Aneesa Ahmed
Complete Philosophy
OCR Religious Studies
Contents
- Ancient Philosophers (2)
- Mind, Body, Soul (7)
- Arguments from Experience (11)
- Arguments from Reason (15)
- Religious Experiences (17)
- Problem of Evil (22)
- Nature and Attributes (26)
- Religious Language (31)
- 20th Century Language (35)
Page 1 of 35
,Aneesa Ahmed
Ancient Philosophers
Aristotle —> Physics II (De Amina)
Plato —> Republic
Flux
- Heraclitus argues that the world is in a constant state of flux
- Plato —> if we are in flux we cannot gain knowledge from experience because the
knowledge will always change, instead we must use reason
- Aristotle —> if we can understand the mechanism for change then we can gain
knowledge from experience
Plato
The Forms
- Plato argues that we live in a World of Appearances but there is also a World of
Forms
- Forms are: unchangeable, non-physical and perfect
- E.g. Beauty and Justice
- We see weak versions in the Word of Appearance because of our ignorance and
faulty perception BUT we cannot see true forms because of our weakened body
Allegory of the cave
- Prisoners (normal people) are chained in a cave facing a wall, they see shadows
(the World of Appearances)
- One prisoner escapes (philosopher) and is initially blinded by the sun (the Form
of the Good) but then his eyes adjust and he sees the true world (the World of
Forms)
- He goes back to tell the others what he saw but they do not believe him
(ignorance)
- Shows how we need a priori reasoning to see the reality
BUT it will be hard to believe
The Divided line
- The world is divided into visible (opinions) and intelligible
(knowledge) things
- The line splits further within visible from imagination to
belief
- And within knowledge from understanding to reasoned
thought
ISSUES:
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,Aneesa Ahmed
A) Aristole —> Platos theory lacks empirical evidence. His unchanging forms
cannot explain an ever-changing world
B) Ockhams razor —> the simplest explanation is most likely to be true. Why should
we trust a convoluted view which creates a new world if we have a simpler
explanation (Aristotles causes)
REBUTTAL:
A) Iris Murdoch —> we do have innate knowledge of beauty because we know what
beauty is and we can recognise and appreciate it, without ever fully understaffing
it
B) Brian Davis —> the forms support beliefs in unchanging absolute morals
FUTHER ISSUES:
A) Plato attempts to find permanence and perfection in a world of uncertainty
B) Hume —> inducting leap of knowledge to arrive at the forms from the premise
that their must be the truth
Transcendence of the soul
- We can recognise forms because our soul is from the Word of Forms and
possess knowledge of the forms.
- BUT the soul is trapped in the material body and yearns to go back to the world of
forms away from distractions like the sense
Arguments from recollection
- Humans have perfect knowledge of forms of beauty and justice because our
rouse can retain the memory of the forms
ISSUES:
A) Justice and beauty are subjective e.g. watching the same TV show but only some
will enjoy it, everyone will take away different things about the show
B) Hume—> we can create the idea of perfection even if we have not seen it, it
doesn’t mean we have knowledge of it
REBUTTAL:
- Maybe beauty and justice are subjective but mathematics isn’t
- ‘The Meno’ —> story of an uneducated slave boy who could recognise geometry
without having being taught geometry. Proving the world of forms and a priori
reasoning
FURTHER ISSUES:
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, Aneesa Ahmed
A) Hume —> the slave doesn’t need to have innate knowledge to understand
geometry. He may have recognised shapes from experience to gain knowledge
B) MacIntyre —> Plato argues that only educated expel can experience the world of
forms when in reality there is no correlation between morality and intelligence
Hierarchy of Forms
1. Form of the Good = the highest form
2. Forms like justice and beauty which has aspect of
goodness
3. Forms like ‘catness’ or ‘treeness’ which we experience
in the World of Appearances
4. Forms like cat and tree which are actual material
objects, these are called PARTICULARS
3rd Man Fallacy criticism of the Form of the Good
- Aristole —> All men are part of the form of ‘man’
- The form of ‘man’ is the part of the form of ‘men’ and so on and so on
- There is an infinite regress of forms so there cannot be one form that illuminates
all
REBUTTAL:
- Plato —> argues that true forms cannot partake in anything other than
themselves
- BUT particulars can partake in forms because they are imperfect copies of forms
- True forms cannot be groups into what particulars are… so the 3 rd Man Fallacy is
flawed
FURTHER ISSUES:
A) Aristotle —> a unified ‘form of the good’ doesn’t fir with our experience of the
world
- E.g. a good bomb kills but a good medicine saves
- Good is too abstract to be considered a unified, illuminating form
B) A.J.Ayer —> forms are primitive superstition, they do not need responding to
anything, like ‘nothing’
Aristotle
4 Causes
An explanation of why the world is in flux. Why everything moves form potentiality to
actuality.
