Philosophy Questions Essay

Who is recognized as the first as the first speculative philosopher? The first man that reflected was regarded as the first speculative philosopher. What is the death date of Socrates? Socrates Died in the year 399 B. C Who were relativists and the paid teachers of rhetoric? The Sophists were the first paid teachers of rhetoric. The relativists are those who believed that the criteria of judgment are not absolute but relative to those who believe in them. What is the rule according to which all things are accomplished and the law which is found in all things? Good, being the highest unity. What word describes how particular (sensible) things relate to their Forms? Symbolism What is the Greek word meaning `having its end within itself`? ‘entelecheia’ What is the general term for any philosophy that says pleasure is good and pain is evil? Hedonism What is the name for this argument for the existence of God that first occurs in Anselms (of Canterbury? Proslogion? What is the cause of suffering (dissatisfaction) to the Buddha? (Ignorance) ‘All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance.’ Who began as Benedictine and ended as a Dominican? St. Catherine of Siena DEFINE/IDENTIFY THESE TERMS: 1) Critical thinking. A system of thought characterised by careful evaluation and judgment. Critical thinking tends to find the hidden meanings, and the implications of a particular concept or subject. It is a deep state of reasoning that tends to bring out sound judgment. Critical thinking is not just about finding flaws and fault, although this is what critical thinking tends to achieve at the end of the day.   The process of utilising the power of the mind to make influences, make decisions or arrive at a solution or judgments. 2) Wisdom: wisdom is acclaimed as the ability to utilize knowledge, experience, understanding, or even common sense with insight. It is also the ability to apply knowledge or experience it can also be defined as accumulated knowledge.   Prudence in the management and application of any information or knowledge can also be described as wisdom. It is the feature of being far-sighted and sagacious. The state of being wise. It is the ability of making a sound judgment based on the array of information available at one’s disposal. 3) Belief any cognitive content held as true.   It can also be described as an idea into which a level of trust and confidence is placed. It can also mean a set of information held as true and into which a lot of reverence and respect is invested. 4) Ethnocentrism:   is the generalised belief that one’s own ethnic group belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group. This concept lends credence to people’s shared belief and values in the face of other beliefs shared by people of other cultural backgrounds. Ethnocentrism contributes to the integrity of culture because it affirms people’s shared beliefs and values in the face of other, often contradictory, beliefs and values held by people of other cultural backgrounds 5) Moral relativism: – the concept that moral values depend on specific situations. This concept is of the view that ethical moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical acts do not necessarily reflect the universally accepted moral truths. Rather, it makes claims that depend on different circumstances e.g. cultural, historical or personal situations.   These moralists claim that there is no universally acceptable standard for accessing ethical proposition’s truth. 6) The Divided Line – The concept of the divided line was explained by Socrates. Socrates attempted to explain the nature of philosophy through the image of the Divided line. He used two realms, the intelligible and the visible. He used a line to divide the two realms, so that the two realms were separated from each other. he divided the two realms into two parts. The four divisions represent ascending causality, clarity, unity and eternality. The idea was to try to explain the intelligibility of the things of the visible world. The philosopher ruthlessly pursues Good. He seeks to understand it as the highest unity operating in, and behind all things. 7)   Sophrosyne – Is a Greek word. Its literary meaning is ‘moral sanity’ .This ideal was upheld by the Greeks. It means prudence and moderation. However, it possesses a more complex meaning its meaning cannot be completely comprehended in English. However, the concept can be substituted with two other phrases. ‘Nothing in Excess’ and ‘knowing thyself’. In modern Christian theology, the word means ‘purity’, ‘integrity’ and ‘virginity’. 8) Stoicism: Stoicism is a school of philosophy. It was founded in the ancient Greece. The stoic philosophy was developed from the Cynics. Stoicism was the most influential philosophy in the Roman Empire during the period preceding Christianity. The school is opposed to Epicureanism in its views of life. The stoics emphasised ethics as the main field of knowledge. Also, the stoics contributed to the development of logic and natural sciences to support their ethical doctrines. The principle proclaimed by earlier cynics was the foundation of the stoic ethics. Stoicism is broad-based. Stoics were at the forefront of advocating for the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings. 9) Values: values can be described as qualities that can be considered worthy of emulation and that are desirable.   It can also be described as the beliefs of a person or a group of people which have a sort of emotional bond. They have a common goal, either in favour of, or against something. 10) Scholasticism: scholasticism is a theological and philosophic movement. This school of thought was dominant in medieval Europe. It was based on Aristotle and the Fathers of the Church.   The movement attempted to understand the supernatural capacity of the Christian revelation using natural human reason.   The movement attempted to incorporate both the natural wisdom of Greece and Rome and the religious wisdom of Christianity. These scholastics believed that revelation was a direct teaching from God and it possessed a high degree of truth and has a higher superiority than natural reason. Among notable scholastic philosophers were Anselm – the French philosopher, Peter Abelard and St. Bonaventure.