Philosophy Lessons 1-3 1st Sem

Philosophy

• It is a tool, it is a pursuit, and an art of questioning not for the sake of finding finite answers but for the sake of questions alone.

• It encourages us to consider different aspects of a situation, leading to a more comprehensive understanding.

• To view the universe impartially.

• It begins in wonder (to continue) then curiosity (to look for finite answers) to questioning.

• We choose to think of something because it has value = benefit = practical.

• Consider different aspects/perspectives.

• Encompasses questions that do not have definite answers and are not yet capable of being placed in the realm of science.

• Emphasizes the importance of the goods of the mind, recognizing that they are equally valuable.
  
  

Curiosity

• The result of wonder/awe due to prior experience.

• Interest, learn, understand

Bertrand Russell

• “The value of Philosophy is in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty.”

• English logician, mathematician, philosopher, noble prize winner

Intellectual Humility

Individual’s acknowledgement of their limit or lack in knowledge.

Concept of Value

• “Value relies on practicality & purpose”

• “If it’s impractical, it’s useless”

• “If there’s a purpose, there’s value”
  “If there’s no purpose, there’s no value”

• Wondering what the value of Philosophy equates to the value of Philosophy as well.

• The value of philosophy lies in its uncertainty and its ability to raise questions and suggest possibilities that go beyond common sense and habitual beliefs.

Practical man

Who only focuses on the needs & ignores importance of nourishing the mind, fails to recognize Philosophy. Close-minded, practicality & no value, an egoist.

Relationship between uncertainty and philosophy according to Bertrand Russell

• Philosophy raises questions and doubts that challenge the common sense and habitual beliefs of individuals.

• New perspectives and prevents dogmatic thinking.

• The value of philosophy is found in the questions themselves.

How might philosophical insights help individuals navigate complex moral, social or existential challenges?

• Provides a framework for contemplation, impartiality, and the pursuit of truth.

• Challenges narrow perspectives

• Fosters a sense of wonder.

Origins and Principle of Philosophy

• Traces its roots back to ancient Greece; when Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle sought to understand the nature of reality and the underlying principles governing human existence.

Meaning of Philosophy

• “Mother of disciplines” - naturing other sciences to establish a distinctive role in human experience.

• It deals with the most complex, challenging and profound questions in human life, questions that by nature resist simple answers.

• A guiding principle

• A reason or basis of something

• A cause of something; foundation of knowledge

Philosophical Person

Someone who takes things in a very complex and profound way.

Plato

• “All philosophy has its origin in wonder”

• Plato was influenced by Socrates.

• Plato’s philosophical ideas are found in Dialogues, which accounts of what he is concerned with as influenced by his teacher, Socrates.

• The Republic is one of his famous works which discusses his political and social philosophy.

Pursuit of Wisdown

• Philosophy is derived from the two Greek words: philien or philios, a Greek word from “love”, and sophia, the Greek word for “wisdom”.

• “The love or pursuit of wisdom”

Person of Wisdom

• Ability to use and apply knowledge with great intelligence that distinguishes them.

• Ability to generate genuinely creative solutions to challenging problems.

• Ability to exhibit an insightful understanding of what it means to be human.

• Ability to confront the most difficult questions in life.

Wonder

The catalyst for thinking philosophically, a search unity of knowledge, a desire to answer the great questions of life.

Synthesis & Integration

Another catalyst for philosophy in which human aim to “put all of the pieces together”

History of Philosophy

• Even before the birth of natural philosophy, people had already attempted to explain the origin of things, events and occurrences.

• Such attempts are evident in folklores, myths, and legends that ancient peoples----Babylonians, Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, and Greeks most notably---believed in.

• However, these stories are characterized by religious elements and not by natural or rational explanations.

Ancient Period: Cosmological

• Miletians Thales

• Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Miletians Thales

• Regarded as father of philosophy the first to engaged in the inquiry of searching for causes and principles of the natural world

• Believed that the Earth floats on water, which was considered as the first or ultimate substance.

Heraclitus of Ephesus

• Continued the Miletian claim of a single, proper substance.

• He is known for his concept of change believing that the only permanent thing is change.

