Transcript Greek Science - Plato and Aristotle

Greek Science
PLATO & ARISTOTLE
OBJECTIVES
► Know
and understand the basics of Plato's
philosophy.
► Know and understand the basics of Aristotle's
philosophy.
► Know the importance and influence of Plato
and Aristotle's philosophy in the field of
science and human thinking in general.
► Know the significance of Plato and Aristotle's
philosophy in your daily life.
Plato & Aristotle
► School
of Athens, by Raphael
PLATO
► Pupil
of Socrates
► Influenced by
Socrates' death
► Set up his own school
known as the
"Academy"
► one of the greatest
and most influential
thinker of all time.
BACKGROUND OF HIS
THOUGHT
1. From Natural Philosophy to Philosophy of Man and
Society
Natural Philosophy - Thales, Anaximenes,
Anaximander, Parmenides,
Heraclitus, Democritus
- Main Question: "What is the underlying stuff
of nature?"
Philosophy of Man and Society - Sophists and
Socrates
- Main Questions: "Who are we?
What is virtue? What is Justice?"
BACKGROUND OF HIS
THOUGHT
2. Both Trends are concerned with the existence
of the "eternal and immutable."
Natural Philosophy - "ONE in the many"
Philosophy of Man and Society - "NORMS of
the society"
3. Concern of Plato: He was also concerned with
the relationship between what is "eternal and
immutable", on the one hand, and what "flows",
on the other.
-Same as the Natural Philosophers and
Humanists.
-But he answered it differently.
HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH
HIS IDEA
► "Although
everything in the natural world "flows",
there must nevertheless be "something" that never
changes."
► Now the question is, "where can we find that nonchanging 'something'?"
HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH
HIS IDEA
► World
of Things (Nature)
 Perceptible
 Perishable
 within time and space
 it flows
HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH
HIS IDEA
► "where
can we find that non-changing
'something'?"
► Obviously,
"It must be beyond the realm
of things."
► -It must be perceived only by reason
► -immaterial and non-perishable
► -outside time and space
► -eternal and immutable
► For Plato, it is found in the realm of Ideas
PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
► For
Plato all Material things are fashioned
after their timeless "ideas or forms."
 Despite their differences, why are toy horses
all the same?
 Why is a toy horse a toy horse?
 what is there in all toy horses that makes
them all toy horses?
PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
► If
you are to make toy horses:
 you use models of horses
 you have in your mind the "forms" of horses.
► this form or idea of a toy horse allows you to make
several toy horses.
► despite their differences, all toy horses are toy
horses.
► Therefore, what makes a toy horse a toy horse
is the idea of a toy horse.
PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
► Thus
for Plato, "The realm of Ideas is the
foundation of the realm of things."
IDEAS
THINGS
ART
TRUE KNOWLEDGE
► what
is known in the realm of things are mere
"opinions"
 - we only use sense perception
 -ex. who is the most beautiful actress?
► what is known in the realm of ideas are "true
knowledge"
 - we use reason
 -ex. mathematics, geometry, philosophical ideas
► "We can only have 'inexact conception' of
things we perceive with our senses. But we can
have 'true knowledge' of things we understand
with our reason."
The Cave Allegory
WORLD OF THINGS
(SHADOWS)
The Cave Allegory
► things
are but shadows of ideas or eternal
forms
► we need to go beyond the shadows and
dwell on the realm of ideas.
► ideas let us understand the natural world
WE ONLY RECOLLECT IDEAS
► We
already know ideas before, all we need is to just
remember them.
► We remember the ideas in the copies (things).
IDEA OF A HORSE
ARISTOTLE (384—322)
► He
was a pupil at Plato's
Academy
► Before going to Athens,
we lived in Macedonia
► Son of the famous
physician Nicomachus
► Last great Greek
Philosopher, but first
great biologist of Europe
ARISTOTLE (384—322)
► Unlike
Plato, he was
preoccupied with natural
processes (world of things)
and not with the world of
ideas.
► He was "the great
organizer."
► He tutored (342—c.339 )
Alexander the Great
► In 335 he opened a school
in the Lyceum; some
distinguished members of
the Academy followed him.
NATURE IS THE REAL
WORLD...
► The
"idea" of something is simply a concept
that we humans formed after seeing a
certain number of that thing.
► “Ideas” are just the "common characteristics"
of things belonging into a certain group.
► “Ideas” are just reflections of natural objects.
NATURE IS THE REAL
WORLD...
► For
Aristotle, "Nothing exists in the mind
that has not first been experienced by the
senses."
► Simply, "There is no such thing as a
separate world of ideas."
CAUSALITY IN NATURE
► Modern/popular
notion of cause: how
something came to be
► example:
 RAIN
 - the moisture in the clouds cools and
condenses into raindrops that are drawn to
the earth by the force of gravity.
► For Aristotle, this is incomplete.
CAUSALITY IN NATURE
► THERE
ARE ALWAYS 4 CAUSES OF A
THING:
1. Material Cause - material component
2. Efficient Cause - that which makes the
thing (external agent)
3. Formal Cause - that which makes a thing
what it is
4. Final cause - purpose for which the thing is
made.
CAUSALITY IN NATURE
► Example:
RAIN
1. Material Cause - moisture
2. Efficient Cause - cooling air
3. Formal Cause - form or nature of water - to
fall to the earth
4. Final Cause - its purpose is to nourish the
earth and its dwellers.*
► In modern thought the efficient cause is
generally considered the central
explanation of a thing, but for Aristotle the
final cause had primacy.
EVERYTHING CAN BE
CATEGORIZED
► Every
object falls under a broader category and a
certain subcategory
► This also applies in the sciences
► Science is divided into different branches and that such
branches are parts of one coherent whole.
► Physics
► Biology
► Psychology
►Logic
► Ethics
► Politics
► Metaphysics
LOGIC
► One
of Aristotle's major contribution to human
knowledge
► Found in his Organon
► Logic is an instrument used for organizing our
thoughts
► based on correlation of terms
LOGIC
► ex.
(Syllogism)
All creatures are mortals
Gloria is a creature
Gloria is a mortal
► Clear
thinking that leads to a definitely true
conclusion.
Plato & Aristotle in General
► True
Knowledge
is found
“above”, in
the world
of ideas.
► True
Knowledge
is found
“here”, in
the world
of things.
Questions to Ponder
► What
are the contributions of the two great
philosophers to science?
► How can we use their philosophies in our
practical daily living?