Philosophy: An Introduction PDF

Philosophy An Introduction Unit 1 Lesson 1 Share What You Think What is philosophy? Philosophy Defined: Love of Wisdom What is wisdom? What did it mean to the ancient Greeks? Philosophy Wisdom: knowledge of the laws and fundamental principles of the unchanging Phil...

Philosophy An Introduction Unit 1 Lesson 1 Share What You Think What is philosophy? Philosophy Defined: Love of Wisdom What is wisdom? What did it mean to the ancient Greeks? Philosophy Wisdom: knowledge of the laws and fundamental principles of the unchanging Philosophy is an attempt of thinkers to get to the fundamentals (basics) of things.  Philosophy: A Way of Life “The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates Rational reflection human kind the world responsibilities knowledge in general  Have you I wonder if they know me... heard of Thales of Miletus? I‘m the Found er of Western Philosophy a nd Science! Astronomer Mathematician 624-546 BCE Thales of Miletus Famous/infamous for saying... Cut me some slack! “Everything is water” Context matters!  Mythos The ancient Greeks explained natural phenomena through supernatural forces (gods and goddesses) Not meant to be a testable hypothesis Carried divine authority Respect for Divine Authority If you questioned the authority of the gods, you became a heretic Heretics were punished with death or exile Thales of Miletus He was curious about change, but he encountered a paradox. OK...I’m back! If there is change, there is something that changes, yet remains unchanged. Change as a Paradox Thales of Miletus Thales concludes that there must be some enduring stuff undergoing the change. It must be WATER! If change is happening everywhere, all the time, there must be a basic substance in everything. Thales: The Revolutionary Everything is water! No way! Thales did not appeal to the gods in his explanation No mythos = no divine authority His students questioned him without fear He challenged them to come up with better accounts Counterexamples: facts or observations that show why an idea is mistaken, incomplete, or otherwise flawed  Scientific Impact Different accounts for the basic substance... Democritus Anaximander’s “The Boundless” “No splits” (atoms) Change = composition or dissolution of atoms moving in the void of space The Birth of the Philosophical Methodology and the Scientific Method Thales replaced mythos with logos Logos proposed natural explanations for natural phenomena No divine authority was claimed or invoked - no fear of punishment Testable hypotheses - required evidence Thales started the philosophical conversation and set up the rules for the dialogue The Philosophical Methodology 1. Theory Postulation The Dialectic = arriving 2. Justification at the truth through the 3. Critical exchange of logical arguments Review 4. Revision In science, this is the Scientific Method. Let’s See How Much You Learned! Join Formative by using the class link on Google Classroom. Once you are in, complete the Unit 1 Lesson 1 Practice Questions. Take your time to read through the questions. Do your best! Don’t look at your notes or get help from anyone. Group Work: Thales of Miletus On Formative, find and read the instructions and rubric for the Thales of Miletus assignment. Complete the assignment in groups of 2-3 students. Prep time and recording should not surpass 15 minutes.  Philosophy Vs. Science Though philosophy and science use the same method for answering questions, they answer different questions. Science answers empirical questions, while philosophy answers philosophical questions. Empirical = observational; answered through sensory information (the five senses) Types of questions Empirical Nonsense/Category Mistakes Philosophical Nonsense Questions Category mistakes - they ask questions outside of their category E.g. What is the color of love? Sound like empirical questions, but no amount of observation will answer them Philosophical Questions Meaningful Important Admit of answers - some are better (more reasonable) than others E.g. Is there a God? This question has two possible, meaningful answers. Branches of Philosophy  Theology Existence and nature of God Metaphysics The nature of reality Epistemology Knowledge, truth, and justification Logic Analyzes and evaluates statements Aesthetics Art and beauty Ethics Questions about right human conduct and the good life (right, wrong, duties) What ought we to do? Sometimes called practical philosophy. It’s about practice! Ethical questions can’t be settled by science alone  Science Ethics Descriptive Prescriptive Predictive Tells us Tells us how how the the world world IS or SHOULD be could be E.g. Science can tell you how to clone a human, not whether you ought to. The Relationship of Philosophy and Science Same methodology - dialectic/scientific method Different questions - philosophical vs. empirical If it can be answered through observation or experiments, it belongs to science. The Relationship of Philosophy and Religion Share many questions but not all Different methodology - dialectic vs. faith and scripture Assumptions of Philosophy 1. “The universe can be understood” or “It is possible for humans to make some sense of the world.” 2. Unaided human reason is capable of understanding the world. Most religions accept the first assumption but deny the second one.