Philosophy Final Examination Review Sheet

 What is philosophy? Where does the word come from? What is ultimacy? What is
antiquity? Are the sciences concerned with ultimacy? Explain. What are five examples of
ultimate questions?

It’s the study of ultimacy through reason. The term comes from the word “philo” which
means “love of”, and “Sophia which means “wisdom”. Ultimacy is the study of ultimate
questions regarding human existence. It is a period of history runs approximately from
the 6th century b.C. to about the 6th century a.D. The word “antiquity” is synonymous
with the word “ancient”. Sciences are not concerned about ultimacy because its
foundation relies on experimenting and proving. Examples of ultimate questions: Does
God exist? What is the meaning of life? What is the essence of love? What is human
friendship? What is beauty?

 What is mythos? What is Logos? What is rhetoric? What is dialectic? What is doxa?
What is episteme? Explain the critical transition in detail. What is an argument? What is
the basic principle of logic? Does it apply only to philosophy?

Mythos is a mythical account. Myth is a story that has the purpose of explaining the
unexplainable. Logos is a rational account. Doxa is opinion or belief. Episteme is
knowledge, and it has the prejudice of certainty. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion.
Dialectic is the concern with content as opposed to appeal. It is more important for
dialecticians “what is say” rather than “how is say?”. The methodological transition
claims how the terms, doxa, rhetoric and mythos, are inadequate, incorrect, meaningless,
as opposed to the terms: episteme, dialectic, and logos, to explain the world because of
the inadequacy of the definitions given by these terms. The correct terms have a
qualitative condition that gives them a superior standard. An argument is a series of
declarative statements that leads to a conclusion. The basic principle of logic is the
principle of non-contradiction. It says that a contradiction is a logical absurdity. A
contradiction is when you make opposite claims about the world. This principle applies to
all human knowledge, so it applies not only to philosophy but to other academic
disciplines too.

 Who are the three giants of antiquity? Where is each of them from? Name the two
academic institutions that were founded by the second and third figure.
 The three giants of antiquity are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates and Plato are
from Athens, and Aristotle is from Macedonia (Stagira). Plato founded the first
academic institution in Athens called “The Academy”. Then, Aristotle founded his own
academic institution called “Lyceum”.

 What is the elenchus? What is the foundation of Socratic questioning? Why does Plato
write in the form of a dialogue? Explain.

The Elenchus is the methodology Socrates used to start conversations about:

 Cross examination
 The search for definitions
 What is X? Any ultimate questions
 The search for essences

Socrates found out that questioning is the foundation of knowledge or learning, as the
opposite to ignorance. Plato wrote philosophy in the form of a dialogue because of his
tutor, Socrates, both have the same philosophy as well as they are synonymous.

 What is the central question in Plato’s Euthyphro? What are Euthyphro’s two responses?
What are Socrates objections to those responses? What is Divine Command Theory?
What is a weakness of Divine Command?

The central question is “what is piety?” which means treating everyone with the same
standards. His first response to Socrates was that “it makes no difference who the
murdered victim was, that it was irrelevant. What matters is that I do what is pious. Most
people wouldn’t prosecute their own father, but I’m willing to prosecute my father the
same way I would to a stranger”. The second response was “piety is that which is dear to
the Gods”. Socrates’s first objection to Euthyphro was that “your response is not a good
answer. You’ve giving me an example of piety”. Socrates’s second objection was “Your
second answer is even worse because even the Gods are in conflict on such matter”. The
divine command theory states that an action is moral because God says so. The central
weakness with this theory is that it has a tyrannical view/perception. Authority doesn’t
mean correctness. Authority has limitations and it is not always legit and absolute. Just
because somebody says so, it doesn’t mean that it is correct.
 What are the three charges in Plato’s Apology? What is particularly significant about the
first charge? Explain in detail. How does Socrates respond to the charges against him?
Who is the principle accuser? Is he correct when he says that “it is the laws which
improve the youth not you Socrates”? What does Socrates say about the fear of death?
What does he mean by “the unexamined life is not worth living? Explain in detail.
 The three charges in the Apology are: 1- Corrupting the Youth of Athens, meaning,
corrupting the young people intellectually by provoking their curiosity. By
questioning, they are learning. 2- Not acknowledging the Gods of the city of Athens,
meaning, not believing, and worshipping the ancient Greek mythological gods. 3-
Atheism, meaning, not believing in any God.
Socrates answers “Gentlemen, I don’t corrupt youth, rather I improve it, and still hadn’t
received a payment for my teaching. The result has been a life of destitution. The city of
Athens should thank me, not prosecute me. I’ve approached to them and asked them
these philosophical questions, and they had no answers for me. I’ve approached the man
who is regarded as the wisest man in Athens. And I’ve asked him these questions and he
wasn’t able to reply to them. So, he isn’t as wise as everybody believe he was. The basis
of slander against me is that I speak the truth. How can I be an atheist when religious is
divine? I’m now the wisest man in all Athens because unlike everyone else, I can admit
my own ignorance”.
The principle accuser is Meletus. When he says, “it is the laws which improve the youth
not you, Socrates”? he means that laws control people’s behavior. But Meletus isn’t
correct with that argument because good people don’t need laws. Laws don’t improve
people; laws force people and they create conformity and fear of repercussion. The
problem is that good people want or desire to do things for others, but they are not willing
or reluctant to do good things.
Socrates says that he isn’t afraid of death because death is inevitable, and so it’s irrational
to fear the inevitable. Instead, he says that there are two possible answers to that question:
1- Death is like being asleep for good and for forever so it’s a lack of perception. 2-
Death is a change of location because when we died our souls are transported
somewhere else. Socrates is more afraid of life than of death because we cannot do
anything about how we will die, but we can do something about how we want to live.
Socrates says” I fear a life of thoughtlessness, a life of futility, a life of trivialities, a life
of ignorance, which is what most people live”.
Socrates says that the unexamined life is not worth living because we wouldn’t be
making questions about ultimate things. It is better to be dissatisfied with high standards
rather than satisfied with low standards. Socrates feels satisfied when people question
themselves about ultimate things because then they are being wise, virtuous.

