Ancient philosophical influence

Ancient philosophical influence (Philosophy of Religion 1a)

1. Who was Plato?
2. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, how are the prisoners kept?
3. What do the prisoners in the cave think about the shadows they can see?
4. When a prisoner is released, what does he come to realise about what he used to think?
5. When a prisoner is taken from the cave, what does he come to realise?
6. What do the cave and the upper world represent for Plato?
7. What is meant by the word ‘phenomena’?
8. What is meant by the word ‘concept’?
9. According to Plato, what is a ‘Form’?
10. How is circularity a Form?
11. How is beauty a Form?
12. What are the key characteristics of Forms?
13. How are Forms known? How are they not known?
14. What is Platonic dualism?
15. What does the sun in Plato’s cave allegory represent?
16. What is the Form of the Good?
17. Who was Aristotle?
18. What is reflective categorisation?
19. What is an empiricist?
20. According to Aristotle, all things are a combination of what two things?
21. What are Aristotle’s four causes?
22. What is a material cause?
23. What is a formal cause?
24. What is an efficient cause?
25. What is a final cause?
26. Why are Aristotle’s ideas about causation teleological?
27. What did Aristotle mean by the Prime Mover?
28. How does the idea of a Prime Mover connect to the idea of final cause?
29. How might an empiricist criticise Plato’s idea of Forms?
30. What might be a better alternative to Plato’s idea of there being one Good?
31. Why might Plato’s Realm of Forms be considered unnecessary?
32. How is the issue of limitless Forms potentially a problem for Plato?
33. Briefly outline the third man criticism.
34. What problem is there with Aristotle’s claim to have explained efficient causes?
35. How might we question Aristotle’s idea that all things have purpose?
36. Briefly explain where there may be a fallacy of composition in Aristotle’s ideas.