PHI 2010 Final Notes

What is Epistemology?

The branch of philosophy that deals with the question: “What are the boundaries of human knowledge?”

When does modernity begin?

Modernity, or modern philosophy, officially begins in the 17th Century

Who is considered the father of modern philosophy?

Renee Descartes

What does he mean when he says “Cogito Ergo Sum”?

Latin for “I think therefore I am.”

Why does this amount to a radical new beginning?

Doubt leads us to certainty. We can doubt everything (skepticism) OR we can be wrong about everything, EXCEPT ONE THING: our own existence ( the one thing I cannot doubt)

Why is doubt critical to his project? Explain.

Because if we didn’t exist, we could not doubt- doubt raises our intellectual standards

What is empiricism?

Empiricism is the view that all knowledge is derived from experience. There are no innate ideas. The human mind is a “tabula rasa”=blank slate

Who are the 3 British empiricists?

1. John Locke

2. George Berkeley

3. David Hume

What is Jose Ortega y Gasset’s magnum opus?

The Revolt of the Masses

Why is he considered an elite diagnostician?

A diagnosis is a statement of the status quo.

Ortega is considered an elite diagnostician because he argues that humanity finds itself in unique circumstances right now, those being that we are living during the explosion of information- there is more information now than ever before.

What is unique about the 20th Century?

The accessibility and quantity of information. Ortega says “a poor man has more access to information today than a wealthy man from a few centuries ago.”

What is the difference between applied and pure science?

• Applied science- the science used to create products for the marketplace; subject to the forces of capitalism- the modern scientist is creating products for industry

• Pure science- science for its own sake; independent of industry

What is technology?

Technology is applied science, particularly as it relates to machinery and for technical means

What does Ortega y Gasset mean by the “mass man”?

He’s referring to the increasing indifference of humanity- they are more and more indifferent to the world around them (apathetic)- human beings are thinking less than we ever have, because we don’t have to

What does he mean by vulgarity and barbarism?

That ignorance is increasingly celebrated. He argues that all of this information it has been exposed to has made humanity think that it knows more than it actually does.

What does Maurice Merleau-Ponty mean by “Science without philosophy does not know of what it speaks”?

This is a critique of Scientism (the worshipping of science)- we worship technology and that’s wrong because the sciences have major limitations, so our infatuation or belief in the supremacy of science is incorrect; the sciences are impotent/powerless when it comes to ultimate questions; the issues we face are related to morality and that has to do with philosophy

What is Marx’s philosophical anthropology?

• Philosophical anthropology- the branch of philosophy that deals w/ the question of human essence, “What is the human being?”

• To look at the human being, we have to look at human activity; activity is attached to essence

• There is one human activity we do for the majority of our life- work; to be human is to work

• We have activities in common with animals, BUT the difference is that humans CAN choose their activity/occupation- we choose how we make our means of subsistence

What does he mean by activity?

Our chosen activity as humans

What is the difference between the economic activity of human beings and that of other animals?

We create things that are not needed for our subsistence- animals create only what they need to survive

Do humans share certain activities with other species? Explain.

Yes; eat, sleep, breathe, reproduce, and protect young

What is historical materialism?

The view that history, and our attitudes about the world, is propelled/driven by economic conditions

Ex.: Ppl think that wealth is intelligence & poverty means being lazy or dumb

Ex.: “Customer is always right”

What does Marx mean when he says “Philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it.”? Explain.

• The attitude toward philosophy is that it’s merely a scholastic activity that has no practical application

• Marx suggests that it is wrong, because philosophy is THE most practical of all fields of study

• It’s not enough to have a deeper understanding of ultimate questions, but rather, we should act accordingly

• Ex.: Studying justice should make you more just

What is deontology?

A system of ethics which states that an action is moral if the person who commits the action fulfills their duty or obligation

Who is the major thinker (in deontology)?

Immanuel Kant is the major figure in deontology

What is the basic claim (of deontology)?

That human beings have duties/obligations & morality has to do w/ the fulfillment of them

What is the categorical imperative?

2 PARTS:

1. Act from such a maxim that you would wish to become universal law

2. Always treat every individual as an end & never merely as a means

What are the 3 deontological principles?

1. Honesty

2. Nonaggression

3. The principle of goodwill

Do the principles of deontology extend to other species?

No- Kant does not think we have a moral obligation to other species.

