File - The Light of Reason

EPISTEMOLOGY is one of
Philosophy’s greatest problems. It
questions the very TRUTH of what
we THINK we already KNOW.
What we think we know determines
our actions, and our actions
determine our DESTINY as human
beings. If we do not understand our
knowledge processes, we will never be
sure of the things we do, thus lose all
our sense of HOPE.
Philosophers are after what Kant
calls APODICTIC knowledge, which
means knowledge with certainty.
Assume the statement: One plus one is
equal to two; we have a level of
certainty to the truth of this
statement. But if we assume the
statement: The human soul is
immortal, does it have the same level
of certainty with that of the previous?
Of course not, and here lies the
dilemma of knowledge, what makes
our knowledge certain or apodictic?
We will be discussing two great
philosophers of the Ancients who have
presented to us two distinct theories of
knowledge – Plato and Aristotle.
Plato will represent the IDEALIST
perspective of knowledge, i.e.,
knowledge is innate or inborn in all
men.
Aristotle, on the other hand,
represents the DUALIST perspective
which tells us that knowledge is
formed and developed through
experience,
PLATO
Plato has always been considered as an
idealist, not just because of his
experience from Socrates but also in his
years of studying under teachers who
were taught by Parmenides – one of the
pre-Socratic PhilosopherMathematicians. In the entrance of
the Plato’s Academy, it is said that the
words, “Let no one ignorant of
Geometry enter here” were inscribed.
Plato, therefore, had a strong reliance
on the methods of Mathematics in
determining Truth and knowledge.
Plato’s epistemic works can be found in two of his great
dialogues; the Euthyphro and in his magnum opus, The
Republic.
The argument of the Euthyphro is based largely on
"definition by division". Socrates goads Euthyphro to offer
one definition after another for the word 'piety'. The hope
is to use a clear definition as the basis for Euthyphro to
teach Socrates the answer to the question, "What is
piety?", ostensibly so that Socrates can use this to defend
himself against the charge of impiety. It is clear that
Socrates wants a definition of piety which will be
universally true (i.e., a 'universal'). It will be a standard
or template against which all actions can be measured in
order to determine whether they are pious or not. It is
equally clear that in order to be a universal, the
definition must express what is essential about the thing
defined, and be in terms of genus, species and its
differentiae.
However, it is the Republic that we find a clear idea of
Plato’s epistemology. In the Republic, Socrates talks with
several personas; Cephalus, Polemarchus and
Thracymachus.
The Republic is divided into 10 Books:
I. Title and Setting, Socrates vs Thracymachus
II. The City Soul Analogy, Censorship
III. Censorship, Noble Lie and Medical Ethics
IV. Justice in the City and in the Soul
V. Feminism and the Philosopher
VI. The Ship of State, Idea of Good and the Divided
Line
VII.The Allegory of the Cave, Education of the
Guardians
VIII.The Perfectly Just City
IX. The Supremacy of Justice
X. Philosophy vs Poetry and the Myth of Er
WORLD OF FORMS
SOUL
Direct Knowledge
GOOD
MAN
TREE
CHAIR
DOG
B
I
R
T
H
TABLE
SENSED
WORLD OF MATTER
The True Reality
Summary of Plato’s Cave
1. Reality is not found in this material world. True Reality, the perfect
reality, is in the World of Forms.
2. All that we can perceive in this world are mere shadows of the perfect idea in
the World of Forms.
3. The Soul originally belongs in the World of Forms, it has direct access to all
perfect ideas, and the highest idea is the idea of Good.
4. Birth contained the Soul in the body, thus forgetting it used to know in the
World of Forms.
5. Sensation allows us to perceive the shadows of the Perfect Ideas; thus
KNOWLEDGE is REMEMBERING.
6. The duty of the philosopher is to educate the people, even if the people have
been trapped for so long a time inside the cave.
7. Education is a painful experience.
Aristotle, the Stagerite Philosopher,
entered Plato’s Academy at the age of
18 and stayed there for 20 years.
Aristotle left the Academy after Plato’s
death, went to Macedon and became
the tutor of Alexander. When
Alexander began his campaign,
Aristotle went back to Athens and
established his own school, the Lyceum.
Students of the Lyceum were called the
“Peripathetics” because when they
discuss philosophy they walk back and
forth along the grove of the Lyceum.
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle’s father was a Physician, from whom
Aristotle probably learned the value of
observation and empirical data – the main
reason why the Stagerite did not agree with
Plato in the latter’s theory of innate ideas.
Aristotle’s Epistemic works are found in his book,
Treaties on the Soul (De Anima) where he
systematically presented a theory of knowledge so
advanced in his time. Until today, his “stamp”
in the advances of present day science can still be
found.
