SPECIAL METAPHYSICS / THEODICY
As we have discussed recently, metaphysics deals/elucidates/demonstrates or studies beings which are beyond nature. Thus, questions about the existence and nature of minds, bodies, God, space, time, causality, unity, identity, and the world are all metaphysical issues.
This part is called special metaphysics because it specializes or focuses solely about God and those that are related to God. Hence, special metaphysics is also known as Theodicy which literally mean the science of God (Theos).
As a branch of philosophy theodicy does not mention the true name of God neither discusses who really the true God is. But theodicy demonstrates, through reason and not faith, the existence of the Supreme Being known as God. Hence, it differs from theology.
1. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
From time immemorial people are divided by geographical locations, principles, traditions, social status and even in faith.
Some believes in one God (monotheism), some believes in many gods (polytheism), some denies the existence of God (atheism), while others contend that human beings do not have sufficient evidence to warrant either the affirmation or the denial of God’s existence (agnosticism). The agnostics believe that we lack knowledge of the existence of God. In this, the agnostic, who holds that we cannot know whether or not god exists, differs from the atheist, who denies that god exists.
Nowadays, most of us believe in God. In fact we always profess our faith that He exist every time we say the Creed: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty…” (Credo in Deum, Patrem Omnipotentem).
But let us take some of the questions concerning God and His existence.
v Do you believe in God?
v What if bible were not written or was burned during the persecution of Christians, are we still going to believe in God?
v Is our belief about God’s existence based on faith or reason?
v And most importantly, does God really exist?
v And if you answer it with affirmative, can you demonstrate God’s existence aside from faith?
Let us consider first the following definition before we elucidate the above questions.
v Existence – that which actualizes an essence and sets it outside its cause as a thing produced.
v Demonstration – reasoning out of truth so thoroughly and completely that the person who understands every step of the process is compelled to recognize it.
v a priori argument – is an argument that is taken to reason deductively from abstract general premises
v a posteriori argument – is an argument that relies upon specific information derived from sense perception.
v Essence – that which makes a thing to be it is.
v Faith – the assent to truth on account of the authority of God.
Note well that the true essence of God is incomprehensible. Thus, we will never know the totality of God’s essence but ONLY SOMETHING ABOUT HIS ESSENCE.
God’s existence can be demonstrated through a posteriori and through the five ways known as the quinquae viae of St. Thomas Aquinas, viz.
v Cause and Effect
v Design/Teleological argument
v Motion
v Moral Order
v History
Thursday, December 4, 2008
CHAPTER VII: THEODICY
CHAPTER VI: ONTOLOGY
1. GENERAL METAPHYSICS / ONTOLOGY
Metaphysics as a term is derived from the two Greek words “meta” (meta) which means “beyond” or “after” and “physika” which literally mean “nature” (jusika). Thus, etymologically speaking, metaphysics is a study of all things which are beyond nature.
Really, metaphysics is defined as a Branch of philosophy concerned with providing a comprehensive account of the most general features of reality as a whole; the study of being as such, otherwise stated as the study of beings as being.
Ontology on one hand is defined as a branch of metaphysics concerned with identifying, in the most general terms, the kinds of beings that actually exist.
Thus, questions about the existence and nature of minds, bodies, God, space, time, causality, unity, identity, and the world are all metaphysical issues.
2. BEING
Being is that which exists or has the capacity of existence.
THE NOTION OF BEING
Being is the participle of the verb to be and means that which is or that which has to be or a thing having to be.
