Zac Tucker

12/12/10

Philosophy

Reading Summaries

Innate Knowledge

Innate Knowledge is about Socrates’ explanation to Meno about innate

knowledge. Socrates argues that knowledge is already known and must be recollected in

the mind. This is because the soul has been born multiple times and has had a great

amount of experience. He tries to prove this through a conversation with a boy in which

he asks him various geometric questions. The boy manages to answer many of his

question which proves that Socrates doesn’t need to explain things to help him recollect.

His immortal soul, and its experience and knowledge, has allowed him to answer

Socrates’ questions.

Knowledge vs. Opinion

The fundamental difference Plato makes between knowledge and opinion is that

knowledge is acquired face while opinion is relative. True opinions are fine and useful as

long as they stay with us. However, they don’t stay and depart from the mind. Therefore,

opinion only has value when we find a way to keep them down by working out the

purpose of our opinion through reason. The process of understanding our opinions,

according to Plato, is the same as recollection because we are recalling the experience
that brought that opinion to us. Unlike opinion, true knowledge is knowledge of the

forms, eternal, unchangeable realities that act as the true objects of knowledge.

Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave is Plato’s way of describing the types of people capable

of finding truth in reality. Those who are not prepared to find truth are those that are

trapped in the cave. They only know the shadows around them in the cave and will never

have any knowledge of the outside world. The philosopher is the one who will turn away

from the cave and step out into the world, going against the crowd that stays within the

cave. He will turn towards the sun and have truth be revealed to him.

The Immortal Soul

Plato states that the soul is a separate entity from the body. This is mostly because

the body is the changeable part of man. It is subject to the world of flux while the soul is

unchangeable and originates from the world of forms. They cannot be in harmony

because of this fact. The purpose of philosophers is to find a way to separate the soul

from the body. Therefore, philosophers have a natural desire to die so that they can reach

this end. True philosophers are always occupied in the practice of dying, and they believe

that death is not a bad thing like most of mankind does.

Morality and Happiness

There are various classes of good. The second class includes knowledge, sight,

health, etc that are desirable for their results. The third class includes money-making
methods, which do us good but can be disagreeable. The highest class is the class that

includes acts that bring good to both the person and yield good results. This highest class

includes justice and morality. Plato goes on to say that man, by nature, thinks justice is

evil. We do justice by accident and then, out of amazement of the results, we continue to

do justice because of our desire to relive the results of our just actions.

Obligation to Respect the Laws of the State

In this reading, Socrates is speaking to Crito in prison after being asked about

escaping prison and execution. One of the major arguments that Socrates makes against

breaking the law is that as a citizen who was educated and trained under the city’s

guidance and services, it is his obligation to remain loyal to the state and its laws. If

Socrates were to break the law, he would also see himself as going against the

agreements and covenants that he made with the state as its subject, covenants that he had

70 years to think about. In general, Socrates says that man is a subject to the state under

which he resides and, therefore, must obey the law.

Art and Imitation

It is Plato’s belief that “poetical imitations are ruinous to the understanding of the

hearers, and that the knowledge of their nature is the only antidote to them.” He is saying

that art and poetry are not valuable in the pursuit of knowledge. Art. he says, is untrue

because it deals only in the world of appearances and doesn’t create anything real. Art

can tell us nothing about the origin or purpose of an object, it can only tell us the object
itself. There is no real purpose to art and it only manages to cloud the mind with useless

observations.

Demonstrative Knowledge

True knowledge depends on premises which are true, primary, immediate, and

better know than the conclusion. This is Aristotle’s description of demonstrative

knowledge, knowledge that is demonstrated through logical evidence. He warns that we

must not be fooled by the ideas of innate knowledge or knowledge that has no premises.

His knowledge is based on science and observation. Science abandons myth in the

attempt to find an answer to reality. Our senses are the source of knowledge based on

memories and experiences and we gain knowledge by using our senses in a process of

logical observation.

Individual Substance

A substance is defined as that which is neither said of a subject nor in a subject.

What this means is that Aristotle sees beings as defined by their individual substance and

not the supposed eternal form to which they belong. Substance is a description which

Aristotle gives to describe something’s individuality and is essential in defining the

object in question. There is, however, a secondary substance used to define something’s

species. In the case of man, a specific individual is the primary substance while human is

the secondary substance. Finally, just as substances are used to describe a single object,

they do not suggest any sort of contradiction between substances.

