overview of aristotle and plato

8/13/2019 Overview of Aristotle and Plato

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PHILOSOPHY First Paper Topics

Please write a paper of 4-6 pages (typed, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins) on

one of the following topics. The assignment is due no later than 11:00 a.m., Friday,October 21th in electronic format (.pdf, .doc) into your folder in the dropbox on the

lasses !" site.

Euthyphro:

#s it pious because it is god-lo$ed or god-lo$ed because it is pious%

#nherent difference between intrinsic and extrinsic &ualities

Passi$e or acti$e being. 'od-lo$ed indicates acted upon, which goes against a sort ofform of the pious

Phaedo:

*oul is #mmortalyclical +rgument+rgument from pposites e$erything comes from its opposite,

life comes from death

/ecollection +rgument 0eno idiocy

+ffinity +rgument things are either in$isibleeternal or $isibleearthlytemporal1 body is

temporal1 soul is eternal

2ormal +rgument soul clea$es to the form of life



PHILOSOPHY Second Paper Topics

Please write a paper of 4-6 pages (typed, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins) on

one of the following topics. The assignment is due no later than 11:00 a.m., Friday,October 21th in electronic format (.pdf, .doc) into your folder in the dropbox on the

lasses !" site.

Parmenides:

3. ow does Parmenides argue for the claim that not-being cannot exist% ow would either Plato

or +ristotle respond (please describe the response of only one of these two thin5ers)% $aluate

the response.Parmenides 7hat cannot be thought of cannot be all that can be thought of can be

8onbeing cannot be

0ultiplicity and change cannot exist

9inguistic argument assumes impossibility of nonbeing and change+ristotle three means of coming to be

+c&uires property

Property comes to be

:escription of same ob;ect with different properties

+ristotle change is possible1 differentiation is possible

at is not dog. 8ot something :#22/8T from not-being.

Plato 2orms are different entities < 0ultiplicity of forms

Republic

". 7hat is the argument in the Republic for the conclusion that the soul has more than one part%7hat are the reasons for thin5ing, in particular, that the soul has three parts and that these three

parts ha$e the characters of the rational part, the spirited part and the appetiti$e% :o you thin5*ocrates ma5es a good case for this claim% 7hy or why not%=

*oul can be at war with itself when we want more than one thing (>oo5 #!)

7ant to drin5 the seawater, not drin5 water

an?t want + and 8ot + at the same time without different parts of you

*oul mo$ing in two different directions

@ust proof of multiplicity of soul

/ational

*pirited < motionourage

+ppetiti$e



A. Plato argues that different sorts of cogniti$e states (5nowledge, opinion, etc.) ha$e differentob;ects. 7hy does he thin5 this is the case% >e sure to discuss his ideas about degrees of being

(as in the di$ided line analogy) and e$aluate his account.

!isible 7orld (*ensory) B *un

#magination B dysseus is bra$e C2alse pinionD B *hadows B #mages

*&uare that # draw is accessible by imagination

>elief B 2ireman is bra$e (+ctuality) CTrue pinionD B Puppets B Particular b;ects -ontemplating shadowsstatues

*&uare that # draw is accessible by imagination

#ntelligible 7orld B 'ood

Thought B 7hat is bra$e 0ath *cience B !isible 7orld B *cientific oncepts

CEnowledgeTruthD

ypothesis about s&uares based on s&uares that exist is thought based on example

Fnderstanding B Philosophical understanding of form of something B *un B 2orms -

ontemplating >elief

Fnderstanding form of the s&uare based on contemplation (meaning of

s&uarehood)

Nicomachean Ethics4. xplain the function argument in the Nicomachean Ethics ( NE #.G 3HIGb""-3HIJa3J). ow

strong is +ristotle?s argument that there is a function for human beings% #s he correct about

what that function is and what our good is as a result% :efend your answer.