3. KINDS OF BEING
a. ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL BEING:
v Actual – that has actual existence in the real order. E.g. Philippines
v Potential – has the capacity of existing in the real order. E.g. Dragon
b. INFINITE AND FINITE BEING:
v Infinite Being – a being that possesses all perfections without limits. E.g. God
v Finite Being – are beings that possess perfection with certain limits. E.g. Created beings
c. NECESSARY AND CONTINGENT BEING:
v Necessary Being – that which is impossible for it not to exist. Its very nature requires the being to exist. E.g. God
v Contingent Being – is a being that exists and it would be possible for it not to exist. It very nature does not require it to exist. E.g. man
d. IMMUTABLE AND MUTABLE BEING
v Immutable Being – is that which is not subject to change. It possesses all actuality.
v Mutable being – being that can become another being or other than it is. It possesses actuality and potentiality. It is thus subject to change.
e. ETERNAL AND TEMPORAL BEING:
v Eternal Being – that which has no beginning and no ending and not subject to time.
v Temporal being – being that has beginning and it has no ending.
f. ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE BEING:
v Absolute Being – is that which is in itself sufficient and independent to anything else and is therefore capable being without reference to anything else.
v Relative Being – is that which has some reference to something and it cannot have being independently of that to which it is referred.
NOT UNDER REAL BEING
v Mental being – inside the mind and has the capacity to exist outside the mind.
v Logical being – purely in the mind.
Metaphysics as a term is derived from the two Greek words “meta” (meta) which means “beyond” or “after” and “physika” which literally mean “nature” (jusika). Thus, etymologically speaking, metaphysics is a study of all things which are beyond nature.
Really, metaphysics is defined as a Branch of philosophy concerned with providing a comprehensive account of the most general features of reality as a whole; the study of being as such, otherwise stated as the study of beings as being.
Ontology on one hand is defined as a branch of metaphysics concerned with identifying, in the most general terms, the kinds of beings that actually exist.
Thus, questions about the existence and nature of minds, bodies, God, space, time, causality, unity, identity, and the world are all metaphysical issues.
2. BEING
Being is that which exists or has the capacity of existence.
THE NOTION OF BEING
Being is the participle of the verb to be and means that which is or that which has to be or a thing having to be.
3. KINDS OF BEING
a. ACTUAL AND POTENTIAL BEING:
v Actual – that has actual existence in the real order. E.g. Philippines
v Potential – has the capacity of existing in the real order. E.g. Dragon
b. INFINITE AND FINITE BEING:
v Infinite Being – a being that possesses all perfections without limits. E.g. God
v Finite Being – are beings that possess perfection with certain limits. E.g. Created beings
c. NECESSARY AND CONTINGENT BEING:
v Necessary Being – that which is impossible for it not to exist. Its very nature requires the being to exist. E.g. God
v Contingent Being – is a being that exists and it would be possible for it not to exist. It very nature does not require it to exist. E.g. man
d. IMMUTABLE AND MUTABLE BEING
v Immutable Being – is that which is not subject to change. It possesses all actuality.
v Mutable being – being that can become another being or other than it is. It possesses actuality and potentiality. It is thus subject to change.
e. ETERNAL AND TEMPORAL BEING:
v Eternal Being – that which has no beginning and no ending and not subject to time.
v Temporal being – being that has beginning and it has no ending.
f. ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE BEING:
v Absolute Being – is that which is in itself sufficient and independent to anything else and is therefore capable being without reference to anything else.
v Relative Being – is that which has some reference to something and it cannot have being independently of that to which it is referred.
NOT UNDER REAL BEING
v Mental being – inside the mind and has the capacity to exist outside the mind.
v Logical being – purely in the mind.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
CHAPTER V: NATURE OF TRUTH
1. NATURE OF TRUTH
Plato wrote, Socrates, the most influential philosopher in the history of western of thought, died knowing only one thing about the truth, that is, he did not know anything about the truth.
Truth is the final cause of philosophy. All the branches of philosophy endeavors to know the truth. However, truth is too elusive. The quest for truth has started long before the advent of philosophy and this quest continue until this post modern period.
But for purposes of the present discussion, let try to “understand” truth from the standpoint of Epistemology.
2. EPISTEMOLOGY
The word epistemology is derived from the two Greek words Epistem (episthmh) + Logos (logoz). Epistem means knowledge while Logos means science. Hence, it is etymologically defined as science of knowledge.