Soul and Body, Form and Matter

In this reading, Aristotle goes over his idea of the soul. Too him, the soul and

body are united. This is contrary to Plato, who said that the soul and the body are two

separate entities. The soul, in Aristotle’s context, is simply the potentiality of an object

becoming an actuality. For instance, the eye is the part of the body in which sight is a

potential. Therefore, in an object in which the body and soul are united, the eye has the

power to see. The soul describes the exact same object as the body, but the soul itself

implies an actual rather than a potential.

Four Types of Explanation

Aristotle has four ways of explaining an object’s cause. The first is the material

cause, which is what a thing is made out of and what it persists to be. The formal cause is

the form or original pattern that causes an object. The efficient cause is the source of

something’s changing. Finally, the final cause is the end or sake for which something is

done. This final cause is especially important because the final cause is something’s

purpose, which Aristotle places a great emphasis on.

Ethical Virtue

This reading is all about virtues. Virtues are based on habit because ethics is a

lifetime operation. What we do all throughout our life is what defines our ethics. A virtue

is a good habit and a vice is a bad habit. You must constantly apply good practices into

your life for the purpose of living a virtuous life. The motivation for humans to employ

good ethics is that happiness comes from practicing the ethical virtues.
Inequality, Freedom and Slavery

Freedom is based on Aristotle’s system of potential and actual. Whatever a

person’s potential is in regards to the level of freedom they have limits their ability to be

free. A slave’s function is to serve and a slave will never go beyond that in actuality

because their potential is limited to being a slave. This whole reading suggests a class

system in life. Each person belongs to a certain class and there is little or no potential for

them to go beyond that class.

Nature and Function of Dramatic Art

While Plato believed that art was meaningless, Aristotle believed that there was a

purpose and nature to it. Tragedy is an imitation of life that shows a person’s action and

the happiness or misery based on that action. Poetry is based on experience and seeks to

imitate that very experience. The major purpose of these two types of art is an emotional

catharsis. This provides a purpose for the one responsible for the art’s creation. In

addition, plays and poetry provide a lesson for its audience and are meant to elicit a

response.

Human Freedom and Divine Providence

This reading is about the concept of human freedom and how it relates to our fate

and God’s power over it. The problem is, if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, how are

we supposed to be free? Augustine states that there is no way for us to be free because

God is already aware of our fate and choices. Our wills are part of what God has made
certain and we cannot move away from what God has already decided in regards to our

choices in life.

The Existence of God

The Existence of God is Anselm’s ontological argument for the proof of God.

Anselm states that God is the utterly supreme being. The very nature of being the most

supreme being suggests that the being cannot exist only in thought, for if it were to exist

only in thought, it would not be the most supreme being. This argument is very flawed,

however, because it assumes that the person being convinced believes in God already.

This argument is more suitable as evidence for those with wary faith.

The Human Soul

This reading is about the nature and purpose of the human soul. Man is described

as a rational animal. The reason man is able to be rational is because the difference

between him and an animal is that man has a soul. The soul defines the afterlife of the

man, in this case, in a Christian sense regarding resurrection. Unlike Aristotle, who said

the soul and body were united, Aquinas said that the soul was incorporeal and, thus,

separate from the body.

Five Proofs of God

 The Five Proofs of God is Aquinas’ reasoning for the existence of God. The first

proof is that there must be a being responsible for the movement of the universe, while

also being unable to be moved so as to avoid an infinite chain. The second proof is the

efficient cause, that there must be some first efficient cause. The third proof is that there

must be some being that is necessary in itself. The fourth proof is argument that there

must be a perfect being. Finally, the fifth proof is that there must be some intelligent

being by which all things are directed towards. All these things, we call God.

War and Justice

This reading is about Aquinas’ question of “is making war always a sin?” His

answer is that there are three requirements for war to be just. The first is that it must be

declared by someone of high rank. The second is that the war must have a just cause, it

cannot be a war without adequate reason. The third is that the intention of those making

war must be good. Aquinas continues by asking if it is permissible to kill a human in self-

defense. He says that it is permissible only if the intention is in self-defense and the

person does not do anything more than necessary to kill the person. Both war and killing

can be just with the right intention and action.

