West Phil. Final

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What is a deductive argument?
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Terms in this set (26)
What is a deductive argument?
An argument in which it is claimed that the conclusion follows necessarily from the premise (true, impossible to be false) --- certainly, definitely
What is an inductive argument?
An argument in which it is claimed that the premises make the conclusion probable (probably, likely)
What is a valid argument?
An argument in which assuming the premises are true it is impossible for the conclusion to be false
What is a sound argument?
A deductive is sound when the argument is valid and the premises are true
What is a strong inductive argument?
If the premises are assumed to be true the conclusion must be true
What is a cogent inductive argument?
an inductive argument is cogent when the argument is strong and premises are true
Who wrote the Republic?
Plato
Who narrates the Republic?
Socrates
Who are these characters, and how are they related?
Glaucon, Adiemantus, Cephalus, Polemarcus, Thrasymacus
-Glaucon and Adiemantus are half brothers (with Plato)
-Cephalus is elderly father of Polemarcus
-Polemarcus is Cephalus's son
-Thrasymacus is a sophist and is a travelling paid teacher
What is the moral of the Ring of Gyges story?
Everyone will/would act immoral if they were able to get away with it (no repercussions)
Being moral is hard/time-consuming/sacrificial therefore the best of both worlds is the appearance of morality
Thrasymacus, Glaucon, and Adiemantus each argue for the conclusion that no one values justice/morality in and of itself. What are some of these arguments? Are they good argument, or bad ones?Thrasymacus's argument: being moral is to one's disadvantage, people are immoral whenever they get the chance Glaucon's arguments: people are moral to avoid consequences and it takes a lot of work to be moral so you might as well just appear to be moral to reap the benefits Adiemantus's argument: The gods can be pleased with sacrifices and so the gods don't give us a reason to be moral or just- one would just have to stockpile enough money to buy sacrificesGlaucon and Adiemantus issue a challenge to Socrates. Responding to this challenge is the concern of the rest of the Republic. What is this challenge?Glaucon and Adiemantus challenge Socrates to prove that justice/morality is meanwhile in and of itself for anyone who possess it and the Immorality is harmful. To do this he builds the ideal city in his mind.Glaucon, Adiemantus, and Socrates envision a first city that doesn't need an army. But then they envision a second city that does need an army. Why does the second city need an army?The first city only appeases basic needs, there are no luxuries. In city 2, luxuries, riches, art, and culture are introduced. He claims that they need guardians to guard the luxuries since the wealth will attract wars. The second city needs an army because consuming more and more land/resources will eventually come in conflict with a neighboring city so having soldiers may help in this situation.The Guardians of the city are given a strict regimen of training and education. What are some things they are not allowed to do?They can not hear stories about the gods misbehaving, scheming, acting prideful or egotistic, they must believe the gods are nothing but moral and divine so they do not think it is acceptable to act that way also Hear stories about the gods creating natural disasters Hear stories about good people suffering or bad people succeeding(ex. The Odyssey) Be ferocious at home Laugh or lie Eat savories Drink alcohol Can not be easily angered with one anotherWhat is the myth of metals that will be Socrates and his interlocutors agree to tell the citizens of the city they are designing?Everyone is born with one of three metals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) that were made in the earth which corresponds to the class of society you fall into (Guardian, Auxiliaries, Workers). Socrates tells this outrageous lie to create artificial classes in the hopes that the three classes will each play its individual role to create morality in the city.In the Republic, Socrates argues that philosopher kings should rule the ideal city. Present and evaluate one of Socrates' arguments for that view. (pg 193) (Chapter 9 - Simile of Sun/Allegory of Cave support philosopher kings)*supported by concepts from chapter 9*Explain the allegory of the cave.Prisoners sit in a cave facing a wall lit up by a fire behind them and are not allowed to move or look around. People behind the prisoners make pictures from a fire behind them. The prisoners only know about the shapes/pictures made by shadows and nothing else. The argument goes that if any prisoner were to escape, they would be overwhelmed by the sun and "realness" of life beyond the cave. Plato argues that it's the duty of those prisoners who escape to go back into the cave and tell the others.Explain the metaphor of the divided line.There is a line that is a gradient from the not real to the real. In order of increasing "realness" we have the section of the line dedicated to shadows and reflections, then to the visible realm, now delving into the more real we have subject areas like geometry and algebra, and finally we reach Plato's theory of the Forms; which are the most real thing (according to Plato).Explain the simile of the sun.The Form of the Good is to the realm of Knowledge as the sun is to the visible realm. Goodness enables intelligence just as the Sun enables sightAccording to Socrates in the Republic, what are the proper objects of knowledge?Closely related to the allegory of the cave, the simile of the sun, and the divided line FORMS. What we would call abstract knowledge (concepts/forms/theories)According to Socrates, what subjects should philosopher kings study in order for their minds to be led away from what is fake and up toward what is real?Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, musicologySocrates and his interlocutors rank several types of city in terms of how just they are. What is the order of this ranking? Describe what makes each city in the list less just than the one before it and more just than the one after it.1.) Aristocracy 2.) Timarchy 3.) Oligarchy 4.) Democracy 5.) Dictatorship/ TyrannyList the types of soul/mind that correspond to the types of city, in order from most just to least just. Explain why each soul is more or less just than each other soul in the list.1.) Aristocrat- let reason rule over the soul 2.) Timarch- is too prideful, but can still curb the desires 3.) Oligarch- they are ruled by the desire of money, so that way they will always be secure 4.) Democrat- is ruled by desire, and acts upon whatever comes to mind. This is rule by mob 5.) Dictator- this person is ruled by their worst desiresAccording to Socrates, why is it impossible for someone with tyrannical psychology (soul) to be happy?Their desires are uncontrolled by neither their pride nor their reason, and therefore they do not fit into his model of happiness, where reason teams up with pride to control the desires, and they are therefore unhappy.In the Republic, the participants in the conversation eventually agree that being reasonable, or rational, is the key to being good. Is that conclusion plausible? What are some reasons for thinking it isn't?X is the key to Y Can you be good without being rational or through a different path? Is something else the key to happiness? If so, what is it? Argue that the key isn't rationality it's this "other thing There isn't just one key thing that brings you happiness; it is all relative. Is being rational the key to happiness? X is the key to Y X's w/o Y's and Y's w/o X's You can be rational without having a good life You can have a good life without being rational Examples: You can have your own key to happiness/good life Does not need to be being rational Socratic response: reason and pride always have control over desires I got: candy n shit.In the Republic , Socrates argues that justice in a city is the proper relation among the different classes of the city. Does justice have other components that Socrates has left out of his discussion?Have a familiar structure of a city, which Socrates laid out (guardians, auxiliaries, workers)→ but could you have a city that is different than this structure that he has designed Just: Hierarchy Guardians team up with Auxiliaries to maintain power over Workers