Introduction to Human Philosophy PDF

Introduction to Human Philosophy What is Philosophy? Concerns our beliefs and attitudes about ourselves and the world. The development or revision of these ideas, the attempt to work them out with all their implications and complications. Fields of Philosophy + Metaphysics - the t...

Introduction to Human Philosophy What is Philosophy? Concerns our beliefs and attitudes about ourselves and the world. The development or revision of these ideas, the attempt to work them out with all their implications and complications. Fields of Philosophy + Metaphysics - the theory of reality and the ultimate nature of all things. + Ethics - the study of good and bad, right and wrong, the search for the good life, and the defense of the principles and rules of morality. + Epistemology - the study of knowledge, including questions such as “What can we know?” and “How do we know anything?” and “What is truth?”. + Logic (a.k.a. philosophical logic) - the study of the formal structures of sound thinking and good argumentation. + Philosophy of religion (a.k.a. philosophical theology) - the philosophical study of religion, the nature of religion, the nature of the divine, and the various reasons for believing (or not believing) in God’s existence. + Political/Sociopolitical Philosophy - the study of the foundations and the nature of society and the state. + Aesthetics - the study of the nature of art and the experience we have when we enjoy the arts. Including an understanding of such concepts as “beauty” and “expression”. Main Philosophers Socrates (469 or 470–399 BCE) - One of the greatest philosophers of all time, though he never recorded his philosophy in writing. Much of his work was dedicated to defining and living the ideals of wisdom, justice, and the good life. In 399 BCE he was placed on trial by the Athenians for “corrupting the youth” with his ideas. He was condemned to death, refused all opportunities to escape or have his sentence repealed, and accepted the cruel and unfair verdict with complete dignity and several brilliant speeches, dying as well as living for the ideas he defended. Plato (427–347 BCE) - Was a student of Socrates and the leading spokesman for Socrates’s ideas. He was shocked by Socrates’s execution and dedicated his life to developing and spreading Socrates’s philosophy. In 385 BCE he set up the Academy to educate the future leaders of Athens in morality and philosophy in general. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) - A student of Plato who strongly disagreed with many of his teacher’s theories. Aristotle was an accomplished scientist as well as a philosopher, and his ideas ruled most of the sciences— especially biology—until modern times. He was the tutor of Alexander (who became “the Great”) and later founded his own school (the Lyceum) in Athens. When Alexander died, Aristotle was forced to flee, commenting that he would not let Athens “sin against philosophy a second time.” Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) - Was, in the opinion of many philosophers, the greatest philosopher of modern times. He spent his entire life in a small eastern Prussian town (Königsberg). He was famous for his simple, regular life. (He never married, and his neighbors were said to set their clocks by his punctual afternoon walks.) And yet this apparently uninteresting professor was also an enthusiast of the French Revolution—and a revolutionary in his own way, too. His ideas turned many of the traditional views of knowledge, religion, and morality upside down. Primary Features of Philosophy Articulation: Putting your ideas in clear, concise, readily understandable language. Argument: Supporting your ideas with reasons that draw on other ideas, principles, and observations to establish your conclusions and overcome objections. Analysis: Understanding an idea by distinguishing and clarifying its various components. For example, the idea of “murder” involves three component ideas: killing, wrongfulness, and intention. Synthesis: Gathering together different ideas into a single, unified vision. For example, the ancient philosopher Pythagoras’s idea of the “harmony of the spheres” (the idea that the relationships among the movements of the heavenly bodies resulted in a type of music) synthesizes ideas from mathematics, music, physics, and astronomy. Two Crucial Features of Philosophy Articulation Putting ideas in clear, concise, readily understandable language. Spelling out ideas in words and sentences—is the primary process of philosophy. Sitting down to write out your ideas is an excellent way to articulate them, but most people find that an even better way, and sometimes far more relaxed and enjoyable, is simply to discuss these ideas with other people—classmates, good friends, family—or even, on occasion, a stranger with whom you happen to strike up a conversation. In fact, discussing your ideas with someone else not only compels you to express them clearly and concisely, but it also gives you the opportunity—or compels you to engage in another crucial aspect of philosophy study: defending your positions. Arguments A process of reasoning from one claim to another. An argument may be, but need not be, directed against an explicit alternative. A philosophical argument does not require an opponent or a disagreement. Serve to gauge your level of competence, readiness, and familiarity with our viewpoints. In philosophy, these methods can serve as