The Just Ruler

In this reading, Aquinas argues in support of the just ruler. A king, he says, is one

who must provide direction in an otherwise chaotic society. He agrees with Aristotle in

saying that man is a political and social animal by nature and needs some sort of guidance

and companionship. The fellowship of society is natural and necessary to man for this
reason and it follows that it is also necessary for there to be some form of government in

the society. The reason for this is that man must have some sort of common good to

defend. A society and government gives them something to unite under and defend

against the dangers of the outside world. Although, this requires that its ruler be a just

one, one who does not rule for profit and one whose aim is to secure the well-being of his

society.

New Foundations for Knowledge

This reading is about Descartes’ concept of doubt and how it relates to our

knowledge. Descartes begins by saying that he has been taught a large number of

falsehoods since childhood that he accepted, which has caused him to doubt everything

that he knows. However, he looks at this in an almost optimistic way. The doubt that he

has on everything he knows will help him to find real truth. Everything he doubts, he will

examine until he is unable to find any reason for it to be false. He will then retrace the

evidence to see if the idea is undoubtedly true. Only then will he accept the idea as true

knowledge.

Supreme Being and Created Things

This reading is about Descartes’ idea of substance. Descartes believes that

substance is a word reserved for God alone, because a substance is something that does

not depend on anything else for existence. There is however, a secondary substance that

all other things belong to. These secondary substances only depend on God for existence.

It is through the extension of this substance that we can know God and his creations. God
is the prime mover who rules over these substances in the world and preserves the motion

of the universe.

The Incorporeal Mind

The Incorporeal Mind is about Descartes’ view on the self. Descartes argues that

the “I” is a thinking thing. I doubts, understands, affirms, denies, is willing, is unwilling,

and also imagines and has sensory perceptions. These are the aspects of the I that

Descartes has declared true and independent from other existences. He goes on the say

that it is God who gives us this ability to think and know. We have our senses, but the

senses can often deceive us. God will never deceive us and it is that knowledge and the

knowledge that God has the power to create that allows us to have knowledge of truth in

this world.

God and the Idea of Perfection

This reading is about Descartes’ idea of the role of God. He states that the idea of

a supreme God is part of an objective reality. However, without certainty of this reality,

there is no way to have real knowledge. Descartes says that the knowledge of such a

perfect and supreme being as God cannot have been a product of his imperfect mind, but

planted in him by God Himself. Knowing, from this, that God is who He is, Descartes

knows that it is God who provides him with universal doubt, which allows him to

question his own beliefs and reach certainty in his own existence. It is God who provides

him with a possible way of acquiring knowledge.

Mathematical Science

In this reading, Descartes explains that mathematical science is the method to use

in describing the laws of nature. He claims that mathematical principles can create an

account of what occurs in nature and the workings of the entire universe. This gives us

both knowledge and understanding of the environment around us and provides us with

the ability to experiment and observe the world around us. The innate truths God gives us

allow for only a basic knowledge of mathematical principles so it is necessary to

experiment and find new methods.

The Senses as the Basis of Knowledge

This reading is about the senses and how they relate to our ability to know. The

senses are the primary source of knowledge and, while they are limited, they serve their

function well. The senses provide us with reflections of the world around us. These

reflections serve as images from which we obtain knowledge. This kind of sensational

experience and knowledge is fundamental to Locke’s theories. The senses define our

capacity to know truth, providing us with both benefit and a limiting factor in our ability

to observe reality.

Qualities and Ideas

This reading is about Locke’s description of the difference between qualities and

ideas. As defined by Locke, an idea is simply what is contained in the mind. Our ideas

come from the senses and are meant to recreate the likeness of an object that is separate

from ourselves within the confines of our mind. A quality is the power to produce an
idea. Qualities serve as points of perception that are learned through observation. For

example, the qualities of a snowball are white, cold, and round. The observation of these

qualities allows us to grasp what a snowball is. It is qualities that produce ideas and allow

us to have knowledge of the world around us.

The Self and Consciousness

In this reading, Locke explores the relationship between the self and

consciousness. Locke defines the person as a conscious thinking thing capable of reason

and reflection. Consciousness is defined by our memory and is interrupted by

forgetfulness. It is this consciousness that defines who we are. When we lose our

memories, we are no longer the same person. If Locke were to be posed with the question

of whether a person with amnesia is the same person as they were before, he would say

that the amnesia has changed the person he is. Our memories define who we are.

Consent and Political Obligation

In this reading, Locke has three major points, the nature of man, why societies

come together, and how to organize humanity. By nature, man is a free individual. He is

supposed to be guaranteed the rights of life, liberty, and property. However, in a society

in which these rights are at risk, how are they going to be maintained? The answer is that

society should be created with laws that preserve those rights. When you break the law

you must be punished but as long as you follow the law, your rights will be preserved

despite being subject to society.

