Philosophy SA1 Reviewer PDF

Philosophy SA1 Reviewer I. Nature of Philosophy ○ Philosophy begins in wonder. ○ Curiosity leads to awe and wonder Definition of Philosophy → “Philos” = love → “Sophia” = wisdom → It is a wisdom that results from the pursuit of knowledge of the most important parts of r...

Philosophy SA1 Reviewer I. Nature of Philosophy ○ Philosophy begins in wonder. ○ Curiosity leads to awe and wonder Definition of Philosophy → “Philos” = love → “Sophia” = wisdom → It is a wisdom that results from the pursuit of knowledge of the most important parts of reality Indian Philosophy ○ Egocentric: WHO am I? ○ TAT TVAM ASI - That thou art ○ Story of Uddalaka and Svetaketu ○ We are nothing ○ Orthodox vs. Heterodox Chinese Philosophy ○ Anthropocentric: WHAT am I? ○ Time when philosophy flourished into many masters and schools ○ Confucianism - Morality; “do unto others as you would have them done unto you” ○ Daoism - The way ○ Mohism - Logic Greek Philosophy ○ Logocentric: WHERE am I? ○ Logos - theory/study or rationalization of something ○ Logos = word ○ Logical analysis that places things in the context of reasoning and explains with the pure force of thought ○ Greeks believe that logos is a force – drives change ○ Logos = responsible for change ○ The product of a desire to find explanations Logos (“Word”) ➔ Theory or study of rationalization of something ➔ Involves the act of speaking or setting forth an idea in a clear manner ➔ Kind of logical analysis that places things in the context of reason and explains them with the pure force of thought → Before logos, there were myths: - Mythos: certain way of thinking that placed the world in the context of its supernatural origins - Myths offered primitive explanations of natural phenomena, human history, and gods The basis of the earliest philosophers: 1. There is a difference between the way things appear and the way they really are. 2. There are unseen causes of events. 2 MAIN QUESTIONS 1. What is everything made of? 2. What is their ultimate constituent–their arche? These questions are based on two assumptions: - Despite apparent differences, we and everything in this world are basically made up of the same thing - The multiplicity and differences that we see around us are not the truth II. The Pre-Socratic Philosophers - Ideas are based on nature - Change is inevitable 1. Thales of Miletus - First Philosopher to introduce the project of Reductionism “The first principle and basic nature of all things is water.” ○ Valued not for its content but for its form ○ Reductionism = breaking down something complex into simpler or more basic ideas → major function of modern science; simplification 2. Anaximander - “Apeiron” “What is infinite is something other than elements, and from it the elements arise.” ○ Subscribed to an early view of the principle of entropy ○ Entropy = chaos ○ There is no certain element, only order or disorder 3. Anaximenes “The underlying nature is air, as modified by thickening or thinning into fire, wind, clouds, water and earth.” ○ With the idea of condensation and rarefaction, he continued the project of Reductionism ○ For him, everything is made of air  ○ Proposed the idea of condensation (vapor turns to liquid) ○ Introduced the important claim that differences in quality are really differences in quantity 4. Heraclitus - “Logos is always so” “There is an exchange of all things for fire and of fire for all things.” ○ Reality is composed not of a number of things but a process of continual creation and destruction III. The Apology by Plato The Apology by Plato ○ Defence of Socrates ○ Plato was a student of Socrates ○ Based on own interpretation of his teacher’s trial Summary ○ Dialogue that recounts the trial of Socrates, who was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and not believing in the city’s gods. In his defense, Socrates argues for the importance of seeking truth and questioning assumptions, even if it means challenging societal norms. He explains that his role as a philosopher benefits the city by encouraging people to think critically. Socrates stays true to his beliefs even when facing death, ultimately choosing integrity over escape. He is sentenced to death, but he maintains that his moral duty to pursue wisdom is worth any consequence. Charges Against Socrates Corrupting the Youth Impiety ○ Influenced students to look beyond ○ Disrespected gods and religious traditional beliefs beliefs ○ Introduced new political and socio-economic ideas to the youth The Argument of Socrates (Characteristics of a Philosopher) 1. Humble 2. Courageous 3. Curious 4. Critical thinker 5. Love for wisdom 6. Self-reflection IV. Methods of Philosophizing A. The Phenomenological Method End goal: to transcend the natural attitude History - Edmund Husserl ○ Mathematician turned philosopher ○ Believed in philosophy as a rigorous science ○ Natural sciences start out with a lot of presuppositions ○ The world is made out of experience ○ He tried to make a presuppositionless philosophy → A philosophy containing the least number of primary presuppositions, so basic and immediately evident that they need not to be clarified any further or reduced to other presuppositions → Philosophy containing assumptions of nothing Natural Attitude - Observes expresses their working in singular judgements than in universal judgements and by the process of induction and deduction arrives at concrete results Natural Attitude Assumptions 1. There is no need to ask how we know 2. The world is out there existing and explainable in objective laws while man the subject is a pure consciousness, transparent to itself and facing the world to know it as it is 3. Takes for granted the world totality 4. Looks at reality as things KEY POINT: The ultimate root of philosophy and of all rational assertions was not found in a concept nor in a principle, but in the whole field of our lived experience. Characteristics of Phenomenology 1. Looks at the totality before analyzing the aspects of unity a. Being faithful to original experience 2. Does not reason from particular instances to a general statement nor deduces from a general law but describes 3. Essentially only concerned about experience and about man 4. “Epoche” a. Suspension of judgment Steps in Phenomenological Method 1. Epoche: bracketing, suspending bias 2. Eidetic Reduction: direct analysis on the intentionality of Noesis Subject of the object our consciousness, every conscious act intends something 3. Transcendental - Phenomenological Reduction: reduce Noema Object of the subject object to the very activity itself of my consciousness The Intentionality of the Consciousness ○ Every conscious act intends something ○ If an act is present, the object is also present B. The Existentialist Method History - Soren Kierkegaard “The individual man cannot be placed as a cog in a machine or a part of a system” ○ Philosophy as a search for the meaning of life Difficulties in Searching for Meaning Existentialism is not so much a philosophical The question of what is the meaning of man’s system as a movement, an attitude, a frame of existence is more important than the answer mind Characteristics of Existentialism 1. Philosophize from the perspective of an actor rather than a spectator 2. Stress the subjectivity of man a. Man as the source of initiative b. Talk meaningfully of a world 3. Man as situated a. Esse est co-esse: to exist is coexist (Gabriel Marcel) 4. Emphasize the freedom of man 5. Authentic existence versus inauthentic existence Value: then is intimately related to life, which the authentic man commits himself - Subjective: value always presupposes a subject who values - Objective: there is truly something I can live and die for, intimately connected with truth  Atheistic Existentialist Theistic Existentialist ○ Man is the ultimate source of values, ○ Relativity of values as precisely he is responsible for what he commits pointing to an Absolute Value himself to ○ Source of values human freedom, becomes fulfilled only when it participates in Someone greater than itself ○ Source of value is none other than God KEY POINT: Existentialism is ultimately a search within. Man the subject is the giver or discoverer of meaning. Key Philosophers Philosopher Man as situated Freedom of man Soren Existence is a religious Moving beyond pleasure to live Kierkegaard category; making personal ethically and ultimately taking a leap of meaningful decisions before faith God, facing fear and responsibility Karl Jaspers To exist means going beyond yourself during life’s challenges to eventually connect with God Martin Humans are “thrown” into the Freedom is Heidegger world and must realize their self-transcendence–recognizing past, potential, but death is the present and future as part of your ultimate limit of existence existence Gabriel Marcel True existence comes from relationships, love, and faith–coexisting with others and with God Jean-Paul Sarte To exist to be condemned to freedom  Maurice Man is condemned to meaning Merleau-Ponty Albert Camus To exist like Sisyphus pushing and rolling the stone, to live the absurdity of life C. The Socratic Method Characteristics of Socratic Method 1. I Question 2. I Examine 3. I Cross-Examine Note: “Apology” - implies not admission of guilt but an intention to give justification for some action Elenchus ○ Refers to the method of cross-examination or refutation employed by Socrates ○ Refining and understanding and clarifying concepts ○ Inquisitor: guide dialogue through thoughtful questioning, facilitating the discussion ○ Interlocutor: Individual being questioned D. Logical Fallacies 1. Ad Hominem - attacking the person making the argument, rather than the argument itself. a. Example: “You can’t trust his argument about climate change, he’s not a scientist.” 2. Straw Man - misrepresenting/oversimplifying someone’s argument to make it easier to attack a. Example: “You say we should reduce carbon emissions but you want to ban all cars and go back to the Stone Age!” 3. False Dilemma (False Dichotomy) - Presenting only 2 options when more exist a. Example: “Either you support my economic plan, or you want the country to go bankrupt.” 