EPISTEMOLOGY is one of Philosophy’s greatest problems. It questions the very TRUTH of what we THINK we already KNOW. What we think we know determines our actions, and our actions determine our DESTINY as human beings. If we do not understand our knowledge processes, we will never be sure of the things we do, thus lose all our sense of HOPE.

Philosophers are after what Kant calls APODICTIC knowledge, which means knowledge with certainty. Assume the statement: One plus one is equal to two; we have a level of certainty to the truth of this statement. But if we assume the statement: The human soul is immortal, does it have the same level of certainty with that of the previous? Of course not, and here lies the dilemma of knowledge, what makes our knowledge certain or apodictic?

We will be discussing two great philosophers of the Ancients who have presented to us two distinct theories of knowledge – Plato and Aristotle. Plato will represent the IDEALIST perspective of knowledge, i.e., knowledge is innate or inborn in all men. Aristotle, on the other hand, represents the DUALIST perspective which tells us that knowledge is formed and developed through experience,

Plato has always been considered as an idealist, not just because of his experience from Socrates but also in his years of studying under teachers who were taught by Parmenides – one of the pre-Socratic Philosopher-Mathematicians. In the entrance of the Plato’s Academy, it is said that the words, “Let no one ignorant of Geometry enter here” were inscribed. Plato, therefore, had a strong reliance on the methods of Mathematics in determining Truth and knowledge.

PLATO

Plato’s epistemic works can be found in two of his great dialogues; the Euthyphro and in his magnum opus, The Republic. The argument of the Euthyphro is based largely on "definition by division". Socrates goads Euthyphro to offer one definition after another for the word 'piety'. The hope is to use a clear definition as the basis for Euthyphro to teach Socrates the answer to the question, "What is piety?", ostensibly so that Socrates can use this to defend himself against the charge of impiety. It is clear that Socrates wants a definition of piety which will be universally true (i.e., a 'universal'). It will be a standard or template against which all actions can be measured in order to determine whether they are pious or not. It is equally clear that in order to be a universal, the definition must express what is essential about the thing defined, and be in terms of genus, species and its differentiae.

However, it is the Republic that we find a clear idea of Plato’s epistemology. In the Republic, Socrates talks with several personas; Cephalus, Polemarchus and Thracymachus. The Republic is divided into 10 Books:

I. Title and Setting, Socrates vs Thracymachus II. The City Soul Analogy, Censorship III.Censorship, Noble Lie and Medical Ethics IV. Justice in the City and in the Soul V. Feminism and the Philosopher VI. The Ship of State, Idea of Good and the Divided

Line VII.The Allegory of the Cave, Education of the

Guardians VIII.The Perfectly Just City IX. The Supremacy of Justice X. Philosophy vs Poetry and the Myth of Er

WORLD OF FORMS

WORLD OF MATTER

GOOD

SOUL

The True Reality

CHAIR

TABLE

TREE

DOG

MAN

B I R T H

SENSED

Direct Knowledge

Summary of Plato’s Cave

1. Reality is not found in this material world. True Reality, the perfect reality, is in the World of Forms.

2. All that we can perceive in this world are mere shadows of the perfect idea in the World of Forms.

3. The Soul originally belongs in the World of Forms, it has direct access to all perfect ideas, and the highest idea is the idea of Good.

4. Birth contained the Soul in the body, thus forgetting it used to know in the World of Forms.

5. Sensation allows us to perceive the shadows of the Perfect Ideas; thus KNOWLEDGE is REMEMBERING.

6. The duty of the philosopher is to educate the people, even if the people have been trapped for so long a time inside the cave.

7. Education is a painful experience.

Aristotle, the Stagerite Philosopher, entered Plato’s Academy at the age of 18 and stayed there for 20 years. Aristotle left the Academy after Plato’s death, went to Macedon and became the tutor of Alexander. When Alexander began his campaign, Aristotle went back to Athens and established his own school, the Lyceum. Students of the Lyceum were called the “Peripathetics” because when they discuss philosophy they walk back and forth along the grove of the Lyceum.

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle’s father was a Physician, from whom Aristotle probably learned the value of observation and empirical data – the main reason why the Stagerite did not agree with Plato in the latter’s theory of innate ideas. Aristotle’s Epistemic works are found in his book, Treaties on the Soul (De Anima) where he systematically presented a theory of knowledge so advanced in his time. Until today, his “stamp” in the advances of present day science can still be found.

Aristotle’s Arguments:

1. Aristotle argues in the opening line of his Metaphysics that “ALL MEN BY NATURE DESIRE TO KNOW”. This line is significant because it places his theory against that of Plato’s that education should be given only to the Guardians. A further separation from his teacher is the proof that he gives, “an indication of this is the delight we take in our senses…”

2. In the Metaphysics, we can see clearly that for Aristotle, the senses play a vital role in the formation of ideas. Aquinas even affirms Aristotle’s theory that “nothing is in the mind unless it has passed thru the senses.”