 What is the offer in the Crito? How does Socrates respond to the offer? What does he say
about reputation?

Crito’s offer is an arrangement to get Socrates out of jail, who has been charged of three
crimes and was convicted 3 hours before his scheduled execution. This offer had a value
for Crito because he responds that he values Socrates’ life more than his own. Socrates
responds: “An injustice committed by the state has nothing to do with my actions being
 judged. Whether my own actions are moral. Running would make me look guilty and
scared, and as I said before I’m not scared. If I run, my teaching in any other part will be
hypocrisy. My execution would cause more harm to the state than it would do to me. It’s
better to suffer injustice than it is to commit injustice because you’ll feel shame. The state
can destroy my body, but they cannot destroy my soul”. Socrates says “The issue here
isn’t merely having a good reputation, but rather, in the eyes of who I only care about my
reputation. In the eyes of those that I respect, which are the few as opposed to the many”.
Approval doesn’t constitute competence, just because people like something
(POPULAR), it doesn’t make it good. Consensus IS NOT Correctness.

 What is virtue (arete) according to Aristotle? What is the difficulty with the attainment of
virtue? What is the opposite of virtue? What does Aristotle mean when he says that “all
human action aims at some good”? Is he correct? Explain. What is an intrinsic value?
What is an instrumental value? What does he say is the only intrinsic value? Are evil
people capable of the only intrinsic value? Explain. Is the only intrinsic value the same as
pleasure? Explain.

According to Aristotle, a virtue is the mean between excess (“too much”) and deficiency
(“too little”). But there is also ambiguity in virtues, the mean can be confused. The
virtues have to be used correctly. As human beings, the mean represents an obstacle of
darkness. The opposite of virtue is “bias”, meaning the absence of excellence. Aristotle
means that humans confuse pleasure and happiness. As humans, we miss the target, or we
don’t know where it is. We positively perceive our own actions as good, but we get it
wrong, or we have a perception problem. Socrates is correct because there are times when
 people without an expertise share information or give advice about a topic that they don’t
even know about the founded facts of that. An intrinsic value is something that we value
for its own sake. An instrumental value is something that we value as a means to obtain
something else. Happiness is the highest capability of every human being and is the only
intrinsic value for human beings. Evil people are not capable of happiness. According to
Aristotle, “we can only attend the highest good by doing things which are good”.
Happiness and pleasure are not the same. There is a qualitative condition between both.
Pleasure is a condition of the senses, while Happiness, according to Socrates, is a
condition of the soul.

 What is metaphysics? What is epistemology? What is ethics? What is philosophical

anthropology? What is aesthetics? What is the philosophy of religion? What is political
philosophy?

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things.
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the validation, limitations, and
scope of all human knowledge. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the
correctness of human action. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the
nature of beauty and taste. The philosophy of religion is the branch of philosophy that
seeks rational foundation for religious belief. Political Philosophy is the branch of
philosophy that deals with what is a just society.

 What are the three problems of metaphysics? What is a definition of the word “God”?
What three attributes does God have in most theistic traditions? What are the three basic
positions regarding belief/disbelief in God? What is devotional atheism?

1. Freewill vs. Determinism: Are human beings free to act as they do?
2. Immortality of the soul: When we will die?
3. Existence of God: Does God exist?

