Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person – Opinion vs. Truth & Methods of Philosophizing

perception

The process by which a person organizes and interprets sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment.

Which type of perception relies on the five senses and produces a ‘percept’?

External perception.

Which type of perception uses imagination and memory and produces an ‘image’ or ‘phantasm’?

Internal perception.

What is abstraction in philosophy?

The process of forming a concept by identifying common qualities among individuals while disregarding their unique differences.

What product results from the process of abstraction?

A concept.

In philosophy, what is judgment?

The mental act of making a stand on a topic that can be either true or false to the world.

What is the product of a philosophical judgment?

A statement or proposition.

How are facts defined in the context of philosophy?

Statements or propositions observed and proven to be real or truthful.

What do we call statements that are not evidently or immediately known to be true?

Claims.

Provide the basic definition of truth in philosophy.

Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.

What kind of awareness does ‘truth’ presuppose?

Clear awareness and understanding of something, i.e., knowledge.

According to René Descartes, when is a belief true (first perspective)?

A belief is true if it can be justified or proven through the use of one’s senses.

State Descartes’ famous principle that underpins rationalism.

Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am).

What is systematic doubt or the skeptical method?

Descartes’ procedure of doubting everything that can possibly be doubted to locate beliefs that are absolutely certain.

According to the second perspective, when is a belief or statement true?

When it is based on facts (a priori or objectively verifiable).

Which philosopher is associated with empiricism and the view that knowledge is gained through the senses?

David Hume.

What is the third perspective regarding truth?

A belief is considered true if there is a consensus or if people agree on it.

List the three perspectives regarding truth covered in the lecture.

1) Proven by the senses, 2) Based on facts, 3) Supported by consensus.

What is the primary purpose of methods of philosophizing?

To determine the truth or draw conclusions from statements using philosophical techniques.

Which method involves guiding someone to truth through targeted questions rather than teaching new facts?

The Socratic Method.

Describe the dialectic method.

A process where two clashing but valid arguments are posed to arrive at a correct and true endpoint; truth emerges from the conversation.

Which method relies on hypothesis testing, observation, and experimentation to verify ideas?

The Scientific Method.

What does the historical method in philosophy emphasize?

Gathering and examining evidence about the past to formulate truths relevant to the present and future.

Complete the equation that summarizes the Scientific Method in the lecture.

WISDOM + TRUTH = CONCLUSION.

What is a fallacy?

An error in deductive reasoning or an argument based on faulty logic.

Define Argument