Aristotle’s Arguments:
1. Aristotle argues in the opening line of his Metaphysics that “ALL
MEN BY NATURE DESIRE TO KNOW”. This line is
significant because it places his theory against that of Plato’s that
education should be given only to the Guardians. A further
separation from his teacher is the proof that he gives, “an
indication of this is the delight we take in our senses…”
2. In the Metaphysics, we can see clearly that for Aristotle, the senses
play a vital role in the formation of ideas. Aquinas even affirms
Aristotle’s theory that “nothing is in the mind unless it has passed
thru the senses.”
3. Aristotle further argues that not all things can form ideas of other
things.
He observes that only animated objects can form
knowledge, but not all animated objects can form the same form of
knowledge.
Aristotle’s Arguments:
4. He then presents the distinction between animate and inanimate
objects. Things are alive because they have a soul – thus a soul is
defined as the “first principle of life.”
5. A thing possesses a soul if it can demonstrate different “faculties”
or powers. The most basic of all faculties of the soul is the Faculty
of Nutrition – the ability to absorb nutrients to maintain growth.
6. The second faculty is Locomotion – the ability to move from one
place to another.
7. The third faculty is Reproduction – the ability to procreate to
preserve the survival of the specie.
8. NUTRITION, LOCOMOTION AND REPRODUCTION are
powers of the VEGETATIVE SOUL.
Aristotle’s Arguments:
9. The Vegetative Soul are the souls of plants, but even if they have
souls they cannot form any knowledge of things. Hence, there must
be other faculties that allow knowledge to be formed.
10. Some souls, he argues, have the faculty of Sensation – the ability to
interact with the external world.
11. Also, some souls also possesses the faculty of Memory – the ability to
remember those things that can be interacted with.
12. Some souls have both Sensation and Memory, but others may only
have Sensation and without Memory as found in lower animals.
13. The Faculties of Sensation and Memory combined with the powers
of the Vegetative Soul form the powers of the SENTIENT SOUL.
Aristotle’s Arguments:
14. Sentient entities have the power to form Sense Knowledge, and we
share this power with the rest of the animal kingdom.
15. However, there is something different about Human Knowledge.
Human beings are capable of understanding UNIVERSAL
CONCEPTS, and such things are not within the reach of Sense
Perception. Thus, Aristotle postulates another power which he
calls EPISTEMONIKON (some translate is as Intellect or
Reason, but lets stick with the original)
16. So, the powers of the Vegetative Soul, Sentient Soul plus the
Epistemonikon gives us the RATIONAL SOUL.
17. Here lies the problem: If Ideas are mental representation of an
external objects, then how are abstract concepts formed from
material reality?
18. Thus we have Aristotle’s Ideogenesis.
Aristotle’s Ideogenesis
The source of all ideas are from external objects.
Objects emit different sense stimuli that is received by
each sense organ. The proper stimuli enters its
corresponding sense organ; light enters the eyes, scent
enters the nose, etc.
WE DO NOT SENSE THE OBJECTS PERSE, WE ONLY SENSE
THE STIMULI EMANATING FROM THE OBJECT.
SENSE STIMULI IS RECEIVED
THE EXTERNAL SENSE
Aristotle’s Ideogenesis
(SENSE STIMULI)
LIGHT
SCENT
TACTILE
SOUND
TASTE
RECONSTRUCTION
The Stimuli are taken by the External Senses separately
regardless from different objects being sensed at a time.
The Reconstruction of the object is made in the mind
thru the power called “Common Sense” to form a
“Percept”. The Percept only exists as long as the object
remains to be perceived
(A) COMMON
SENSE
(1) PERCEPT
THE INTERNAL SENSE
Aristotle’s Ideogenesis
(B) MEMORY (TIME & SPACE)
(1) PERCEPT
(C) IMAGINATION
Since the Percept can only exist if the object is still
present, the power of Memory and Imagination
allows the reconstruction of the Percept to form a
Phantasm. The Phantasm contains also the Time
and Location of the object. At this point, this is
called SENSE KNOWLEDGE which we share with
the rest of the animal kingdom.
(2)
PHANTASM
THE INTERNAL SENSE
Aristotle’s Ideogenesis
(C) EPISTEMONIKON
(2)
PHANTASM
To get Universals or the Substantial qualities of an
object, the Epistemonikon uses a process called
Abstraction to remove all the Accidental qualities
of the object. There are 3 Levels of Abstraction:
Physical, Mathematical and Metaphysical. It is in
the Metaphysical Level that the intellect
understands the Substance free from Accidents.
Ideas, therefore, are expressed using
Terms/Words.
(3) IDEA
THE INTELLECT
Aristotle’s Predicables
Predicables are simply
Predicates. Everything
we know is expressed in
some form of statement,
ex Dogs are mammals.
“Dog” is the subject
while “mammals” is the
predicate. According to
Aristotle, there are 10
Possible Predicates that
we can attach to a
subject term.
1. SUBSTANCE: that which can exist on its
own.
2. ACCIDENTS: that which are attached to a
substance for it to exist.
There are 9
Accidents:
a) Quantity
b) Quality
c) Time & Space
d) Posture
e) Habit
f) Action
g) Passion
h) Relation
i) Affection