As a branch of philosophy, epistemology is defined as that which studies the sources, validity and limits of knowledge. It inquires into perception, meaning and truth.
Epistemology investigates the human knowledge itself from the standpoint if certainty, validity and truth – value of such knowledge.
3. ASIDE FROM KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS NECESSARILY TRUE, THERE IS ALSO KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS CONTINGENTLY TRUE.
Necessary truth is when there is a necessary conformity between the object and the knowledge.
Contingent truth is when sometimes there is no conformity or there exists a conformity between the object and knowledge.
Knowledge is an inner grasp and possession of reality or of an object.
Knowledge is necessarily true from the very perfection and nature of the object when it reacts certainly about the object which cannot be otherwise.
Knowledge is contingently true when somebody may affirm that someone for example he knows that he is accustomed to study such hour. Having presumed, therefore, that he is studying, the affirmation is but only contingently true; for some proposition can also be pronounced, even if he, on accounts of some other later besides the habit, is playing, and in this case, the affirmation did not conform to the object.
4. TRUTH IS AN ABSOLUTE THING
Truth is the conformity of thought and thing.
Absolute means perfect in itself; fixed; unchanging.
A thing is said to be absolutely true when it does not change with times, place and persons.
But, truth does not change with times, places, and persons.
Therefore, truth is an absolute thing.
a. This could be proven by experience. For example, it was once believed that the earth is flat; nevertheless, the earth is not flat. Nor was it flat when it was believed to be so.
What was true when such belief prevailed, is still true, and will be true forever. A mistaken judgment has been corrected but truth has not changed.
b. There are also statements which is fix in a point of time and it must always be understood with reference to that fixed point; such as twelve years ago I said “I am a little boy,’ and the statement was true. If pronounce the same statement today, it is not true. What was said twelve years ago was true. It will forever be true and will remain unchanged.
c. THERE ARE SIX STATES OF THE MIND WITH REFERENCE TO TRUTH
Truth is the conformity of thought and thing otherwise stated as the agreement between the judgment of the mind and objective thing judged.
State of the mind is the condition of the mind in reference to truth.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE STATES OF THE MIND
a. An indecisive state of mind is when the mind does not give a definite or positive judgment.
b. A decisive state of mind is when the mind has already made a decision or judgment and rests in it.
Indecisive State of Mind
IGNORANCE – the lack of knowledge in a subject capable of possessing it.
a. Privative Ignorance – lack of knowledge which one ought to have and reasonably be expected to have and so indicated a real privation in the subject.
b. Negative Ignorance – ignorance of knowledge which one is not reasonably expected to possess, so constitutes no real privation in the subject.
DOUBT – when the mind hesitates between contradictory judgments, unable to deliver either one or the other is true. Doubt, unlike ignorance, involves the presence of some knowledge in the mind.
a. Positive Doubt – the mind is in doubt by reason of apparently equal argument or reasons for each of the two contradictory judgments.
b. Negative Doubt – the mind is in doubt when there appears no good argument or reason for deciding either ways.
SUSPICION – when the mind begins, however slightly, to incline towards one of the contradictories, without definitely accepting it or rejecting the opposite judgment.
Decisive State of Mind
OPINION – when the mind definitely decides for one of two contradictory judgments having reasons for its decisions, bur realizing that, after all, the opposite judgment maybe the true one. Opinion involves definite pronouncement of judgment by the mind, but the judgment is not wholly.
CERTITUDE – is the unwavering assent of the mind to known truth. It implies no fear that; after all, the opposite may be true; instead it rigorously excludes such fear.
ERROR – the state of the mind in which that false is judged to be true, or that which is true is judged to be false.
Plato wrote, Socrates, the most influential philosopher in the history of western of thought, died knowing only one thing about the truth, that is, he did not know anything about the truth.
Truth is the final cause of philosophy. All the branches of philosophy endeavors to know the truth. However, truth is too elusive. The quest for truth has started long before the advent of philosophy and this quest continue until this post modern period.
