Philosophers flashcards

The first philosopher. He believed that water was the source of all things. He was a naturalist

Rationalist who believed the world was in constant change. He believed that there was 1 God

Materialist who believed in atoms

Talk about reason and believe that virtue is the meaning of life. Must obey duty. You can’t be happy but you can be good

Can’t teach philosophy but can teach you to think philosophically. He examines life and asks the big questions (metaphysics.) Created the Socratic method which is when he compared philosophy to the job of helping people give birth. He guides them with correct insight of philosophy but he can’t do the hard work of giving birth, or properly understanding. He wanted philosophy to be available to everyone. “One thing I only know and that is I know nothing.”

Wanted to release Socrates work. His “World of ideas” There is a form or mold that keeps everything the way it should be and God maintains it. The cave analogy is that reality vs what you perceive to be reality are two different things. Those who recognize the contrast are rejected. He also believed everything is constantly flowing and changing

Empiricist and a scientist. He believed change was in nature

Enjoy life, make friends and don’t fear death or God. Atomism, matter is everlasting

Created the 5 proofs of God (1. First Causal argument, there must a be a first cause of all the changes 2. Second Causal argument, what causes the sequence of events 3. Contingency argument, something must sustain existence 4. Moral argument, Perfection exists and the maximum perfection must be God 5. Teleological argument, Designer that pushes us to our goals

Pascal’s Wager: We should believe in God because if he does exist we should worship him, but even if he doesn’t exist we have lost nothing by living life based on faith, therefore faith can only win not lose

The simplest explanation is the best explanation

Principle of sufficient reason: everything (a thing, an event, or a proposition) must have a reason or a cause (to exist, happen, be true). This principle allows us to answer the question ‘Why’. Causation: one event must happen for another to occur

The 4 idols of mind: Idol of Marketplace is the economy that surrounds you, the Idol of the Cave is the location you live, the Idol of the Theatre is what constructs how you view things and the Idol of the Tribe is the people who surround you

Rationalist, cogito ergo sum (“I think therefore, I am” meaning,he could not doubt that he himself existed, as he was the one doing the doubting in the first place. His ontological argument is that God's existence can be deduced from his nature. He suggested that the concept of God is that of a supremely perfect being, holding all perfections. He seems to have assumed that perfection exists. Thus, if the notion of God did not include existence, it would not be supremely perfect, as it would be lacking a perfection. Consequently, the notion of a supremely perfect God who does not exist, Descartes argues, is unintelligible. Therefore, according to his nature, God must exist

Rationalist, monist which means he thought god was the only substance…

Reality is not real

empiricist, we are born with a blank slate and society is what shapes or corrupts us

empiricist, can’t prove God exists, his problem with induction being (metaphysical): X has always been X therefore it will always be X not true (Dialectic): X has always been the case but will change in time can’t predict

people are born good, private property corrupts and education is needed

disproved aquinas’ 5 proofs for god, created the 6th proof- absolute morality and the world is as perceived, metaphysical materialist, knowledge is senses and reason

dialectics, idealism, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis

utilitarianism, feminist, libertarian

economist, moral relativist, communist, dialectic materialism, atheist, soft determinism, humans are social by nature

law of dialectics, feminist, communist, atheist

pragmatism (things that benefit us are important)

paradigm shift: when one starts to think about something in a completely different way, science does not lead to the truth. Cycle of science: normal science accumulates anomalies over time which eventually leads to doubt and it revolutionizes and that becomes the new normal

theory of falsification: theories must be proven to be false for it to be effective, observations are not reliable as its fallible and shaped by assumptions. Problem with this is you can’t disprove most sciences