Philosophy Exam Review 2025 (St. Mary CSS) PDF

PHILOSOPHY E X A M R E V I E W LOCATION & TIME ST. MARY CSS | 2025 JANUARY 23 PRESENTATOR JOSIPA V.  UNIT ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY DERIVED FROM THE GREEK PHILEIN (LOVE) AND SOPHIA (WISDOM) “THE LOVE OF WISDOM” WISDOM...

PHILOSOPHY E X A M R E V I E W LOCATION & TIME ST. MARY CSS | 2025 JANUARY 23 PRESENTATOR JOSIPA V.  UNIT ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY DERIVED FROM THE GREEK PHILEIN (LOVE) AND SOPHIA (WISDOM) “THE LOVE OF WISDOM” WISDOM TO BE INSIGHTFUL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE AND THE CONCEPTS OF WHAT IS RIGHT, WHEN IT IS RIGHT, AND WHY AUTONOMY A PERSON'S ABILITY TO FREELY MAKE RATIONAL DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES MATERIALISTS THE BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS IS MADE UP OF MATTER AND THAT ALL PHENOMENA, INCLUDING CONSCIOUSNESS AND THOUGHT, CAN BE EXPLAINED BY PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND INTERACTIONS. THALES OF MILETUS LIVED: 624 – 546 BCE LOCATION: MILETUS – A WEALTHY PORT CITY IN (ANATOLIA) MODERN TURKEY MILETUS WAS A WEALTHY PORT CITY THALES CAME FROM A WEALTHY FAMILY ALLOWING HIM TO LIVE A LEISURELY LIFE  WITH LEISURE PEOPLE WERE FREE TO FOCUS ON INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY (PHILOSOPHY) INSTEAD OF DAILY WORK THALES’ OBSERVATIONS OF MANY NATURAL SUBSTANCES LED HIM TO BELIEVE THAT THEY SHARED MANY SIMILARITIES. “MANY WERE RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER BY THE ONE” ALL HAD AN UNDERLYING SUBSTANCE THAT WAS THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING THAT EXISTED IN NATURE. HIS OBSERVATIONS OF WATER TOLD HIM WATER APPEARS IN THREE FORMS: (SOLID, LIQUID, AND VAPOUR). THALES CONCLUSIONS WERE INCORRECT, INSTEAD OF WATER IT IS ENERGY. HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY TO TRY TO EXPLAIN NATURAL PHENOMENAL USING REASON RATHER THAT SUPERSTITION AND MYTH. FIRST ORDER LANGUAGE A SPECIFIC STATEMENT OR QUESTION ABOUT AN OBSERVATION OR EVENT. SECOND ORDER LANGUAGE LANGUAGE THAT IS USED TO DISCUSS AND CLARIFY FIRST ORDER LANGUAGE. IT IS MORE GENERAL AND CAN ALSO BE CALLED HIGHER-ORDER LANGUAGE OR META-LANGUAGE.  SOCRATIC METHOD IS A QUESTION AND ANSWER PROCESS USED BY SOCRATES TO NARROW IN ON KNOWLEDGE BY CHALLENGING COMMONLY HELD ASSUMPTIONS. THOUGHT EXPIRIMENTS A TOOL USED BY PHILOSOPHERS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO RE-EXAMINE COMMON SENSE BELIEFS. THEY OFTEN BEGIN WITH THE STATEMENT “WHAT IF...” CRITICAL THINKING THINKING IS A PROCESS, AND ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO EXAMINE & RE-EXAMINE BELIEFS THAT THAT REGARD AS COMMON SENSE.. PHILOSOPHY ARGUMENT A DEBATE BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE WHO PRESENT REASONED IDEAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCOVERING THE TRUTH SELF ACTUALIZATION ABRAHAM MASLOW: PROPOSED A PYRAMID-LIKE CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN NEEDS THAT CAN BE SUMMARIZED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: MAINTENANCE & SELF- ACTUALIZATION. SELF-ACTUALIZATION TOP OF THE PYRAMID AND FINDING FULFILMENT IN REACHING ONE’S OWN POTENTIAL. IT ALSO IS A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS TO FIND FULFILMENT.  LOGIC/PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE THE SCIENCE OF THE LAWS OF THOUGHT AND THE SCIENCE OF REASONING. EXAMINE VALIDITY, LOGIC, FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT. METAPHYSICS METAPHYSICS DEALS WITH THE NATURE OF REALITY BY ASKING QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS: WHAT IS REALITY? WHAT IS REAL? WHAT IS THE SELF? