Introduction to Philosophy

These flashcards cover the definitions of philosophy, key ancient Greek philosophers, schools of thought, philosophical standpoints, fallacies, and the main branches of philosophy based on the lecture notes.

Philosophy

Derived from the Greek words Philo (love) and Sophia (wisdom), it means the love of wisdom.

Philosophers

People who engage in philosophy, often referred to as lovers of wisdom or experts.

Pythagoras

An ancient Greek philosopher credited with the Pythagoras theorem who established a community of learners devoted to the study of religion and philosophy.

Heraclitus

A philosopher who proposed that everything exists based on a higher order or plan called Logos, and claimed that change is a permanent aspect of human life.

Logos

The term Heraclitus used to describe the higher order or plan that governs existence.

Democritus

A philosopher who devoted himself to the study of the causes of natural phenomena and proposed that matter is composed of tiny particles called Atoms.

Diogenes of Sinope

A known advocate of living a simple and virtuous life who was a vocal critic of Plato and Aristotle and was associated with the school of Cynicism.

Epicurus

A philosopher who believed that philosophy could enable a man to live a life of happiness.

Epicureanism

A school of philosophy which believes that wisdom and simple living will result in a life free of fear and pain.

Socrates

The foremost philosopher of ancient times who contributed to ethics, formulated the Socratic method, and considered himself a midwife of ideas rather than wise.

Socratic method

A method of examining a topic by devising a series of questions.

Plato

A student of Socrates and founder of Western Philosophy who established the Academy and proposed the Theory of Forms.

Theory of Forms

Plato's theory that everything that exists is based on an idea or template that can only be perceived in the mind.

Sophist

Greek thinkers and individuals who taught Oratory and claimed to know everything (wise men).

Oratory

The art of Public Speaking, often used to pursue a successful political career.

Doxa

A term for opinion or common belief.

Episteme

Truth or fact, representing real knowledge based on reasoning.

Phenomenology

A philosophical standpoint where truth is based on a person’s consciousness and lived experiences, adhering to the idea that to see is to believe.

Existentialism

A philosophical standpoint where truth is based on exercising choices and personal freedom.

Post-Modernism

A philosophical standpoint that argues truth is not absolute but is instead relative.

Fallacy

The use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned.

Argumentam ad Meserycordian

Also known as the Appeal to pity, this fallacy tries to win an argument by exploiting an opponent's feelings of pity or guilt.

Argumentum ad Ignorantiar

Also known as the Appeal to Ignorance, the fallacy that states if something hasn't been proven false, it must be true, and vice versa.

Argumentum ad Hominem

An attack on the person which attempts to link the validity of a premise to the characteristics or beliefs of the individual advocating it.

Argumentum ad Baculum

Also known as the Appeal to force, where threat or force is given as a justification for an argument.

Petitio Principiis

Also known as Begging the question, it is a fallacy where the proposition to be proven is implicitly or explicitly assumed.

Aesthetics

The branch of philosophy that deals with beauty.

Epistemology

The branch of philosophy that discusses the nature of knowledge and knowing.

Ethics

The branch of philosophy that deals with morals, questions, and dilemmas.

Political Philosophy

The branch of philosophy that studies government and questions of justice and power.

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy that deals with questions regarding reality and existence.

Aristotle

A prominent student of Plato who disagreed with the Theory of Forms, proposed a system for the classification of plants and animals, and used deductive reasoning.

Deductive Reasoning

The process by which specific statements are analyzed to reach a conclusion or generalization.

Dialectic

Plato's method of inquiry where two opposing ideas are discussed.

Academy

The institution of higher learning founded by Plato, considered the first of its kind in the Western world.

Sense of Doubt

The philosophical starting point associated with Rene Descartes.

Sense of wonder

The philosophical starting point associated with Plato.

Sense of experience

The philosophical starting point associated with Karl Jaspers.