Philosophy 2203E Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Actual Infinity, Earth And Fire, Foundationalism
3 Oct 2016
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Introduction, the paradoxes of motion, plato"s cosmology: week 1 & 2. By the time aristotle wrote in the 4th century bc, the science of geometry was well established. Geometry offered a compelling example of knowledge grounded in certainty. According to plato & aristotle, we are able to recognize the universal in the particular. This universality forms the basis of all genuine knowledge. A 2nd important feature of ancient greek thought centres on the notion of understanding. Greek astronomers wanted to not only predict, but also explain, natural phenomena. Babylonians could predict the motion of the planets, but we have no record of them asking why this motion occurs. Another greek intuition: understanding proceeds by means of definitions, which bring conceptual clarity. But adequate definitions are not always easy to come by. A case in point: zeno"s paradoxes of motion. The purpose of the paradox is to argue that motion" is in fact impossible.
