EXAM CH 2- 5

Jacob Lewis
1. How did philosophy change after Aristotle? (1) For each group (Stoics & Skeptics)
explain their goal and how they were to achieve it. (4)
After Aristotle, a shift occurred from how to set up perfect societies to the importance of

the individual and how they could live out happy lives. The stoics believed that you

should aim for happiness through wisdom and that we should seek to control only what

we can, our emotions. The skeptics said to aim for tranquility. They said to do this

through suspending judgement refrain from denying or affirming anything and that

reason can be easily tricked.

2. Explain Aristotle's doctrine of the Golden Mean. Give two examples of moral
virtues and show how they illustrate this doctrine. (4)
The golden mean is we need to find the middle between over consuming or over

participating and under consuming or under participating. Temperance is virtue in

between gluttony and starvation, the definition of the golden mean. Courage is another

one that sits between cowardice and rashness. The middle of these are then based on

personal experience and differ based on everyone.

3. What is Aristotle's Doctrine of Categories? (3)

It is a way of classifying objects and helps to show how something exists is realized that it

does exist. It also exists outside of the mind and was not just created by the mind in order

to make sense of things.

4. Explain Plato's theory of knowledge using the allegory of the cave (3 pts), the
divided line (4 pts), and his doctrine of Forms (3 pts). (Total 10 pts)
Plato believed that there were universal truths that everyone has the ability to understand

and make sense of. The allegory of the cave takes this a step forward by saying that most

people live in darkness, without knowledge, and that only through education is it possible

to instill that knowledge and live in the light. He urged his students to turn away from the

deceptive world of change and appetite that would cause intellectual blockage. Trough

the divided line metaphor Plato discussed the levels of knowledge we could attain. The

lowest level is the imagining level, where we take appearances as reality. The next form

is believing which is seeing the object but still being able to debate on it. The next step

would be thinking which requires us to go beyond our senses and therefore move into the

intelligible world instead of the visible world. The final step is perfect intelligence where

we see the unity between every object at once. Plato’s form doctrine is essentially stating

that everything we are capable of seeing is a symbolic representation of something that

truly does exist but s outside of our grasp. This implies that there exists an original of

everything we have drawn symbols for, for example the triangle.

5. What did Epicurus mean by the "pleasure principle"? (3)

You experience pleasure in almost all things and that human beings will aim to what is

most pleasurable. Epicurus also tried to maintain the idea that control is necessary and

regulating our desires is important. This was urged by him defining different types of

pleasure in very specific ways based upon what they do to you.

6. Describe Aristotle's conception of happiness. (2 pts)
Aristotle’s concept of happiness is that by doing what is morally right we will be happy.

He also states that happiness is the end everyone should seek as it is self-sufficient, final,

and attainable, the criteria he set forth for the ultimate end of human action.

7. Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle's idea of the soul. (3 pts)
Plato’s idea of the soul is that it is made of three parts, appetite, reason, and spirit.

Reason has control over the spirit and appetite in a normal example. This idea

acknowledges the physical desires, the moral desires and also the intellectual desires.

Aristotle also decided on the breakage into three except he created three separate souls,

the vegetative, sensitive and rational. The first state is just that of the physical sense of

surviving. This is similar to Plato’s appetite of the soul which craves physical pleasures.

The sensitive soul builds on top of the vegetative soul because first you must survive

before you are capable of feeling. This does not connect with Plato’s spirit which is the

action to do what is moral. The final soul is the rational soul which adds thinking into the

mix. This mirrors the reason because in order to have reason we must be able to think.

Ultimately the main differences is that in Aristotle their must be a building in order to go

into the rational soul. In Plato’s all parts exist and the reason is to control all three.
8. Using an example (do NOT use the example from the text book) explain Aristotle's
"Four Cause Doctrine." (8)
The four causes give the very basic information about and object. For example, a

computer. The first question is “what is it?”, a computer. The next is “what is it made

of?”, electronics and plastics. The next is “who is it made by?”, computer makers and

factories. The final is “what purpose does it serve?”, to assist with learning or

entertainment. Fundamentally it helps to identify what an object is and its purpose.

9. Describe Plato's moral philosophy. (2)

Plato’s moral philosophy is that because we can be tricked in the physical world we can

be tricked morally as well. He concluded that we need to have our soul under control, the

spirit and the appetite must be guided by reason. He also stated that we find a good life

when we have inner harmony, well-being and function. He compared this often to being

efficient at what your purpose is.

10. Who were the Sophists? Briefly explain the ideas of Protagoras, Gorgias, and
Thrasymachus. (4)
The sophists were travelling teachers or as their name means intellectuals. They came to

Athens and asked questions regarding their rules and laws and were they just practical

or out of prejudice. Protagoras believed that each person is limited by his on perception

and that the same object can create completely different feelings toward it. Gorgias

argued that there was no truth. He used the idea that there is nothing, if there was

something it is incomprehensible, and since it is incomprehensible, we cannot talk about

it. Thrasymachus believed that unjust people were more intelligent and that by nature it

pays off because unjust people rule countries. He also argued that every law across ever

country is considered “right” because it was created by the ruling party therefore it is

right by that nature.

11. What was the main concern of Socrates and his teaching? How was it different from
the Sophists? (4)
Socrates was aimed at finding the foundation of a good life by arriving at the truth. This

was done by linking knowledge and doing so that knowing the truth is doing the truth.

The sophists believed that either side of a story could be advanced equally and that there

is no truth in anything. Socrates used to argue in order to create concepts of truth rather

than to actually prove his original idea.

12. What does it mean to be an intellectual midwife? (2)

An intellectual midwife is the use of a conversation in order to attain reliable knowledge.

The present parties would be asked to explain a topic. Socrates would often appear to be

completely ignorant of the topic in order to draw out the full knowledge of the party or to

find contradictions within their ideas. An intellectual midwife is therefore the

conversation itself as a middle man.