But for purposes of the present discussion, let try to “understand” truth from the standpoint of Epistemology.
2. EPISTEMOLOGY
The word epistemology is derived from the two Greek words Epistem (episthmh) + Logos (logoz). Epistem means knowledge while Logos means science. Hence, it is etymologically defined as science of knowledge.
As a branch of philosophy, epistemology is defined as that which studies the sources, validity and limits of knowledge. It inquires into perception, meaning and truth.
Epistemology investigates the human knowledge itself from the standpoint if certainty, validity and truth – value of such knowledge.
3. ASIDE FROM KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS NECESSARILY TRUE, THERE IS ALSO KNOWLEDGE WHICH IS CONTINGENTLY TRUE.
Necessary truth is when there is a necessary conformity between the object and the knowledge.
Contingent truth is when sometimes there is no conformity or there exists a conformity between the object and knowledge.
Knowledge is an inner grasp and possession of reality or of an object.
Knowledge is necessarily true from the very perfection and nature of the object when it reacts certainly about the object which cannot be otherwise.
Knowledge is contingently true when somebody may affirm that someone for example he knows that he is accustomed to study such hour. Having presumed, therefore, that he is studying, the affirmation is but only contingently true; for some proposition can also be pronounced, even if he, on accounts of some other later besides the habit, is playing, and in this case, the affirmation did not conform to the object.
4. TRUTH IS AN ABSOLUTE THING
Truth is the conformity of thought and thing.
Absolute means perfect in itself; fixed; unchanging.
A thing is said to be absolutely true when it does not change with times, place and persons.
But, truth does not change with times, places, and persons.
Therefore, truth is an absolute thing.
a. This could be proven by experience. For example, it was once believed that the earth is flat; nevertheless, the earth is not flat. Nor was it flat when it was believed to be so.
What was true when such belief prevailed, is still true, and will be true forever. A mistaken judgment has been corrected but truth has not changed.
b. There are also statements which is fix in a point of time and it must always be understood with reference to that fixed point; such as twelve years ago I said “I am a little boy,’ and the statement was true. If pronounce the same statement today, it is not true. What was said twelve years ago was true. It will forever be true and will remain unchanged.
c. THERE ARE SIX STATES OF THE MIND WITH REFERENCE TO TRUTH
Truth is the conformity of thought and thing otherwise stated as the agreement between the judgment of the mind and objective thing judged.
State of the mind is the condition of the mind in reference to truth.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE STATES OF THE MIND
a. An indecisive state of mind is when the mind does not give a definite or positive judgment.
b. A decisive state of mind is when the mind has already made a decision or judgment and rests in it.
Indecisive State of Mind
IGNORANCE – the lack of knowledge in a subject capable of possessing it.
a. Privative Ignorance – lack of knowledge which one ought to have and reasonably be expected to have and so indicated a real privation in the subject.
b. Negative Ignorance – ignorance of knowledge which one is not reasonably expected to possess, so constitutes no real privation in the subject.
DOUBT – when the mind hesitates between contradictory judgments, unable to deliver either one or the other is true. Doubt, unlike ignorance, involves the presence of some knowledge in the mind.
a. Positive Doubt – the mind is in doubt by reason of apparently equal argument or reasons for each of the two contradictory judgments.
b. Negative Doubt – the mind is in doubt when there appears no good argument or reason for deciding either ways.
SUSPICION – when the mind begins, however slightly, to incline towards one of the contradictories, without definitely accepting it or rejecting the opposite judgment.
Decisive State of Mind
OPINION – when the mind definitely decides for one of two contradictory judgments having reasons for its decisions, bur realizing that, after all, the opposite judgment maybe the true one. Opinion involves definite pronouncement of judgment by the mind, but the judgment is not wholly.
CERTITUDE – is the unwavering assent of the mind to known truth. It implies no fear that; after all, the opposite may be true; instead it rigorously excludes such fear.
