Philosophical Reflection

Plato and Protagoras

• they debated on whether virtue can be taught

Agora

• Socrates philosophize in the public place, compelling people to think, defend their views, account for what they know and don’t know

Socratic method / Philosophical reflection

• effective method of education

• compelled to reflect on what we know and don’t know

Who am I?

• self image identification

• sometimes defined by how we feel

• define ourselves through past

Aristotle

• defined virtue as a mean between excess and deficiency

• said virtues are developed through practice, leading to moral excellence

Philosopho

• one with skill in evading arguments

Fallacy

• an argument that may sound convincing but is actually flawed

Sophists

• group of people in Greece teaching ARETE (excellence)

• Plato and Aristotle said they use arguments to win and not find truth

Sophistry

• deliberate deception through arguments

Protagoras

• said man is the measure of all things

• every individual has a measure of his own truth

Gorgias

• said Nomos (law of society) is opposed to Physis (natural order)

Physis (natural law)

• in nature, the strong dominate the weak

Nomos (social law)

• Callicles said they are the inventions of the weak majority to protect themselves from the strong minority

Callicles

• said natural order might makes right

Lycophron

• said in natural order all humans are equal

Ad hominem

• an attack to the person instead of the argument

Appeal to ignorance

• argumentum ad ignorantiam

• claims something is true because it hasn’t been proven false and vice versa

Hasty generalization

• conclusion is not logically supported by sufficient evidence

Equivocation

• argument conveys multiple meanings, making it illogical

• shifting the meaning of a word mid argument

Appeal to pity

• Ad Misericordiam

• someone tries to win an argument by exploiting feelings

Bandwagon

• proposition claimed true because majority said so

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

• superstitions

• after this, therefore, because of this

Appeal to force

• argumentum ad baculum

• force is used in place of reason to justify a conclusion

Pamimilosopo

• true philosopher observes, thinks, and sees clearly with the mind and speaks the truth