Chapter 3

Roem and the Middle Ages

Skepticism Pyrrho of Elis Was the founder Suspension of belief in anything Main target was dogmatists Skepticism proposed that argument proposed that arguments for and against any philosophical doctrine are equally compelling. Noted that whatever one believed, it could turn out to be false. Thus, one could avoid frustration of being wrong by not believing in anything. They lived within societal conventions.

Cynicism Back-to-nature philosophy. Life free of wants, pleasures, and conventions of society. True happiness depends on self-sufficiency. Quest for simple, independent natural life. Cynics argued that animals provide the best model for human behavior. Primary message was that nature should guide human behavior. Social conventions, including religion, were human inventions Cause shame, guilt, hypocrisy, greed, envy, and hate.

Epicureanism Philosophy of materialism, free will, no supernatural influences in the world, and no after-life. Goal of life is individual happiness, but not pure hedonism Strive for tranquility that comes from balance between a lack or an excess of __anything; life of moderation. The good life was free, simple, rational, and moderate and to be lived now because there was nothing else after death.

Philosophy in Rome World ruled by a divine plan and everything in nature, including humans, are there for a reason Everything happens for a reason, no accidents, all must simply be accepted as part of the plan. The good life involves accepting one's fate with indifference even if suffering was involved. People are expected to accept their stations in life without question. Only personal freedom was in choosing wether to act in accordance with nature's plan. Stoicism won out over Epicureanism in the Roman Empire.

Neoplatonism Stressed the mystical aspects of Plato's philosophy. Philo, the "jewish Plato" (25 BCE - 50 CE) Plotinus (205-270 CE) Philo, the "Jewish Plato" Like Plato, senses cannot provide knowledge Philo added that sensory experience interferes with direct understanding of ___and communication with God. All knowledge and wisdom comes from God, not from introspection, but soul must be purified. True knowledge can be attained only by purified, passive mind

Plotinus Arranged all things in a hierarchy: First was God, followed by the Spirit, ( a part of every human soul), next, the ___soul, the cause of all things that exist in the world. We must aspire to learn of world beyond the physical world - there, things are eternal, immutable, and in a state of bliss. The body is the soul's prison; through intense meditation the souls of all humans can reach and dwell with the eternal and changeless. These ideas strongly influenced early christian thought.

Emphasis on Spirit Religious influences on the Roman Empire and early Christian thought Religions from India and Persia Vedantism Perfection could be approximated by entering into semi ecstatic trances Zoroastrianism Individuals are caught in an eternal struggle between wisdom and correctness on one hand, and ignorance and evil on the other hand. Mystery religions from near east promulgated sectret rites, emphasis on death and renewal purification, and forgiveness of sins, and exaltation to new life. Greek culture was recognized by the romans as being important; thus it was preserved and disseminated Judaism - one God with an interest in human affairs and a strict code of behavior for which one could be rewarded or punished. Jesus (6BCE - 30 CE) Taught that the knowledge of good and evil is revealed by God and should guide human conduct. Early Christian thought best described as a meshing of Judeo-christian with Platoism. Emphasis on Spirit St. Paul Was the first to proclaim that Jesus was the messiah Developed a combination of Judaic and Platonic Philosophy with emphasis __on faith rather than reason. Humans divided into three parts: body, mind, and spirit Spirit was spark of God within humans Through the spirit, humans can become close to God Body is source of evil Mind is caught between body and spirit: sometimes serves the body, sometimes serves the spirit. Since humans are partly animalistic and partly divine, conflicts is the necessary consequence. Emperor Constantine Made Christianity a tolerated religion in the Roman Empire Charged bishops with the task of creating a single set of christian documents concerning the teachings of Jesus Christianity may have been more of political expediency than religious conviction for Constantine St. Augustine Combined Stoicism, Neoplatonism, Judaism, and Christianity into a powerful Christian world view that dominated western life and through for 1000 years until the 13th century Major works were: City of God The Confessions Proposed a dualistic nature of man, with the body similar to animals and the spirit close to or part of God. These two opposing aspects became the Christian struggle between god and Satan for human souls Humans have the ability to choose between good and evil Explains why evil is present in the world. All people have an internal sense that provides an awareness of truth, error, personal obligation, and moral right. This helps people evaluate experience and make choices. In other words, behavior is under internal control, not external events ______and consequences. In confessions, Augustine described his sinful life, including having mistresses, one of whom bore him a child. When he was 32 years of age, he converted to Christianity. For Augustine, the ultimate knowledge is to know god. We can come to know God through two means: the Scriptures Introspection - examination of one's inner self as a means to achieve a _______personal communion with God Offered an analysis of the experience of time Time cannot be physically measured, but occurs in the mind. Time experience depends on sensory experience and the memory of ____sensory experience. The past is the presence in the mind of things remembered. The future is the present anticipation of events based on the memory of _______past experience. The present is current sensory experience.

The Dark Ages Greek and Roman books and knowledge were lost. There was little or no progress in science, philosophy, and literature. Europe became dominated by mysticism, superstition, and anti-intellectualism. Church dogma became very powerful because it was no longer challengeable. Crusades (end of the Dark Ages) resulted in "rediscovery" of Aristotle's writings preserved by Arab, Muslim thinkers.

