Day 3: Metaphysics & Epistemology

•           Review/Questions/Evaluation (so far)

•           The Nature of Knowledge

•           The Divided Line

•           The Good

•           The Cave

•           Why Philosophers should Rule (again)

•           For Day 4 (1^st half): study for Test 1

•           For Day 4 (2^nd half): read “Meditation 1”

The Nature of Knowledge

•           True belief vs. knowledge

•           Some background: Parmenides and Heraclitus

•           According to Socrates, what can be known?  What cannot be known?

•           Knowledge: grasping what it is for something to be what it is

The Divided Line

•           What are the different levels of reality or being?

•           What are the different levels of cognition?

•           What is the relationship between the different levels of reality and cognition?

The Good

•           Is the Good pleasure?  Why or why not?

•           What is the Good compared to?  Why?

•           What sorts of things does the Good make possible?

The Cave

•           What do the various objects inside and outside of the cave symbolize?

•           What is the purpose of the cave story?  Is it an argument?  Why or why not?

Why Philosophers Should Rule

•           Why does Socrates get into metaphysics and epistemology?

•           What does Socrates call people who pursue things like Wisdom, Knowledge, and Intelligence?