Good news! You've got work to do. Below is a sample two-part exam question. Tbink about it and do some extra research using the links on this site.
Comment/ask questions/discuss here in the next few days before a SURPRISE EXAM on...one day soon. I will try to respond to any (sensible) questions. No bribes accepted. Yet.
Theme: Reason and experience
1 (a) Explain what is meant by a priori and explain one reason why the a priori is philosophically significant. (15 marks)
(b) ‘All ideas derive from the sense experiences which they copy.’ Discuss. (30 marks)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Okay, Sensible question.
When is this work in for?
And I apologise for missing lessons, I have been very badly ill, and evern after spending many days in bed, am not recovering quickly.
Sorry.
1a) Priori are things that we already know or have experience before, such as reason, capacity to learn and our senses. We already have these things built in which make them Priori, we don’t need to learn them through experience. Rationalist are great believers in this claim.
If priori exists then Empiricists view that we learn everything through our senses is wrong and that John Locke’s theory that our brains are Tabula Rasa’s when we are born can’t be true because Tabula Rasa means a blank sheet and if we had things built in then my brains can’t be Tabula Rasa.
Priori is an important part of philosophy because there is an divide between philosophers including John Locke. Most British philosophers are empiricists and there for don’t believe in priori. Foreign philosophers such as Descartes are rationalists meaning they
1b) In a sense, the theory derives from the sense experience. This is true when you consider certain circumstances. If you wanted to learn to ride a bike, you can learn the science behind it however you will not be able to ride a bike unless, you actually got on one and experienced it through your senses.
This statement seems logical because to have an idea you need to experience something first hand, or even have a private experience such as a dream. You can describe what you saw in your dream and how you felt when you were experiencing this dream. The person you’re telling it to will not have the exact idea of the dream because they have not experienced it through their sense impressions.
There are some examples which we must consider and don’t fit this claim. If we take maths as an example you can’t experience the concept of maths as it’s not a physical element. Surely to have the idea of what maths is we need to have a certain amount of logic and reason built in otherwise we could never have a clear idea of how maths works. We can’t have the idea of maths through our sense impressions so for children to learn maths they need a certain amount of reason and logic already built in.
If someone told you that their friend was a bachelor then you would not have to experience it through your senses because you know already that a bachelor means unmarried man, it’s built into the concept. You have the idea of what a bachelor is without going out and seeing it for yourself. This disproves the theory that you can only have an idea through your sense impressions.
Guess who forgot to leave a comment..
who?
Almost everyone, apparently.
Post a Comment