1. Greek Science
PLATO & ARISTOTLE

2. OBJECTIVES Know and understand the basics of Plato's philosophy.
Know and understand the basics of Aristotle's philosophy.
Know the importance and influence of Plato and Aristotle's philosophy in the field of science and human thinking in general.
Know the significance of Plato and Aristotle's philosophy in your daily life.

3. Plato & Aristotle
School of Athens, by Raphael

4. PLATO Pupil of Socrates Influenced by Socrates' death
Set up his own school known as the "Academy"
one of the greatest and most influential thinker of all time.

5. BACKGROUND OF HIS THOUGHT
1. From Natural Philosophy to Philosophy of Man and Society
Natural Philosophy - Thales, Anaximenes, Anaximander, Parmenides, Heraclitus, Democritus
- Main Question: "What is the underlying stuff of nature?"
Philosophy of Man and Society - Sophists and Socrates
- Main Questions: "Who are we? What is virtue? What is Justice?"

6. BACKGROUND OF HIS THOUGHT
2. Both Trends are concerned with the existence of the "eternal and immutable."
Natural Philosophy - "ONE in the many"
Philosophy of Man and Society - "NORMS of the society"
3. Concern of Plato: He was also concerned with the relationship between what is "eternal and immutable", on the one hand, and what "flows", on the other.
-Same as the Natural Philosophers and Humanists.
-But he answered it differently.

7. HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH HIS IDEA
"Although everything in the natural world "flows", there must nevertheless be "something" that never changes."
Now the question is, "where can we find that non- changing 'something'?"

8. HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH HIS IDEA
World of Things (Nature)
Perceptible
Perishable
within time and space
it flows

9. HOW PLATO CAME UP WITH HIS IDEA
"where can we find that non-changing 'something'?"
Obviously, "It must be beyond the realm of things."
-It must be perceived only by reason
-immaterial and non-perishable
-outside time and space
-eternal and immutable
For Plato, it is found in the realm of Ideas

10. PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
For Plato all Material things are fashioned after their timeless "ideas or forms."
Despite their differences, why are toy horses all the same?
Why is a toy horse a toy horse?
what is there in all toy horses that makes them all toy horses?

11. PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
If you are to make toy horses:
you use models of horses
you have in your mind the "forms" of horses.
this form or idea of a toy horse allows you to make several toy horses.
despite their differences, all toy horses are toy horses.
Therefore, what makes a toy horse a toy horse is the idea of a toy horse.

12. PLATO'S DOCTRINE OF IDEAS
Thus for Plato, "The realm of Ideas is the foundation of the realm of things."
IDEAS
THINGS
ART

13. TRUE KNOWLEDGE
what is known in the realm of things are mere "opinions"
- we only use sense perception
-ex. who is the most beautiful actress?
what is known in the realm of ideas are "true knowledge"
- we use reason
-ex. mathematics, geometry, philosophical ideas
"We can only have 'inexact conception' of things we perceive with our senses. But we can have 'true knowledge' of things we understand with our reason."

14. The Cave Allegory
WORLD OF THINGS
(SHADOWS)

15. The Cave Allegory things are but shadows of ideas or eternal forms
we need to go beyond the shadows and dwell on the realm of ideas.
ideas let us understand the natural world

16. WE ONLY RECOLLECT IDEAS
We already know ideas before, all we need is to just remember them.
We remember the ideas in the copies (things).
IDEA OF A HORSE

17. ARISTOTLE (384—322) He was a pupil at Plato's Academy
Before going to Athens, we lived in Macedonia
Son of the famous physician Nicomachus
Last great Greek Philosopher, but first great biologist of Europe

18. ARISTOTLE (384—322)
Unlike Plato, he was preoccupied with natural processes (world of things) and not with the world of ideas.
He was "the great organizer."
He tutored (342—c.339 ) Alexander the Great
In 335 he opened a school in the Lyceum; some distinguished members of the Academy followed him.

19. NATURE IS THE REAL WORLD...
The "idea" of something is simply a concept that we humans formed after seeing a certain number of that thing.
“Ideas” are just the "common characteristics" of things belonging into a certain group.
“Ideas” are just reflections of natural objects.

20. NATURE IS THE REAL WORLD...
For Aristotle, "Nothing exists in the mind that has not first been experienced by the senses."
Simply, "There is no such thing as a separate world of ideas."

21. CAUSALITY IN NATURE
Modern/popular notion of cause: how something came to be
example:
RAIN
- the moisture in the clouds cools and condenses into raindrops that are drawn to the earth by the force of gravity.
For Aristotle, this is incomplete.

22. CAUSALITY IN NATURE THERE ARE ALWAYS 4 CAUSES OF A THING:
1. Material Cause - material component
2. Efficient Cause - that which makes the thing (external agent)
3. Formal Cause - that which makes a thing what it is
4. Final cause - purpose for which the thing is made.

23. CAUSALITY IN NATURE Example: RAIN 1. Material Cause - moisture
2. Efficient Cause - cooling air
3. Formal Cause - form or nature of water - to fall to the earth
4. Final Cause - its purpose is to nourish the earth and its dwellers.*
In modern thought the efficient cause is generally considered the central explanation of a thing, but for Aristotle the final cause had primacy.

24. EVERYTHING CAN BE CATEGORIZED
Every object falls under a broader category and a certain subcategory
This also applies in the sciences
Science is divided into different branches and that such branches are parts of one coherent whole.
Physics
Biology
Psychology
Logic
Ethics
Politics
Metaphysics

25. LOGIC One of Aristotle's major contribution to human knowledge
Found in his Organon
Logic is an instrument used for organizing our thoughts
based on correlation of terms

26. LOGIC ex. (Syllogism) All creatures are mortals Gloria is a creature
Gloria is a mortal
Clear thinking that leads to a definitely true conclusion.

27. Plato & Aristotle in General
True Knowledge is found “above”, in the world of ideas.
True Knowledge is found “here”, in the world of things.

28. Questions to Ponder
What are the contributions of the two great philosophers to science?
How can we use their philosophies in our practical daily living?