Lecture 3: Aristotle vs. Kant on Epistemology and Ethics

Great Philosophers

• Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: Three most original and important philosophers.
• Augustine and Aquinas seen as greater due to theological completeness.
• Influence of faith on reason.

Aristotle: The Philosopher of Common Sense

Paradox of Aristotle

• Known for reasonable statements on nearly everything.
• Stands in the golden mean between extremes: moderate to an excess.
• Common sense is uncommon to modern minds.

Challenges in Understanding Aristotle

• Students and philosophers find his ideas harder to grasp than other complex philosophers.
• Modern culture's philosophies conflict with Aristotle's common sense.

Aristotle's Worldview

• Metaphysics: Concept of form as internal essence, not visible shape. Natural end (teleology) is a dimension of form.
• Cultural Rejection: Modern Western culture denies cosmic order/design.
• Science vs. Philosophy: Science's reliance on measurement overlooks philosophical ideas like design.

Aristotle's Life View

• Ethics: Natural moral law; objective, absolute, and unchangeable.
• Morality is not subjective values but objective laws.
• Natural Law: Based on human nature, innate universal conscience.

Aristotle's Logic

• World's first logic textbook; structure of deductive and inductive reasoning.
• Three acts of the mind: understanding terms, judging propositions, evaluating arguments.
• Importance of clear terms, true premises, and valid reasoning.

Comparison with Modern Epistemologies

• Nominalism vs. Aristotelian Forms: Disagreement on reality of universal forms.
• Epistemology: Combination of sensation and reason; abstraction of universal forms.
• Four Steps of Knowing: Sense observation, abstraction, distinguishing essentials, deducing conclusions.

Ethics: Comparison with Kant

• Aristotle's Virtue Ethics: Good habits (virtues) and character are central.
• Kant's Rule-based Ethics: Focus on rules/laws rather than character.
• Categorical imperative: Universalizability and intrinsic worth of individuals.

Kant's Epistemology

• Critique of rationalism (dogmatic) and empiricism (skeptical).
• Copernican Revolution: Truth is formed by thought, not discovered.
• Nominalism: Denies knowledge of objective universal forms.
• Subjective Universals: Order in reality is imposed by the mind.

Kantian Ethics

• Categorical Imperative: Act on principles that can be universalized.
• Human Dignity: Individuals as ends, not means.
• Autonomy: Moral law is self-imposed, questioning reverence towards discovered good.
• Critique of Traditional Morality: Emphasizes human freedom and creativity over divine will.

Philosophical Impacts

• Aristotle vs. Kant: Differences in approach to ethics and epistemology.
• Modern philosophers often subtract from or tweak Aristotle's ideas.
• Kant's influence on modern ethics and human dignity, particularly in rejecting slavery.