Islamic and Jewish influences Muhammad Born in Mecca in 570 Created Islam, which spread across the world. Islamic philosophers translated, studies and expanded on the ancient wisdom of Greece and Rome. Muslims made great strides in medicine, science, and mathematics. Avicenna Physician/philosopher who wrote many books on various topics including medicine, mathematics, logic and metaphysics, islamic theology, astronomy, politics, and linguistics. His book on medicine was used in European universities for centuries He borrowed heavily from Aristotle but made many modifications that ___persisted for hundreds of years. In analysis of human thinking, in addition to the five external senses, he added seven "interior senses" arranged in a hierarchy: 1. Common sense Synthesized the information from the external senses 2. Retentive imagination Ability to remember the synthesized information 3.Compositive animal imagination Allows for learning of what to approach or avoid in the environment, but ____only based on association (go to what is pleasing, avoid what is painful) 4. Com-positive human imagination Creatively combining common sense and the retentive imagination 5. Estimative power Innate ability to make judgments about environmental objects 6. Ability to remember outcomes of past events All the information processing occurring lower in the hierarchy 7. Ability to use this information

Islamic and Jewish influences Avicenna (continued) Avicenna used a wide variety of treatments for both physical and mental __illnesses Example: music therapy to teat melancholic patients Significantly impact on later philosophical developments in the West Averroes Believed that human intelligence is arranged in a hierarchy with the highest level enabling humans to have contact with God. Discovered that the retina is the part of the eye that is sensitive to light. Also noted that those who had smallpox were then immune to the disease, which suggested inoculation as a prevention technique. Maimonides Sought to reconcile Judaism and Aristotelian philosophy. Attempted to show that many passages in the Old Testament and Talmud could be understood rationally and need not be taken on faith alone. Like the muslim philosopher, his attempts to reconcile faith and Aristotle influenced later Christian thinkers that tried to do the same.

Reconciliation of Christian Faith and Reason St. Anselm Argued that perception and reason can and should supplement Christian faith. The ontological argument for the existence of God When we think of something, there must exist something that corresponds to __those thoughts. if we think of a being in which no better or greater a being can be thought, ____that must be God and he must exist - a being "than which nothing greater ____can be conceived." Peter Lombard HE argued that we do not need to escape from the empirical world to know God. One can learn about God by studying the empirical world. Three ways to learn about God - faith, reason, and the study of God's works (the empirical world)

Scholasticism Synthesis of Aristotle's philosophy and Christian theology and showing what implications that synthesis had for living one's life Peter Abelard Goal was to use his dialectic method to overcome the inconsistencies in the statements made by theologians through the years. Reconciled the debate between realism and nominalism with conceptualism. Once formed concepts exist apart from the individual experiences upon ___which they were formed (realism). Concepts summarize individual experiences, which is nominalism. Became a very wealthy, famous teacher until he met and began tutoring Heloise, a fellow canon's niece, at Notre Dame They were married after the birth of their child. He suffered a terrible fate at ___the hands of her uncle and they lived apart as a monk and a nun until their ___deaths. St Albertus Magnus Made a comprehensive review of both Aristotle's works and the Islamic and Jewish scholars' interpretations of the works. Presented the view's of Aristotle on sensation, intelligence, and memory to the Church scholars in an attempt to show them how human being's rational powers could be used to achieve salvation. Thomas Aquinas Built on the work of St. Albertus Magnus Synthesized Aristotle's work and the Christian tradition. However this have a negative consequence once Aristotle's idea were assimilated into church dogma, they were no ___longer challengeable. Aquinas argued effectively that reason and faith are not incompatible but lead to the same thing - God and his glory. Influence was substantial, but had the opposite effect than what he desired. By admitting reason as a means of understanding God, philosophers began to argue that faith and reason could be studied separately, and thus reason could be studied without considering its theological implications. Philosophy without religious overtones became a possibility and eventually a reality. Limitations of Scholastic Philosophy Offered little value to either philosophy or psychology. All assumed that there was a higher truth beyond the one that could be experienced through the senses William of Occam: A Turning Point Argued that in explaining things, no unnecessary assumptions should be made Explanations need to be kept as parsimonious (simple) as possible. By "shaving" these extraneous assumptions, one is using Occam's razor. Argued that we can trust our senses to tell us what the world is really like, and that we can know the world directly without need to worry about what lurks beyond our experience. Despite his strong empiricism Occam still believed in God. Felt nothing in nature could prove it, so must be taken on faith His views mark the end of scholasticism and despite the church's efforts these views became widely taught. The Spirit of the Times Before the RenaissanceState of science, philosophy, and religion at advent of the rRenaissance Two classes of people: believers and nonbelievers Nonbelievers, if not converted, were punished, imprisoned, or killed and considered stupid or possessed by the devil. Astrology and magic was practiced everywhere by almost everyone. Superstition was omnipresent Characterized the behavior of peasants, kings, scholars, and clergy. For centuries there was little philosophical, scientific or theological progress. For progress occur, the church's authority had to be broken It was beginning to fall apart.