philosophy lecture rpc
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Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy BranchesTRANSCRIPT
PHILOSOPHY
Prepared by Raizza Corpuz
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
• MEANING• NATURE• SCOPE• GOALS• IMPORTANCE• BRANCHES• EPOCH
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? WHERE IT BEGINS?
FROM WONDER TO WANDER
Wonder• To be filled with curiosity or doubt• An event inexplicable by the laws of nature; a
miracle.• A feeling of puzzlement or doubt.
Source: Thesaurus Dictionary
Wander: Verb
• Walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way.
• An act or instance of wandering.verb. roam - ramble - rove -
straynoun. wandering - stroll - saunter - ramble
Source: Thesaurus Dictionary
• Philosophers’ definition-arises out of wonder, out of curiosity, out of desire to learn, and to understand things.
• -According to the Philosopher, Philosophy is a process of analysis, criticism, interpretation and speculation
• Analysis-if we know how to synthesis and antithesis.• Synthesis- put idea together or event of the same
characteristic.• Antithesis- remove from or put it out, removing ideas• Criticism- is a process of commenting or giving a
judgment, even if its positive or negative.• Interpretation-demonstration of ideas.• Speculation-being satisfied.
Etymology- or etymological definition of Philosophy-derived for Greek words etimos and logos
Etimos-root, origin, cause, basis, historyLogos-studyEtymology-study of the history of the word
Philosophy comes from the Geek Words Philia and Sofia.Sofia-wisdomPhilia-love, desire for, interest inPhilia and Sofia join by Pythagoras-600 B.C.
Episteme-means knowledgeWisdom-defining deeply, wise, according to etymology
-is an awareness of something which is basic.-knowledge of the basic principle.
Knowledge-is only a million formation-simple data that comes from the outside that pass to our
senses.
EtymologyA. Meaning of Philosophy
What is Philosophy?What is Philosophy?
The term “philosophy” comes from the Greek language. It consists of two words :
• philos, (love, or philia )– friendship, affection• sophos (learned scholar, sage, or • sophia - wisdom, knowledge, talent)
““philo” - lovephilo” - love““sophia” - wisdomsophia” - wisdom
THUS:THUS:1.1. Philosophy is the love of wisdomPhilosophy is the love of wisdom2.2. Philosophy attempts to answer life's Big Philosophy attempts to answer life's Big
QuestionsQuestions3.3. Philosophy is about QuestionsPhilosophy is about Questions4.4. Philosophers ask Questions about what people Philosophers ask Questions about what people
Believe Believe 5.5. Philosophy is about Examining Ourselves & Our Philosophy is about Examining Ourselves & Our
BeliefsBeliefs
THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS but there are SOME BIG QUESTION
WhatWhat??
WhyWhy??
HOWHOW
What are theWhat are the REASONSREASONS for a for a particular belief?particular belief?
Have you ever looked in the mirror Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked: and asked:
The Unexamined The Unexamined Life is not worth Life is not worth living.living.” ” (Socrates)(Socrates)
Who am I?Who am I?Why am I here? Why am I here? What should I do with my What should I do with my life?life?
Have you ever looked in the mirror Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked: and asked: OR???
Examining Our BeliefsExamining Our BeliefsBehavior
I talk to my friend
Beliefs and Values
I believe that my friend is real
World-ViewI Exist. Other People Exist.
What is ‘Philosophy’?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Branches of PhilosophyBranches of Philosophy
Ethics
PoliticsPolitics
Religion
Metaphysics
Logic
Epistemology
Aesthetics
Science
Philosophy
Branches of Philosophy
EthicsQuestions: How should we live?What is good and evil? What is the best way to live?What is Justice? Is right and wrong the same everywhere or different everywhere?
Ethics
EpistemologyKnowledge ScienceExplores the nature and limitations of knowledge
Definition of knowledgeInvestigates how knowledge
is obtainedExplores the relationship
between belief, truth and knowledge
Epistemology
Questions: What is knowledge?How is knowledge acquired?How do we know what we know?
What is Epistemology?
Epistemological Questions
Metaphysics
Knowledge ScienceExplores the fundamental nature of reality and being
Ontology Existence Objects PropertiesSpace and TimeCause and Effect
Metaphysics
Questions: What is real? What is reality? What is reality like?
Metaphysics
PoliticsPolitical PhilosophyExplores the relationship between citizens and governments
LibertyLegal JusticeProperty OwnershipCitizen's RightsSystem of Law
PoliticsPoliticsQuestions: Questions: How should government be How should government be organized?organized?What makes a government What makes a government legitimate? legitimate? Who decides who the Who decides who the leaders should be?leaders should be?What laws are good and What laws are good and necessary? necessary? How should law be How should law be enforced?enforced?
AestheticsSensori-Emotional ValuesExplores the nature of beauty, art, and taste with the creation and appreciation of beauty
AestheticsQuestionsWhat is beauty? What is art? What is the value of beauty and art? Who should judge what is beautiful or artistic? How should art and beauty be judged?
