Methods of Philosophizing PDF

Methods of Philosophizing Lesson 2.0  PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD Philosophical method (or philosophical methodology) is the study of how to do philosophy. A common view among philosophers is that philosophy is distinguished by the ways that philosophers follow in ad...

Methods of Philosophizing Lesson 2.0  PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD Philosophical method (or philosophical methodology) is the study of how to do philosophy. A common view among philosophers is that philosophy is distinguished by the ways that philosophers follow in addressing philosophical questions. Philosophy is concerned with determining the concept of truth.  WAYS OF DOING PHILOSOPHY  Truth and Knowledge Truth lies at the heart of every inquiry. It is a fact that has been verified. Knowledge is simple data that comes from the outside that passes our senses. It must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance.  ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE A summary by Amy Trumpeter The Cave Imagine a cave, in which there are three prisoners. The prisoners are tied to some rocks, their arms and legs are bound and their head is tied so that they cannot look at anything but the stonewall in front of them. These prisoners have been here since birth and have never seen the outside of the cave. Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between them is a raised walkway. People outside the cave walk along this walkway carrying things on their head including; animals, plants, wood and stone.  ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE A summary by Amy Trumpeter The Shadows So, imagine that you are one of the prisoners. You cannot look at anything behind or to the side of you – you must look at the wall in front of you. When people walk along the walkway, you can see shadows of the objects they are carrying cast on to the wall. If you had never seen the real objects ever before, you would believe that the shadows of objects were ‘real.  ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE A summary by Amy Trumpeter The Game Plato suggests that the prisoners would begin a ‘game’ of guessing which shadow would appear next. If one of the prisoners were to correctly guess, the others would praise him as clever and say that he were a master of nature.  ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE A summary by Amy Trumpeter The Escape One of the prisoners then escapes from their bindings and leaves the cave. He is shocked at the world he discovers outside the cave and does not believe it can be real. As he becomes used to his new surroundings, he realizes that his former view of reality was wrong. He begins to understand his new world, and sees that the Sun is the source of life and goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers beauty and meaning He sees that his former life, and the guessing game they played is useless.  ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE A summary by Amy Trumpeter The Return The prisoner returns to the cave, to inform the other prisoners of his findings. They do not believe him and threaten to kill him if he tries to set them free.  Questions… 1. Describe how the people in the cave are situated in Plato's allegory. What is the only thing they are capable of seeing? 2. What do these prisoners trapped in the cavern believe is real or true? 3. According to Plato, how would the people in the cave react to an escapee who tried to explain the truth to them? 4. In your own understanding, what is Truth? 5. Do you agree that “the truth will set you free” ?  Plato believes that not all that we see is true. For him, those things are just mere representation of things.  In your daily experiences, many would go against you or argue with you because you insisting on sticking to the truth because you have verified it using your senses and intellect, but that is what Plato is saying… Finding the truth and sticking to it no matter what happens, that is the challenge!  “But, what is the truth?” “How do I know if something is true or not?” “Are there any rules to determine if something is true or not?”  Logic Came from the Greek word “Logike” which pertains to art of reasoning. It is also a science since it deals with the systematic process of reasoning in order to arrive at something. Philosophy and Logic are inseparable.  What if there is a person who did not come to school and do not know the laws of logic, can he still be a logical person?  TRUTH Defined as something which can be proven and justified using one’s faculties or senses that follows the order of logic which is factual and valid under the normal human reason.  A glass is something which is made up of sand and silicate that is being used as windows, wind shields, vessels or mirrors. Common sense leads us to judge wisely, not because there are rules, it simply means that such is logical and valid. The human mind will always come to a point wherein it will always do what is sound and valid How can we distinguish truth from opinion? Argument -statements which provides reasons to persuade Opinion someone that -basically the your point is product of truthful. our own belief and self-expression about something. However, not all arguments/statements are truthful. Sometimes, we will encounter faulty arguments that do not lead us to the truth. So, how do we confirm an argument’s truthfulness? All that has legs are living; Chairs have legs; Therefore, chairs are living. What have you noticed about the given statements? Are they valid and logical? Why? Why not? FALLACY They are defined as statements which are misleading and erroneous. We tend to commit fallacies because our arguments are crafted and stated in a wrong way. Examples of informal fallacies 1. Appeal to Pity - persuading somebody out of emotion or sympathy. 2. Ad Hominem - Directly attacking the person to destroy his/her argument. 3. Ad Baculum - Applying force/position to escape from answering the argument directed towards him/her. 4. Post Hoc - Determining and argument using false cause and effect between different events. 5. Ad Populum The argument is acceptable since many are doing it. 6. False Analogy - Comparing two similar terms/ ideas but has wrongful usage/ meaning. 7. Fallacy of Composition - One thinks that what is true to a part is true to the whole. 8. Fallacy of Division - One thinks that what is true to the whole is true to a part. 9. Dicto Simpliciter - assuming that something true in general is true in every possible case 10. Petitio Principii/ Begging the Question - It is a fallacy that treats matters under debate as already established and assumes that the thing or idea to be proven is true.  This brings you one step closer to the truth, being able to tell whether a statement is valid or not, logical or not, truth or opinion. Ultimately, being able to recognize fallacious statements leads to truth and wisdom.  How can an understanding of the difference between truth and opinion lead us to wisdom? 1. It improves understanding and appreciation of varied views and ideas. 2. Helps to form one’s personal point of view. 3. Helps determine the ideas that are truthful and acceptable.  Practical use of Philosophy in our lives Philosophy enables a person to engage in A philosopher is a good Philosophy improves critical analysis and communicator who can problem-solving and interpretation of clearly and adequately decision making. concepts, definitions, present his or her ideas. arguments and problems. Knowledge of Philosophy Wisdom can contribute to self- development.