3. Aristotle further argues that not all things can form ideas of other things. He observes that only animated objects can form knowledge, but not all animated objects can form the same form of knowledge.

Aristotle’s Arguments:

4. He then presents the distinction between animate and inanimate objects. Things are alive because they have a soul – thus a soul is defined as the “first principle of life.”

5. A thing possesses a soul if it can demonstrate different “faculties” or powers. The most basic of all faculties of the soul is the Faculty of Nutrition – the ability to absorb nutrients to maintain growth.

6. The second faculty is Locomotion – the ability to move from one place to another.

7. The third faculty is Reproduction – the ability to procreate to preserve the survival of the specie.

8. NUTRITION, LOCOMOTION AND REPRODUCTION are powers of the VEGETATIVE SOUL.

Aristotle’s Arguments:

9. The Vegetative Soul are the souls of plants, but even if they have souls they cannot form any knowledge of things. Hence, there must be other faculties that allow knowledge to be formed.

10. Some souls, he argues, have the faculty of Sensation – the ability to interact with the external world.

11. Also, some souls also possesses the faculty of Memory – the ability to remember those things that can be interacted with.

12. Some souls have both Sensation and Memory, but others may only have Sensation and without Memory as found in lower animals.

13. The Faculties of Sensation and Memory combined with the powers of the Vegetative Soul form the powers of the SENTIENT SOUL.

Aristotle’s Arguments:

14. Sentient entities have the power to form Sense Knowledge, and we share this power with the rest of the animal kingdom.

15. However, there is something different about Human Knowledge. Human beings are capable of understanding UNIVERSAL CONCEPTS, and such things are not within the reach of Sense Perception. Thus, Aristotle postulates another power which he calls EPISTEMONIKON (some translate is as Intellect or Reason, but lets stick with the original)

16. So, the powers of the Vegetative Soul, Sentient Soul plus the Epistemonikon gives us the RATIONAL SOUL.

17. Here lies the problem: If Ideas are mental representation of an external objects, then how are abstract concepts formed from material reality?

18. Thus we have Aristotle’s Ideogenesis.

Aristotle’s Ideogenesis

SENSE STIMULI IS RECEIVED

The source of all ideas are from external objects. Objects emit different sense stimuli that is received by each sense organ. The proper stimuli enters its corresponding sense organ; light enters the eyes, scent enters the nose, etc. WE DO NOT SENSE THE OBJECTS PERSE, WE ONLY SENSE THE STIMULI EMANATING FROM THE OBJECT.

THE EXTERNAL SENSE

Aristotle’s Ideogenesis

The Stimuli are taken by the External Senses separately regardless from different objects being sensed at a time. The Reconstruction of the object is made in the mind thru the power called “Common Sense” to form a “Percept”. The Percept only exists as long as the object remains to be perceived

(SENSE STIMULI) LIGHT SCENT

TACTILE SOUND TASTE

RECONSTRUCTION

(1) PERCEPT

(A) COMMON SENSE

THE INTERNAL SENSE

Aristotle’s Ideogenesis

(1) PERCEPT

THE INTERNAL SENSE

(B) MEMORY (TIME & SPACE)

(C) IMAGINATION

(2) PHANTASM

Since the Percept can only exist if the object is still present, the power of Memory and Imagination allows the reconstruction of the Percept to form a Phantasm. The Phantasm contains also the Time and Location of the object. At this point, this is called SENSE KNOWLEDGE which we share with the rest of the animal kingdom.

Aristotle’s Ideogenesis

THE INTELLECT

(C) EPISTEMONIKON

(2) PHANTASM

(3) IDEA

To get Universals or the Substantial qualities of an object, the Epistemonikon uses a process called Abstraction to remove all the Accidental qualities of the object. There are 3 Levels of Abstraction: Physical, Mathematical and Metaphysical. It is in the Metaphysical Level that the intellect understands the Substance free from Accidents. Ideas, therefore, are expressed using Terms/Words.

Aristotle’s Predicables

Predicables are simply Predicates. Everything we know is expressed in some form of statement, ex Dogs are mammals. “Dog” is the subject while “mammals” is the predicate. According to Aristotle, there are 10 Possible Predicates that we can attach to a subject term.

1. SUBSTANCE: that which can exist on its own.

2. ACCIDENTS: that which are attached to a substance for it to exist. There are 9 Accidents: a) Quantity b) Quality c) Time & Space d) Posture e) Habit f) Action g) Passion h) Relation i) Affection