Philo Part 1

8/10/2019 Philo Part 1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/philo-part-1 1/46

02/07/2009 13:58:00

← XENOPHANES

← 1. agnosticism/uncertainty

← openness, knowing-unknowing (open-ended with knowledge he

possesses)← - not dynamic, can make things up

← *philosophy wisdom IS N! "#$%& to knowing it all/certainty

• e'aggerated ersion o unknowingness

• unknowing approach to knowledge

• grasping pursuit to knowledge N! dogmatic/assertie

← - ery open-ended with what he knows

←

←

← . dialogical character/way o thinking← - ask a +uestion and wait or an answer

← - important is the "SS

← - e'emplied in the phrase 0tossing my thought throughout the land

of Greece

• eg. ope2s e' cathedra this is inaria3ly true (not initing us to toss

his thoughts around 3ut rather accept them as nal)

• put out ideas through discussion

← - 4enophanes was a 0rhapsode sort o some rockstar- entertainer who

went rom town to town

• recited poetry rom 5esiod and 5omer

←



← - *elie1ed that only sense data is un2uestiona*ly true +,ASE.

←

← NO#E34E/ %5( 6775

← !wo haracteristics<← 1. NN-@?A%!I

← . @I%&?I%&

• Socratic method< keeps asking +uestions, pro3ing

• ondence in their a3ility to think or themseles and supply their own

iew

• Bentering into discussion (4enophanes)

←

← "'plosion o news entertainers

←

← - makes a liing through 5esiod and 5omer

← - analogies

← - like authority in the church/o the pope

• denigrating hristian scriptures is eroding his authority cause i you

challenge his authority, where can he stand8 5e speaks rom authority.

← - 4enophanes takes authorities that are making him a liing and he says

0this is nonsense

• !he gods can2t 3e this way

• 5ow can the gods, a standard or moral 3ehaior, 3e immoral8

a3surd, can2t possi3ly 3e true

• !aking weight o responsi3ility taking out o himsel and giing it to

hearers and non-authorities

o !hose who need to think a3out god or themseles



o 4enophanes thought in terms o dialectic

o Corks as a middleman to distri3ute thinking 3ack and orth

o @oesn2t hold it 3ut wants you to listen to 5D5 (way he makes a

liing) and engage them critically...get angry at what he2s saying

← (=.) 0always to 3e mindul to the gods is good• what 4 is not doing is eroding 3elie, not trying to make atheists out o

us (or philosophers or critical thinkers who rip eerything apart)

• 0pious hae a rel. reEectie lie...think critically o the gods (to our

adantage to respect/enerate/promote a sort o right understanding o

the gods)

*when things we 3eliee in come to 3e shaken (get to presupposition and ground

and things we take or granted) when moed or +uestioned 3y a real +uestion,

it doesn2t negate the things we hold dear. Instead, 4 encourages us to take them

seriously• proper understanding o gods is so impt that Socrates is willing to die

or it

• takes gods people 3eliee in and say 0can2t 3e a god and 3e immoral

(eg. %thena)

o moral outrage< 0how can you teach our children to 3e athiests8

o mistake/misunderstanding...they %"N2! teaching impiety

• 3e more rigorous than we hae 3een in our thinking a3out god

o i it2s the truth it2ll stand up and correct me when I2m wrong

o i it2s the truth, it doesn2t do me any good in my pocket or i I

accept it on the 3asis o authority

o must get into te't and undo it and make it my own

o to hae a lie changing eFect on me, I gotta throw out parts that

don2t make sense or me

o to inherit teachings o Gesus, may hae to read it with a pen in

your hand

o 0can2t 3eliee this is true, I don2t een understand it

o rework the gospel/philo o religion into something that does work

or you

• 4 doesn2t wanna undermine our piety 3ut wants to make us more pious

that we hae eer 3een

o Seers religious coniction so what is to our adantage will

3ecome een more prominent in our lies



o @oes not shake power o religon oer our lies...he makes us

authentically religious

←

← *i a person is sel-critical, they hae no leg to stand on to say 0that2s

wrong, orget a3out it...it should say 0I don2t know..3ut are you sure you know8• where is the idea coming rom and what2s the eFect in your lie8

• Shape not to undermine 3ut to make it strong and igorous to

demonstrate what you think props out whole lie

• Hour thinking is the root o your 3eing must 3e actie and your own

or else it2s weak and ineFectual

← *coming to agreement is the way o getting to the truth

←

← 8uestion 9&

←

0not at all like mortals in 3ody and thought← =.1

• J$! can2t hae a god-man nothing wrong with it 3ut you Gust can2t

hae 3oth

• genesis tells us human person is created in image o god

=.K

• 0created in image o god what could that possi3ly mean8 No two

people created in the same image (diFerent eatures in eery possi3le

way)

• understand it as a capacity to loe

o descri3ing and orientation o who we are in contrast to a

physical attri3ute

• 5 is undamentally oriented toward otherness not in a way how other

3eings are

o "g. can understand a horse 3y studying another horse

o otentiality or radical diFerence in 5s

o 5 is an undecided 3eing



an2t make a decision a3out classmates on the 3asis o

the length o their hair or clothes they2re wearing

o Ce2re on a path, we hae an orientation and we2re going

somewhere

o &et us make the human person undamentally diFerent romhimsel

?od2s holiness is so great that when he makes 3eings in

his image and likeness, they2re wholly diF rom each other

← - 4enophanes insists on radical diFerence in ?od

• diine person is undamentally diF rom me

• start rom 0what is ?od8

• not like the chicken-dog idea (make a dog rom starting with a chicken

and adding legs)

•

undamental shit that we need to make when we think a3out ?odo does incarnation challenge this8 N.

o diine person (what it means to 3e god) steps out o himsel and

into my role/into my lie

doesn2t hold power to sel and stay in heaen

diine person is or others like how 3eing created in image

o god means we are capa3le o loe and opening

ourseles to you

• Gesus is eery 3it diFerent rom me (undamentally diF)...god is not at

all like mortals in thinking and action

• when god makes something out o himsel, he makes it hae within

itsel its own otherness

=.L

Gesus, 3orn o the irgin mary, was with god in the 3eginning

• one with god

• incarnation does not mean Gesus is my 3uddy/Gust like me

• is ery god himsel



• will not understand person o Gesus i you take yoursel as a starting

point

=.K

• Gesus was a Gew 3ut not only a Gew (Gew and god at the same time)o god reaching into humanity

o representation o god who is or others

or-otherness that we share with the diine person

• national history, personal history, physical characteristics o the 5 are

not to the point in the incarnation

o no diFerence toward my salation een i Gesus was a woman

o no diFerence in terms o the truth o the gospel

• oneness that I hae with god is not 3ased on a charac. that is within

me• capacity or relationship

*capacity to 3e or-others also means we hae the capacity to not 3e or-others

• this is why thinking o god changes your lie

• we are undamentally open or others i we get this, it can change

the way we lie our lies

• we can decide to 3e totally wrapped up in ourseles

o mother teresa, mahatma gandi

←

← #uestion L< (!)