ERROR – the state of the mind in which that false is judged to be true, or that which is true is judged to be false.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
CHAPTER IV: ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY
1. BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA:
Nature of Philosophy: Their philosophy is more religious in character for it is accompanied with their polytheistic belief. For them, every object or every force in nature possessed a spirit (Zi) which could be controlled by the magical exorcism of Shaman, a sorcerer priest. Some of these spirits has been elevated to the dignity of gods. That’s why, they had Anu (the sky), Mul – ge, or Enum (the earth) and Hea (the deep). Among these gods, El was considered as the supreme. But later on during the reign of Assurbanipal, this primitive symtem of theology began to develop into a system of Cosmology when they fostered this belief that the universe emerged from an eternal chaos of waters.
2. EGYPT
Belief on Man and Moral Ethics: Man has three (3) parts namely, the Khat (body), the Khu (spirit), which is the emanation from divine essence, and the soul which is sometimes represented as Ka, living in the mummy or statue of the deceased and sometimes also as Ba (disembodied soul), which ultimately returns to its home in the lower world. They believed in the immortality of the human soul and the day of resurrected wherein the soul, body and spirit shall be reunited again.
3. CHINA
Nature of Philosophy: Before the time of the sages in China, there was a state religion which worshipped the spirits of various kinds and Thian (heaven) as the supreme Lord (Shang – ti). These spirits silently and simply yet inexorably carried out their work in the order of the world. The Chinese always inclined to look towards the past rather than towards the future. They have a high regard on the continuation of the family life which the individual actions were reflected back and made to ennoble a whole line of ancestors. They thought less on the personal immortality in the life after death.
But Chinese Philosophy was highlighted by the two great sages, Confucius and Lao-Tzu. The former told men what to do but discouraged the effort to think out the causes and reasons of things while the latter went to the opposite by advocating the practice of contemplation. He thought deeply about the world and its origin into a materialistic pantheism and about man’s duty of harmonizing himself with nature by imitating Tao.
Morality: both the two taught that conduct is to be guided by a knowledge of the unalterable discriminating, intelligent order of heaven and earth. However, they were distinct in their means to obtain the knowledge of the eternal order on which morality depends for Confucius encouraged the study of writings and institutions of antiquity, while Lao – Tzu advocated the speculative contemplation of Tao.
4. INDIA
The Indian philosophy is contained in the Upanishads. This philosophy can be summarized into six points of doctrine:
ü The identity of all being in Brahman.
ü The existence of Maya (illusion), to which is referred everything which is not Brahman.
ü The excellence of the knowledge of all things in Brahman or Atman.
ü The immortality and transmigration of soul.
ü Mysticism and deliverance of bondage. In this, they recognized the existence of evil and suffering and so they are concerned with the problem of deliverance by means of knowledge.
But with the rise of Buddhism this problem was given a solution through the abolition of desire which is the cause of suffering
Belief on Man: man undergoes a series of purification through that transmigration until he is purified and is proclaimed to be in union with Brahman or Atman.
5. PERSIA
Their philosophy is again religious in character. Their religion was at first monotheists in tendency due to the influence of the Aryan invaders. But this monotheistic tendency gradually developed into dualism when they accepted two important divinities. Devas, recognized as evil deities and Ahuras, as deities friendly to man. This dualistic conception was furter developed by Zoroaster, a great religious reformer into two principles of good and evil in the universe. The good principle is called Ahura – Mazda (Ormuzd) while the evil principle is called Anra – Mainyu (Ahriman). The former is conceived as light and day, the latter as darkness and night. There is battle between these two opposing principles. But at the end of twelve thousand (12,000) years, the present cosmic period will come to an end and Ormuzd will finally triumph over Ahriman.
Belief on Man and Moral Duties: man’s duty is to worship Ormuzd by prayer, sacrifice and the oblation of Home (juice of sacred plant). It is also his duty to cultivate the soil and to promote the like and growth of Ormuzd’s creatures and to destroy the works of Ahriman.
