Philosophy: St. Augustine to Descartes

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Questions and Answers

What does St. Augustine believe about the source of happiness?

Happiness can be found in one's achievements.

Happiness is a result of fulfilling societal expectations.

Happiness comes from individual success and autonomy.

Happiness is achieved through divine love and connection to God. (correct)

How does St. Augustine's view of creation differ from Plato's?

Augustine believes the world was created from existing materials.

Plato believes in a creator who is dependent on the world.

Plato asserts the world was created ex nihilo by a supreme being.

Augustine teaches that God created the world out of nothing. (correct)

What did Augustine identify as the reason for human suffering?

The inability to achieve personal goals.

Disordered love and misprioritization. (correct)

Poor relationships with other people.

A lack of physical resources.

What characterizes St. Thomas Aquinas's view of human nature?

Humans are composed of body and spirit, unified by the soul. Signup and view all the answers

According to Augustine, how can love be disordered?

By valuing lesser things more than love for God. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of humanity does Aquinas focus on to explain understanding and life?

The soul and its capacities. Signup and view all the answers

How does St. Augustine describe God's nature in relation to humans?

God is independent and complete, while humans are dependent and incomplete. Signup and view all the answers

What does Augustine believe humans must do to achieve happiness?

Love and connect with God. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary attribute that distinguishes humans as rational creatures?

The capacity for logical thought Signup and view all the answers

According to Aquinas, what are the two ends or goals of human existence?

Natural and supernatural ends Signup and view all the answers

What famous statement is attributed to Rene Descartes?

Cogito, ergo sum Signup and view all the answers

What does Descartes use as a basis to doubt the existence of the world?

The experience of pain in dreams Signup and view all the answers

What ultimately proves the existence of the Self, according to Descartes?

The act of doubting or thinking Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the supernatural end in Aquinas's philosophy?

It pertains to ultimate fulfillment in God. Signup and view all the answers

What reasoning leads Descartes to doubt the existence of God?

Dreaming could involve an illusion of God. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following reflects Descartes' belief about the relationship between thought and existence?

To think is to doubt. Signup and view all the answers

What does Kant believe is necessary for knowledge to exist?

Sensation and memory united by the SELF Signup and view all the answers

According to Gilbert Ryle, what is mind-body dualism considered to be?

Unsound and contradictory Signup and view all the answers

How does Ryle define the self?

As observable behavior Signup and view all the answers

What term does Ryle use to describe the logical error in discussing the self?

Category mistake Signup and view all the answers

What is the alternative phrase Ryle uses to emphasize self-existence compared to Descartes?

I act, therefore I am Signup and view all the answers

What is the main criticism Ryle has against traditional views of the self?

They ignore observable behaviors. Signup and view all the answers

What does Ryle claim about how we perceive the thoughts of others?

It comes from observing their behavior. Signup and view all the answers

What philosophical approach does Ryle advocate for regarding mental events?

Logical behaviorism Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

St. Augustine

Augustine’s philosophy emphasizes spiritual grounding and a belief in the Supreme Being.
The world was created by God out of nothing, unlike Plato’s belief that the Demiurge combined the Forms and the receptacle.
Humans are incomplete and seek happiness, which they can only find through God.
Happiness is achieved through love, but disordered love can lead to unhappiness and suffering.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas Christianized Aristotle’s philosophy.
The human person is a composite of body and soul.
The soul is responsible for life, sensation, intellect, and will.
The intellect is the greatest human ability, and contemplation of God is possible.
Humans have two ends: natural (preserving life, procreation, truth-seeking) and supernatural (ultimate end in God).

Rene Descartes

A rationalist who believed reason is the basis of knowledge and the self.
Famous for the dictum "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), which was derived through methodic doubt.
Descartes doubted the existence of the world and God because of the possibility of dreaming.
The self exists because doubting requires thinking, and thinking requires a thinker.
The self unifies sense experience and imposes categories of the mind.

Gilbert Ryle

Gilbert Ryle was a 20th-century analytic philosopher who criticized Descartes' mind-body dualism.
He argued that the self is not a separate entity but a way of referring to behavior.
Proposed logical behaviorism, where mental events are translated into observable behavior.
His motto, "I act, therefore I am," contrasts with Descartes' "I think, therefore I am."

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Description

Explore the key philosophies of St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Rene Descartes in this quiz. Understand their views on God, happiness, and the nature of humans. Delve into the rationalist versus theistic perspectives that shaped Western thought.