• i god is god, then god is not the serant o another god

• he is the most powerul 3eing or is not there can2t 3e two



• category argument< i god is god then there is only one and he has to

3e supreme

← 04enophanes 3elieed there was only one true god (!)

• god is one there is one god (4enophanes is monotheistic)• greatest< emphasi7e superiority o god (he is a3oe eerything that will

ollow)

← 0greatest among all 3eings

• euphemism/way o speaking or all 3eings that might 3e in this world in

which god will 3e compared

← 0gods and men

• way the greeks will speak to each other a3out spectrum o intelligent

lie

o

one side< gods

lesser gods, demi-gods, demons, spirits,kings/rulers, wealthy people, respecta3le people, workmen,

workmen2s wies, serants, slaes, rira

o spectrum is interrelated to one another not same 3ut

gradiation running 3etween it

women as less than men (3oth human 3ut men are more

important than women)

no point when women got e+ual rights

• 4enophanes IS N! S%HIN? !5%!< gods are not on the spectrum

(they2re Gust relatiely higher than men)

o eally really good man is more like a lesser god

o J$!< do away with hierarchy, put gods on another page and say

03y category, gods are this way... and on this page, 4 says that

3y denition there can only 3e one god/one winner in the race

Nature o a superlati1e< greatest orce is greater than all

o the others

←

←



02/07/2009 13:58:00

← 'enclassMyahoogroups.com

← 1/ is 'en2s god more like the old/new gods in >8

← @id 'en ght the persians8

• !o understand social situation 'en is writing in

• yes and no answers are ne 3ut "4$N@• ?raded only i we su3mit it

←

← *moe paper to !$"S@%H, NO. K

• recycled paper, dou3le spaced, > pages A%4, reasona3le margins,

reada3le ont, needs a !I!&"

• don2t say what 4enophanes thinks

• choose 1 ragment and write a3out it

• dialogue 3etween you and 4enophanes

•

needs to see an interaction/3ack and orth with 4enophanes←

← discussion o ragments on !uesday

← reading ahead< classics (%ristotle and plato e'cerpts)

←

← NO#E34E/ 6:( 6775

← S$AA%H<

← *4enophanes< reconciling his thinking with traditional greek thinking

← - god going out o himsel< reelation

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



• meeting 3etween god and man

• muslim< speaking

← - 'en uses euphemism cause writes with poetry

• uses popular term/phrase

• 0among gods and men is now not a collo+uialism or us thougho not linked to a plurality

o when we say things inside out

• eg. inite out or coFee doesn2t mean don2t order soda..Gust means

we2ll talk

• uses something that indicates some +uantity 3ut it doesn2t imply

+uantity

o eg. I loe you so much (N! +uantity)

o say things that may not necessarily indicate what we mean

←

← &et these things 3e 3elieed as resem3ling the truth (=.)

• !hing< mcdonald2s statue (ery welcoming) and middle-aged woman

o onusing< cause it should appeal more to children

(clown...mcdonald2s is associated with un)

o Sad 3ecause when you take a picture with something Golly, you

usually assume tha attitude

• !ruth<

o Chat2s really there8

o Aay 3e a disGunct 3etween what you see and what is really there

o 5ow is the truth and the thing associated8

Jy 3elie and resem3lance



!here2s a 3elie that 3inds our empirical o3seration to the

truth that we are searching or

!ried capturing the 3elonging together in the photographs

• Jelieed<

←

← ?od2s arms really are open, 3ut in eery practical sense, might as well 3e

closed cause community is not e'periencing goodness o god

• !hough they want to

• haracter o 3elie o people< closed-minded88

← Jar< represents how we 3ar ourseles rom god

• Impose a 3arrier 3etween ourseles and the truth in contrast with the

gospel 3eing open

• !he only real 3ar/3arrier that2s there is our 3elie/something we haeimposed ourseles

←

← No religious acknowledgement in the picture but more of a depiction of

how important the idea of family is in our country?

←

← eality we are liing in is 3eing determined 3y our 3elies

← - proGect image o the good lie een when things hae not gone right

←

← onald mcdonald< good time 3ut she2s not haing a good time

• Ce try to purchase a good time with money/material things

• 0details< grand uniersal in image is that god would 3e represented 3y

onald mcdonald

o she looks awestruck 3y the great icon o %mericani7ation



o middle-aged woman, not a kid

o picture is staged, doesn2t ring true at all

o detail that the 3ag that said details is 3lurry cause the camera is

out o ocus

o connection 3etween what2s really there/what we see with thenaked eye and the truth that is 3eing represented there

o mind makes a leap oer all this details< there2s much

unttingness in my lie and yet I2m still aspiring toward the

uniersal

truth o e'cess/waste< hal-eaten cheesecake

• carnal swirl on the plate there simply and strictly or decoration

• che wants us to think 3eore we een eat it that this is worth wasting

the caramel (momentous moment)• making a 3ig point

• way we see ood/its presented to us has an eFect on how we taste it

• eg. shop or wine 3y how much we can aFord

• cheesecake is presented to our taste3uds through our eyes

• truth presented to our eyes through our 3elie/credulity

• tradition/stories o our athers present the world to us in a certain way

and so we 3uy it, accept it, receie it. It2s how we perceie the world

←

← hristian worship serice

• @on2t hae anything tangi3le to hold on to 3ut that is their truth

• Chole shit o reality takes place not 3ecause anything in the room

changed (state o ecstasy) 3ut when he turns around, the whole world

is diFerent to him

o r may3e he doesn2t get it

o Needs tangi3le sign



o r may3e rom another aith and tries to wonder what the rest

are doing

*Situation we2re in, truth we2re aspiring to and a credulity that has to 3ridge that

gap (3ut may3e it doesn2t 3ridge that particular gap)

