Notes on Chapter Two- Does the Center Hold?
Truth Is Beauty, Beauty Is Truth
Rationalist Epistemology
Epistemology * Theory of knowledge; often provokes big questions on the meaning and justifications of conventional knowledge. * Ex; What is knowledge? Can we know anything for certain? What are the limitations of what we know? * Socrates began to question the usual perceptions of knowledge, advocating for a clearer picture than common sense allowed.
The Philosophy of Plato * You cannot claim to know something if you cannot claim to believe it as well. * Belief is not the only requirement for knowledge, truth is also required. * You need to be able to communicate what you know. * Real life application: We often do not believe what people tell us if it is not communicated clearly, reflecting Plato’s theories on the importance of being able to convey knowledge to others. Justification is equally as important, which is why when parents say “Because I said so” it makes teenagers so frustrated.
Images * Component of the visible world. * Real images are lasting, and can exist without non-sensible things, such as shadows or reflections. * Shadows and reflections exist as a state of mind, and are not things. * Deception occurs when we confuse an image with a thing. * Real life application: I have experienced Plato’s classic definition of deception when reading books with especially attractive protagonists. I confuse the image created in my mind with the true Peeta in the novel. He cannot exist without imagination, and so he is not a true image according to Plato. None the less, I find his fictional personal is substantial enough for a puppy love crush.
Sensible Objects
These are the things in the world that Plato finds more real than images. However, there non-permanence and dependency on things like the sun and other forms. * Desks, trees, dogs, cats. * Can die, be burned, destroyed, etc. * A state of
Rationalist Epistemology
Epistemology * Theory of knowledge; often provokes big questions on the meaning and justifications of conventional knowledge. * Ex; What is knowledge? Can we know anything for certain? What are the limitations of what we know? * Socrates began to question the usual perceptions of knowledge, advocating for a clearer picture than common sense allowed.
The Philosophy of Plato * You cannot claim to know something if you cannot claim to believe it as well. * Belief is not the only requirement for knowledge, truth is also required. * You need to be able to communicate what you know. * Real life application: We often do not believe what people tell us if it is not communicated clearly, reflecting Plato’s theories on the importance of being able to convey knowledge to others. Justification is equally as important, which is why when parents say “Because I said so” it makes teenagers so frustrated.
Images * Component of the visible world. * Real images are lasting, and can exist without non-sensible things, such as shadows or reflections. * Shadows and reflections exist as a state of mind, and are not things. * Deception occurs when we confuse an image with a thing. * Real life application: I have experienced Plato’s classic definition of deception when reading books with especially attractive protagonists. I confuse the image created in my mind with the true Peeta in the novel. He cannot exist without imagination, and so he is not a true image according to Plato. None the less, I find his fictional personal is substantial enough for a puppy love crush.
Sensible Objects
These are the things in the world that Plato finds more real than images. However, there non-permanence and dependency on things like the sun and other forms. * Desks, trees, dogs, cats. * Can die, be burned, destroyed, etc. * A state of