1. Material cause—> what something is made of e.g. bricks
Page 4 of 35
Complete Philosophy
OCR Religious Studies
Contents
- Ancient Philosophers (2)
- Mind, Body, Soul (7)
- Arguments from Experience (11)
- Arguments from Reason (15)
- Religious Experiences (17)
- Problem of Evil (22)
- Nature and Attributes (26)
- Religious Language (31)
- 20th Century Language (35)
Page 1 of 35
,Aneesa Ahmed
Ancient Philosophers
Aristotle —> Physics II (De Amina)
Plato —> Republic
Flux
- Heraclitus argues that the world is in a constant state of flux
- Plato —> if we are in flux we cannot gain knowledge from experience because the
knowledge will always change, instead we must use reason
- Aristotle —> if we can understand the mechanism for change then we can gain
knowledge from experience
Plato
The Forms
- Plato argues that we live in a World of Appearances but there is also a World of
Forms
- Forms are: unchangeable, non-physical and perfect
- E.g. Beauty and Justice
- We see weak versions in the Word of Appearance because of our ignorance and
faulty perception BUT we cannot see true forms because of our weakened body
Allegory of the cave
- Prisoners (normal people) are chained in a cave facing a wall, they see shadows
(the World of Appearances)
- One prisoner escapes (philosopher) and is initially blinded by the sun (the Form
of the Good) but then his eyes adjust and he sees the true world (the World of
Forms)
- He goes back to tell the others what he saw but they do not believe him
(ignorance)
- Shows how we need a priori reasoning to see the reality
BUT it will be hard to believe
The Divided line
- The world is divided into visible (opinions) and intelligible
(knowledge) things
- The line splits further within visible from imagination to
belief
- And within knowledge from understanding to reasoned
thought
ISSUES:
Page 2 of 35
,Aneesa Ahmed
A) Aristole —> Platos theory lacks empirical evidence. His unchanging forms
cannot explain an ever-changing world
B) Ockhams razor —> the simplest explanation is most likely to be true. Why should
we trust a convoluted view which creates a new world if we have a simpler
explanation (Aristotles causes)
REBUTTAL:
A) Iris Murdoch —> we do have innate knowledge of beauty because we know what
beauty is and we can recognise and appreciate it, without ever fully understaffing
it
B) Brian Davis —> the forms support beliefs in unchanging absolute morals
FUTHER ISSUES:
A) Plato attempts to find permanence and perfection in a world of uncertainty
B) Hume —> inducting leap of knowledge to arrive at the forms from the premise
that their must be the truth
Transcendence of the soul
- We can recognise forms because our soul is from the Word of Forms and
possess knowledge of the forms.
- BUT the soul is trapped in the material body and yearns to go back to the world of
forms away from distractions like the sense
Arguments from recollection
- Humans have perfect knowledge of forms of beauty and justice because our
rouse can retain the memory of the forms
ISSUES:
A) Justice and beauty are subjective e.g. watching the same TV show but only some
will enjoy it, everyone will take away different things about the show
B) Hume—> we can create the idea of perfection even if we have not seen it, it
doesn’t mean we have knowledge of it
REBUTTAL:
- Maybe beauty and justice are subjective but mathematics isn’t
- ‘The Meno’ —> story of an uneducated slave boy who could recognise geometry
without having being taught geometry. Proving the world of forms and a priori
reasoning
FURTHER ISSUES:
Page 3 of 35
, Aneesa Ahmed
A) Hume —> the slave doesn’t need to have innate knowledge to understand
geometry. He may have recognised shapes from experience to gain knowledge
B) MacIntyre —> Plato argues that only educated expel can experience the world of
forms when in reality there is no correlation between morality and intelligence
Hierarchy of Forms
1. Form of the Good = the highest form
2. Forms like justice and beauty which has aspect of
goodness
3. Forms like ‘catness’ or ‘treeness’ which we experience
in the World of Appearances
4. Forms like cat and tree which are actual material
objects, these are called PARTICULARS
3rd Man Fallacy criticism of the Form of the Good
- Aristole —> All men are part of the form of ‘man’
- The form of ‘man’ is the part of the form of ‘men’ and so on and so on
- There is an infinite regress of forms so there cannot be one form that illuminates
all
REBUTTAL:
- Plato —> argues that true forms cannot partake in anything other than
themselves
- BUT particulars can partake in forms because they are imperfect copies of forms
- True forms cannot be groups into what particulars are… so the 3 rd Man Fallacy is
flawed
FURTHER ISSUES:
A) Aristotle —> a unified ‘form of the good’ doesn’t fir with our experience of the
world
- E.g. a good bomb kills but a good medicine saves
- Good is too abstract to be considered a unified, illuminating form
B) A.J.Ayer —> forms are primitive superstition, they do not need responding to
anything, like ‘nothing’
Aristotle
4 Causes
An explanation of why the world is in flux. Why everything moves form potentiality to
actuality.
1. Material cause—> what something is made of e.g. bricks
Page 4 of 35