• may3e wants to encounter god 3ut then he Gust doesn2t get it (unlikeother people who are really encountering god)

←

← Gohn< we2re gonna lie a whole diFerent lie i we trust in god/lie in aith

• won2t een see the lie/light i we don2t trust in god

←

← #P< only sense data is un+uestiona3ly relia3le ;%&S"

• !rue< =.1

• ;alse< =. (i god had not created yellow honey, they would say gs

are ar sweeter)o I the sweetest thing you2e eer tasted was an olie, then your

spectrum will adGust

o ur perception is relatie

"g. canadians eat marshmallows so they don2t think gs

are sweet

!he sun is the si7e o a human oot we all know it isn2t

true 3ut you can 3lock it out with your oot (relatie to

where you are right now)

Sense perception must make adGustments or diFerence

"g. o3Gect at 3ottom o water is arther than it

looks...senses will take this into account

• ;%&S"< =. (let these things 3e 3elieed as resem3ling the truth)

o 4en thinks thing are presented to us according to some sort o

credulity

o Ce see things acc to our 3elie system, not what2s really there

• =.1: (no man has seen nor will anyone know the truth a3out the gods

and all the things I speak o. ;or een i a person should in act say

what is a3solutely the case, neertheless he himsel does not know,

3ut 3elie is ashioned oer all things).o 3elie is ashioned oer all things



← in traditional philo, things are thought o acc to category o 3eing

• armenides< it either is or is not

• NaQe empiricism O< things are simply there/what they are and we

look at them and see 0ah it2s a chair

• "dmund (teacher o 5eidegger) directed attention 3ack to early?reek thinkers who thought naQe empiricism was uncritical (not taking

into account eFect as an o3serer has on what is o3sered)

o "ery o3Gect that I perceie is also determined

o !here is a chair there 3ut my perception o that chair is also

determined 3y me

o IN!"N!IN%&I!H< eery o3Gect o perception is rst an intention

o something

"ery perception is a perception o

Necessarily, what I2m looking or will help determine whatI see

I I can2t een imagine there 3eing a chair there, I couldn2t

see it

• Cay/mode I am present to an o3Gect determines how I will e'perience it

o I dot simply take in what is outside o me I am thrown into

3eing

o hair as 3eing an entity with me in the world

o I am not 3asically remoed rom o3Gects around me 3ut there is

a 3elonging together I am always already present to the

3eings in my world (it2s what makes it my world)

← *?od can2t empirically o3sereR mysterious

• how much more true in the things we can2t see8

• Not that philo o religion asks or license to talk a3out nonsense cause

we2re talking a3out heaen ater all

• Jelie is ashioned oer all things

o %ccess to truth o things in my world is determined 3y things I

3eliee a3out them (not dogma or catechism)

o Cay we perceie world around us/o3Gects o science...what we

3eliee shapes world we 3eliee in (whether supernatural

phenomena or whate)

o ur world/5ard act o reality is not a hard act o reality

determined 3y presence o o3serer...our 3elie, how we choose

to look at the world



←

← ould easily 3e e'plained 3y natural processes.... !$" (=.1)

• ain3ow< promise o ?od or when light passes through a droplet o

water8

• "en i we perceie it as rational, doesn2t mean god can2t speak to us←

← Oia3le source o ino< !$" (=.1)

• Ce can learn a3out ?od

• Ce can engage the mind and 3e mindul o the gods



02/07/2009 13:58:00

← (I hae no idea what these notes are or !I!%NS I !5IN988)

← "'iled KL3c 3y persians in colophon

←

← @iine right

← 4erces< emperor, god,← 9illed darius

←

← Jattle o thermopolae

←

← !itans

← hronos

←

← poseidon

← guia and $ranus< asked 1 children to help her← imprisoned

←

← chronos castrated $ranus

←

← A/"S!O!E’S 3E!APH$S"S



← (ar 1)

← - Aen and women 3y nature want to know

• esteem or the senses

• sight< =K-PT o adertising dollars

• we trust our eyes oer other senses that we hae• T hearing and almost nothing on other senses

• we come to know the world through our hearing and our seeing

← - our eyes make many distinctions

• we are always oriented

o our work takes into consideration our orientation to sight

• work< ramed, mounted or i not, that is the point

• perspectie< happens in ision and not in other senses

• inclusion o me as an o3serer in the sense o sight that2s not in

the other senses← - our eyes can also 3e deceptie J$! %2s point is that in so ar as we

trust our senses, we trust our eyes more than anything

• we want to understand the world

• natural condition

• we like our eyes and priilege our eyes cause understanding is

impt to us

← - what can we know8 Chat can we understand8 Chat is the range o

our thinking/understanding8

• In ph1>< ossi3ility o e'periencing god/holy

• onclude< 5 is not capa3le o understanding god cause no one2s

eer seen god

• #uestion< can we ask or/e'pect more rom our senses8



(ar )

- association 3etween hearing and learning

• Not Gust content with seeing world/receiing sense perception o

world• aradigmatic a3out hearing and association with learning

• Oision always orients me into the situation/o3Gect

• In contrast, 5earing always comes to me rom outside (rame o

reerence< !orah)

o !o hear 6 to o3ey

o Aore than Gust perceie, I want you to listen and o3ey

o 0hear Israel

o something has to catch us oF guard

o

de acto authority< catches our attention and makes ademand on us 3eore we een consider what our response

will 3e

sound makes a demand on us

eg. 0hey you thie identies himsel 3y not

responding

we respond naturally/out o instinct we Gust turn

there2s a natural learning/understanding that occurs

through hearing (an address, a call) we respond

more that Gust to what is said 3ut to that person

we turn and look in respect or him 3ut comment

itsel is disrespectul

←

← knowledge that comes to us to our senses

• 5 capa3le o learning and intelligence, not Gust empirical

o3seration

o apa3le o seeing something they didn2t know



o a new e'perience

←

← (ar >)

← 1. sense

← . intelligence← >. "4"I"N"

