Modern Philosophy Midterm

Soren Kierkegaard

• Mind 19th Century thinker. Critic of Modernism from Descartes through Kant( and more recently philosophers like Hegel and other German philosophers)

• Typically viewed as the founder of existentialism

• Emphasizes truth in contrast to the modern emphasis on objectivity

Philosophical Fragments

• Title is better translated philosophical ‘tidbits’ or philosophical ‘crumbs’. It is often taken to be direct contradiction to Hegel’s claim that philosophy can only be done as a ‘system’

• There is a sequel to the book called Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Represents a rejection of objectivity.

Central Question of PF

• how far does the truth admit of being learned?

• Compares the Socratic assumptions about philosophy, which modern ones

• The Socratic Men’s paradox: One cannot “seek” what he already knows ( for what would be the point of learning) But one cannot “seek” what does he not know(for how would he recognize when he learns it)?

Socratic Recollection

• Socrates solution to the paradox is that everyone must already ‘know’ the truth in some important sense, but be unable to access it. Therefore, the role of the philosopher is to draw the already existent truth out of the individual

• This view is in contrast to modern philosophy’s assumptipn that the truth is ‘out there’

• Considers the third possibility that we cannot know the truth on our own, but that we can come upon it supernaturally and subjectively

The Human Condition

• Socrates assumes we all have the truth within us. But Kierk considers the opposite possibility that we are all systematically in error. Of course, if we are in systematic error how would we be able to discover it on our own? ( consider the Cartesian Circle)

The Nature of the Teacher

• The Socratic Teacher can make us aware of our own ignorance and make us search more avidly for the truth (either within as Socrates believes or without as Kierk believes)

• The Supernatural teacher can provide both the truth and the internal changes needed to understand and embrace it.

The Moment of Learning 

• It is vital to figure out which of these possibilities is the case: are we the type of beings that have the truth in ourselves as Socrates believes or are we in systematic error as Kierk believes?

• [Note: the modernist claim that we can somehow find the truth ‘out there’ is barely considered. since Kierk believes Kant and Hegel have demonstrated that this is impossible]

The ‘Mocker’

• Towards the end of each chapter, Kierk considers the cynic’s point of view

• The cynic derides the author as adding nothing new to philosophical enterprise 

• K’s response: The ideas are still vital and require serious consideration

Modern Philosophy: Nietzsche Part II

The Will to Power

• An important recurring theme in Nietzsche is that “The Will to Power” is much of what drives human motivation. This is roughly a Darwinian drive to flourish, but which is sometimes expressed through jealousy and contempt

Power and Pride 

easy prey is something contemptible for proud
natures. They feel good only at the sight of unbroken
men who might become their enemies and at the sight
of all possessions that are hard to come by. Against one
who is suffering they are often hard because he is not
worthy of their aspirations and pride;

On ‘nobility of Character”

• What then makes a person noble? Certainly not that he makes sacrifices; even the frantic libertine makes sacrifices. Certainly not that he does something for others and without selfishness, perhaps the effect of selfishness is precisely at its greatest in the noblest persons

Morality as Culturally Constructed

Wherever we meet with a morality we find a
valuation and order of rank of the human
impulses and activities. These valuations and
orders of rank are always the expression of the
needs of a community or herd: that which is in
the first place to its advantage

Profundity

• Those who know that they are profound stride for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. For the crowd believes that if it cannot see to the bottom of something it must be profound. It is so timid and dislikes going into the water

The Astonishing Reliability of Science

• There is a profound and fundamental satisfaction in the fact that science ascertain things that hold their ground, and again furnish the basis for new researchers. Are really astonished how persistently the results of science hold their ground

Knowledge as ‘Useful Lies’

• Origins of Knowledge: Throughout immense stretches of time the intellect produced nothing but errors; some of them species: he who fell in with them, waged the battle for himself and his offspring with better success

The Death of God

• New Struggles: After Buddha was dead people showed his shadow for centuries afterwards in a cave. an immense frightful shadow. God is dead: But as the human race is constituted, There will perhaps be cave for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow. and we, we have still overcome his!

Christianity as Skepticism

After all, however, we
have applied the same skepticism to all religious states and
processes, such as sin, repentance, grace, sanctification, etc., and
have allowed the worm to burrow so well, that we have now the
same feeling of subtle superiority and insight even in reading all
Christian books; we know also the religious feelings better! -122

Polytheism

For an individual to posit his own ideal and to derive from it his own
law, joys, and rights

Fredrick Nietzche

1844-1900- Lives in the post-Kantian
philosophical world, dominated by the rise of
science marked by Darwinism.
• Portrays science as the great explainer of the
world, BUT claims that it empties the world of
its ‘values’.
• Portrays philosophy as a therapeutic rather
than truth oriented endeavor.

More Distinctives

• Subjective and artistic style – In contrast to the
false objectivity of modern philosophy
• Portrays religion as dead and effectively replaced
by science.
• Life is inherently meaningless. A comic
experience.
• Ironic & Sarcastic Tone
• ‘Right and Wrong’ is a false construct… all that
remains is perspective, and perhaps strength vs.
weakness.

Philosophy as Therapy

• Every philosophy that ranks peace above war, every ethic with a negative definition of happiness, every metaphysics and physics that knows some finale, sone final state of some sort, every predominant aesthetic or religious craving for some Apart, Beyond, Outside, Above

The Significance of Certainty

• Goodheartedness, refinement, or genius to me, when the person who has these virtues tolerates slack feelings in his faith and judgments.

• Does not account for the desire of certainty 

On Consciousness 

• Consciousness is the last and latest development of the organic and hence also what is most unfinished and unstrong.