Skepticism versus Human Nature

This reading is about Hume’s view on skepticism. There are two types of

skepticism, that which is antecedent to study and philosophy, and that which is

consequent to science and inquiry. We can either doubt everything around us, and remain

convinced that we cannot believe anything, or we can use our doubt to assist our

observation and pursuit of knowledge about the world around us. To use doubt correctly,

we simply need to remain within our own sphere and to find the middle ground between

truth and doubt.

Limits of Metaphysical Speculation

In this reading, Hume goes over the difference between the relations of ideas and

matter of fact. A relation of ideas is certain while matter of fact is uncertain. Various

points he makes based on this include that faith cannot be proven, that cause and effect

are based on habit and experience, not by objective relationships, that we must go

through a system of falsification to find truth, and that science is a process of prediction,

based on our own observations.

The Self as a Bundle

In this reading, Hume goes over his idea that everything in reality is a bundle of

perceptions. For instance, a human is perceived as something with eyes, a nose, ears, a

mouth, hair, etc. All of those perceptions bundled together is what we know to be human.

These perceptions are all in flux as we cannot be a single, constant, invariable self. Each

of us can have our own personal ideas. These ideas are our own perceptions and are not
necessarily true in regards to reality. Hume states that everyone has the possibility of

being right just as much as he does.

Against Miracles

This reading is Hume’s argument that there are no miracles. Similarly to his idea

of cause and effect, Hume believes that miracles are simply based on our perceptions and

habits. Eye witness accounts are unreliable because they are simply the way in which

someone perceived an event. Hume states that only barbarous and ignorant people truly

believe in miracles. Another argument he presents is that every faith in the world has

miracles. Yet, every faith has different beliefs. How can they be miracles if they

contradict each other so easily?

The Relation of Cause and Effect

The relation of cause and effect is about Hume’s opinion of cause and effect. His

idea is that there is no cause and effect. Cause and effect is only based on habit and not

based on objective reality. There is no way for there to be an objective relationship

between one event and another. It is, again, a product of our own perceptions that we

reach the idea of cause and effect. It is from this idea, that cause and effect does not exist,

that Hume calls science into question, as science can often be a process of examining

how events are connected in the world.

Human Feeling as the Source of Ethics

 In this reading, Hume argues that the feelings of humans and their very nature is

necessary in a system of ethics. Reason alone cannot allow humans any impulse or

motivation for action. Human nature has to do what reason cannot, then. Human states

that although we are, by nature, focused on ourselves rather than others, we will see that

some virtues do benefit us individually, giving us reason to enact these virtues in our

lives.

Experience and Understanding

In this reading, Kant explains the source of knowledge as the phenomena in the

world around us. Knowledge is only possible through examining the phenomena or

empirically observable objects of the world around us. it is our perceptions and empirical

advancement that lead us to truth. This kind of knowledge involves a fusion of intuitions,

which is his way of combining the theories of both rationalists and empiricists.

Metaphysics Old and New

This reading is about Kant’s idea of analytic and synthetic judgments. Analytic

judgments are those that are a priori. This is knowledge which we already know about a

certain object. Synthetic judgments are those which we make after some sort of

observation in an attempt to explain one of the object’s attributes. He uses these ideas to

explain how knowledge, math, and science are possible

Causality and Our Experience of Events

 This reading is about Kant and his opinion on the concept of cause and effect.

Unlike Hume, Kant actually believes that cause and effect is a valid concept. He states

that our perception of an event is unique in that we cannot reverse the sequence of what

has occurred. An event has an objective sequence that cannot be reversed. Therefore, it is

necessary that one event follow from another. That is Kant’s argument for the proof of a

cause and effect relationship.

Duty and Reason as the Ultimate Principle

This reading is about Kant’s idea of good and our duty to do good. He begins

saying that it is impossible to say that anything in this world is good without qualification

except for a good will. A good will is good in itself and does not need qualification. Kant

says that having a good will and helping others is a natural duty. There are people who

find inner pleasure in spreading happiness and we have a duty to do so.

The Concept of the Beautiful

This reading is about Kant’s ideas in regards to aesthetics. He says that our

judgments are based on our idea of aesthetics. They depend on our feelings of both

pleasure and displeasure. We see beauty in things that are agreeable or good according to

our perceptions of them. the notion of pure delight is subjective because we all have our

own perceptions of what is pleasurable and what is not. However, he claims that it is only

disinterested delight which can cast judgment for all men.