← - more than Gust understanding something

← - e'perienced person is someone who lies through their

e'periences

← - e'perience is more than learning

• eg 1:>s< learned to lie with ery little (sir2s grandmother and

how it makes her physically uncomorta3le to see someone now

wasting water)

← - e'perience is liing through that learning (ater you2e ac+uiredthe understanding how do you use it and how do you lie it out in the

world8)

• e'perience and art< artisan knows how to do something

o artisan understands how the engine works (doesn2t need to

see the hose to know what2s missing)

o artisan works through e'perience and

e'pertise/understanding route/cause o something

o i a person is merely

perceptie/knowledgea3le/e'perienced, we are right to

hold our regard or their wisdom/knowledge in check

o we don2t normally respect e'perience

0let2s get someone who actually knows how this

works

artisan really understands cause and thus can see

other things

o eg. artist is not a good drawer J$! he sees the way things

work

eg. icasso doesn2t Gust see silhoutte 3ut how the

Gacket really works (he draws the cause o theappearance) or the Gacket to hang that way, it2s

gotta 3e 3uttoned right there

• e'perience and science<



←

← 0knowledge and prociency...cause

• standard o human knowledge is much higher than simple sense

perception must understand and perceie causes

←

← CIS@A< stage 3eyond e'pertise and artisanship/science

• Jeyond knowing cause o things is to know primary cause (rst

or last, 3ig cause)

• Cise person is the person who knows what is the ultimate

purpose o our endeaor right now

• "g. understand %ristotle to get a grade J$! our primary cause is

to graduate and get a Go3 to make money to 3uy things to

make me 5%H (notion o the highest good, eudaimonia)

o

eal goal and impetus is what88 CIS@A/highest causeo %rtisan knows not only how to make a painting look a

certain way 3ut how thinks look, moe and act the way

they do

o Aechanic knows what the parts do and why they2re

necessary or the car

← ;<ise person true standard o' our knowledge is not sense

perception( learning or intelligence +not e)perience or e)pertise.

40! the a*ility to choose a P0/POSE

• purpose< don2t really present themseles to the understanding

• not to sense perception or to learning either

• purpose doesn2t really present itsel to e'perience (eg. Gust cause

she saw we shouldn2t waste water doesn2t mean she2s liing a

good lie)

o can make good use o resources 3ut can2t supply direction

or what w should inest our energy/eForts into

• een science, art and e'pertise can2t tell us what we2re doing

← - standard o human understanding is aimed at and in the natural

element o< men and women 3y nature desire understanding

• what we want and e'pect o ourseles is more than ino,understanding and capacity to do something it2s an a*ility to

HOOSE what we can do

• i it2s the standard o human knowing, i what we e'pect o

ourseles is to grasp something that is in a specic way

unknowa3le, wouldn2t it 3e right that we would 3e a3le to do it88

←



← (0such in kind and in num3er)

0the man who desires knowledge in its own sake...in the whole o nature

(end)

• turning his whole hierarchy on its head

o sense perception new learning e'perience e'pertise wisdom

o not really the case

← ; %"S< integrate ino with how I lie in the world

← * it is through wisdom, perception o uniersals and 3ig picture that

we are a3le, in the rst place, to perceie the particular

• eg. heat< relatie (not a3solute) measure

• our sense perception takes place within the larger conte't

o rost3ite< coldest place in house 3ecomes un3eliea3ly hot

• een at point o e'pertise, science or art• person o motiation can deelop an a3ility to portray the world

in a way people should see88

• Sense o direction which proides impetus or science

• !hroughout entire spectrum o human understanding and

knowledge, the 3ig picture comes rst

o “things which are most knowable are the rst principles

and causes are the hardest to grasp cause they’re farthest

removed from senses”..through these and from these that

others (particulars come to be known..etcetc

o wisdom 6 proound insight

o knowledge 3egins with wisdom (what is arthest away rom

senses)

• don2t deelop a good lie 3y e'perimenting what it2s like

o we gain an insight into rst cause, primary cause, end

cause then through that we can interpret e'periences that

come our way

←

← 5A"C9< see what rst philosophy (3est translation o

metaphysics) has to say a3out possi3ility o e'periencing god• an we e'perience/know what is remoed rom the senses



02/07/2009 13:58:00

← DEE34E/ =



← S"%!C9

← !hales air

← %na'imander apeiron

← %na'imenes earth and water

← 4enophanes god← Cater

haracteri>e?Di@erentiate "ntelligence and E)perience

@iFerence 3etween intelligence/learning and e'perience

← - when you hae an e'perience, you learn

← - when something happens to me, I can learn rom it (this is

intelligence)

← - e'perience lasts a long time in proound people UNiets7che← - e'perience doesn2t end when eent ends

• not Gust one instance

• a3ility to generali7e rom one instance to another

• eg. 0all hot things 3urn me

• generali7e rom physical to an emotional one (not physically

3urnt 3ut might hurt my emotions)

←

← "@S% II< phil democracy liing through "@S% I

• "'perienced democracy



• 9now how to do this cause we2e done it 3eore (diF rom

learning)

←

← ;reud< 0working through

*e'perience comes ater intelligence (higher orm o knowledge)• nly an intelligent person can hae e'perience

• e'perience lasts a long time

• e'perienced person< knows how to deal with the world

o eg. street smart

o intelligent< can 3e really smart and useless in a crisis

• I2e done this 3eore in another setting so I think this can work

too (e'tract rom a conned e'perience and apply it to similar

circumstances)

• &ike theory and acto !heory should include the idea o 3eing a3le to apply it

o !heory without practice (eg. aith 3ut neer demonstrated

it)

o !heory means 0and the a3ility to put it into practice

←

← Sensationsense perception intelligence e)perience

art( science( e)pertise wisdom

←

← (%! and SI"N")

← %rtisan< understands underlying cause o what2s going on

• urious people (curious a3out the way the world works)

• "g. master physician<



←

← ;irst and last cause

← - primary< 1. ;irst

. most important/characteristic

• principle cause/key/3asic/eFectie cause that makes eerythingelse work

trying to ask< can the 5 know ?od8/Chat can the human person know8

• %sk with sense perception and what the rst thinkers thought

←

← -might think it2s 3eyond 52s capacity

← (p.>P/:) 0or this reason...

