Philosophy Study Guide

Philosophy Study Guide

Why are the earliest Greek philosophers called “natural philosophers”? What was Empedocles’ view of the nature of reality (how many elements)? Who was the most important of the Eleatic philosophers? What did Parmenides say about the reliability of sense perceptions of reality? What was Anaxagoras’ view of the nature of reality (how many elements)? Define Democritus’ atom theory How was Democritus’ view of “design” in nature different from other early Greek philosophers? Who were the Sophists? What did they believe? Phil 1602 Exam 1 Study Guide NOTE: please fill out this study guide carefully, using the assigned textbooks, videos, and readings. Topic / Questions Answer (from the course readings) Name of textbook and page number(s) on which answer was found Why is philosophy a valuable course of study? When did Pythagoras live? What was his explanation of the nature of reality? How did Thales explain the structure of the cosmos? What is the philosophical significance of Thales? What was Heraclitus’ view of the universe? What statement expresses his basic philosophical insight into the nature of reality? What “shared belief” was held by the earliest philosophers about the nature (root) of change in the universe? What did Protagoras mean by the statement, “Man is the measure of all things”? Identify Socrates – dates, basic philosophical beliefs, crimes for which he was accused, importance in history of philosophy Explain Plato’s Myth of the Cave – what is the main theory it expresses? What happens to the freed prisoner when he returns to tell his fellow prisoners what he has learned and what is the meaning Plato attaches to this? Explain Plato’s theory of the soul. What did Aristotle think of Plato’s Theory of the Forms? What did Socrates and Aristotle believe was the primary purpose of human life? What was Aristotle’s notion of god? Explain Aristotle’s theory of the “mean” Explain, with examples, Aristotle’s theory of “causes” What is the ideal government according to Plato’s Republic? What does Plato think about democracy? How did Plato and Aristotle disagree over the nature of women? Who were the Cynics? What did they believe? Who were the Stoics? What did they believe? What was Augustine’s theory of evil? Thomas Aquinas Christianized What is Francis Bacon’s most famous saying and what is its philosophical meaning? What era did Renaissance philosophers look to for inspiration? What Renaissance thinker was the first to champion a heliocentric world picture? Which Renaissance thinker was the first to posit the law of inertia? Which Renaissance thinker formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation? What were the main philosophical emphases of Renaissance philosophers? Who was Martin Luther? What were his philosophical views? Explain the difference between Rationalism and Empiricism What is the key belief of John philosophical meaning? What era did Renaissance philosophers look to for inspiration? What Renaissance thinker was the first to champion a heliocentric world picture? Which Renaissance thinker was the first to posit the law of inertia? Which Renaissance thinker formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation? What were the main philosophical emphases of Renaissance philosophers? Who was Martin Luther? What were his philosophical views? Explain the difference between Rationalism and Empiricism What is the key belief of John did they come from? According to Descartes, what makes us human? (i.e., What is the defining characteristic of human beings?) What is Cartesian dualism? What argument did Descartes advance for the existence of God? What was Spinoza’s view of God and nature? How did Spinoza’s view of the path to happiness compare to the views of the Stoics? What were the important philosophical insights of Leibniz? What were the main philosophical ideas of George Berkeley? What were David Hume’s basic ideas about ethics? Discuss Hildegard’s view of the divine Locke about how we learn? What is his famous saying that expresses this? Explain, with examples, Locke’s distinction between primary and secondary qualities Explain John Locke’s view of freedom Who were the most important Empiricist philosophers? What country/ies did they come from? Who were the most important Rationalist philosophers? What country/ies did they come from? According to Descartes, what makes us human? (i.e., What is the defining characteristic of human beings?) What is Cartesian dualism? What argument did Descartes