Chapter 2 The line of uncertainty in Greek philosophy

A. Introduction to the Line of Uncertainty

1. There are an infinite number of particulars, and I might find new data that would make me change my mind. I would have to know everything to be sure of anything. ppX S C P M B mmm ````x 4 x + k x q xqqqq x s x x xttt l x lplp kpxp y wwwx PPPP x 5 t * x xvvvv !!!!!!! x ?? ? ? ? B. Three problems in knowing.

What color is an apple? How does this particular apple I am holding differ from an orange? From an avocado? How are apples cultivated? What is the apple tree like? How tall do they get? Where do apples grow in the world? When is apple season in these countries? Are apples different in Chile? Are there apples on some other planet? How many apples were there on the earth in the year 4,000 B.C.?

X 2. Everything changes, so I can’t be sure I really know something. X X O O O X O O

What happens to the apple when I eat it? Does it still exist? When does it stop being an “apple”? Will there still be apples on the earth in five hundred years?

3. As I focus on the unity of all things, it leads to a third problem: Individual things become lost in the overall unity.

If I take God out of the picture, and if the universe is fundamentally impersonal and mechanistic, then man loses his freedom and his thoughts lose their significance. We become a part of a big machine, or a big organism. Cabanis: “The brain secretes thoughts as the liver secretes bile.”

C. The downward spin in the early Greeks

All is water. 1. Thales ( )

Everything changes. “You cannot step twice in the same river.” 2. Heraclitus ( )

3. Protagoras (500 or 480? - 420) “Man is the measure of all things.” Can hold contradictory things. One eye open, the other closed. “I see” and “I do not see.”

Knowledge and communication are impossible. 4. Gorgias ( )

5. Cratylus (Stopped talking!)

Certainty 1. Thales Doubt 2. Heraclitus 3. Protagoras Despair 4. Gorgias 5. Cratylus The line of uncertainty, Early Greek philosophy

D. The Greek giants

“I only know that I know nothing.” (But we can learn through dialogue.) 6. Socrates ( )

Ideas are real. We learn by remembering, and through a mystical experience. (Cave allegory) 7. Plato ( )

Ideas inseparable from material things. We learn through logic (and intuition). 8. Aristotle ( )

E. Skepticism and ethics after Aristotle (300 BC – 529 AD)

Submit to destiny. To be happy, desire the inevitable. 9. Stoics

10. Epicureans Happiness is the goal (tranquility).

11. Skeptics It’s better to admit you know nothing. “We determine nothing.”

Certainty 1. Thales Doubt 2. Heraclitus 3. Protagoras Despair 4. Gorgias 5. Cratylus The line of uncertainty; Greek philosophy (Complete) Struggle 6. Socrates 7. Plato 8. Aristotle Skepticism and ethics 9. Stoics 10. Epicureans 11. Skeptics

Summary of main concepts in Greek philosophy: 1. ThalesAll is water. 2. Heraclitus Everything changes. “You cannot step twice into the same river.” 4. Gorgias Knowledge and communication are impossible. 5. Cratylus(Stopped talking) 3. Protagoras“Man is the measure of all things.” Summary of main concepts in Greek philosophy:

7. Plato Ideas are the real existence. Know by remembering, mystical experience. 8. AristotleIdeas and matter inseparable. We know by using logic and intuition. 10. Epicureans 9. StoicsSubmit to destiny. Happiness is the goal (tranquility). 11. Skeptics Better to admit you know nothing. 6. Socrates “I only know that I know nothing.” > Dialogue

Review Questions 1.Identify the five stages of the “line of uncertainty.” 2. What problems do we have when we start with the particulars in our search for truth? 3. What problems do we have when we start with the universals in our search for truth? 4. Briefly describe the key thought of each: Thales Heraclitus Protagoras Gorgias Cratylus Socrates Plato Aristotle The Stoics The Epicureans The Skeptics

5. Place each philosopher or school of philosophy from the previous question in the proper place on the “line of uncertainty.”

Questions for reflection 1.Have you yourself passed through the same stages of the “line of uncertainty” as described in this chapter? Explain. 2. Do you understand the importance of the problem of the universals and particulars? If not, what is your doubt? 3. Which would have the most followers today, Plato or Aristotle? Why?