← - no empirical phenomenon to tell you key to a situation/what you

should do• can2t look at one moment in your lie and determine your destiny

• no way to see with natural eye the rst cause o things (so we

might think we can2t grasp it/3eyond human power and that we

shouldn2t grasp it)

←

← - human nature is serile

• 4en< een i we spoke what was a3solutely the case, we don2t

know it to 3e the truth cause there2s a eil o perception/3elie

3etween me and what I2m seeing

• I wisdom is 3eyond my grasp, 4 would say 0don2t pretend to

know what you don2t hae. I it2s diine knowledge, leae it

alone

←

← 0a science is diine i...

• %< diine knowledge i it2s ... 1. 9nowledge a3out god (3eyond our

capacity to know) . 9nowledge that only a god could

hae/a3solute knowledge



o I don2t hae a3solute knowledge so may3e only a god can

hae it

• an we know god8

• ro3lems< 1. alls or an a3solute knowledge (may3e only an

a3solute 3eing could grasp this) . 9nowledge o the a3soluteother (which might Gust 3e outside my range. %s other, I can2t

grasp what is outside o me).

←

← 5oweer, 0the ac+uisition o this knowledge....

← Sensationsense perception intelligence e)perience

art( science( e)pertise wisdom

• Intelligent people can hae e'perience which produces e'pertise

• Aultiple e'periences o the same thing eentually produce a

uniersal understanding/Gudgmento 5ae particulars (distinct rom one another) 3ut eentually,

all these things produce a uniersal Gudgement/one thing

o ut o the particular emerges a uniersal

o "g. met a num3er o lipinos so now you hae a concept o

0the Eipino

← - seems like there2s an ascendency in the orms o knowledge

• rom VVVV to uniersal principle

• 3ut % says we should "O"S" this entire situation

• N! through particulars that we come to know the uniersal 3ut

the other way around

o In all cases like this, you should gie this type o medicine

← *stars were accepted as diine cause they didn2t moe

• predicta3le, all on nature directly

← Aristotle& we think *y way o' causes

• there has to 3e some reason or why the marionette is dancing

(een with no access to cause/3ackstage, we know there2s a

reason/human practitioner 3ehind it)

• we think in terms o 0how is this happening8



• rst time I saw a doll, I understood it 3y way o cause (the cause

was not empirically present)

• we discern all particulars through uniersal Gudgment

"! (not so much correct, 3ut that is how we are)

o don2t understand uniersal 3y accumulating particulare'periences

←

← - a wise person is not wise 3ecause he2s accumulated a lot o

inormation

• he 3ecomes wise 3ecause he can apply a uniersal knowledge to

particular situations (he can apply what he learned to diFerent

e'periences)

← - an e'perienced person is not necessarily wise

• Gust 3ecause I can get my way doesn2t mean you should let me←

← *we e'pect more than success or ourseles

← *nal cause isn2t produced

• can2t reason it out and come to a 3rand conclusion

• wisdom is not a sum o grand e'periences(8)

←

← *the ormula doesn2t produce the line, the practitioner produces the

line

• there2s a &"% that happens in human knowing (don2t pass

through all stages o ac+uiring inormation in order to get

here)..it2s the other way around

• practitioner draws diagonal rst and then e'ercises ormula on it

←

← 0all 3egin, as we hae said, 3y wondering what they are....

• diagonal is not measura3le in a sense that the ormula doesn2t

produce it

• ormula 3ecomes a uniersal that helps us see the particular



• line is not a uni+ue instance 3ut an e'ample o a hypotenuse o a

triangle

← - when we look at a situation..i it doesn2t make sense to us

immediately (doesn2t t into our naQe thinking), what is natural to us is to

look or the principle/cause/rst cause 3ehind it• cause is not only result o our thinking J$! also the way we

think/3eginning o what we think

o way we look or knowledge and inormation is 3y haing

the rst cause and working our way to the particular

o look or cause/uniersal and when we reali7e it2s what

we2e e'perienced 3eore, we know what we can do in the

particular situation already

←

← N"4! C""92S S!$;;<← e'ercise or ne't tue

← 1. read ionians

← . read euthypro

←

← DEE34E/ B( 6775

← heiddeger< center o your ision, there is a dead spot where neither

o your eyes actually see

• panoramic iew, learn rom 3oth eyes and place something

homogenous in 3etween

• we see discerningly (physical apparatus o ision or hearing

works 3y way o a generali7ation)

o not that we see rst and generali7e rom it

o we are already looking at something and see what we look

or

←

← %< een when we e'perience world through senses, we are using

causes to think a3out the world

• $sing something that doesn2t necessarily present itsel to us inorder to understand what does

• ur apperception determines our perception



←

← rimary cause< proposed 3y pre-Socratics to the world

• ay attention to what it says a3out god

←

← !HAES& water (ragment L., p. 1K>/1KL)← - "arth rests on water

← - % thinks its a3surd cause it2s a carry-oer myth

← - 5omer< earth is surrounded 3y rier ceanus (source o liing

things) D !hetus(8)

• ;irst gods and parents o eerything that comes to 3e

← *4enophanes criti+ues anthropomorphism o ?od

←

← 1. Saying same thing 5omer already said

• arries image oer 3ut demythi7es it• speaks now o water (element, not a rier god), not ceanus

• already god-water is not oceanus, not a person, Gust an element

• demythologi7es and criti+ues< scientic

← . Stays within myth

• tries to make myth reasona3le (rationali7es it)

• or thales, water is not cause o all things in terms o parentage

• water causes things (reasona3le relationship with other things)

← - water is still a god o thales



• usually we are 3ound, think within constraints, careul with what

we say (i we characteri7e 5im as a stone, demi-god, one o

many there2s possi3ility to engage in discussion without ear)

• rom ceanus to water (not an anthropomorphic diety 3ut is still

a diety) capital to small-case letter←

←

← ANAX"3ANDE/

← - student o thales

• leaes oF with water as the cause o all things

← - cause o all things< %"IN (ragment K.>)< the un3ounded or the

unlimited

• how is un3ounded diFerent rom water8

o

Cater is cause o a plant (needs water and 3e alie)o 5ow can water which e'tinguishes re and makes dirt 3e

the cause o re and dirt8

o %ny particular %na'imander thinks doesn2t work as the

%5" (cause o all things) 3ecause o the particular cause

it2s limited

o %ny particularity is a pro3lem or causing something else

o "g. een earth (how does it create the heaens88)

