The Value of Philosophical Reflection || 1ST SEM - MIDTERMS

Plato's Apology

Genre: Philosophical defense speech (not a dialogue in the usual

sense)

Setting: Socrates' trial in 399 BCE (Before Common Era)

Main Characters: Socrates (speaking to the Athenian jury)

"Apology"

is Socrates' defense against charges of corrupting the youth and impiety (lack of respect).

he is not guilty

Socrates argues that _______________, but rather a social and moral gadfly sent by the gods.

elenchus (cross-examination)

He defends his method of _________________________ and claims wisdom lies in knowing one's own ignorance.

Plato & Protagoras

Genre: Philosophical dialogue

Setting: A conversation at the house of Callias in Athens

Main Characters: Socrates, Protagoras (a famous

sophist), and others

whether virtue can be taught.

In "Protagoras," Socrates debates the famous sophist Protagoras about

Protagoras

argues that virtue is teachable, giving long speeches about how society educates people in moral values.

Socrates

questions the unity of the virtues (e.g., is courage separate from wisdom?) and whether anyone knowingly does evil.

-Think

-Defend their views

-Account for what they know and do not know

Socrates philosophize in the public place (Agora), compelled people to

Socratic Method / Philosophical Reflection

He asked people series of questions, engaged them to answer

-Effective method of education.

-We are compelled to reflect on what we believe or claim to know.

-What we believe to be true becomes the basis of our action.

Socratic Method / Philosophical Reflection

Lao Tzu

Watch your THOUGHTS

They become WORDS

Watch your WORDS

They become ACTIONS

Watch your ACTIONS

They become HABITS

Watch your HABITS

They become CHARACTER

Watch your CHARACTER

It becomes your DESTINY

An examination of beliefs or thoughts

provides us with an opportunity to know ourselves better.

A philosophical reflection is ________________ because we do not realize what we truly believe until we are challenged to defend them.

indispensable

are related to their worldly possession, social/cultural standing and the level of acceptance.

The most common self-image identifications people make,

how we feel

Sometimes we define ourselves by

in response to the outcomes that we had at some points in our past.

Sometimes we define ourselves

➔ Define yourself in a positive way

➔ Let room for improvement and growth

➔ Define yourself through constants

➔ Raise your standards for becoming better

➔ Develop self-honesty, honesty will bring you clarity

➔ Admit we all are imperfect

➔ Be focused to improve yourself day by day

Few suggestions when defining who you are:

Aristotle

-Defined virtue as a mean between excess and deficiency, a balance of character traits and behaviors achieved through habit and rational choice.

-He believed virtues are developed through practice, leading to moral excellence and a fulfilling life.

Virtue

-Knowledge of good and bad.

-Is knowledge because to truly know what is good necessarily leads to actual doing of what is good.

Pilosopo

One with skill in evading / avoiding arguments.

logical fallacy

-is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed.

-are lapses of logic that lead us to an unsupported conclusion.

Sophists

-A group of people in Greece who are teaching Arete excellence (poetry, science, mathematics)

-According to Plato & Aristotle, they use argument to win and not to find the truth

Protagoras

-Uses argument to appear the weak appear stronger.

-Man is the measure of all things.

-Every individual has a measure of his own truth.

Gorgias

Nomos (Law of Society) is opposed to Physis (Natural Order).

In nature (physis)

: The strong have power over the weak.

In society (nomos)

: Laws are created to protect the weak and restrain the strong.

Callicles

In natural order might makes right.

Callicles In Nature

the strong dominate the weak.

This is not "unjust" — it is simply the way reality works.

Callicles

-argued that laws (justice, equality, fairness) are inventions of the weak majority to protect themselves from the strong minority.

-For him, these laws go against nature because they restrict the natural superiority of the strong.

Lycophron

-Slavery is unjust in the law of nature.

-Societies create hierarchy not found in nature.

-Believed that all humans are naturally equal.

-No one is born a master or slave by nature

Protagoras

"On every issue, there are two arguments

opposed to one another."

Sophism

-A term used to describe a particular style of argumentation and reasoning that is often associated with deception and trickery.

-It is a type of rhetoric that aims to persuade rather than inform, and that it relies on clever wordplay and logical fallacies to make its point.

fallacy

-is a mistake in reasoning that makes an argument invalid or weak.

-It may sound persuasive, but it does not logically prove the point.

Ad Hominem

A fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the

argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.

Appeal to ignorance / Argumentum ad Ignorantiam.

It occurs when someone claims that something is true because it hasn't been proven false, or false because it hasn't been proven true.

Hasty Generalization

A fallacy in which conclusion is not logically supported by sufficient evidence.

Equivocation

An argument in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in

the other side of the argument and another meaning in the other portion of the argument, making the argument misleading. Shifting the meaning of a word mid-argument.

Appeal to Pity / Ad Misericordiam

A fallacy in which someone tries to win support an argument or idea by exploiting the opponent's feelings, pity or guilt.

Bandwagon

Occurs when a proposition is claimed to be true or good

solely because many people believe it to be so.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (Superstitions)

This fallacy occurs when it is assumed that, because one thing happened after another, it must have occurred as a result of it.

Appeal to Force / Argumentum ad Baculum

When force, coercion, or even a threat of force is used in place of a reason in an attempt to justify a conclusion.

Pamimilosopo

-The true philosopher, observes, thinks and sees clearly with the mind, and speaks the truth.

-We need the pilosopo to engage others to see the truth and live by it.