What is the central theme of Plato’s Republic?

The tension/conflict between politics and philosophy

Why is the term “political philosophy” an oxymoron for Plato?

• Politics has to do with the pursuit of power (for Plato, who has a negative view of politics, the word is an inflammatory term)

• Philosophy has to do with the pursuit of wisdom, and those 2 concepts come into conflict

• Typically, the 2 are not compatible- power-seeking ppl don’t usually seek wisdom and vice versa

What is the “Allegory of the Cave”?

• A section of Plato’s Republic & Plato’s analysis of the human condition.

• Allegory- use of symbol/imagery to convey meaning rather than literal

• He uses images of a prisoner tied to the inside of a cave; in the distance is sunlight & a possibility to escape- the prisoner chooses captivity rather than freedom

• In essence, he says that human beings are in a state of inertia (tendency to stay doing what they’ve been doing)- we tend to stay right where we are intellectually (general ignorance of human beings)

• The cave represents ignorance and thoughtlessness- we’re prisoners to the ignorance we choose

• Humans choose what’s familiar- not necessarily what’s good

What is Plato saying about the human condition?

Human beings prefer ignorance to wisdom & that’s a big problem

Is he pessimistic or optimistic? Explain.

• He’s initially pessimistic about the human condition- he says that most people don’t want wisdom (philosophical knowledge)

• However, he’s optimistic about the possibilities- humans choose to stay in the cave, but we don’t have to

What does this have to do with Plato’s politics?

The state is composed of human beings- and so a society is only as good as the ppl who make it up

What does this have to do with his philosophy of education?

• Everything- he thinks education is the idea that people become what we teach them- so we must teach wisdom that they become wise

• We have to be exceedingly vigilant/careful with what we teach people

What does Aristotle mean when he says that man is a social animal?

Part of what makes us human beings is that we interact with members of our own species

What does he mean when he says that friendship is indispensable?

Friendship is essential to our well-being- we cannot do without it- a friendless life would be futile

What does he mean when he talks about the “hierarchy of friendship”?

• Hierarchy- level or order of importance

• Some friendships are better than others (not all are the same)

• Difference between quality of friendship depends on the motivations behind the friendship

What role does temporality and permanence play? Explain.

You can’t know someone in such a short amount of time- longer friendships are usually closer relationships

What are the 3 types of friendship he discusses? Explain.

1. Friendship of utility- utility=usefulness; being someone’s friend for what they can provide; common/likely to dissolve; goes away when usefulness is gone

2. Friendship of pleasure- friendship between those who derive pleasure from the same activity; better than the last one, but only lasts until activities change

3. Friendship of virtue- friendship based on honesty and integrity; pushes us to be the very best version of ourselves; rare because it involves criticism; not likely to dissolve; likely to endure because it is based on a sound foundation

What is special about the best form of friendship?

It demands us to be better- it demands the absolute best of us

BONUS: Evil people cannot experience true friendship bc true friendship requires integrity

How many speeches are there in Plato’s Symposium? Explain each speech.

1. Speech of Phaedrus (Aristocrat)- love is inspiration- it brings out the best in human beings

2. Speech of Pausanius (Attorney)- love is a direct result of contact with Aphrodite (the goddess of beauty)

3. Speech of Erixymachus (Physician/Medical Doctor)- love is that which brings harmony & balance to the body

4. Speech of Aristophanes (Playwright)- love is the desire for completion (search for the other ½)

5. Speech of Agathon (Athenian Poet)- love is the enemy of old age- that which keeps everything youthful

6. Speech of Socrates (Philosopher)- love is permanent, exclusive desire beyond our finite existence (desire of soul)

7. Speech of Alcibiades (Statesman)- says that symposium has come to a close

What is the role of temporality and permanence?

Closest we can get to permanence- fecundity (reproduction); the longer something lasts, the more real it is

What is the role of beauty?

We desire that which is beautiful; beauty is necessarily linked to desire

What does the dialogue say about the body vs. the soul?

1. Body- the body is finite; its desires are common and non-exclusive; mere sexual desire

2. Soul- the soul is eternal; its desires are exclusive and rare (EROS); fecundity (reproduction)- closest thing to immortality

THEIR DESIRES ARE DIFF, but they both exist under Plato’s Dualism

What is the conclusion of the dialogue?

Love is the struggle/desire for immortality