← %na'imander< it will hae to 3e something, some arche that is

totally without limit (the un3oundedR the thing that is not a thing in order

to produce all things)

← - his thinking is already theological

• motion is eternal

• out o apeiron came to 3e all the heaens...this is eternal and

ageless

• uses theol language to descri3e the principle

• 0that out o which the heaens came to 3e

• ana'imenes< his arche would een 3e the cause o the gods



o 3ut ana'imander2s was already e'plicitly a theological

principle

o thales< already ull o godsR principle o all things already a

diine 3eing

o ana'imander/ana'imenes< not only diine 3ut also thecause o the gods

all things would hae to emerge out o this

← WK.KX apeiron is diine (called a god)

• ana'imenes e'plicitly says it would hae to 3e the cause o the

gods W.X hinted at 3y %na'imander

ANAX"3ENES

- unlimited, un3ounded air• shares principle with %na'imander

• I can moe my hand in without hitting anything...and yet it is a

material element like thales2 water (like a correction or 3oth

!hales and %na'imander)

← - air, as cause o all things, must 3e cause o gods and diine things

• rest come to 3e through products o this

← W.X start with air (clear), motion comes (wind) clouds (air has

3ecome something else...more concrete, less transparent thing) water

water B mud 6 earth earth hardens and 3ecomes stone

• all things are in this 3asic way made up o air (changes 3asi'

orms and depending on density, is all things)

• criti+ue o thales< cause air accounts or and is the cause o

thales2 water

←

← XENOPHANES

← - 'enophanes2 answer to what is the cause o all things< not really an

answer cause he gies answers

• earth and water



o earth passing away into water, will Ee' 3ack and can see

diF orms o lie

• looks oF into the heaens and answers 0god

← - dogmatic a3out it< we can2t know nal answer a3out diine (up

against something that is 3eyond us, more than we can say and what wecan know)

• doesn2t mean to say he thinks we can2t know god and the cause

o the world

← - can2t know eerything there is to know a3out god 3ut it2s not the

same as saying 0we can2t know so your opinion is the same as mine

← - 'en is willing to mount a ull assault on the gods

• all (%na'imander, ana'imenes, thales) present ideas/stories o

gods/theologies causes o world) as a well rounded whole

e'pect to t in a whole• 'en is the rst to stand out o the whole and criti+ue it

o 0stories o homer and 5esiod are orgeries

• ready to check the whole 3usiness i it doesn2t make any sense

← - or 'en, answer to 0what can I know8 includes the possi3ility o

knowing god

• reasona3le that god is one

• i what is 3eing presented 3y religious authorities is a polytheism,

it isn2t true

• my reason has access to god

• there are lots o things I don2t see and I can know them anyway

← W=.:X he always remains in the same place not moing at all...

• reason as criterion o what god should and shouldn2t do

• not suggesting he can orce god to do what he ought to do 3ut it

doesn2t make sense, untting cause gods shouldn2t moe around

• 'en reGects religious tradition in aor o rational considerations

• W=.X possi3ility o reelation and knowing and 'en sides with

what we can know

o 'en2s premise/thesis< there is an access to god through

reason



←

←

← /EAD E0!H$P/O

← - Socrates willing to die or what he knows a3out god

← - e+ually agnostic 3y saying there2s more he doesn2t know than hedoes know

• 3ut what he does know, he2s condent o and sure o and willing

to die or

←

← DEE34E/ %%( 677B

← - ionians wanted a su3stance that persists through change< %5"

• 0eternal U %na'imander

o

no matter what happens, this 3asic thing doesn2t changeo eg. human person< I can 3ecome cultured or more

intelligent, 3ut my 3asic element underneath still persists

eg. I2d still 3e mysel ater a 3irth o a child

• persistence

• changeless, immortal, diine is like eerything they e'pected

gods to 3e

←

← *how does 4enophanes supercede the three philosophers that come

3eore him8

• ause o all things< earth and water

• oncept o god

o Says something a3out god that the others aren2t willing to

say

• !he others< gods as a well-rounded whole

o "'pect insights to t into populous insights a3out gods



o 5omer, 5esiod, %na'imander, thales, ana'imenes

I2ll stake my claim on what I understand/know to 3e

true

%lways go with reason/rationalism

• n 3asis o reason alone, i it2s not reasona3le, it2s not true• 4en stands outside 3o'

← *each philosopher gies more credence to reason than the preious

(progression in reason)

←

←

← PA!O’S E0!H$P/O&

← S%!"S

← knows Socrates isn2t going to indict or prosecute sometone

• i eer, someone is indicting him• won2t go to court to proe himsel right

• he is a +uestioner whose interest is not to 3e proen right 3ut to

nd the truth

• doesn2t present himsel as an authority (unlike "uthypro who

is...he2s gonna indict someone

←

← S< speaking in praise o A"&"!$S

• Is S 3eing ortright or ironic8

• S is possi3ly e'cited a3out learning rom Aeletus 3ut will he

really learn rom him8

!heme< +uestioning them o their knowledge, not claiming to know 3ut

e'cited to learn rom people who say they do know

• Jut in act, people actually don2t know what they think they do



• esult< rustration o human knowing

• erson who speaks with authority doesn2t in act know his own

mind

← - speaks o importance o kind o inormation, wisdom that meletus

claims to hae←

← - contrast 3etween his ignorance and A2s great learning

• said to hae 3een the wisest man who eer lied cause he

claimed not to know eerything

o oracle< Socrates is wise cause he does not know anything

• A claims to 3e wisest man in %thens who understands root o

pro3lem well enough in order to indict Socrates

← *negatie or inside-out ashion

• has something to do with person2s attitude or approach toknowledge rather than what they say

← () might be a page or paragraph number

← - diF 3etween what " and S are concerned a3out

• "< laughed at in court

o Chat he e'pects to 3e a3le to do is to make the person

who would indict him to 3e laughed at instead

• S doesn2t mind 3eing laughed at as long as they2re willing to

engage me in a conersation

o @oesn2t charge when he shares opinions with people

o Cilling to pay them to listen and engage him in

conersation

o 5appy or this encounter to happen at my e'pense

o @on2t wanna win argument 3ut wanna nd truth

o Cilling to 3e proen wrong i it can mean he can

understand (I contrast to " who eels/ears he will 3e

laughed at and su3Gected to ridicule)

← pposite directions concern



← rosecutor< sets himsel up as an authorityR will tell other people

what they should 3e thinking

• Starts out with " incredulous that S would neer 3e there to

indict someone els (3ut he2s gonna 3e there to indict someone

else)← - prosecuting his ather

← - ery hum3ly 0yes, 3y 7eus, it is so..