• Consciousness gives rise to countless errors that lead an animal or man to perish sooner

The Comic Meaninglessness of Life

• Too promote the interests of the species, even if they should believe that they promote the interest if God or work as God’s emissaries. Promote the life of the species, by promoting the faith in life

The Emptiness of Life

• The trust in life is gone: life itself has become a problem. One should not jump to conclusion that this makes one gloomy

• Even love of life is still possible, only one loves differently. It is the love for a woman that causes doubts in us.

Our ultimate gratitude to art

• If we had not welcomed the arts and invented this kind of cult of the untrue, then the realization that delusion and error are conditions of human knowledge and sensation would be utterly unbearable. Honesty would lead to nausea and suicide

• Counterforce against our honesty. that helps us to avoid such consequences: art as the good will to appearance 

The Pious One Speaks

• God love us, for he made us, sent us here!

• Man hath made God

The radical subjectivity of morals

• I no longer know whether you, my dear fellow man and neighbor are at all capable of living in a way that would damage the species, What might have harmed the species may have became extinct many thousands of years ago and may by now be one of those things that are not possible even for God.

Master and Slave Moralities

• Two systems of Values: Master and Slave

• The underclass (in ignorance) uses the categories of: good/evil. Religious connotations. Central virtue is weakness and self denial. The central vice is oppression like the Master

• The upperclass uses the categories of: good/bad. In terms of strength and weakness. An ideal flourishing of strength or a pitiful expression of weakness. And correctly identifies the central vice as self-denial/weakness like the Slave

Thomas Reid on First Principles

• Truths that cannot be proven, but are necessary starting point for knowledge

• other truths are derived from first principles

Necessary Truths vs Contingent Truths: Necessary/ Unchanging

• A cone has one third the volume of a cylinder with the same base and the same height. The contrary of this truth is impossible

Necessary vs. Contingent Truths: Contingent/Changeable

• The sun is the center around which the planets of our solar system revolve

First Principle #1

• Everything of which I am conscious really exists

• Aka ,The external world and that which I perceive in it is real

First Principle #2

• The thoughts of which I am conscious are the thoughts of a being which I call myself, my mind, my person

First Principle #3

• Events which i clearly remember really did happen

First Principle #4

• Our own personal identity and continued existence extends as far back in time as we remember anything clearly

First Principle #5

• Things that we clearly perceive by our senses really exist and really are what we perceive them to be

First Principle #6

• We have some power over our actions and over the decisions of our will

First Principle #7

• The natural faculties by which we distinguish truth from error are not deceptive

First Principle #8

• There is life and though in our fellow-man with whom we converse

First Principle #9

• Certain features of the face, tone of voice, and physical gestures indicate certain thoughts and dispositions of the mind

First Principle #10

• A certain respect should be accorded to human testimony in matters of face, and even to human authority in matters of opinions

First Principle #11

• For many outcomes that will depend one the will, there is self-evident probability, greater or less depending upon circumstances

First Principle #12

• In the phenomena of Nature, what happens will probably be like what has happened in similar circumstances

Kant: Two Foundational Distinctions

• Analytic/ Synthetic claims

• A priori/ A posteriori Justification

Analytic Claims

• Claims that do not go beyond the definition of a term

• Example: All bachelors are male or Triangles have three sides

Synthetic claims

• Claims that go beyond the definition of a term

• Example: All bachelors are messy

• Example: All triangular shapes are blue or light-bulbs shatter when dropped onto cement from more than 100 feet above

A priori justification

• Claims that can be justified apart from sense experience 

A posteriori justification

• Claims that can be justified based upon sense experience

Four Possible Combinations

• Analytic a priori - Hume’s Relation of Ideas

• Analytic a posteriori - True by definition.. based on experience

• Synthetic a posterior - Hume’s Matters of Face

• Synthetic a priori - the critical category

For Kant, any structure of knowledge MUST be built upon Synthetic a priori claims

Phenomenal Realms

• Objects as they ‘appear’ to us

Noumenal Realms

• Objects as they ‘really’ are in themselves

Kant Beef with Hume

• Hume interrupted Kant’s dogmatic slumber

• The concept of the concept of the connection of cause and effect

Kant will argue 

• That the synthetic a priori claims of math/ geometry are justified, AND

• The synthetic a priori claims of science/ astronomy are justified, BUT 

• That is justification only applies to claims concerning phenomenal objects as they appear to us, NOT to objects as they really are in themselves

Hume: 2 Kinds of Knowledge Possible Through Empiricism

• Relations of Ideas

• Matters of Fact

Relations of Ideas

• Relations of Ideas refers to the connections WE make between ideas in our minds

• Examples: A triangle has three sides, Water is a liquid, a unicorn has one horn, God is omnipotent

• Sometimes known as ‘true of definition’, but goes beyond immediate definitions to include inferences of those definitions 2 + 2 = 4

Matters of Fact

• Empirically observe data, through the five senses

• Always about present or past, never about future 

The Problem

• How can we make a foundation for knowledge from relations of ideas or/ and matters of fact

Relations of Ideas Fail

• I cannot provide a foundation of knowledge

• Relationships of ideas are true be definition but may not be instantiated anywhere in the actual world

Matters of Fact Fail

• Sets of observed data on their cannot provide a foundation for knowledge. They must interpreted. All interpretations bring in claims that are not matters of fact

The broad implications

• If cause and effect and induction are unreliable, what does this undermine?

• Religion: Cosmological argument

• Science: Relies upon a notion of cause and effect

Correlation 

• We can still claim that are accustomed, in the past and present, to conjoining two ideas or events