$erything has a telos K characteristic function

2unction of the 5nife is to cut1 $irtue of the 5nife is to be sharp

uman function is uni&uely human tas5 uni&uely intelligent

/eason Parts of reason

Part that obeys reason

Part that exercises reason

Fncon$incing

#mplies that there is telos inherent in things

+ssumes humans are the highest life form

8ot clear that our one uni&ue thing is reason creati$ity% opposable thumbs%

Categories and Physics

L. xplain +ristotleMs account of a substance and what it is for a substance to change. $aluate his

account.

:epends on what the meaning of the word is isow can something be

'rammatical argument things that can be 89N sub;ect of sentence, not predicate

Present stuff that is present within a sub;ect redness, hotness

Predicable something which essential to the nature

Primary substances indi$iduals always gramatically a sub;ect

*econdary substances genus (dog)

2ails to deal with non$isible, li5e 5nowledge

+8'

*ubstances cannot > changed, can accept change

form and Pri$ationaccidental &ualities form of /ed, when >lue K Pri$ation of /ed

:istincti$e mar5 of substance able to admit contrary &ualities

*ubstance does not admit to $ariation of degree not more or less *cott < can be more or less red

'eneration:estruction

C0atter cannot be created or destroyedD

0atter K *ubstratum



PHIL!PH"

#hird Paper #opics

Please write a paper of 4-6 pages (typed, double-spaced, reasonable font and margins) on one of

the following topics. The assignment is due no later than 11:00 a.m., Friday, November 18th in

electronic format (.pdf, .doc) into your folder in the dropbox on the lasses !" site.

Metaphysics

3 ow, and how successfully, does +ristotle argue for the existence of at least one unmo$ed

mo$er in boo5 Q## of the etaphysics%

Fnmo$ed mo$er

ause is actuality bringing potentiality into actuality

ause turns potentiality to actuality

ause is something actual (*cott?s muscles cause slap)

an?t ha$e infinite regression'od is perpetually in actuality

+ll men by nature desire to 5now

9e$els of 5nowledgexperience 5nowledge of indi$idual experience stubbing toe hurts me

+rt ;udgement of specific class of indi$iduals stubbing toe always hurts me

7isdom 5nowledge about certain principlescauses understanding ner$e endings

TP 0etaphysics highest wisdom uni$ersal 5nowledge comprehension grasping first principles

Practical Enowledge

Theoretical 5nowledge

'ood appiness:i$inity contemplation unmo$ed mo$er

+ristotle hates forms% 2orms are not enough to act, to cause mo$ement

n Moral Ends

" #n >oo5 ## of On oral Ends, icero (the character) argues that neither pleasure nor

freedom from pain is the highest good. *tate what you ta5e to be icero?s most important

arguments for these conclusions. :o you find the arguments persuasi$e%

utlines o$ !%epticism

A +ccording to *extus mpiricus, the sceptical method is ultimately aimed at promoting a

life of tran&uillity. xplain what this aim is supposed to be and how the sceptical methodis meant to achie$e it. #s the method well-suited for its tas5% @ustify your answer.

*uspend all ;udgement to achie$e aim of tran&uility

an only ma5e statements about what you obser$e

*cepticism is +>#9#TN action to set out oppositions Pyrrhonian is sceptic

Three *chools

:ogmatists belie$e it is possible to 5now

+cademics belie$e it is impossible to 5now

*ceptics still in$estigating

nly way to ma5e claims (Q is N) is through senses, but senses differ

annot trust sensory ;udgements

0a;ority% Ta5ing poll is impossible 2allacy of democracy



an only say it appears to me that x is yxample 0an in the cold

:ogmatist feels cold and belie$e cold is baddual pain

*ceptic feels cold, does not belie$e bad

3H 0odesriticism cannot ha$e an aim of scepticism >+F* ma5ing claim about external world

laim suspend ;udgement goes to tran&uillity

Augustine

4 7hat is the cause of the e$il that people do, according to +ugustine% 7hat reasons does