←

← (>)

← S< 0you think your knowledge is so accurate

• ro3lem o Gustice

• " is not wrong cause ather did 0murder someone

o Issue or him is not Gustice 3ut rather social class and 0what

I can get away with← - S pro3lem is with the +uestion o I"!H not Gustice is it pious to

prosecute your ather8

• Not a +uestion o whether he2s right or not 3ut Gust the +uestion

o certainty (how can you 3e so sure you2re not araid o 3eing

impious8 5ow can you claim to know you know 3etter than

eeryone else8)

←

← - " claims to hae special/esoteric knowledge o diine

• personal insights that no one else has (priate isions o the

gods)

o claimed that neer predicted anything that didn2t come

true

• S proposes that " should 3e his teacher INH

• ro3lem here< " is oolish and there2s nothing that S can learn

rom here

• @eeper irony< S is proposing 0you 3ecome my authority (you tell

me what to say and i I say it, I2ll Gust point to you and say not to

3lame me 3ut you *"*)

←

← - erson S thought most highly o %A"NI@"S



• ?reat old sage

• Oery god-like that his ace literally shone

• ;ull-Eedged assault o parmenides2 knowledge

←

← - " sets himsel up as an authority and S ironically pretends or goadshim into 3ecoming his own authority

• " should understand 3ut he2s not that smart (doesn2t catch on)

• " thinks he can win the argument 3y his rhetoric and elo+uence

← - S doesn2t care a3out 3eing em3arrassed in the situation

• i " can teach S anything, S will stake his claim there and own

what he now knows a3out the gods rom " (I;...3ut " can2t teach

him anything)

← *inheritance rom 4enophanes 4 is willing to stake own reason

rom inheritance o tradition• i it doesn2t make sense, 4en will Gust say it isn2t true

• not a hu3ris o 4enophanes and S (not proud o themseles that

they don2t know ore than eeryone else)

o proound humility (i there2s truth to 3e had, I can know it)

o rst step o learning< 0I don2t know (insistence that i

there2s meaningul ino to 3e gained/understanding o the

gods aaila3le, then I should 3e a3le to get it, understand

and claim it or my own)

←

← (L)

← "uthypro2s argument

• Yeus acted impiously against his ather and yet people honor

7eus and call him the greatest among the gods

• I2m only doing what the ather o gods did to his ather

• 4en says their position is illogical

← 1. den that " gies o piety is to do what you know to 3e right



• 0to do what I2m doing now..to prosecute the wrongdoer

• i someone does something wrong, you should correct it

• impious know something to 3e wrong 3ut out o considerations

or social prestige or riendships, you won2t do what you know to

3e righto how would you know that what is 3eing done is wrongul,

unGust or impious8

← S is not arguing that i you know something to 3e true pretend it is

not

• 5e2s asking how do you know your actions are right and not

impious8

• !here has to 3e one working denition/criterion to help us

recogni7e I"!H in whateer instance

o

Not a3out a litany o diFerent acts• #uestion< what is it that makes all these actions pious8 Chat is

that orm or working denition that works/applies in eery

situation8

• S< to know this one particular situation is pious, must know @";N

; I"!H

o Con2t 3e a3le to ollow tradition

o !radition can 3e ery particular J$! to hae genuine

knowledge o something, we would hae to know what

makes this the proper response

o Aust know orm or working denition/essence o what

makes this true

←

←

← HO3E<O/C&

← 1. S5""! ; %"

• is it important to do good deeds 3ecause god commands them or

does god command them 3ecause they2re good or us to do8

← . "!5H5

← >. IN! N!"S← L. IA%?" or at least 1 thesis statement (all i you can)



02/07/2009 13:58:00

← e'plain ragment, what 'en means, and implications or thinking

a3out god

←

← what does this say in the conte't o group thinking (o3Gectie part)

← integrate in own understanding o god (su3Gectie)• ?reece to phil

• > years ago to today

←

← 3ring an image per thesis statement (pic, statue, ideo clip,

slideshow)

• image that will help us discuss together 'en2s statement

• can also paint a picture with words

• correlate content o thesis to something outside o the thesis (do

it 3eorehand)←

← !HES"S S!A!E3EN!S&

← =., =.:, =.1, =.1

← what does 4enophanes mean8

← Chat are the implications or our thinking a3out ?od8

• an 3ring notes that you2e written

• %dised against reading a script

←

← an come in as a group (L people 6 L minutes)

← *wed-ri, 1 mins each



←

← what2s common to atheist, agnosticist, catholic and scientologist

hae in common8 I they were in the same room, what happened8

• !here2s a religion that doesn2t 3eliee in god

• !here can 3e monotheistic god and yet ery diF rom oneanother

• So which god8

• Aa3e all gods will come to agree on one o3Gect o desire

← "uthyphro< what all o the gods loe would 3e the pious

• what is specic to the pious

• Jeing carried does not inhere to the 3ook

• ur reason is not satised until we nd the thing that is pious,

irtuous in itsel irrespectie o what people led me to 3eliee

← *what is it that is a3out godness• in each o these instances there2s a thinking a3out god and an

eFect on the people

• what2s the eFect o thinking a3out godness on us

← *C5%! 5%"NS C5"N H$ !5IN9 %J$! ?@8

• Not interested in our emotional response

• Supply theology to what you read (more interested in this than

what we take out o the te't)

• &ooking or thing that is specic to god in god itselR rather than

some doctrinal ormulation

• Chateer 3ook you read pro3 won2t answer this +uestion

• Not really what author has to say 3ut what we hae to say

← - ...that a scientic iew o the world emerges (rom early greeks

thinking a3out ?od..their god-pro3lems produed what to us today seems

like Gust normal rationalism..scientism which is how we see the world)

