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Aristotle “The Philosopher” Powerpoint Templates Page 1 Some Background b. northern Greece 384 BCE Studied at Plato’s Academy from the age of 17 (for about 20 yrs.) Believed “All men possess by nature the desire to know.” i.e., universe was there to learn from & open to investigation From a long line of doctors A predecessor of modern scientific investigation Powerpoint Templates Page 2 Influenced by Plato? • Yes, at first • Eventually developed his own views • Often disagreed with Plato • May have hoped to lead Plato’s Academy • Tutored Alexander the Great Powerpoint Templates Page 3 Aristotle’s School • The Lyceum, after the gardens where Socrates went to think • Aristotle would walk & talk with his students • Lectured on logic, 1st principles in a.m. • Spoke on rhetoric, politics, ethics… to public in p.m. • Fled Athens “Lest they sin twice against philosophy” Powerpoint Templates Page 4 Theory of True Knowledge • Agreed with Socrates & Plato: it IS possible to know what is real in the universe • Real truth is unchanging Powerpoint Templates Page 5 Aristotle Disagreed with Plato • On Plato’s view of forms / ideas • Recall: Plato believed that perfect, eternal forms existed for all things • Aristotle couldn’t accept that forms/ideas existed separately from the things themselves. Powerpoint Templates Page 6 Aristotle Believed in Sense Knowledge • Senses allow us to experience specific objects • From specific objects universal concepts of objects • We don’t need to move beyond the things themselves to develop general universal ideas • Forms/ideas reside in Powerpoint Templates particular entities Page 7 Aristotle’s View • We develop the idea: – Of human being • by observing many human beings – Of a sunny day by • living through many sunny days • It is not necessary to separate ideas from their physical representations Powerpoint Templates Page 8 Another Disagreement • Plato believed that sense knowledge was inferior to reasoned knowledge (it was changeable) • Aristotle encouraged the use of senses Powerpoint Templates Page 9 Disagreement continued • Senses are used to build general knowledge universal concepts (senses are accurate in the image they give us) • We don’t have innate ideas Powerpoint Templates Page 10 The “bottom line” • Plato’s view Rationalism (mind & reason are main source of knowledge of the world) • Aristotle’s view closer to Empiricism (Senses are the main source of knowledge) Powerpoint Templates Page 11 Some footnotes on Greek Philosophy • Greek Philosophy is so influential since: – Greece was at the crossroads of Asia, Africa & Europe – Athenian society was open to new ideas – Democracy & public debate flourished • Other “thinkers” Sophists – there was no absolute right/wrong only what could be defended with argument Powerpoint Templates Page 12 Hypatia The Philsopher in Alexandria • From Alexandria, Egypt • Studied in Athens • The head of Alexandria’s NeoPlatonist philosophical school • Wrote much, e.g. The Astronomical Canon • Invented many things: astrolabe, water-distillation device, mechanism to measure specific gravity… Powerpoint Templates Page 13 Hypatia continued • Popular with public, political officials jealous of her power stoned to death at 45 • Little left of her writing today • “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.” • “To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing.” Powerpoint Templates Page 14