+ugustine gi$e for his answer to this &uestion% 7hy does +ugustine thin5 that 'odMs

fore5nowledge of our actions is compatible with the freedom of those actions% +re his

reasons good%

Two $ils $il suffered and e$il done

$il suffered is from 'od?s ;ustice for $il done

7ill enables us to choose inordinate desire

$ildoing turning away from 'od towards earthly goodinordinate desire

/eason highest human attribute rules appetites$il /eason chooses clea$es to temporal o$er eternal standards

*oul ordered correctly K reason K choose eternal realm

/eason go$erns choice of will between eternal or temporal

'odternal $s. umanTemporalarthly*elf ternal !irtues temperance, fortitude, ;ustice

2ore5nowledge 'od fore5nows man?s choices

ternal law gra$itymath

A&erro's

Physical :iscussion

+l-'haOali 7rote #ncoherence

'od is always only cause (miraculous causes)

8o relationship between cause and effect #8#:8

orrelation does not e&ual causation

#f you put fire to piece of cotton, usually catches on fire, but not unimaginable that it

wouldn?t, because 'od decides e$ery single fra55in? time. #t could turn into *cott and s5ip

away.

+pparent cause and effect%

+$erroes

+ristotle?s four causes formal causes cannot be denied

?mon, which cause are you tal5ing about%

+l-'haOali only tal5ing about efficient causeannot say there is no cause by discussing efficient cause only

'od of the gaps%

'od is creator

$en is 'od is ultimate cause, science is still a thing

'od can change power of fire, but probably won?t. 2ire is a cause.

*o yo. *cience and +ristotle is right. >ut order can be changed (by 'od) R'haOali

#mpossible for 'od to ha$e habit, because habit is custom

*criptureboo5 says no alteration in 'od

+>#T%

abit impossible in 'od, habit only found in existents which we call natures

+gree that di$ine omnipotence does not extend to the logically impossible (s&uare circles)



0etaphysical#s the world created or is it eternal%

Theologians world is created

Philosopher (+$ecenna) both created and eternal there is cause

reator is the 0obius strip

reation is more li5e causation dance is created by dancer

0aterialist eternal

Maimonides

Physical :iscussion

Anselm()aunilo

+nselm

3. #f Q exists in understanding, then Q can be thought to exist in reality

". xistence in reality is greater than existence in understanding

A. That which cannot be greater cannot be percei$ed exists in understanding

4. C'odD can be thought to exist in reality

L. #f C'odD does not exist in reality, then greater can be concei$ed, which exists in reality

6. annot be both penultimate and ultimate greatnessG. C'odD exists in reality

'aunilo 9ost #sland

+nselm?s /esponse This argumentation only wor5s for the greatest category

A*uinas

Proof of 'od

2#/*T T/ +/ +/#*TT9+8

0otion things mo$e, there is motion in the world, there must be some cause in the world

identical to god

(+) 8o thing mo$es itself

To be mo$ed is actualiOation of potential

8othing can actualiOe its own potential

(>) /egress of mo$ers can?t go on fore$er

() Fnmo$ed 0o$er

fficient causes order of efficient cause something that ma5es something else happen

(+) 8othing is efficient cause of itself

(>) /egress of efficient causes() Fnmo$ed mo$er

Possibility8ecessity

(+) ontingent beings aren?t eternal things

(>) #f there were only contingent beings, then a time at which there was no being

() #f there were a time at which there was no being, there would now be no being

(:) There are beings

() There must be a necessary being ('od)

8ecessary

(2) Two forms of necessity 8ecessary because caused by something else

necessary1 or necessary in itself

(') 8o infinite beings

() +ll necessary beings must come from something else

(#) 0ust be something necessary in itself 'od

'radation



(+) There are graduated things degrees of goodness. #f there is a good thing, must be best thing. 'ood thing must be caused by best thing

(>) >est thing

() 'od

:esign

(+) $erything has an end. Teleology. $en roc5.

(>) 0ust be rational being who in;ected telos.

*onny liOondo. 7ith the beautiful hair and the terrible teaching s5ills.

'oodness @ustice !irtue xistence

overview of aristotle and plato

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