• as cause and eFect, coherent system



←

←

← 3"D!E/3 O/AS "N-ASS /E#"E<

← (=.1)← - image and likeness o god

• image<

• likeness<

• we could neer really 3e like him

• he2s too great

• een i we get glimpses rom heroes, teachers, god is too great

o on a diFerent spectrum

• limited human aculties

← - greek gods< human like, meddle with human aFairs, physicallyem3odied

← - there is only one god

• no human attri3utes, can2t look like us

← - greatest among gods and men

• something they2d understand

• gods were really great at the time

← *mona lisa< pinnacle o artistic success

• recogni7a3le immediately

• lapse in our knowing where something can represent a3solute to

us without us 3eing a3le to walk the whole distance 3etween in



o disciples saw god do mundane things, asked him a3out

theology yet at the end o their lies (though they lied

with em3odiment o what god is), still Gesus has to ask

them 0you lied with me all this time and yet you say you

haen2t seen the ather8← - not at all like mortals in 3ody and thought

• can2t see what makes the mona lisa the greatest o all paintings

← *images o the greatest

• Aichael Zordan (pinnacle o athletic success)

• Chere2s the diFerence 3etween the sym3ol and what2s 3eing

represented8 I he2s the greatest 3asket3all player who eer

lied, how do you get to 0not at all like mortals in 3ody or

thought8

← !hales< earth rests on water

superstition• Ayth is what holds him in air

• Jelie that is ashioned oer all thigns (4enophanes)

• "en AZ needed a superstition to keep him up in the air

← *there2s the image o the greatest then there2s a J"%9%?"

somewhere 3etween image/icon/greatest and the human condition

• pu3lic school teacher< hero 3ut don2t hae eerything that can 3e

ideali7ed that is god

o merely an icon o the greatest person

o een the greatest person you can imagine is N! god

← *image must present 3oth ideal and lacuna

←

← (=.:)

← 0he always moes in the same place....

← S$N

← - motionless, goerning, reoling in perect harmony

(planets6human 3eings who hae reason and ree will)

← *don2t miss the idea o the ;I!!IN?N"SS



← - sun doesn2t hae any particular power

• power o sun is not represented

• it2s a positional orce

• law o graity is an oerall system that works 3y tting pieces in

the pu77le• not an innate orce (its not in the sun 3ut has to do with the

relationship 3etween them)

← - ttingness o our reason or discoering truth a3out god ('en)

← - not tting or god to moe to diFerent places at diFerent times

• i new doctrine or old tradn o god doesn2t make

sense/correlatie to my knowing/t within reason, it is simply not

true

• J$! gra pull 3etween planets< good e'ample or how reason

e'erts a orce eFortlessly oer planets in solar system• Not Gust reduce to doctrine o immo3ility

• ;orce in 'en is ;" ; "%SN

← *aFects all already, no need to moe

← - nor is it tting that god would go to a diF place in a diF time

• always there! omnipresent?

• "acramental vision?

• #hy is he unmoving???

←

← (=.1)

← - image< sitting Juddha

← - 3uddha2s sitting down position< time o searching

← - in lie o Juddha, you hae idea o eternal search



• sets out to know answer to +uestion o lie

• neer discoers it

• does most rigorous training 3ut still unsatised

• sheer dissatisaction isn2t the philosophical position either

• Socrates is not the wisest person in the world 3ecause he knowshe doesn2t know anything (not cause he was stupid)

emphasi7es what he does know

← - when he gets to tree and sits down, doesn2t represent the end o

his search (or eternal lie) 3ut what it meant when he sat down was that

he was going to let the truth emerge rom itsel

• let the truth come rom within

• enlightenment comes to us rom eerywhere

← - sitting Juddha showes person enGoying time or search, em3racing

what he doesn2t know, accepting impossi3ility o nding answer to his+uestion with grace and a hopeul patience

← - Juddha leaes oF with what he has reealed

• 3rings all into this moment o enlightenment

• moment o enlightenment is N! the end o the search

← - ragment ends with 0they discoer 3etter 3ut the Juddha 3eing

enlightened means he 3ecame the teacher, he 3ecame in the primary

sense a person who pursued enlightenment

← - proound patience and condence in letting enlightenment come

to us/trusting understanding to reach what it cannot reach and Juddha

would 3e 3est e'ample o what 4enophanes is talking a3out

← - other image< image o mary

• treasured things in her heart

• incredulous with angel asks angel a logical +uestion

• how can these things 3e8 @oesn2t accept what she says straight

• treasure searchingness in her hearR 3ears +uestioningness o her

time and place as a treasure, git, grace (doesn2t stop with her

logical +uestioning)

←

← (=.)



← - tradition is a orgery 3ut always to 3e mindul o the gods is good

← - mother teresa holding an armless orphan

• against homer and traditional gods cause they were ghting all

the time

• conEict doesn2t make sense← - girl< product o war, 3ig countries, ghting

← *war doesn2t make sense

• what it doesn2t mean is there are 3etter was to sole our

pro3lems

• there is only one god so god doesn2t ght with other gods cause

there is only one god (no other gods)

• grew up with that thinking and it didn2t make sense dialogical

so he resoled there was only one god

← - reminding us that there is a god• god punishes inGustice

← - there is still goodness een i child has suFered

← *mother teresa works well or latter part o ragment

• dint Gust care or orphans cause she2s really nice 3ut cause she

was mindul o the gods (did it in serice o hrist)

• not so good or criti+ue o gods and tradition

← *has to represent 0tradition as orgery

• edsa reolution

• conEict 3etween got and people

• people united in war against got

• like 4enophanes, the lipinos grew intolerant o the status +uo

and authorities o the political tradition and so they called it a

orgery, unGust, illegal and they e'cised it (3rought an end to it)

3ut at the same time, it2s not as i they Gust had a reolt and did

away with authority what they tried to do/what edsa

represents is to esta3lish a new and 3etter got (always to 3e

mindul o the gods)...no one thought country can2t goern

itseles (not that we hae chopped authority 3ut our standard is

higher than tradl populist standard)o there is criti+ue in the same 3reath as respect or authority

o *respects authority< wants new authority (acknowledge

there is need or one 3ut needs a 3etter one..to gie Gustice

to what authority should really 3e like)

o picture o cardinal sin< speaks as an authority against the

a3use o authority and god2s name

←

← *hae you reEected on what this image means888

Philo Part 1

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Transcript of Philo Part 1