Spring 2009 201 Study Question Collaboration

Return to Human Nature main page.

We'll use class dates and topics to organize this page. Please sign your answer with your name so that people can keep an eye on the roster to determine their turn. You must post your answer (circulated to your two "editors" if possible) by the next class meeting. Please try to do this so we can review answers in class.

1/15/2009

1. What are some of the distinguishing traits and methods of philosophical thought?

Philosophy has a tendency to lead to a plurality of different answers. For most complex questions there are different answers that appear. Progress in philosophy is a slow process; those of us who like immediate results and absolute certainty tend to be annoyed by philosophical reflection.Philosophy also introduces us to multiple ways of seeing the world, thus enriching our perspective but at the same time exposing us to risks. Philosophy is often accused of being subversive.It corrupts what we think. Philosophy has a way of making us rethink what we believe. It makes us question our morals and values. Studying philosophy can lead us to new knowledge and to a new outlook on life. There are 5 different fields of study-

1.metaphysics-the study of ultimate reality

2.epistemology- the study of knowledge

3.ethics- what values should govern our lives

4.aesthetics- questions about art and beauty

5.logic- studies the nature of arguments

Hannah Alcamo

2. How do philosophy, myth, and religion relate to each other? Identify both differences and areas of overlap.

Visually represented in a triangle, Logos, Theos, and Mythos refer to the relationships between philosophy, religion, and myths, respectively. Logos concludes that philosophy plus sciences produces a rational account. In other words, it produces an argumentative explanation or logical organization of thoughts, which support the conclusion. In Logos, one does not have to believe in a truth past what the evidence shows.

Theos, the study of religion, is revealed both personally and communally. Theos explains that our cognitive functions respond to images of a divine presence. Similar to Logos, Theos depends on the function of truth, but differentiates in that Theos must be a commitment to the belief of truth, even when no evidence may exist.

Mythos depends upon myths and stories. However, unlike Logos and Theos, in Mythos the power of the story doesn’t depend necessarily on believing the story actually happened, but rather the story is powerful, regardless of factual truth. Philosophers don’t always stick to Logos, but find truth and explanation in stories as well.

Laura Anderson

3. What is the difference between philosophy and science?

The main difference between philosophy and science is that science has a concrete answer to its questions whereas the answers in philosophy are not so finite. In the sciences, there is a specific set of rules and formulas to follow that will eventually lead you to an answer. That answer is either right or wrong depending on if you made any mistakes in the process. However, philosophy is more about exploring the possibilities of the process and even making those mistakes along the way rather than just answering the question correctly. The sciences are limited to a certain answer by the laws of the universe and a societies’ technology. But in philosophy you are in a limitless universe, there is no one answer, it is never ending. As long as there are people who tackle a subject with an open mind and really delve deeper than what appears on the surface, philosophy will continue to help us see things differently.

Jason Beecroft

1/20/2009

1. What lessons about doing philosophy can we infer from Socrates trial and fate? What should philosophers consider as they advance their theories in a social community?

As philosophers we must keep in mind that often times people's inner most values-- their core values, what they base their lives on-- are being challenged. It's important to remain tactful and aware of the proper format and context for a philosophical conversation. Unfortunately for Socrates, it seems as though his conversations with the politicians, poets, and other knowledgable people were quite careless toward the core beliefs that these people held. He challenged their knowledge about the world and ignored the sensibility to maintain a reasonable balance between philosophical conversation and the conservation of his dialectic partner's belief system.

Philosophers ought to realize the sensitivity of the public toward their core values. They ought to be tactful and considerate of the motivations people have for maintaining their beliefs. For when those beliefs are challenged, philosophers will face a defensive crowd-- much like the crowd of 500 against Socrates. Be mindful of the context, and understand how to "choose your battles"-- so to speak.

