Plato’s Theory of Knowledge: Ideas, Recollection, and the Cave
Plato’s Theory of Knowledge
The Platonic theory of knowledge is expressed through a series of hypotheses, doctrines, and myths developed in parallel with the theory of Ideas. The first doctrine concerns knowledge and recollection, which appears in the dialogue “Menon”.
Knowledge and Recollection in “Menon”
The dialogue presents an argument that knowledge of entirely new things (knowledge in an absolute sense) is impossible, as we either investigate what we already know or do not know what to seek.
Read MoreAristotle’s Core Concepts: Substance, Cause, Power, and Happiness
Aristotle’s Core Concepts
1. Substance
Substance is the primary way of being, referring to specific individuals existing independently and supporting accidents. There are many substances (e.g., many people), and all other ways of being are accidents of substances (quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, status, action, and passion). Substances are only specific individuals, and it is the individual to whom we attribute “being” or “substance.”
Distinguish between primary substance (specific
Read MoreNietzsche and Mill: Philosophers’ Lives, Works, and Influence
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born in Röcken in 1844 and died in Weimar in 1900. He was a German philosopher, poet, and philologist, considered one of the most influential modern thinkers of the nineteenth century.
The son of an evangelical pastor, who died five years later, Nietzsche grew up in a completely female-dominated Protestant pietism. Nietzsche first studied at boarding Pforte School, where he received his initial knowledge of classical antiquity, which would
Read MoreUnderstanding Human Rights, Citizenship, and Socialization
Human Rights and Citizenship
Institutions like the UN remind everyone that people have rights. When someone is a citizen of a state, authorities undertake to protect their rights.
Right: The ability of people to claim something.
Duty: Everything that we must do because there are objective standards that require it of us, or because it is a requirement of consciousness itself.
Subjective Right: The right of every citizen as a person.
Objective Right: People only have rights that are recognized by the
Read MoreChange and Causality in Aristotelian Philosophy
Aristotle’s Analysis of Change
The problem of physics is to explain change, because change is inherent in nature. Aristotle believed that prior philosophers had failed to adequately explain change. He then analyzed why other philosophers failed to explain kambia (change).
- Some said that everything flows, that reality is pure movement. But this did not explain the nature of change itself.
- Others, like Parmenides and Plato, denied change. Parmenides said kambia is when something goes from not-being to
Pythagoras to Democritus: Unveiling Ancient Philosophies
The Mathematical Works of Pythagoras
Significant contributions include the Pythagorean theorem, the incommensurability of the diagonal and side of a square, distributions, numerical oppositions, and geometric relations.
Parmenides
- In the car of truth: He lived in Elea as a settler and aristocratic organizer, concerned with its laws. Excellent judges, sworn citizens, acted in accordance with the laws of Parmenides.
- The prologue to a journey: She wrote a poem in Homeric hexameters to communicate their