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? EPISTEMOLOGY GREEK WORD “EPISTEME” (KNOWLEDGE) EPISTEMOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE OR WHAT IS WORTHY OF BELIEF BY A RATIONAL PERSON ETHICS EXAMINES QUESTIONS OF RIGHT/WRONG, GOOD/BAD, AND GOOD/EVIL. ETHICISTS EXAMINE CHARACTER TRAITS, VALUES AND MORALS, AS WELL AS ACTIONS AND DETERMINE WHICH ARE GOOD/BAD OR RIGHT/WRONG AESTHETICS PHILOSOPHY OF ART. “AESTHETIC” MEANS, CONCERNED WITH BEAUTY. WHAT IS ART? WHAT IS BEAUTY? WHAT DEFINES THESE? DO OBJECTIVE STANDARDS OF BEAUTY AND UGLINESS ACTUALLY EXIST SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY UTOPIA – PERFECT PLACE/SOCIETY EXAMINATION OF WHAT MAKES UP THE BEST SOCIETY AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE AND THE INDIVIDUAL. QUESTIONS: WHAT ARE THE LIMITS OF THE STATE? SHOULD PEOPLE HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS? WHAT IS JUSTICE? WHAT IS THE PROPER BOUNDARY BETWEEN PUBLIC POLICY AND PRIVATE MORALITY  UNIT TWO PHILOSOPHY: LOGIC DEFINITIONS 05 EXPLAIN 04 ARISTOTLE AND 03 BOOLE EVALUATION FOR 02 ARGUMENTS LOGIC 01  01 LOGIC LOGIC LOGIC: derived from the Greek word logos which means speech or reason (reasoned speech) LOGICIAN LOGICIAN: Those who study logic and are concerned with well constructed arguments. LOGICAL CONSISTENCY Statements that do NOT contradict with each other. (Ex. My mother is 45 yrs old and married) LOGICAL CONTRADICTION Statements that DO contradict with each other. And violate Aristotle’s law of non-contradiction. (Ex. My mother is 45 yrs old and 25 yrs old). LOGICAL FALLACY LOGICAL FALLACIES: methods of argument that contains flaws in how conclusions are drawn. Once a logical fallacy is identified, the argument it makes is immediately weakened or negated (ignored).  Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that weaken arguments. They often seem convincing but are based on flawed logic. Here's a simplified explanation: -What They Are: Mistakes in reasoning that make arguments invalid. - What They Do: Mislead people by presenting faulty logic as if it were sound. - How They Work: They use tricks or errors in thinking to make an argument appear stronger than it is. For example, a common fallacy is the "straw man" fallacy, where someone misrepresents an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack. Another is the "ad hominem" fallacy, where someone attacks the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.  EVALUATION FOR 02 ARGUMENTS RELEVANCE determining whether the information or arguments have any bearing on the matters at hand. It is determined by: whether the info. provides knowledge about the topic, and whether the argument presented supports or negates a point of view. (irrelevance can be a weakness in an argument) EMPIRICAL VALUE Empirical info. can be verified or gained through the senses. Non-Empirical expresses beliefs, opinions, or values that cannot be verified through observation. EXAMPLE: ROSES Empirical: Roses are Red Non-Empirical: I like red roses the first statement can be verified, but the second one cannot because it’s an opinion not a fact! BIAS Tendency to view objects, people, or events from a particular point of view. Bias exists in all people; awareness of biases enables greater understanding of ideas (accurately). Origin of Bias: (upbringing, culture, experiences, emotional/mental nature) People usually are unaware of the biases they have due to immersion in these sources. Thus, accept them as truths. RELIABILITY Information and its source is reliable when it can be trusted. There are degrees or levels of reliability (credibility level of the source) -More trust is placed in those that have our best interests in mind -Less is placed in those that are viewed to have an agenda. In philosophy: ideas of famous philosophers are respected  ARISTOTLE AND 03 BOOLE ARISTOTLE’S THREE LAWS OF THOUGHT 1. The Law of Non-Contradiction: Something cannot be said both to be and not be at the same time and in the same respect. If something is true, it cannot also be false. [One cannot exist and not exist at the same time] 2. The Law of Excluded Middle: Something must either be or not be. It must be true or false, there is no third or middle possibility. [One either exists, or does not exist, there is no middle option] 3. The Law of Identity: Something is what it is. [A cat is a cat (true), A dog is a cat (untrue)] Aristotle’s laws of logic are still the basic tools today. Aristotle also developed rules for deductive reasoning.  