Nicole Bernabe

2. How do Plato and Aristotle differ on the real and form?

Plato believed that what was most real was not the physical entity but instead the thought behind it. The idea of a chair was more real because the idea persists, while the physical chair will eventually disappear and decay. For Plato, the only way in which to discover the truth of reality is through thoughts. Aristotle on the other hand said that what is most real are the things which we can sense, the physical things. According to Aristotle, we can only know that things are real by observing them through our senses: sight, smell, touch, ect. Because of this the only way in which we discover reality is through our physical experiences with the world. We must experience something, like a chair, to know what is really is. This is really the opposite view that Plato takes. As far as the idea of forms goes, Aristotle and Plato agreed on most of it. Plato suggested that all things have a universal form which defines that item. For example, there is the apple which we see and can define its form. There is also a universal form for apples and we can see that the apple in front of us is a particular apple. This idea of forms also applies to things which have no physical existence, according to Plato. Things such as "good" and "bad" still have universal forms even though no physical form exists. This is where Aristotle disagreed with Plato. Aristotle said that all things which have universal forms must also have a physical form, whether that be now, in the past, or in the future. In this way Aristotle did not believe that universal forms existed for things such as "good" and "bad".

{Check out [1]. Main contrast in location of "form". -Alfino}

Andrew Cataldo

1/22/2009

1. In light of Greek history and the relationship between Greek culture and philosophical culture, how do you explain Socrates fate?

Socrates ultimate fate was to be put to death. This ultimate fate of Socrates was due to many things. First of all Socrates was on the wrong side in the political world. He was an aristocrat and was for aristocracy being the form of government. When at the time the government was a democracy. This did not make him popular, however Socrates didn’t need much help in making himself unpopular. Socrates was very annoying. His life work was going around trying to find someone wiser than himself. And when he proved to people that they were in fact not wise this made the people angry and annoyed with him. Also during this time there were many that perceived Socrates did not believe in the gods, or that he did not respect them. Finally the last thing that lead to Socrates trail and conviction was that he was believed to be a sophist, meaning he did not hold the right values. It was all of these reasons that lead to Socrates trial and ultimate fate of death.

John Creger

2. How does Plato's philosophy fit into a "history of theory"?

In class we discussed Plato’s philosophy as existing through two world metaphysics or views. Plato’s views can be justified through seeing things by a first person or third person perspective. Plato's "metaphysics" is also understood as Socrates' division of reality into the warring and irreconcilable domains of the material and the spiritual. The theory has created an immense influence on the history of Western philosophy and religion. We also established that the “history of theory” or “theorize”, is an abstract idea from particulars; it derives from a system of concepts that explains ideas. Plato’s concept of philosophy fits into the “history of theory”, because it has not become an established fact; instead his ideas are broadly accepted.

Here is a link to the wiki on Plato's Metaphysics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato#Metaphysics

Lindsey Friessnig

3. Consider and assess the criticism that Plato's philosophy is too radically "anti-body"?

Plato's Divided Line philosophy outlines a world in which the mind and the body are two completely separate entities, but unable to exist without one another. the body is described as a "tomb," referring to all the restrictions our body burdens upon our mind such as hunger, sexual desire, and sleep. Without our bodies, Plato says, our minds would be able to wander freely, connecting with the world of the forms easily.

The main contrasting arguments to Plato's view come from Aristotle and Heraclitus. Heraclitus' view, being on the opposite end of the spectrum from Plato's, states that everything is in a constant state of change and decay. There is no consistent world of forms for him. Aristotle's philosophy seems to meet between Plato's and Heraclitus', and says that everything is composed of form and matter. This seems to make the most sense, especially since we discussed in class how without any sensory experiences (body), there would be no way of being able to tap into our minds and study the world of the forms, or the outside world.

The idea that the mind is ideal, and that the body is a tomb, is too extreme. Without our bodies, there would be no mind.

William Griffith

4. In what ways are Socrates and Kant both "heroes of knowledge"?

Socrates and Kant can both be considered "heroes of knowledge" because they're both regarded as some of the most influential thinkers in European history. They both asked questions about the ultimate nature of reality. What makes a horse a "horse"? How do we really know what things are? Through Plato we know that Socrates made important and lasting contributions to epistemology and logic. Kant suggested that metaphysics could be reformed through epistemology. Both Socrates and Kant asked questions about the ultimate nature of reality, and of knowledge itself.

Nicolas Gutierrez

5. How does Russell characterize philosophy, it's relationship to other fields of knowledge, the kinds of questions it can address, and it's connection with freedom? What is the value of philosophy, in his view?