Definition of “God”: It is the one supreme being. Creator and ruler of the universe.
Controls some aspects of reality. Believed in and worshipped by people. Attributes: 1-
Omnibenevolence which means all good, morally perfect. 2- Omnipotence which means
all powerful. 3- Omniscience which means all knowing.

Basic positions regarding belief/disbelief in God

1- Atheism: disbelief in God

2- Agnosticism: Nor believing or denying God
 3- Theism: Belief in God

4- Devotional Atheism: Refusing to worship God

5- Deism: Position that God creates the universe but doesn’t interact with it

 What is the problem of evil? Explain. What are three classical arguments for the
existence of God? Explain one weakness of each.

The problem of evil is that there is a logical contradiction between God’s actions and
attributes, and the existence of evil.
1. Teleological argument: It states that the universe shows remarkable sophistication
and that subjects “corresponding intelligence”.
2. Ontological argument: It states 4 premises claimed by Saint Anselm
a. God contains all perfections
b. To exist in reality is greater than to exist in the mere imagination
c. Existence is a perfection
d. God must therefore exist
3. Cosmological argument: (causal/causation) It states 4 premises
a. Everything which exists has a cause
b. The universe exists
c. The universe has a cause
d. That cause is God

 Explain free will vs determinism? Why is the problem of human freedom important?
What does Sartre mean when he says that man is “condemned to be free”?

 What does Marx mean when he says that human essence is attached to human activity?
What is specific about human activity that is different from that of other animals? What is
historical materialism?

 What does Aristotle mean when he says that “man is a political animal”? Explain. What
is Jose Ortega y Gassett’s magnum opus? What does he says is unique about the 20th
century? What circumstances is he concerned with? What is the difference between
applied and pure science according to him? What does he mean by the “age of self
satisfaction”? What does he mean by the “learned ignoramus”?
 According to Aristotle, moral questions are the foundation of law philosophy, therefore,
they have political implications. “Man is a political animal” means that human beings are
unique to the extent that “we” choose the structure of our lives. Animals have an innate
structure, they do it instinctually. Every time in human history, there has been a hierarchy
structure. As human beings, we choose what we believe is just, what best satisfies our
moral dilemmas, and that becomes the basic problem of a political society.
Jose Ortega y Gassett’s magnum opus is his greatest work called “The Revolt of the
Masses” (La rebelión de la Masas). Ortega says that the present period is unique (one of a
kind) because of the big exposure to technology. At any point of humanity, there are
technological advances, but modern technology possesses a distinguish characteristic,
uniqueness, because of the 20th century’s explosion of information. Information that now
is unique because of its attributes: quantity and accessibility.
Ortega is concerned about the circumstances to which this generation is exposed by
saying that “A poor man has more access to the information today, than a wealthy man
for just a couple of centuries ago”. He questions “Is humanity more knowledgeable today
than in any other point of history?” and his answer is “ YES, in one sense and NO, in
another”.
If we look at the accomplishments of humanity in very short period of time, those
accomplishments are astonished, unbelievable, hard to follow. Ex. The invention of the
airplane (1903) “the ride-flyer”, The first man in the moon (1969), etc.
YES, in the technical sense, the technical capacity of humanity (“A technical man” book,
Ex. The use of technology)
NO, in a sense that humanity is more ignorant than ever before. We are more vulgar than
ever before. Humanity is more primitive, less refined because humanity is thinking less
than we ever have. There is no need to think, we have devices or gadgets that think for
us. We don’t have to do an outrageous/ostentatious thinking.
Technology is an applied science, particularly as machinery or technical means, but it is
also pure science, ………..
As technology accelerates, humanity decelerates in the intellectual way, which causes
“The Age of Self-satisfaction”. We are thinking less than we had ever before. In fact,
what this era has produce is “learned ignoramus” (ignorante sabio/erudito). Man is
fabulous capable of creation, but he doesn’t know what to create. Man is master of all
things, but not of himself. Man is capable of seen the world but not himself. So, humanity
is “intellectually indifferent”.
Technological progress & Moral progress have not wrong parallel (El progreso
tecnológico y el progreso moral no son paralelos). But both progresses are not growing at
the same speed when they should be.

 What is modernity? Why is Descartes called the father of modern philosophy? What does
he mean by Cogito Ergo Sum? What is this claim important? What is empiricism?
 Modernity is the 2nd system of Ethics (1724-1804). It is divided in early modernity &
later modernity.

 How many speeches are there in Plato’s Symposium? What is the role of beauty in the
dialogue? How are beauty and desire related? What is the role of temporality and
permanence?

Permanence remains for a very lasting period of time

Temporality remains for a reduced period of time