CHAPTER 1 - From the Perspective of Philosophy

Aristotle

Aristotle

'' Knowing yourself is the Beginning of All wisdom.'' -quote

12 Philosophers in Chapter 1: From the Perspective of Philosophy

Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine of Hippo, Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Sigmund Freud, Gilbert Ryle, Patricia and Paul Churchland, Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

Philosophy

Literally means '''love of wisdom''

Price, 2000

The Greeks in search of knowledge came up with answer that are both cognitive and scientific in nature.

The big three of Philosophy

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

Sophist

people skilled in discussion and debates and the first teachers of the west.

The Dialogues

Plato's writing

Socratic Method

a method of teaching by question and answer; used by Socrates to elicit truths from his students. The goal is to bring the person closer to final understanding.

Delphi Oracle

Socrates was named by this person as the wisest of all men.

Think,seek,ask, again and again

aim of Socratic method

Plato

Born in athens in aristocratic family, his nickname defines as wide or broad because of his physical built. He also established ''The Academy''

Forms

refer to what is real. They are not objects that are encountered by the sense but can only be grasped intellectually.

Characteristics of Forms.

eternal, permanent, indivisible.

Realm of Shadows

composed of changing ''sensible'' things which are lesser entities and therefore imperfect and flawed.

Realm of Forms

composed of eternal things which are permanent and perfect. It is the source of all reality and true knowledge.

3 components of the soul according to Plato

The Reason, The Spirited, The Appetites

Love

How to get out of he Cave and into the World of Forms based on Plato's Philosophy?

Christianity

It sees man as sinners who reject against the loving God's command.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Rejected Christianity and wanted to know about moral evil and why it existed in people.

God

The source o all reality and truth according to Hippo

The Role of Love according to Hippo

'' All things are worth of love but must be loved properly.''

Rene Descartes

He is considered Father of modern Philosophy. He also introduced the Cartesian method and invented analytic geometry.

Descartes' System

Through mathematics, he discovered that human mind has two powers: (1) Intuition (2) Deduction

Intuition

The ability to apprehend the direction of certain truths

Deduction

The power to discover what is not known by progressing in an orderly way from what is already know.

A priori

Truths that can be discovered, does not rely on some experiences because they are innate to human mind.

The Mind Body Problem

Descartes considered the soul/mind as a substance that is separate from the body. All bodily processes are mechanical. The body is like a machine that is controlled by will and aided by the mind.

John Locke

Son of a Puritan lawyer, believed that knowledge results from ideas produced a posteriori or by objects that were experienced. Also, He proposed Tabular Rasa or blank slate of mind.

Sensation

objects that were experienced through the senses.

Reflection

Mind looks at the objects that were experienced to discover relationships that may exist between them.

Tabula Rasa

Locke's theory that ideas are not innate but rather the mind at birth is a blank slate.

Morality

choosing or willing the good.

Mental acts

are acts that produce the greatest possible good.

Law of Opinion, Civil Law, and Divine Law

Three laws according to locke

Law of Opinion

Where actions that are praiseworthy are called virtue and those that are not are called vice.

Civil Law

where right actions are enforced by people with authority (ex. Courts, Police)

Divine Law

set by God on the actions of man. The true law for human behavior. Man should always follow on this law.

David Hume

Credited for giving empiricism its clear formulation. He discovered the limitations of the mind and his optimism turned into skepticism. He also became cynical about almost everything expect philosophy and general learning. He also stated that there is no such thing as personal identity behind perceptions and feelings that come and go.

Skepticism

an attitude of doubting the truth of something.

Impression and Ideas

2 Types of Perception according to Hume.

Impression

are immediate sensation of external reality. These are more vivid than the ideas it produces.

Ideas

are recollections of these impressions.

Moore and Bruder, 2002

According to Hume, words are meaningful if and only if they can be traced to impressions and ideas that copy impressions.

The self

Hume called the soul this term.

The Self

It is a product of the imagination according to Hume.

Immanuel Kant

He is deeply spiritual. Stated that it was the philosophy of David Hume that awakened and motivated him to be the founder of German Idealism. He stated that kingdom of God is within man. • God is manifested in people's lives therefore it is man's duty to move towards perfection. • People should see duty as the divine command.

3 books written by Immanuel Kant

Critique of: (1) Pure Reason, (2) Practical Reason, (3) Judgement

Transcendental Apperception

The experience of the self and its unity with objects.

Sigmund Freud

An Austrian neurologist known for his psychodynamic theory. his revolutionary ideas pave the way for science to look into the workings of the unconscious mind.

Psychodynamic theory

Workings of the mind or one's mental life impacts strongly on the body resulting in either emotional stability or psychological dysfunctions.

The Mental Iceberg: Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious level.

It is Freud's view of the Human Mind

Id

It is the pleasure principle. Demands immediate satisfaction and is not hindered by societal expectations.

Ego

It is the reality principle. This structure mediates between the impulses of the id and the restraints of the superego.

Superego

Dependent on learning the difference between right and wrong. Morality of actions is largely dependent on childhood upbringing particularly on rewards and punishments.

Eros, Thanatos

2 Kinds of instincts according to Freud

Eros

life instinct, the energy of eros is called libido. Includes urges necessary for individual and species survival like thirst, hunger, and sex.

Thanatos

Death instinct, man's behavior directed towards distribution in the form of aggression and violence.

Gilbert Ryle

An English philosopher whose ideas contradicted Cartesian Dualism. He questioned how is a non material mental substance known as the mind can influence a physical, material body. He stigmatized the mind as the ''Ghost in the Machine''.

Knowing that, Knowing how

2 types of knowledge according to Ryle

Neurology

deals with the study of the nervous system, its structure, physiology, and aberrations.

Philosophy of neuroscience

the study of the philosophy of the mind, philosophy of the mind, the philosophy of science, neuroscience and psychology.

Patricia and Paul Churchland

This couple is known for neurophilosophy, who together sought guide philosophy with scientific inquiry.

Patricia Churchland

A canadian-american philosopher known for her claim that man's brain is responsible for the identity known as the self.

Patricia Churchland

Who said the statement, '' There is not a special thing called the mind. The mind is just the brain.''

Merleau Ponty

A french philosopher who's at the center of his philosophy is the emphasis placed on the human body as the primary site of knowing the world. He is also has been known as the philosopher of the body.

Phenomenology

Provides a direct description of human experience while perception forms the background of the experience which serves to guide man's conscious actions.

Consciousness

Ponty stated that _____________ is a process that includes sensing as well as interpreting/reasoning.

Theory of being

in knowing the truth, the person must become the truth.

Christian Philosophers

they became so powerful that the church ordered Plato's academe in Athens to be closed.

Sensory impressions

According to Kant's Philosophy, this imply a unit of the self without which there would be no knowledge of experience.

Conscious level

According to Freud's mental iceberg this level consists of perceptions and thoughts.

Pre-conscious level

According to Freud's mental iceberg this level consists of stored knowledge and memories.

Unconscious level

According to Freud's mental iceberg this level consists of irrational wishes, selfish needs, violent motives and fears.