Russell characterizes philosophy as the knowledge that is gained through critical examination of all of our beliefs, prejudices, and convictions. Through philosophy, we are able to critically examine even the most minute, everyday things in our lives. However, philosophy has no definite answers to anything in its field. Many sciences that know have answers to questions that are going to be forever true, branched from philosophy. Because they now have answers, there is not philosophical value to them because no further contemplation is needed to prove anything. An example would be psychology. Once definite answers were found in this field, it was no longer philosophic. It is now a science. Only questions without definite answers can be placed in the category of philosophy.

Questions that are brought up in philosophy such as the question “What is real?” are not demonstrably true. There are many different approaches to what the answer may be but none are widely enough agreed upon to be accepted as the definite answer. Philosophers continue the consideration of all philosophical questions to find the answer. In doing so, every approach possible must be taken and in doing so, the speculative nature of our lives will be eternally vivid. Therefore, we wont get sucked into the realm where everything is definite and there is no discussion on any subject.

Having the power to critically evaluate anything gives us freedom to have our own set of morals and thoughts that we have taken into consideration instead of just conforming to the norm. There is still uncertainty in our lives and that is ultimately the value of philosophy.

Michael Higgins

1/27/2009

1. Summarize the first three speeches of the Symposium.

The first three speeches of the Symposium expressed different views on Love. During the first speech, Phaedrus explains that Love is a great God, who motivates noble actions by the Lover. He describes a dying a noble death which makes the Lover virtuous and courageous. He explains that Love motivates us to be divine in ways of not looking bad to our Lovers.

In the second speech, Pausanias describes two different types of Love; Heavenly Love and Common Love. To Pausanias, Heavenly Love is an intellectual love, and only for men. Heavenly Love is for men who have grown minds of their own and do not have a goal which “aims to deceive” their Lover. As for Common Love, Pausanias describes it as purely sexual, vulgar and without feeling. “Love felt by the vulgar, who are attached to women no less than to boys, to the body more than the soul, and to the least intelligent partners, since all they care about is completing the sexual act”. Pausanias also seems to portray a sense of “honorable ephebephilia” when he describes the difference between the intellectual love of the older boys and the crude love of the “lewd youth”.

Lastly is Eryximachus’ speech. In this speech, Eryximachus stated that Love is a general force of order and harmony. He explained that Love can be found throughout many different things such as music, medicine, the elements and the art of divination. Eryximachus believed that “medicine is simply the science of the effects of Love on repletion and depletion of the body” and therefore “guided everywhere by the God of Love”.

Kerry Hillier

2. Why would someone argue that love is a broad force, as Eryximachus thinks, as opposed to a narrower force describing the bond between intimate partners?

While love is undoubtedly a "force describing the bond between intimate partners," one can apply love to many other types of things. Eryximachus argued this in his speech, agreeing with the Pausanias' speech, which described love as having a moral duality. There is a good love and a bad love and it is present in everything. Eryximachus, being a physician, uses the effects of love on the body to describe when one is healthy or when one is sick.

This idea of love being a broad force has found its way into modern discourse. We use love to describe a desire, appreciation, or passion for things that are far from an intimate partner. One could argue that "I love basketball" is a perfectly good use of the word because of the effect that basketball has on the person. Eryximachus often equates the good love with the concept of harmony. When one truly loves basketball (or whatever the activity, person or object may be) it allows the lover to feel in harmony with the world. With this definition of love, one can really argue that the concept of love can be applied to anything.

-Eric Hofmann

3. Is love morally "dual," admitting of both noble and ignoble forms? How is love related to the good?

4. Distinguish propositional knowledge, know how, and knowledge by acquaintance.

5. Why does it seem that knowledge involves belief, truth, and belief?

1/29/2009

1. Give reasons for answering the following questions either affirmatively or negatively: a. Could ther be another world (like the Matrix, or a "brain in a vat") alongside or "behind" this one? and b. Could we be radically wrong about our knowledge of the world?

2. How does the parabola video show the relationship between empirical and rational knowledge? How should we understand that relationship?

3. Identify a modern naturalistic view of love and then consider whether it answers the questions Plato is trying to answer. What kind of knowledge do we have about love (propositional, know-how, or aquaintance)?

4. Summarize Aristophanes' speech on love.