GEORGE BOOLE GEORGE BOOLE DEFINITION George Boole was an English mathematician, philosopher, and logician, best known for his work in the field of algebraic logic. He created Boolean algebra, which is fundamental to the design of digital computer circuits and modern computer science2. His work laid the groundwork for the Information Age, making significant contributions to mathematics and logic. 19th/20thCentury: -Logic used in mathematics by George Boole who took logic in the direction of algebra. -Developed a system (Boolean logic) where all values in an algebraic expression can be reduced to values of true/false. -Boolean, has become the basis of computer language.  04 EXPLAIN VALIDITY VALIDITY: The correctness of the reasoning. In philosophy, validity refers to an argument where, if the premises are true, the conclusion must logically follow. It means the structure of the argument is such that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. Example of Validity over Truth: Example: (Immortality) Premise: All humans are immortal Premise: I am a human. Conclusion: I am immortal. Though the major premise is untrue, the argument is still valid because the conclusion follows logically from the premises. TRUTH TRUTH: refers to the truth of the contexts of the statements. Logicians are more concerned with the validity than the truth of a statement.  In philosophy, truth refers to the property of statements that accurately reflect reality or facts. It is the alignment between a proposition and the way things actually are. SOUNDNESS SOUNDNESS: Arguments in which the premises are true and the form is valid. This is the most effective form of argument. In philosophy, soundness refers to an argument that is both valid and has all true premises. This means that the conclusion logically follows from the premises, and the premises themselves are true. Example: All mice chase cats. Socrates is a mouse Therefore, Socrates chases cats. Explanation: Form of the argument is correct, thus the conclusion is “valid” The major premise “all mice chase cats” is untrue. The minor premise “Socrates is a mouse” is untrue Thus, the argument is based on faulty premises.  05 DEFINITIONS DEDUCTION DEDUCTION: (deductive logic) based on general reasoning, the process of drawing a specific conclusion from a general statement or premise. (big to little picture) INDUCTION INDUCTION: (inductive logic) based on inductive reasoning, the process of observing particular things and making generalizations (drawing general conclusions) about them. (little to big picture). ARGUMENT NOT a shouting match, a group of statements consisting of a premise or premises designed to justify a conclusion. PREMISE A factual statement or proposition, premises provide a reason for believing a conclusion. Ex. All humans are mortal. CONCLUSION A statement that follows from a premise or premises. SYLLOGISM A from of formal deductive argument developed by Aristotle. Can consist of premises that lead to a conclusion. INFERENCE A mental process when we move from premises to conclusions. (using existing information to develop new information). FORM Logic is concerned with the form of an argument. Logic is concerned with whether this form and the reasoning used to formulate statements and arrival at a conclusion is correct. (Reasoning - involves the ability to understand connections, use inference indicators, and make inferences).