Nature of Philosophy: Their philosophy is more religious in character for it is accompanied with their polytheistic belief. For them, every object or every force in nature possessed a spirit (Zi) which could be controlled by the magical exorcism of Shaman, a sorcerer priest. Some of these spirits has been elevated to the dignity of gods. That’s why, they had Anu (the sky), Mul – ge, or Enum (the earth) and Hea (the deep). Among these gods, El was considered as the supreme. But later on during the reign of Assurbanipal, this primitive symtem of theology began to develop into a system of Cosmology when they fostered this belief that the universe emerged from an eternal chaos of waters.
2. EGYPT
Belief on Man and Moral Ethics: Man has three (3) parts namely, the Khat (body), the Khu (spirit), which is the emanation from divine essence, and the soul which is sometimes represented as Ka, living in the mummy or statue of the deceased and sometimes also as Ba (disembodied soul), which ultimately returns to its home in the lower world. They believed in the immortality of the human soul and the day of resurrected wherein the soul, body and spirit shall be reunited again.
3. CHINA
Nature of Philosophy: Before the time of the sages in China, there was a state religion which worshipped the spirits of various kinds and Thian (heaven) as the supreme Lord (Shang – ti). These spirits silently and simply yet inexorably carried out their work in the order of the world. The Chinese always inclined to look towards the past rather than towards the future. They have a high regard on the continuation of the family life which the individual actions were reflected back and made to ennoble a whole line of ancestors. They thought less on the personal immortality in the life after death.
But Chinese Philosophy was highlighted by the two great sages, Confucius and Lao-Tzu. The former told men what to do but discouraged the effort to think out the causes and reasons of things while the latter went to the opposite by advocating the practice of contemplation. He thought deeply about the world and its origin into a materialistic pantheism and about man’s duty of harmonizing himself with nature by imitating Tao.
Morality: both the two taught that conduct is to be guided by a knowledge of the unalterable discriminating, intelligent order of heaven and earth. However, they were distinct in their means to obtain the knowledge of the eternal order on which morality depends for Confucius encouraged the study of writings and institutions of antiquity, while Lao – Tzu advocated the speculative contemplation of Tao.
4. INDIA
The Indian philosophy is contained in the Upanishads. This philosophy can be summarized into six points of doctrine:
ü The identity of all being in Brahman.
ü The existence of Maya (illusion), to which is referred everything which is not Brahman.
ü The excellence of the knowledge of all things in Brahman or Atman.
ü The immortality and transmigration of soul.
ü Mysticism and deliverance of bondage. In this, they recognized the existence of evil and suffering and so they are concerned with the problem of deliverance by means of knowledge.
But with the rise of Buddhism this problem was given a solution through the abolition of desire which is the cause of suffering
Belief on Man: man undergoes a series of purification through that transmigration until he is purified and is proclaimed to be in union with Brahman or Atman.
5. PERSIA
Their philosophy is again religious in character. Their religion was at first monotheists in tendency due to the influence of the Aryan invaders. But this monotheistic tendency gradually developed into dualism when they accepted two important divinities. Devas, recognized as evil deities and Ahuras, as deities friendly to man. This dualistic conception was furter developed by Zoroaster, a great religious reformer into two principles of good and evil in the universe. The good principle is called Ahura – Mazda (Ormuzd) while the evil principle is called Anra – Mainyu (Ahriman). The former is conceived as light and day, the latter as darkness and night. There is battle between these two opposing principles. But at the end of twelve thousand (12,000) years, the present cosmic period will come to an end and Ormuzd will finally triumph over Ahriman.
Belief on Man and Moral Duties: man’s duty is to worship Ormuzd by prayer, sacrifice and the oblation of Home (juice of sacred plant). It is also his duty to cultivate the soil and to promote the like and growth of Ormuzd’s creatures and to destroy the works of Ahriman.
