Seeking to strip his conception of knowledge to the bare minimum by removing all notions which can subject to reasonable doubt, Descartes differentiates between assumptions and true knowledge because, in his estimation, any perception based solely on sensory input is inevitably flawed, as the human sensory system is known to be fallible (Collingwood). By rejecting the role of assumptions in forming knowledge, Descartes devises perhaps the most well recognized philosophical postulations ever formed: Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Despite the revelations of Descartes' epistemological theories, it is clear that much of the modern human experience is based on widely held assumptions that have been collectively mistaken for knowledge. Cultural beliefs engrained over dozens of generations, religious doctrine issued through official edicts, and erroneous conclusions accepted at face value are examples of assumption usurping the place of empirical examination and logical reasoning. With the advent of anonymously contributed encyclopedia entries, and the instantaneous transmission of incorrect information to millions of people, the internet age has exacerbated the divide between assumption and knowledge. The blockbuster science-fiction...
Whether demonstrated by Meno's inability to define what he "knows" about virtue, or Descartes' willingness to admit that he cannot really "know" himself, philosophical discussions of assumption vs. knowledge have shown that, despite our unique cognitive capability for learning, the breadth of human knowledge may be based on nothing more substantial than the illusion of assumption.
Plato's work is idealistic and, as such, some of the rationale behind many of the conclusions he draws on do not necessarily have a logical or practical motivation. Nevertheless, they are logically tied to most of the assumptions he makes in his work, which is why his conclusions could, ideally, be transposed into the society he had projected. The most important conclusion of his work may be that each part
Socrates' conclusion that the poets and rhapsodes lack knowledge fair? What sort of knowledge does Socrates seem to have in mind? Could there be other kinds? Is Socrates confusing the knowledge necessary to make a work of art with knowledge of what's represented in the artwork? Plato's "Republic" presents a Socratic dialogue in which the main speaker argues that poets and rhapsodes lack knowledge. To a certain degree, this might
Plato's Philosopher King Plato and the Philosopher-King With the Allegory of the Cave, Plato expresses the notion that the best thing a philosopher can do is lead the people and that, in turn, a leader (king) must be a philosopher. Plato emphasizes this idea by equating the unenlightened citizens of his Republic to prisoners in chains (they are, in effect, chained by their ignorance of reality and transcendental truth). The philosopher is
This recurrent theme is no accident: most cultures have, as a basis for their creation mythos, a utopian view of either the pre-human world or the post-human world. Sociological, this is a functionalist approach that serves to validate what it means to be a good citizen in society and move towards all citizens being good, and therefore a utopian culture arises. The word "utopia" is derived from the combination
The text deals at length and often with a great variety of matters which bear on the human condition, but there are matters which would certainly have no place in a modern treatise on politics" Therefore, it is rather hard to determine the extent to which Plato used this means of communication, the dialogues, to point out to the actual necessities of the society he lived in and the aspects
They do not occupy space. Nevertheless, although the Form of a circle has never been seen -- -indeed, could never be seen -- -mathematicians and others do in fact know what a circle is. That they can define a circle is evidence that they know what it is. For Plato, therefore, the Form "circularity" exists, but not in the physical world of space and time. It exists as a
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