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PHI115 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE

Plato’s Theory of Knowledge
Divided line (Republic Book VI)
What are the 2 worlds?
What are the 4 divisions?
The Greek terms
The specific examples
Allegory of the cave (Republic Book VII)
What is the story?

Plato’s method
Socratic dialogue/method
Socratic irony
Why does Socrates never give the answer?
2 reasons: what are they?
Socratic dialogue + Socratic irony = TRUTH

Plato’s trilogy of works on the end of Socrates’ life
Apology: Socrates’ defense
2 charges against him: what are they?
Crito: Socrates in jail, discussing justice
Phaedo: the death of Socrates

Philosophers
Unpaid speakers
Quest for knowledge
Never claim they have knowledge
Have a duty to enlighten other people even if the other people don’t want it
Believe in guiding others to the answer, not giving it directly
Always searching for the TRUTH
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Sophists
Paid speakers
Taught nobility, honor, and excellence
Uses rhetoric (eloquent, fancy language) to manipulate and deceive other people into thinking like they do, into accepting their values
They pretend to have the answers to all questions, but they don’t
They teach in order to gain wealth and power
Do not seek the truth
Will spoon-feed the answer to their teachers
Politicians, businessmen, etc.
Gorgias, Meno, Protagoras

Horse and gadfly example
Socrates is the fly, Athens is the horse
The horse is fat and lazy, and the fly is trying to annoy the horse to get it to move
Athens is ignorant and lazy, and Socrates is trying to push the people to learn
It is not easy, because one man’s power is not enough to move the entire nation; all Socrates can do is keep trying

Plato’s Meno
The question: what is virtue?
The examples Socrates and Meno use to try and answer the question:
Bee
Shape
Color
Health & strength
What is the problem with Meno’s answers?

Opinion vs. Knowledge (doxa vs. episteme)
July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd notes
What are the
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