4. Circular Reasoning (Begging the Question) - Restating the argument in a different form  a. Example: “God exists because the Bible says so, and we know the Bible is true because it is the word of God.” 5. Hasty Generalization - Drawing a broad conclusion based on a small/unrepresentative sample a. Example: “I met 2 people from France, and they were both rude. Therefore, all french people must be rude.” 6. Appeal to Authority (Argumentum ad Verecundiam) - Using the opinion of an authority figure as evidence, rather than presenting actual evidence a. Example: “Einstein believed in God, so we should all believe in God.” 7. Appeal to Ignorance (Argumentum ad Ignorantiam) - Arguing that a proposition is true because it has not been proven false (vice versa) a. Example: “No one has ever proven that aliens don’t exist, so they must be real.” 8. False Cause (Post Hod Ergo Propter Hoc) - Assuming that because one event follows another, the first event caused the second a. Example: “I wore my lucky socks to the game and we won! The socks must’ve brought us good luck.” 9. Slippery Slope - Arguing that a small first step will lead to a chain of related events with extreme consequences, without providing evidence for the chain of events a. “If we allow students to redo their exams, next they’ll want to redo the entire term, and eventually, they’ll demand to graduate without exams.” 10. Red Herring - Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue a. Example: “Why are we worried about climate change when there are so many other problems like poverty and war?” 11. Equivocation - Using a word with multiple meanings in different senses within the same argument to cause confusion a. Example: “The bank is a place where money is kept. The riverbank is a place where water is kept. Therefore, the riverbank must be a place where money is kept.” 12. Appeal to Popularity (Argumentum ad Populum) - Arguing that a claim is true because it is widely believed/popular a. Example: “Everyone believes in free will, so it must exist.” 13. Appeal to Emotion (Pathos) - Manipulating emotions rather than presenting a logical argument a. Example: “If you don't support this charity, think about the poor children who will suffer.” 14. False Analogy - Comparing 2 things that are not sufficiently similar in relevant ways a. Example: “Humans are like machines; if a machine breaks down, it needs to be fixed. So if a human body breaks down, it should be fixed like a machine.” 15. Tu Quoque (You Too Fallacy) - Dismissing someone’s argument by accusing them of hypocrisy/inconsistency  a. Example: “You tell me to stop smoking but you smoke too!” 16. Composition Fallacy - Assuming that what is true for the parts is true for the whole a. Example: “Each player on the team is excellent, so the team must be best in the league.” 17. Division Fallacy - Assuming what is true for the whole is true for the parts (basically vice versa of composition fallacy) a. Example: “The team is excellent so each player on the team must be excellent.” 18. Non Sequitur - Conclusion that does not logically follow from the premises a. Example: “She’s wearing a red dress, so she must be good at tennis.” V. Man as Embodied Spirit - Dealing with the three philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Descartes 1. Plato’s Concept of Man Plato’s Allegory of the Cave ○ A dark cave where prisoners have been chained since birth. They are positioned so that they can only see a wall in front of them. Behind them is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway where people carry objects that cast shadows on the wall they face. One day, a prisoner is freed and initially struggles to comprehend his surroundings. Then, he sees the fire and objects and realizes that his perception of reality was an illusion. As he ascends out of the cave, he experiences pain and blindness from the brightness but adjusts, ultimately understanding that the sun represents truth and knowledge. The prisoner returns to share his discoveries with the rest, but they resist his insights and threaten him, comfortable in their ignorance. ○ The cave represents the world ○ The prisoners represent humans ○ The shadows represent our perception of reality ○ Through this, Plato tells us that everything we see are just representations/shadows of ultimate reality. Plato’s Theory of Forms 1. The Two Worlds a. Material or physical 2. World of Idea a. Ideal or perfect form of the world where perfect things exist 3. The Ideal Man a. These views affect the conception of man According to Plato, man is composed of soul and body. Your consciousness is the perfect representation of your being and your body is the imperfect representation of your being. 2. Aristotle’s Concept of Man ○ Plato’s student ○ Disagreed with Plato’s theory of forms Hylomorphism Form → Essence ○ Belief that everything is composed of matter and form Matter → Material Actuality and Potentiality → Transition from actuality to potentiality happens Actuality → substance’s current state because of entelechy - creative drive that allows things to develop Potentiality → purpose and future state towards the goal of the natural order Aristotle believes that man is a combination of both body and soul. 3. Rene Descartes’ Concept of Man ○ Father of Modern Philosophy “De omnibus dubitandum” – Radical Doubt ○ Doubt everything, even on a weak ground Descartes demolished or forgot all prior teachings and knowledge to rid himself of all former opinions. The only thing he could not doubt was that he was thinking in that moment. Descartes concluded with the statement: I think therefore I am (Cogito Ergo Sum)