• Used the image of flames of fire to emphasize the idea of change.

Aristotle

• His philosophy is often described as an opposition to the Platonic philosophical tradition.

• His method focuses on analyzing phenomena or experience and proving credible opinions about these experiences to arrive at adequate proof.

Medieval Period: Theological (Scholasticism)

• The period in the history of philosophy that recognizes the importance of reason in faith.

• Used philosophy as a handmaid of theology.

• Concerned with proving God’s existence and understanding what is man in relation with God.

• Known philosophers in this period are St. Anselm, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Modern Period: Rationalism, Empiricism and Kant’s Philosophy

• The modern period in the history of philosophy is concerned about the problems on knowledge.

• The period is dominated by the two schools of thought: rationalism and empiricism and ends with the synthesis of made by Immanuel Kant.

• Immanuel Kant’s philosophy ended the long-standing clash of the two schools of thought by introducing the idea of synthetic a priori knowledge, a knowledge that is product of reason and experience.

Rationalism

States that the source of knowledge is reason rather • than experience (e.g., numbers and mathematical equation).

Empiricism

States that the source of knowledge is experience.

Contemporary Period: The Analytic and the Continental Tradition

• Analytic Tradition is a school of thought that concentrated on logical analysis of language to solve problems which beset philosophy.

• Philosophers under this tradition use a “ method of verification” that only accepts that those that can be investigated by science as meaningful and true.

Metaphysics

The study of the ultimate reality characteristics of reality or existence.

• What is the ultimate nature of reality? What is the nature of the self?

Epistemology

The study of knowledge, identifying and developing criteria and methodologies for what we know and why we know it.

• What is the relation between truth and knowledge? What are the sources of knowledge?

Ethics

The study of moral values and principles.

• How should we treat other people? How do we decide on the moral rightness of social issues?

Political and Social Philosophy

The study of social values and political forms of government.

• What is the nature of justice? What is the most enlightened form of government?

Aesthetics

The study of beauty, art, and taste.

• What is the nature of beauty? What is art?

Logic

The branch of philosophy that seeks establish the rules of correct reasoning, clear understanding and valid arguments What are the logical principles of correct reasoning? How do people use incorrect reasoning to reach false conclusions?

Plato’s Quest for the Idea of Good

• The world is not the place where we can attain true and real knowledge because everything here is always changing.

• He believes that true and real knowledge must be ageless and eternal.

• The place of real and true knowledge is the World of Forms and Idea.

• Before we were born, our souls were once part of the World Soul. The World Soul has immediate and direct contact with the world of Forms and Idea. The body has the effect of corrupting the soul which makes the soul forget the knowledge it had before.

• Thus, the whole quest of life is to remember the knowledge you had before to be able to attain goodness and the good life.

Noesis (Reason)

It deals with grasping perfect knowledge of forms and ideas, particularly the idea of the good.

Dianoia (Understanding)

It is associated with mathematical, or scientific understanding. It is dependent on the sensible world to represent its assumptions and images.

Illusion

It gives the tertiary copy of the reality.

Belief

It is our perceptions of the world. It is always changing.

Rene Descartes’ Method of Systematic Doubt

• Descartes believed that for something to be accepted as the starting point of knowledge, an idea must be clear, distinct, and certain.

• He believed that reason is the instrument and source in gaining knowledge because it is capable to discover the indubitable idea.

• The indubitable idea can be discovered using the method of systematic doubt.

• Method of systematic doubt: Doubt everything that can be doubted until you arrive at the clear and distinct idea.

• He considers the self as an indubitable idea because the only thing that he is certain of is that he is doubting.

• That means he is certain that he exists because he is doubting. This is what cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am) means.

• Thus, knowledge is an idea that is clear and distinct which is indubitable.

How do we use Philosophy to figure out the truth?

• Philosophers often grapple with the concept of truth.

• Truth lies at the heart of inquiry. Knowledge must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance.

• Philosophers agree that there is no absolute measure of truth but there are various views which can help us tackle the concepts of knowing the truth and arrive at a reasonable assessment if a statement, idea or event is believable.

