to hold these boycotts. Socrates chalenged status quo by questioning wisdom of well known people and believed in himself. MLK believes that if we don't act we will just sit in injustice. 2.) He should try to negotiate. The first step should be to negotiate instead of boycotting by marches and sit ins. By doing these non violent protests, MLK is actually inciting violence and there us a violent response to the non violent protests. They tried to negotiate already and MLK claimed that they were victims of a broken promise, can only negotiate in good faith and since their promise as broken they cannot negotiate. 3.) Advocates for breaking the law (civil disobediance) MLK is an outsider, coming into a new community and encouraging them to partake in civil disobediance. MLK believes one has a moral obligation to follow just laws and break unjust laws. This is in order for things to change we need to break the laws.
What are the late charges brought upon Socrates
1.) Impeity- not believing in the gods of athens 2.) Corrupting the youth
What are the main topics of the republic?
1.) Individual (morality) 2.) City/State (Politics): Socrates believes the city we live in shapes the person you become and that it is the duty of the peopl to keep the city good. He dosent believe there is a seperation between morality and politics. Socrates and Adeimentus hypothesize a eutopian society. They try to decide if the craftspeople, soldiers or politicians would be best to rule the city. Craftspeople make everything, soldiers could conquer and protect and make laws and establish courts. Ultimatley, he dcides the philosophers should rule because the politicians only have skill of rhetoric and soldiers and craftspeople do not have time. Philosophers (friend or love of wisdom) are concerned with truth and goodness and are able to recognize it. A philosopher would be able to determine which arguments are actually true in court and what laws were actually good.
What are the arguments Socrates gives against the later charges brought by Meletus and Anytus
1.) M: All athenians improve the youth except Socrates S: Argument by analogy, using horse trainer. A few improve horses and the majority corrupt them. Socrates point is that a few improve the youth while the majority corrupts them. 2.) Socrates argues that good men benefit those around them, bad men harm others. No man wants to be harmed so no person would want to corrupt the youth because they don't want to be harmed 3.) M: Socrates does not believe in gods at all S: Socrates asks Meletus, "Can someone believe in human activity who does not believe in humans"? Socrates appeals to earlier charges where he was accused of studying spiritual things. If he studies spiritual things, he must believe in spirits and spirits come from gods. If socrates studies spiritual things and spiritual things come from god, he believes in gods. S: Appeals to his service with the Oracle. Oracles were taught to be the mouthpieces of Gods. If he is working for someone who speaks for gods, he must believe in the gods. This argument can be seen as weak though because he could be seen as challenging authorities or he could be seen as lying.
What are the two major issues surrounding "The Loss of the Creature"?
1.) Soverignty 2.) Value
What is the pre-formed symbolic complex in The Loss of the Creature?
A lens or the way we see the world and other people. This preformed symbolic complex leads to a loss of sovereignty, may change the value of the experience because of the pre formed expectations.
What is the central claim of "The Loss of the Creature"
A modern technological society has produced a preformed symbolic complex. The elements of this "modern technological society" include cameras, movies, etc. Through these technologies (social media) we can share photos instantaneously. We are constantly flooded with information. These photos create expectations.
Explain the table analogy in terms of intelligable vs. visible
Intelligable is understanding "tableness" Thought: "blueprint or design" -------------------------------------------------------- Visible is belief: actual table Imagination: drawing of the table
What is the analogy of the sun and the forms
Intelligable things are things we can think about but we can't see. We have the power of sight (visible) and visible objects (have ability to be seen). There are the things in the world and and the powers we have to see them. However, we need more than just these two things to actually see. In order to activate these two things we need light in the form of the sun. The sun is not the objects in the world or the power to see them but the third thing that allows us to see the first two. In order for us to know, there must be a third thing we appeal to in order to find truth. Forms: We have the power to know and the actual knowable things. These two things are not enough. We need something to mediate the power to know and the things that are knowable. When we add a form of good to these things, we gain truth instead of appearance. The "form of good" makes knowledge possible. The form of good allows for truth between the power to know and the knowable things. We can use this form of good as a third thing to appeal to when we question validity.