Retrospect
The second period of the Greek philosophy is characterized as Subjective – Objective philosophy.
Socrates (Concept) – concerned with the inquiry into the conditions of scientific knowledge and the basis of Ethics.
Plato (Idea) – scientific study of reality; a system of Metaphysics.
Aristotle (Essence) – the fundamental dualism of matter and form.
Socrates (Concept) – concerned with the inquiry into the conditions of scientific knowledge and the basis of Ethics.
Plato (Idea) – scientific study of reality; a system of Metaphysics.
Aristotle (Essence) – the fundamental dualism of matter and form.
Aristotle
He was born in the year 384 B.C. at Stagira, Chalcidice, Macedonia. He was a noble person & high – minded, thoroughly earnest, devoted to truth. He was diligent and attentive pupil of Plato for 20 years; after the latter’s death he founded his own school “the Lyceum”. He died in the year 323.
His writings: Logical Treatises (Organon); Metaphysical Treatises; Physical; Psychological; Ethical; Rhetorical and Poetical Treatises.
One of his philosophies is his philosophy on knowledge. Originally Aristotle concurred with the idea of Plato on the theory of Knowledge. In fact he wrote decisive treatises on the said matters when he was still in the academy of Plato. However, when he left the academy, Aristotle criticized his master’s philosophy by introducing a new set of idea on knowledge. He believed that “nothing comes from the mind without passing through the senses.” This philosophy is far from Plato’s philosophy. If you recall, Plato believed that we have innate knowledge.
Aristotle argued that we acquired knowledge through the process of abstraction. Our senses perceived the things and through the process of abstraction we acquired idea. Thus, ideas come into our mind not because we have learned this in the realm of ideas but through abstraction of the things by the our external senses.
Historical Position
1. His philosophy is the synthesis and culmination of the speculations of Pre-Socratic and Socratic schools.
2. The first one who formulates the theory of syllogism as a series of rules of validity
3. Founder of Logic, Author if the First Treaties on Scientific Psychology, First Natural Historian, Father of Biological Science.
4. It was left for scholastic philosophy to add the pinnacle to the structure which Aristotle had formulated and carried as far as human thoughts could build unaided.
His writings: Logical Treatises (Organon); Metaphysical Treatises; Physical; Psychological; Ethical; Rhetorical and Poetical Treatises.
One of his philosophies is his philosophy on knowledge. Originally Aristotle concurred with the idea of Plato on the theory of Knowledge. In fact he wrote decisive treatises on the said matters when he was still in the academy of Plato. However, when he left the academy, Aristotle criticized his master’s philosophy by introducing a new set of idea on knowledge. He believed that “nothing comes from the mind without passing through the senses.” This philosophy is far from Plato’s philosophy. If you recall, Plato believed that we have innate knowledge.
Aristotle argued that we acquired knowledge through the process of abstraction. Our senses perceived the things and through the process of abstraction we acquired idea. Thus, ideas come into our mind not because we have learned this in the realm of ideas but through abstraction of the things by the our external senses.
Historical Position
1. His philosophy is the synthesis and culmination of the speculations of Pre-Socratic and Socratic schools.
2. The first one who formulates the theory of syllogism as a series of rules of validity
3. Founder of Logic, Author if the First Treaties on Scientific Psychology, First Natural Historian, Father of Biological Science.
4. It was left for scholastic philosophy to add the pinnacle to the structure which Aristotle had formulated and carried as far as human thoughts could build unaided.
Plato
Plato (427 – 347) was born in Athens, Greece, and his young mind turned towards idealistic themes of organization. He devoted much of his attention to beauty and he was for eight years a disciple of Socrates. He was twenty nine years old when Plato drank the deadly hemlock. He founded his own school “the Academy.” Phaedrus, Protagoras, The Banquet, Gorgias, The Republic, Timaeus, Theaetatus and Phaedo were Plato’s authentic writings.