AestheticsDiscussion: On the left is Marcel Duchamp's ready-made “sculpture” called “Fountain”. It's a factory-made urinal on a stand.
Is this “Art”? Why / Why not? Is it beautiful? Offensive?Why?
LogicRules for ThinkingThe systematic principles (or rules) for thinking rationally.
Inferences are made by construction of Arguments
Rules of Logic determine which arguments are VALID and which are FALACIES
Logic
ReligionPhilosophy of ReligionBranch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion
Nature & Existence of GodTheologyExamination of Religious
ExperienceAnalysis of Religious language
and textsRelationship between Religion
and Science
ReligionQuestionsDoes God exist? What is God? What is the nature of the relationship between God and humans?Is God active in the world? How? Is there life after death?What is the relationship between Religion and Ethics? ...Religion and Science?
ReligionPantheism What is God?
God is the Universe and the Universe is God.
There is no distinction between God and the universe (nature). Some forms of Buddhism are examples of pantheism.
ReligionPanentheism What is God?
God is in the Universe and the Universe is in God
God is more than the Universe.
God and the Universe are connected but not identical.
Philosophy of ScienceScienceConcerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science.
Empirical VerificationInductive Logic Objectivity of the Observer
Philosophy of ScienceQuestions What is the natural world?How should we study nature? What methods are useful in the study of nature? Can science establish Natural Laws which are absolute (true everywhere and for everyone)?What are the limits of scientific knowledge?
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
What are the origins of philosophy?
The Ancient Greek World
Socrates (c.469-399BCE)
called philosophy down from the skies.’ (Cicero)
Teacher of Plato
The Death of Socrates(Jacques-Louis David, 1787)
• Socrates most important contribution to Western thought is his dialogical method of enquiry, known as the Socratic method where one finds truth by eliminating what one knows to be false by following a line of enquiry to a contridiction.
• Socrates believed that his wisdom sprung from an awareness of his own ignorance. He knew that he knew nothing, and that all error came out of ignorance.
• Socrates believed that the best way for people to live was to focus not on accumulating possessions, but on self-development. Socrates believed that “ideals belong in a world that only the wise man can understand” making the philosopher the only type of person suitable to govern others.
• Socrates views angered the leaders of Athens and he was accused of being anti-democratic and corrupting the youth of the country. Though neither charge demanded the death sentence the number of jurors who voted to condemn him to death was actually larger than the number who voted to convict him in the first place. In other words even jurors who believed he was innocent condemned him to death. If he was not anti-democratic before, this most certainly convinced him, and others of the flaws in a democratic system.
• Though Socrates left no writings of his own his exploits have been chronicled by a number of ancient writers, formost among them Plato whose works are based on the teachings of Socrates.
The Death of Socrates
Methods of Philosophy04/11/23
49
Philosophy an Introduction
Hi(s)tory of Philosophy04/11/23
50
Philosophy an Introduction
Medieval Philosophy – 600 ~ 1600 04/11/23
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Philosophy an Introduction
Contemporary – 1900 ~ present
Ancient Greek Philosophers
School of Athens - Raphael Sanzio
“The unexamined life is not worth living. ... Wisdom begins in wonder. ... There is only
one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.”
(Socrates, 469 - 399 B.C.)
“The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with the unchanging
reality which is the object of knowledge.” (Plato, 429 - 347 B.C.)
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not
an act, but a habit. ... At his best, man is the noblest
of all animals; separated from law and justice he is
the worst.”
(Aristotle, 384 - 322 B.C.)
• Philosophy- love of wisdom• Greek Philosophers– Pythagoras- universe followed the same laws that
govern music & numbers• Pythagorean Theorem- determine the length of the
sides of a triangle
• Sophists- professional teachers– Taught students how to win
arguments– Rejected the idea of an Absolute Right
& Wrong
• Socrates- criticized Sophists– left no writings behind– Believed in absolute
truth – Socratic Method- asked
pointed questions to force pupils to discover their own knowledge
– Sentenced to death for his teachings
• Plato- Socrates student– Republic book that
explained ideas about gov’t
– Philosopher King –ruled using logic & wisdom, 2nd group-warriors, 3rd rest of ppl
– Women’s rights- believed men & women should have access at an education
– Academy- Plato’s school
• Aristotle- student of Plato– Lyceum- Plato’s school – “golden mean”- do nothing in excess– Politics- in book he compares governments– Mixture of oligarchy & democracy – he felt would
be the best gov’t
excavation of the Lyceum
• Greek Historians
– History is the study of human past– Herodotus wrote the history of the Persian Wars• Tried to separate fact from fiction but still used
mythology to explained some events • “father of history”
– Thucydides wrote History of the Peloponnesian War • Stressed the importance of having accurate facts• Primary Source- fought in the war
THREE TRIUMVIRATE IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Ancient Greek Philosophy
Philosophers• Socrates, 469-399– Believed that one arrives at the truth by questioning
the assumptions on which all things are based• Plato, 428-347– Student of Socrates
• Aristotle, 384-322– Student of Plato– “THE” philosopher by Medievalists
Greek Philosophy & Its Origins• Philosophy = love of wisdom• Mesopotamians and Egyptians
contemplated how the natural world around them worked
• Early Greeks (time of Homer, c.800 BCE) used mythological stories to explain the natural world
• 7th Century BCE – Greeks looked for new, more practical explanations
Socratic Philosophers
So Many Questions…
• What should we do? (i.e. how should we behave)
• What is the meaning of life?• What is the meaning of happiness?• Is perfection possible?• What constitutes the good or just life?• What is virtue?• How should a man best conduct his life?
