Philosophy: Major Philosophers & Ideas

What is the Socratic Method?

A form of cooperative argumentative dialogue based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions.

In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, what do the shadows on the wall represent?

The shadows represent the superficial, illusory reality perceived through the senses, as opposed to the true reality of the Forms.

What is the meaning of René Descartes' famous phrase 'Cogito, ergo sum'?

It translates to 'I think, therefore I am,' establishing the certainty of one's own existence through the act of thinking.

What does John Locke's concept of 'tabula rasa' imply about human knowledge?

It implies that the mind is a 'blank slate' at birth, and all knowledge is subsequently derived from experience and sensory perception.

What is the core principle of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism?

The Greatest Happiness Principle, which holds that actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

What did Friedrich Nietzsche mean by the statement 'God is dead'?

He was referring to the decline of religious belief in the modern world and the resulting loss of a universal moral foundation.

What is the central meaning of Jean-Paul Sartre's claim that 'existence precedes essence'?

It means that humans exist first without a predefined purpose and must create their own values and meaning through their choices.

What is Aristotle's 'Golden Mean'?

The desirable middle ground between two extremes, one of excess and one of deficiency, which defines moral virtue.

Explain Plato's Theory of Forms.

The belief that the physical world is not the real world; instead, ultimate reality exists in a realm of perfect, eternal, and unchanging abstract ideas or 'Forms'.

What is 'Eudaimonia' in Aristotelian ethics?

Often translated as 'flourishing' or 'living well,' it is the ultimate human good achieved through the practice of virtue and reason.