Philosophy

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Philosophy

When I was born, I did not know the difference between right and wrong. Now, I do. The word philosophy means

the love of knowledge. One type of knowledge is propter quid, which ask the question why or how. In this paper, I

will demonstrate how Socrates, Hume and Aristotle, three well known philosophers, would explain how I acquired

this knowledge in relation to the principles of right and wrong.

Socrates is the first philosopher, I will discuss. Since Socrates did not write anything down, Socrates thinking is told

through his student, Plato, who wrote his teachers' thoughts. Socrates is an idealist who believes that things are in

born. Therefor he believed that before we are born our soul knows everything, but when we are born our mind is a

tabular rasa (blank slate). As we grow day by day, we recollect the knowledge from our soul.

… the soul, that is, the human mind, before it is united with the body, is aquatinted with the intelligible world or the

world of Forms. In this prior existence, the true knowledge. After its union with a human body, a person's mind

contains its knowledge deep in its memory. True knowledge in this world consists of remembering, in reminiscence

or recollection. What the mind or soul once knew is raised to present awareness by a process of recollection aided by

the technique of dialect or the Socratic method. (Stumpf 260)

This is known as the theory of recollection. The theory of recollection is told through Plato in the Phaedo and the

Me...

... middle of paper ...

...om an event, it would be our memory that would recall the event.

Aristotle's theory would best support my understanding of right and wrong. In order to make good decisions in life

you have to understand the basis for your rationale. By having this understanding, you can accept your decision and

not second guess yourself. I feel you need both wisdom and memory to make sound decisions. Socrates theory of

knowledge coming from the soul is unrealistic for me. I believe you have to experience situations or have

knowledge of related situations before you can decide if they are right or wrong. Hume's principles of cause and

effect substantiate immediate learning, but you have to actually experience the event and cannot use reasoning to

make your decisions.

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