Introduction to Philosophy

Branches of Philosophy

• Philosophy originates from ancient Greek, where a philosopher is a "lover" or "pursuer" (philia) of wisdom (sophia).
• Early Greek philosophers were known as sages, representing an early form of philosophical thought.
• Philosophy addresses questions in all dimensions of human life, applying to any field of study.
• It seeks fundamental truths, understanding, and principles of conduct.
• Philosophy aims to establish evidence standards, resolve conflicts rationally, and evaluate ideas.

Significant Philosophers

• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): A German philosopher known for his works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.
• Kant argued knowledge is shaped by our minds, a philosophical "Copernican Revolution".
• Edmond Gettier (1927-2021): An American philosopher who challenged the definition of knowledge as "justified true belief" in his 1963 article "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?".
• Alvin Goldman (1938-2024): A contemporary American epistemologist, focuses on knowledge, belief justification, and cognitive science in epistemology.
• Developed causal theories of knowledge and work on the epistemology of testimony.
• Keith Lehrer (1936-present): An American philosopher known for work in epistemology, philosophy of religion, and ethics.
• A leading figure in epistemic coherentism, which posits belief justification depends on consistency with other beliefs.
• Pyrrho (360 BC - 270 BC): A Greek philosopher and founder of Pyrrhonism, which argues knowledge is impossible.
• Advocates suspending judgment for tranquility (ataraxia).
• Carneades (214 BC - 129 BC): The Greek head of the Platonic Academy in Athens considered a key figure in skepticism.
• Developed probabilism, suggesting we can have degrees of belief.
• John Pollock: An American philosopher known for epistemology, philosophy of mind, and AI contributions.
• René Descartes (1596-1650): A French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who is considered the father of modern philosophy.
• Authored "I think, therefore I am" and known for work in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind.
• David Hume (1711-1776): A Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, important in Western philosophy.
• Championed skepticism about metaphysics and empiricism, stating knowledge comes from experience.
• Parmenides: The father of metaphysics, he sought to understand the world's nature, distinguishing truth from belief and opinion.
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: Contributed to universal science with a universal language for representing knowledge via logical calculations.
• John Stuart Mill: Theorized utilitarianism, focusing on maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering.
• Peter Albert David Singer: (born 1946) An Australian moral philosopher specializing in applied ethics from a secular, utilitarian view.
• Karen L. Rich: Defines ethics as understanding right/wrong and good/bad concerning well-being and relationships with sentient beings.
• Socrates (c. 470 – 399 BCE): A Greek philosopher from Athens, seen as the founder of Western philosophy.
• Known for questioning and self-examination in ethics; controversial in Athens, charged with impiety, and sentenced to death.
• Aristotle (384-322 BC): A Greek philosopher and scientist.
• He created a philosophical and scientific system that became the framework for Christian Scholasticism and medieval Islamic philosophy.
• Plato (428-347 BC): Known for his Theory of Forms, is the existence of eternal, unchanging Forms that are accessible through reason.
• Thomas Aquinas: Attempted to explain essence and existence and necessary and contingent existence, using Aristotle's ideas.

Historical Events/Topics in Philosophy

• Western philosophy originated in the 6th century BCE in Ancient Greece with the pre-Socratics who offered rational cosmos explanations.
• Followed by Socrates (469–399 BCE), Plato (427-347 BCE), and Aristotle (384–322 BCE).
• The Scientific Revolution (1543 - 1727): A period where rationalism shifted to empiricism and discoveries were made through sense and induction.
• Medieval Age (400 AD - 1400 AD): A period emphasizing Christian theology with selected Greek philosophy.
• Scholasticism (5th-15th Century AD): Philosophers like Thomas Aquinas integrated Aristotelian metaphysics with Christian theology.
• Debates on God's existence, the universe, and the relationship between faith and reason ensued.
• Early Modern Philosophy (17th - 18th Century): The questioning of metaphysics led to changes, including Descartes' dualism separating mind and body.

Key Philosophical Concepts

• Philosophy: The love of wisdom, explores core questions on existence, knowledge, values, and reality.
• Epistemology: The study of knowledge.
• Metaphysics: Explores fundamental reality questions like existence, objects, properties, space, time, change, and causation.
• Ethics: Explores moral values/principles, examining right/wrong, good/evil, justice, and virtue.
• Logic: Studies reasoning/argumentation, principles of valid inference, and how to distinguish good from bad.
• Aesthetics: Studies beauty, art, and taste, what makes art, the nature of beauty, and aesthetic experiences.
• Political Philosophy: Examines fundamental questions on politics, government, and society, including justice, freedom, equality, and rights.
• Knowledge: Cognitive success requiring a true, adequately indicated belief.
• Propositional Knowledge: Needs adequate indications that a belief is actually true.
• Empiricists: Believe all knowledge comes from experience.
• Rationalists: Argue knowledge is grounded upon reason.
• Belief: The acceptance that something is true.
• Truth: Beliefs in accordance with reality or objective facts.
• Justification: Having good reasons for holding beliefs to be considered real knowledge.
• Internalism: Justification depends on factors within the believer's mind.
• Externalism: Factors beyond psychological ones are conditions of justification.
• Coherentism: Justification is based on the mutual support among many beliefs.
• Foundationalism: Justification relies on a relation of support among many beliefs.
• Skepticism: We cannot know anything or as much as we think.
• Mitigated Skepticism: Admits we won't know anything with 100% certainty but suggests partial knowledge is possible.
• Bayesian Epistemology: Updates beliefs as probabilities based on evidence and context.
• Credences: A continuous range of belief degrees.
• Priors: Existing beliefs before gathering evidence.
• Ontology: The study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality.
• Mereotopology: Deals with relations among wholes, parts, and boundaries.
• Meta-ontology: Investigates what we ask when questioning existence.
• Natural Theology: Inquires into God's existence and attributes without divine revelation.
• Universal Science: The study of the underlying principles of all science.
• Normative Ethics: Studies ethical action, defining right and wrong actions and called prescriptive ethics.
• Meta-Ethics: Addresses questions like "what do we mean by 'freedom'?".
• Descriptive Ethics: Analyzes people's beliefs about values.
• Applied Ethics: Uses insights from metaethics and normative ethics to address specific ethical issues.
• Dualism: The mind (or soul) is immaterial/non-physical, and the body is material.
• Free Will: Individuals can make choices not entirely determined by external factors.
• Determinism: All events, including human actions, are determined by the laws of nature.