Introduction to Philosophy

Week 1 Homework

• Philosophy includes topics like knowledge, freedom, truth, God and destiny
• These topics are important for everyone, not just specialists.
• Reflective thinking is consideration of yourself, your decisions, habits, and beliefs
• It affects how willing you are to change your mind
• Socrates was skilled at revealing a person's ignorance
• Socrates used the "Socratic Questioning" method

High Ground, Middle Ground, and Low Ground

• High ground is learning philosophy for its own sake
• Like art or music; just a good thing to do
• Middle ground involves using philosophy to examine and adjust beliefs, like marriage or your job
• Low ground means violence and discrimination originate from flawed philosophical underpinnings

Politics of Identity

• Politics of identitiy involves adhering to a specific group's views and dismissing any critique
• Philosophy promotes open criticism

Week 2 Homework

• Rene Descartes's doubt method involves questioning the reality of the world as experienced through the senses
• Descartes envisioned an evil demon as a deceiver
• Descartes wanted to create a stable and lasting truth
• Rene Descartes is considered the father of modern philosophy
• Rene Descartes attempted to reconcile modern science with a Christian worldview

16th Century World Changes

• Scientific Revolution was a major reason world changed
• Protestant Reformation was a major reason world changed
• 30 Years' War was a major reason world changed

Rationalism vs Empiricism

• Rationalism uses logic and reason to come to conclusions
• Empiricism uses observations, such as in science to come to conclusions

Descartes' Conclusion on Human Knowledge

• God is not a deceiver
• The world as perceived through senses reflects reality

Week 3 Homework

• Descartes trusted the world's appearance because of the existence and honesty of God.
• Clear and distinct ideas make the ideas most credible
• Descartes: "Whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive about a thing is true of that thing."

Trademark Argument

• The trademark argument posits a perfect God must exist due to the clear idea of perfection.
• This is a cause and effect argument

A Priori Knowledge

• A priori knowledge comes from logic and reason
• It is distinct from knowledge derived from scientific observations.
• Descartes inherited the concept of cause and effect, applying it to his views on God's existence.

Week 4 Homework

• British Empiricists believed observations are source of truth
• Plato's theory of innate knowledge says people are born with inherent knowledge, like beauty and justice
• David Hume rejects Aristotle's theory of cause and effect
• Hume rejects Aristotle's theory of cause and effect because certainty about causal relationships cannot be determined by logic or observation

John Locke and Innate Knowledge

• John Locke rejected the idea of innate knowledge due to a lack of supporting evidence
• He saw it as contradictory, he says innate attributes should be immediately apparent

Tabula Rasa

• Tabula rasa is the concept that the mind is a blank slate
• John Locke says experience and reflection shapes complex ideas

Week 5 Homework

• Hume's Fork asserts synthetic statements (empirical knowledge) are derived from the senses.
• Descartes' concept of God clashes with the copy principle
• The copy principle states that all ideas originate from sensory experiences

Descartes and Hume

• Descartes and Hume both justify the truth of the world in ways
• Both believe in a faith or worldview
• While Descartes trusts clear, distinct ideas, Hume believe in individual observations

Scientific Paradigms and Anomalies

• Scientists guided by outdated paradigms often miss anomalies within data.
• Hume rejects the concept of an immortal soul
• Hume says it is speculation without evidence

Week 6 Homework

• Kant's transcendental idealism differentiates between the sensible world (known through empiricism/science) and the intelligible world (beyond knowledge).
• Knowledge comes from interaction
• Knowledge comes from interaction between rationalist's mental categories and empiricist's sense experience

Time and Space

• Time and space are not inherent properties of the sensible world
• They are a priori concepts imposed by the mind on sensory experience.

Kant's Transcendental Idealism

• Kant likened his transcendental idealism to Copernicus' heliocentric view
• The world as it exists corresponds to celestial bodies
• A priori concepts imposed by the mind mirrors Earth's movement.

Kant's Categorical Imperative

• Stealing a car is unacceptable under Kant’s categorical imperative
• If everyone stole cars, the world would be chaos

Deontology versus Consequentialism

• Deontology is when the right thing MUST be done
• This is independent of the consequences or desired outcomes
• Kant is considered a deontologist in his ethical philosophy.