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Transcript
Jacob Bunce PHIL 2200 Final 1) What is hermeneutics? How does it relate to Ancient Philosophy? Hermeneutics means to interpret text to extract experience and meaning. When reading ancient philosophy, we use hermeneutics to understand what the Greeks were writing about. We depend on our interpretations when reading ancient philosophy because the ancient Greeks are dead so we can’t ask them what they meant. 2) How would you characterize the “Greek University” before Plato’s academy? Before Plato’s academy, the “Greek University” was the theater. Greeks would watch plays performed in the theater, and from the plays they would learn their morals and values through the stories told by the plays. And so Greek education was communicated through story telling. 3) What does “cosmos” mean in Ancient thought, contrast with the modern concept of “universe”? The cosmos refers to a “universe” in which the Earth is at the center. The cosmos is surrounded by a ring of fire. Between the fire and the space around the Earth is a sort of “cover sheet” that is the sky. There are small holes in the sheet through which the light from the ring of fire shines through… these are the stars. This differs from the modern concept of the universe in that the Earth is not at the center, and stars are planetary bodies instead of holes in a sheet, and there is no ring of fire. 4) What does “philo-sophia” literally mean? How would this be different from geometry? How is it similar? It literally means “love of wisdom.” Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, not the possession of wisdom. There are no hard facts in philosophy, only questions and the desire to find those facts which you cannot have. This differs from geometry in that geometry is an exacting science that has deals in many hard facts. However, it is similar to geometry in that both disciplines attempt to explain things in the world, it’s just that philosophy uses questions whereas geometry uses math. 5) Relate your previous answer to Heraclitus’ fragment “being loves to hide.” The fragment, “being loves to hide,” ties in with the definition of philosophy. The fragment refers to the fact that knowledge is not so easily had. The “being” of things is not so easily seen, just like philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom but you cannot even possess wisdom. 6) What is the difference between religious and philosophical knowledge? Religious knowledge is accepted on faith and is accepted as true. Philosophical knowledge is not so easily had. If you base your knowledge on faith, the philosopher would question your faith. The philosopher would not proclaim to know anything as absolutely true, unlike the religious person. 7) What is the place of human beings in the cosmos? Humans are part of the never-ending cycles in the cosmos. Humans are born and die, and then returned to earth which spawns the plants which feed the animals, etc. Greek culture is replete with circular cycles. The entire cosmos is a cycle of which humans are a part. 8) How do human beings relate to the workings “in measure” of the cosmos? The motion of humans is a driving force in the cosmos. Motion is existence. If we do not move or interact or think, then we are nothing in the cosmos. It is by a measure of activity that humans relate to the cosmos. 9) Differentiate “perception,” “opinion,” and “knowledge” as discussed in class. In Theaetetus, knowledge is related to perception and opinion. It is argued that to perceive something is to know it. However, knowing something is not necessarily knowing the truth about that thing… your knowledge might be false. And so knowledge is related to opinion because opinions are not necessarily true. 10) Define “logos.” Logos means “counting.” It refers to something like the “science” of a thing… the factual nature of that thing. The logos are the principles governing the cosmos. It refers to human reasoning about the cosmos. 11) Who was Parmenides? What are the limits of the logos according to Parmenides (refer to specific fragment)? Parmenides was a Greek philosopher and poet. He teaches that you cannot think about something which does not exist. To think about something is to interpret and form opinions about that thing, which is the limit of our understanding. And therefore the logos are limited by human opinion (1.27): There is need for you to learn all things - both the unshaken heart of wellpersuasive Truth and the opinions of mortals, in which there is no true reliance. 12) Give two basic differences between Socrates and Plato? Also, how are they releated? Socrates was Plato’s teacher. Socrates was vocal in the community, but he was executed for it. And so Plato was more passive in his teachings. Plato wrote dialogues that teach philosophy through stories instead of through more direct and vocal methods like Socrates. In this way Plato was able to protect himself from persecution by the state because he wasn’t directly doing the teaching so much as were the characters in his dialogues. 13) What is the Theatetus about? Give two answers and relate them. Theaetetus is a dialogue in which Socrates and Theaetetus engage in a philosophical discussion about the question, what is knowledge. It is also about the philosophical process of questioning that which we accept as true. In the beginning, Theaetetus thought he knew what knowledge was; he thought he knew about certain things like geometry. In the end, through the philosophical process of questioning, Theaetetus is made to realize that he doesn’t know. 14) Who is Thales in the Theatetus? What is the point of his story? Thales’ story in Theaetetus was a story about a philosopher who fell in a well because he was so absorbed in philosophical thought. The point of the story was to convey to Theaetetus the hazards of this line of thinking. A philosophical person can become so absorbed in thought that he will wander aimlessly and look the fool. 15) Identify three specific characteristics of Aristotle’s works. Also explain how these make his works different from Plato’s. Aristotle seems much more direct in his teachings. Plato writes dialogues which teach vicariously through the words of the characters while Aristotle is more, “this is how it is.” Aristotle is also good at illustrating his points with example, while Plato is more subtle with applications. Along those same lines, Plato tends to deal with high level questions whereas Aristotle deals more with lower level questions… this makes Aristotle’s works more applicable than Plato. 16) What does “logos” mean for Aristotle? This was somewhat unclear, but Aristotle seems to tend towards a definition of “logic that is limited by human expression.” He talks about the substance of things and other fundamentals. 17) How would you explain to a friend the difference between ancient philosophy and the modern world? Give one specific example. In the modern world we are concerned with material goods and other superficial things. Ancient philosophy deals with the meaning behind things, driving forces, and other fundamentals. Moderns use science to derive facts about the world, whereas ancient philosophers use questions to pursue facts which they can never reach. For example, a mathematician might claim that a triangle has 3 sides, while the philosopher would ask how we can know that.