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Michael James
August 22, 2015
Philosophy 001
Final Exam
Final
Before taking philosophy, there was not any knowledge in my mind concerning the subject. After taking the subject and learning through the readings, it has broadened my mind to what philosophy actually means. Philosophy is the study of the nature of knowledge, reality and existence in part with academic discipline. Through the readings, there became an understanding through these philosophers writings on their view of different topics.
1.

Taking on the question “What is Philosophy?”, there has been more of a realization than

just the question itself. In the readings, Fieser, Russell, and Socrates were at ends with how they felt with their logic. They had a different way of viewing everything. Between philosophy and life upon finishing this course, I have come to learn more than I though I would have but also my view changed on certain parts. To reference philosophy, many philosophers have a way of questing whether God truly exist(ed) or was he a made-up immortal that humans gave life and now worship and in that it makes me questions the same thing. “Mortals suppose that gods are born and have clothes and voices and shapes like their own.”(Fieser 14) There is not much evidence to prove that God was a human being and that he was born in Jerusalem in the years between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. “A man who, having the knowledge and power required to makes his children good, chose instead to make them bad, would be viewed with execration. But God, if
He exists, makes this choice in that case of very many of His children.”(Russell 6) It’s hard to

!2 believe whether God was really in existence when an immortal who was to want all good and no evil, would let his “children” run rampant and wreak havoc with being punished for their sins.
“… philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of questions themselves.”(Russell 4) No matter how much we may question and ask questions on what there was or what there can be, there will never be a real answer. Between philosophy and now, there have been questions that have been subjected to the forefront , such as the topic of God, whether he is real or did we, as humans, give him life and prominence.
2.

“Christianity is a Platonism for the people” set grounds for religion. From Plato’s early

teachings, because of his Platonic view, Christians have a view of Heaven that is not Biblical.
Augustine had belief in this as well. He was attracted to the spiritual part of it, being the kingdom and that the kingdom of God consisted of eternal life while in Heaven with God.
“The true foundation of a devout life is to have a right view of God, and we do not have a right view of God unless we believe Him to be almighty, utterly un-changeable, the creator of all things that are good, though Himself more excellent than they, the utterly just ruler of all He created, self-sufficient and therefore without assistance from any other being in the act of creation. It follows from this that He created all out of nothing.
Of Himself, He did not create, but has begotten that which is equal to Himself. This we call the only begotten Son of God, whom, when we try to express ourselves more plainly, we term the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, through which He made out of nothing.”(Augustine 3)

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The Platonic ideas that Plato put in the open for Christians today, started out with the Heavens.
Plato and Augustine believed in the Heavens as an eternal place of living when you were to be called home by God. If you believed in Jesus as the Son of God and/or the only begotten Son, it was better for you to enter the pearly gates. Believing in Him as the almighty worked in your benefit when it came to Heaven. Platonism is the though where everything can be perfect and
Christians believe that, although the world is not perfect, with God, the Heavenly Father, there can be no wrong done and everyone will be forgiven for their sins once they repent.
3.

Aristotle did not set the groundwork for scientific thought as he made belief in that the

soul would no live on after the body died. It was not that of faith, Christianity and belief in God, he had a belief in the soul. Aristotle believing that there was no soul without the body and also believing that the soul of living things was through their activity. Plato and Aristotle’s views were completely different when it came down to it. Aristotle made you think about how the soul did not live on after the body died. In reference to Christianity and Plato, with God, the soul of
Jesus Christ has lived on long after his body died. Many centuries after his passing, those who believe in Him still worship his soul. There’s many who believe in Aristotle’s logic but there are others who beg to differ on the subject as well. It was more so Plato who set the groundwork for scientific thought rather than Aristotle with believing that the soul lives as after death since the soul of Jesus Christ is still alive and well to this day.
4. David Hume and Rene Descartes approached their questions in a way where they gave reasoning to their logic. In that, their logic was different from that of Plato and Aristotle. The way that they approach their logic to by not trying to prove their logic is factual but to show that there is some kind of truth and understanding behind it. Hume, who believed knowledge was

!4 based on experience and Descartes, who believed reason and logic are based on knowledge had a similar approach than Aristotle and Plato. The four philosophers have a similar approach when it comes to their logic. Between Plato and Aristotle, they tried to prove that the body and soul worked for each other whether it be that the soul lived on after the body died for the soul died with the body.
5.

I think that Jean-Paul Sartre has a better approach to philosophy than any earlier

philosopher because his logic is proven with understanding. Sartre believed in “existence precedes essence” and was able to prove that. Someone can be born and exist amongst many people but once they make something of themselves and go beyond others is when they make essence.