From Sense Certainty to Self-Consciousness

 This reading is about Hegel’s idea of obtaining knowledge. He states that the

senses seem to be a rich source of knowledge, but really, our senses just provide us with

uninterpreted impressions. If there is to be knowledge gained, we must go beyond the

senses. We need to apprehend things in a more systemic way. Eventually, Hegel reaches

the conclusion that true knowledge is only available to the self-conscious subjects who

are aware of themselves.

The Unified State

This reading is about Hegel’s concepts of unified states. The first is the family,

which is characterized by love and unity. In a family, you are not independent, but a

member so it cannot serve as an adequate model for man. The second is civil society, in

which people are related to other persons so as to find satisfaction in others. However,

this is also an inadequate model. The state is the actuality of the ethical idea and a

constitutional monarchy is the ideal model.

Faith and Subjectivity

This reading is about Kierkegaard and his idea of belief in our personal lives. He

rejects the idea of scientific objectivity as a guide to live by. He states that truth is

subjective. Scientific results and objective doctrine do not matter, all that matters is the

ideas to which we can find a deep personal commitment or allow ourselves to take a leap

of faith. This reading shows Kierkegaard’s emphasis on faith over understanding.

Condemned to be Free
 In this reading, Kierkegaard explains the burden that is bestowed upon humanity

by being given freedom. People are human agents in charge of their own future. Freedom

is defined as having no constraints, implying that fate is an open book dependent on

human choices. It is freedom that gives us the responsibility of defining our own fate. In

this regard, freedom is very risky and has the potential to bring about terrible

consequences.

Property, Labor, and Alienation

In this reading, Marx and Engels write about labor and alienation. They argue

against the division of labor. Division of labor forces people to work exclusively at a

particular task for money. This enslaves the man in his profession by some alien power, a

process he calls alienation. This process restricts freedom and robs their lives of meaning.

The division of labor will eventually lead to an uprising of the poor who have been

robbed of their well-being.

The Purpose of Punishment

This reading is about Betham’s idea of the purpose of punishment. The purpose of

punishment is to prevent all sorts of offences. The purpose is to keep the total happiness

of the community intact. Even though it may seem to the person being punished that

punishment barely increases happiness, punishment is necessary for deterrence. He goes

on to say that punishment should also be cheap to operate and produce the greatest

happiness for the smallest amount of pain.

The Limits of Majority Rule

This reading is about John Stuart Mill’s idea that the majority rule is wrong. The

tyranny of the majority rule, he says, is just as big a threat to individual freedom as any

individual tyrant is. It is necessary to limit the majority in order to preserve the well-

being of the minority. For the unrestricted majority will most surely destroy the lives of

the minority by overpowering them. If left unchecked, the majority rule can cause great

harm to the minority.

Reason, Passion, and the Religious Hypothesis

In this reading, William James goes over his concept of the will to believe. James

says that there are many times when we are asked to believe something that is based on

facts. In this case, it is wrong to be lead by faith alone and we must choose to believe

based on our knowledge of the facts. However, there are also times when we will be

asked a question without knowledge of the facts. It is at this time that we must let faith

guide us despite a lack of evidence.

Experimental Methods and True Causes

This reading goes over the four idols in life, the tribe, cave, marketplace, and

theater. The tribe is based on our nature, the cave interferes with our focus through

obsession, the marketplace is the language barrier than hinders communication, and the

theater is based on dogma and artificial constructs. All of these hinder man in life.

Whitehead also denies the idea of a final cause through a process of induction. We must

use a system of falsifiability and never pre-judge evidence.

Science and Falsifiability

In this reading, Karl Popper goes over the process of falsifiability and how we can

accept different ideas. He challenges scientists who encourage observation without

realizing that you must have a theory first. He also says that true scientists welcome the

possibility of their theory being refuted. It is this system of falsifiability that really brings

value to scientific method and the ideas and theories that result from it.

Change and Crisis in Science

In this reading, Thomas Kuhn goes over the idea of normal science. He says that

normal science is research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements

that some part of the scientific community recognize as providing a foundation for further

study. There are always going to be crises and changes in the world of science and Kuhn

says that for science to have real value, it must provide for a chance to build upon itself

during the process of change and crisis.