Justified true belief

• The first concept of truth is rooted on the ancient Greek philosophy’s concept of knowledge.

• The concept states that something is true because you believe it to be true, and that there is a justification for such belief.

• A belief may be justified using one’s perception and senses by appealing to authority or using reasoning.

Correspondence theory

States that something is true if it corresponds to reality or the actual state of affairs. It assumes a direct relationship between an idea and reality and that statement can be taken as “fact”.

Consensus theory

Views knowledge as based on agreement, and that something is true if almost everyone agrees that it is true. ▪ Certain beliefs, traditions and practices are product of the consensus of the influential groups or institution such as governments or religious organizations.

Coherence

Proposes that something is true if it makes sense when placed in a certain situation or context. An idea or statement is true because it makes sense in its own context, and that it has a certain degree of consistency which renders it truthful.

Relativism

Is a philosophical concept which contends that there are no absolute truths in which an idea or principle is only true within a particular context.

Constructivist theory

Holds that knowledge is shaped by social forces and influenced by culture and history. In this perspective, knowledge and truth may change given that what is true may be influenced by historical development and social struggles.

Pragmatic theory

Holds the view that something is true if we can put it into practice or is useful in real life. ▪ It also believes that ideas should be continually tested to confirm their validity

Verificationism

Considers that ideas must be verified using the senses and experience.

Scientific method

Considers that hypotheses must be tested to confirm the its conclusion.

Determining fallacies

• In determining the truth of any statement or claim, we must be familiar with how ideas are presented.

• Ideas and claims are often presented in the form of arguments, and these arguments are phrased in such a way that they seem reasonable.

• However, several arguments may be based on faulty reasoning.

Ad Hominem

Attacking the person in making the argument instead of the argument itself.

Appeal to force

Attacking the person in making the argument instead of the argument itself.

Appeal to emotion

Using emotions such as pity or sympathy.

Appeal to the popular

Idea is presented as acceptable because a lot of people accept it.

Appeal to the tradition

The idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time.

Begging the question

Assuming the thing or idea to be proven is true; also known as “circular argument.”

Cause-and-effect

Assuming a “cause-and-effect” relationship between unrelated events.

Fallacy of composition

Assuming that what is true for a part is true for the whole.

Fallacy of division

Assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts.

Fact

• It is a statement that can be proven to be true using evidence.

• Universal, objective, discovered, states reality, non-debetable

Opinion

• It is a statement that express a belief, attitude, value, judgment, or feeling.

• Partial, subjective, created, interprets reality, debatable

Bias

An unfair personal opinion that influences your judgment.

Correspondence bias or attribution effect

Tendency to judge a person’s personality by his or her actions, without regard for external factors or influences.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to look for and readily accept information which fits with one’s own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views that go against it.

Framing

Focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other aspects.

Hindsight

The tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to historical events

Conflict of interest

A person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in the issue being discussed.

Cultural bias

Analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural standards.

Method of philosophizing

A process of determining or drawing a conclusion from a statement using various philosophical methods through which we can attain knowledge, wisdom and truth.

Socratic method

• Developed by Socrates.

• It uses questions to inquire or cross examine the underlying beliefs upon which a person’s statements, arguments and assumptions are built.

Dialectic method

It is a discourse between two or more people holding different point of views on a topic to arrive at truth through reasoned argumentation.

Scientific method

It is a process of determining the truth or knowledge through experimentation and hypothesis testing. In philosophical view, the hypothesis testing and its results are the most important feature of the method.

Historical method

It is a process of gathering evidences, examining them, and formulating ideas about the past to produce present truths. It utilizes established records and evidences from the past to validate the present hypothesis.

Phenomenological Method

It is a process of seeking the deeper meaning of things and experiences behind their immediate observable qualities.

Consciousness

(Directedness or engagement to things) plays an important in this method because it makes the mind to interact with the object by finding its meaning and in significance in one’s life.

Holistic perspective

A kind of system that aims to determine and explain the whole or totality of a given system by examining the behaviors and activities of certain component.

Partial point of view

A perspective that looks at reality based on single or partial component of a system.