*The allegory of the Cave: Far and away the most influential passage in Western philosophy ever written is Plato's discussion of the prisoners of the cave and his abstract presentation of the divided line. For Plato, human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is what surrounds us: what we see, what we hear, what we experience; this visible world is a world of change and uncertainty. The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging products of human reason: anything arising from reason alone, such as abstract definitions or mathematics, makes up this intelligible world, which is the world of reality. The intelligible world contains the eternal "Forms" (in Greek, idea ) of things; the visible world is the imperfect and changing manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. For example, the "Form" or "Idea" of a horse is intelligible, abstract, and applies to all horses; this Form never changes, even though horses vary wildly among themselves—the Form of a horse would never change even if every horse in the world were to vanish. An individual horse is a physical, changing object that can easily cease to be a horse (if, for instance, it's dropped out of a fifty story building); the Form of a horse, or "horseness," never changes. As a physical object, a horse only makes sense in that it can be referred to the "Form" or "Idea" of horseness.
Plato imagines these two worlds, the sensible world and the intelligible world, as existing on a line that can be divided in the middle: the lower part of the line consists of the visible world and the upper part of the line makes up the intelligible world. Each half of the line relates to a certain type of knowledge: of the visible world, we can only have opinion (in Greek: doxa); of the intelligible world we achieve "knowledge" (in Greek, epistemŽ). Each of these divisions can also be divided in two. The visible or changing world can be divided into a lower region, "illusion," which is made up of shadows, reflections, paintings, poetry, etc., and an upper region, "belief," which refers to any kind of knowledge of things that change, such as individual horses. "Belief" may be true some or most of the time but occasionally is wrong (since things in the visible world change); belief is practical and may serve as a relatively reliable guide to life but doesn't really involve thinking things out to the point of certainty. The upper region can be divided into, on the lower end, "reason," which is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and "intelligence," which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good.
* The allegory of the cave is found in the Republic, one of Plato’s authentic writings.
*The allegory of the Cave: Far and away the most influential passage in Western philosophy ever written is Plato's discussion of the prisoners of the cave and his abstract presentation of the divided line. For Plato, human beings live in a world of visible and intelligible things. The visible world is what surrounds us: what we see, what we hear, what we experience; this visible world is a world of change and uncertainty. The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging products of human reason: anything arising from reason alone, such as abstract definitions or mathematics, makes up this intelligible world, which is the world of reality. The intelligible world contains the eternal "Forms" (in Greek, idea ) of things; the visible world is the imperfect and changing manifestation in this world of these unchanging forms. For example, the "Form" or "Idea" of a horse is intelligible, abstract, and applies to all horses; this Form never changes, even though horses vary wildly among themselves—the Form of a horse would never change even if every horse in the world were to vanish. An individual horse is a physical, changing object that can easily cease to be a horse (if, for instance, it's dropped out of a fifty story building); the Form of a horse, or "horseness," never changes. As a physical object, a horse only makes sense in that it can be referred to the "Form" or "Idea" of horseness.
Plato imagines these two worlds, the sensible world and the intelligible world, as existing on a line that can be divided in the middle: the lower part of the line consists of the visible world and the upper part of the line makes up the intelligible world. Each half of the line relates to a certain type of knowledge: of the visible world, we can only have opinion (in Greek: doxa); of the intelligible world we achieve "knowledge" (in Greek, epistemŽ). Each of these divisions can also be divided in two. The visible or changing world can be divided into a lower region, "illusion," which is made up of shadows, reflections, paintings, poetry, etc., and an upper region, "belief," which refers to any kind of knowledge of things that change, such as individual horses. "Belief" may be true some or most of the time but occasionally is wrong (since things in the visible world change); belief is practical and may serve as a relatively reliable guide to life but doesn't really involve thinking things out to the point of certainty. The upper region can be divided into, on the lower end, "reason," which is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and "intelligence," which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good.
* The allegory of the cave is found in the Republic, one of Plato’s authentic writings.
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