tools for evaluating the persuasiveness of your arguments. ___________________________________________________________________________ Method of Philosophizing Characteristics of a Philosopher: + Engaged with the concept of truth. + Consider truth as a kind of quality or value. Philosophical Method Is the study of how to do philosophy. It is used to address philosophical questions in critical thinking. What is truth? Is the property of sentences, assertions, beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what the case is. It is most often used to mean being in accord with fact or reality, or fidelity to an original or standard. Truth is also sometimes defined in modern contexts as an idea of "truth to self", or authenticity. Types of Statements that can be used to Determine the Truth: 1. Propositions Is a statement about the world or reality. Propositions may or may not carry truth. 2. Knowledge Is the clear awareness and understanding of something. It is the product of questions that allow for clear answers provided by facts. 3. Facts Are propositions or statements which are observed to be real or truthful. 4. Claim Is a statement that is not evidently or immediately known to be true. This means that any claim can be proven by verification and experimentation. These are statements that require further examination to determine their truthfulness. 5. Explanations These are statements that assume the claim to be true and provide reasons why the statement is true. 6. Argument These are a series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader or listener that a claim or opinion is truthful. How to determine the truth? 1. Belief A belief or assertion is true if it is supported by facts, which is another method for establishing truth. 2. Doubt is employed to help determine the truth. This means that every statement, claim, evidence, and experience is scrutinized and analyzed. It drives our desire to discover the truth. In philosophy, systematic doubt is employed to help determine the truth. FACT VS OPINION 1. Fact Is something concrete that can be proven. You can find facts in legal records, scientific findings, encyclopedias, atlases, etc. In other words, facts are the truth and are accepted as such. 2. Opinion Is less concrete. It's a view formed in the mind of a person about a particular issue. In other words, it is what someone believes or thinks, and is not necessarily the truth. FALLACIES AND BIASES 1. Fallacies - These are arguments based on faulty reasoning. ❖ Ad hominem - attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the argument itself. ❖ Appeal to force - using the threat of force or an undesirable event to advance an argument. ❖ Appeal to emotion - sing emotions such as pity or sympathy. ❖ Appeal to the popular - The idea is presented as acceptable because a lot of people accept it. ❖ Appeal to tradition - the idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time ❖ Begging the question - assuming the thing or idea to be proven is true; also known as a circular argument. ❖ Cause-and-effect - Assuming a “cause-and-effect” relationship between unrelated events. ❖ Fallacy of composition - assuming that what is true of a part is true for the whole. ❖ Fallacy of division - assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its part. 2. Bias - Is disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair.  ❖ Correspondence bias or attribution effect - the tendency to judge a person’s personality by his or her actions, without regard for external factors or influence. ❖ Confirmation bias - the tendency to look for and readily accept information that fits one’s own beliefs or views and to reject ideas or views that go against it. ❖ Framing - focusing on a certain aspect of a problem while ignoring other aspects. ❖ Hindsight - the tendency to see past events as predictable, or to ascribe a pattern to historical events. ❖ Conflict of interest - a person or group is connected to or has a vested interest in the issue being discussed. ❖ Cultural Bias -analyzing an event or issue based on one’s cultural standards. Three Major Characteristics of Philosophical Questions: 1. Philosophical questions have answers but the answers remain in dispute. 2. Philosophical questions cannot be settled by science, common sense, or faith. 3. Philosophical questions are of perennial intellectual interest to human beings. Critical Thinking is the careful, reflective, rational, and systematic approach to questions of very general interest. Scientific method Also called empirical method, is a process of determining truth or knowledge through inductive and deductive reasoning, and hypothesis or theory testing. Also leads to wisdom and truth because it uses an evidence-based approach to come up with its conclusion. In this method, all truths are supported by facts that can easily be tested or proven again through experiments, logical reasoning, or observation. Types of Reasoning: Deductive Reasoning - In this type of reasoning, the conclusion comes first, followed by the main points, and the last will be the supporting data, facts, examples, and evidence. The general idea comes first before the specific or particular idea Inductive Reasoning - In this type of reasoning, supporting data, facts, examples, and evidence come first followed by the main points and the conclusion will be the last part. This is the vice versa of deductive reasoning because a particular idea comes first before the general idea.