What is the allegory of the cave-imagery that explains the divided line, Socrates' theory of education
Intelligable: 1.) Understanding "Dogness" 2.) Thought- "Real dog" ---------------------------------------- Visible: 1.) Belief- "puppets" 2.) Imagination-"shadows"
What is socrates argument that hastening his death or avoiding his sentence is unjust
It os only unjust if we cause harm willingly. Just because one is harmed, does not mean that they have ability to harm others. One cannot return harm from harm. Wrong doing is harmful to the wrong doer and damages our souls, the god could retaliate it. One should never do wrong to others.
What is King Jr's distinction between just and injust laws- be able to identify at least 4 distinctions between just and unjust laws
Just Laws: 1.) In accordance with law of god and divine law 2.) Uplifit human personality (dignity) 3.) Represents the relationship between persons as I am 4.) Sameness is made legal 5.) Majority compels minority to follow but also follows Unjust Laws: 1.) Out of sync of moral law/law of god 2.) Degrade human personality 3.) Represents the relationship between persons as I it. 4.) difference is made legal 5.) Only minority follows it.
What is King Jr's distinction between negative and positive peace
Negative: Civil unrest and "just getting along", respecting law and order, absence of conflict and tension Positive: Form of justice that results from working through tension and conflict
What is difference between politicians and philosophers?
Politicians appear to be wise and philosophers are actually wise. It can be very difficult to tell difference between what seems good and what is actually good. Difference between seeming and being
Why won't Socrates stop practicing philosophy?
Socrates defends Philosophy. He says "if someone is trying to be a good person, the concept of risk of life or death does not matter" He is attacking the idea of shame and moral integrity. We say someone lacks integrity when they do not follow through with their actions and their actions do not line up with their words. Socrates states that the gods have chose him for this occupation, to not upold that would be to fail gods.
What is socrates's argument against why he should listen to the opinions of the majority?
Socrates states that we only value the good opinions. Good opinions are those of wise men. It's not what the persons opinion is, it is the character of the person saying it. If one were to listen to the bad opinions from foolish people, we will all harm ourselves or others. Good opinions lead to virtue. Unwise opinions will harm soul. Conclusion: Socrates thinks life is not worth living if our soul is corrupt. A life where we follow the majority is not worth living.
What are the earlier charges brought upon Socrates?
Socrates studies spiritual things
Socrates argument concerning whether or not we should break laws
States that is harmful to the city when we break laws. If anyone breaks the law and nobody is punished then the laws do not serve their purpose. Therfore, it is not just to break the laws willingly. Essentially, Socrates goes back to the social contract theory. This theory states that whenever we inhabit a place we consent to obey the laws of that place, consenting to the laws. If you find an unjust law you must persuade law to change and improve law or follow it.
What is the education package and how it relates to the pre-formed symbolic complex
The education package is something that obscures anything we are trying to learn. It involves a producer/consumer relationship. This relationship involves the thing being learned merely being taught through learning instructions, not exploration. Percy gives the example of Shakesperian sonnet and the dogfish.
What is the purpose of non violent boycotting as talked about in letter?
To create tension and make people feel uncomfortable. This will educate people, promotes progress.
What is the big takeaway from Apology?
The unexamined life is not worth living, the best thing for individuals to do is discuss virtue everyday.
What happens to the value of an experience when we consider the preformed symbolic complex?
The value or pleasure goes up or down based on the number of people who have seen it.
What are the methods Percy gives for subverting the preformed symbolic complex?
There are methods of recovery: 1.) Leaving the beaten path- deliberatly avoiding the preformed symbolic complex 2.) A dialectical movement (familiar revisited), brings a person back to the beaten track many years, awareness of the preformed symbolic complex. 3.) Breakdown of symbolic machinery 4.) Natural Disaster
What are Socrates interactions with the politicians, poets and craftsmen and what he discovers in this investigation
Upon the Oracle at Delphi stating that there was no man wiser than Socrates, Socrates goes on this investigation to see if the claim is true. All Socrates needs is one person to say that he is not wise. If he can prove the Oracle wrong, he will reveal the Greek gods wrong. He goes to 3 groups of people to investigate: 1.) Politicians: Think they are wise, when they are not, appear to be wise because they posess the skill of rhetoric 2.) Poets: were able to speak to love and emotion which are hard to describe. Socrates finds that these poets only have a way with language but have no real knowledge of what they write about, they have talent and inspiration. 3.) Craftsmen: not full ranking citizens of athens but essential to the city because they make everything needed to live on a daily basis. Socrates finds that the craftspeople are wise in there craft but they can transfer that knowledge to other things, making them not wise.