Socrates (469-399 BCE)• What little we know comes from his students, Plato
and Xenophon, and his enemy, Aristophanes• Humble birth• Wrote nothing down• Founded no formal school – taught in the agora• Believed material things would not bring happiness• Died for his principles
Exercise
• For each statement ask as many follow up questions as you can with a partner. Record questions that were brainstormed
• Statement #1 – Only people over the age of 19 should be allowed to drink
• Statement #2 – Canada should abolish the sale of firearms to the public
Socratic Method• Method of elenchus (i.e. rigorous questioning
technique)• Designed to “sting” people into realizing their own
ignorance– Provoke genuine intellectual curiosity
• True knowledge gained only by constantly questioning assumptions that underly all we do– To achieve truth is to engage in a permanent state of critical
thinking
Socrates’ End• Alcibiades, Socrates’ pupil, betrayed fellow
Athenians by defecting to Sparta in Peloponnesian War
• Socrates scapegoated by Alcibiades’ actions, accused of “not believing in the gods” and “corrupting the youth”
• Tried and sentenced to death• Refused to plead for lesser punishment• Drank poison hemlock
Legacy• Socrates used the claim of wisdom as his moral
basis• Chief goodness consists in the caring of the soul
concerned with moral truth and understanding• “Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness
brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the state”
• “Life without examination (dialogue) is not worth living”
• He would want you to evaluate society and your own life regularly!
Plato (429-347 BCE)• The “idealist” or “utopian” or “dreamer”• Born into a wealthy family in the second year of the
Peloponnesian War• Name means “high forehead”• Student of Socrates• Left Athens when Socrates died but
returned to open a school called the Academy in 385 BCE
• Wrote 20 books, many in the dialectic style (a story which attempts to teach a specific concept) with Socrates as the main character
Plato’s Ideas
• Idealist, believes in order and harmony, morality and self-denial
• Immortality of the soul• Virtue as knowledge• Theory of Forms – the highest function of the
human soul is to achieve the vision of the form of the good
Plato’s Cave Exercise1. Read through the allegory of the cave as a class
1. When reading, highlight any parts of the story that is detailed and offers you a clear mental picture
2. Now, instead of writing about the cave, draw a picture of the cave using your highlighted material
3. Share your drawing with some classmates around you. What differences do you have?
4. What do you think about the allegories made?
Anti-Democratic Plato• Most perfect form of government: “Philosopher
Kings” (i.e. very smartest) rule over an essentially communistic society
• Why Philosopher Kings?– Plato believed they alone possess the intellectual
capacity to achieve the highest form of human contemplation• Such penetrating powers of insight necessary to distinguish
between truth (i.e. that which is eternal and unchanging and therefore is “really real”) from that which is untrue (changeable stimuli received by our faulty instruments of perception that serve to trick us into thinking that something is in fact “real”)
Plato’s Impact• Plato’s thinking on the immortality of the soul,
Plato’s conception of a world beyond the sensory and his god-like form of good have very much shaped Christian thinking on God, the soul, and an afterlife
• Nietsche called Christianity “Plato for the people”
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)• The “real” or “encyclopedist” or “inspired
common sense” or “the prince of those who know”
• Studied under Plato at the Academy• Son of a Macedonian doctor, returned home to
become the teacher of Alexander of Macedon for three years, beginning in 343 BCE
• Later returned to Athens to open school called the Lyceum in 335 BCE
Mark Steel Lectures: Aristotle
1. Why were there so many philosophers during Aristotle’s time?
2. What does Plato mean by the perfect form?3. What are some examples of what Aristotle
researched?4. What is his ‘4 Essence’ theory?5. What did Politics address concerning nature?6. Why did he feel the rich AND poor were unfit to
rule?7. How was he before his time?
Aristotle, continued• Believed in the Golden Mean – i.e. all things follow the middle course; by avoiding
extremes, one will enjoy a maximum of happiness and a minimum of pain
• Called the “encycolpedist” as he had a profound love of order
• Numerous fields of scientific study he either invented or contributed to:– Logic, biology, zoology, botany, psychology,
chemistry, astronomy, cosmology, metaphysics, ethics, political theory, constitutional history, history of sport
Aristotle, continued• Founder of scientific method– A valid and reliable process by which all scientific
analyses of a given phenomenon could take place• Led to explosive advances in the Greek
scientists’ capacity to conduct scientific research
• Middle Ages’ scholars felt Aristotle knew almost as much as God, therefore called him “The Philosopher”
Elements of the Art of Rhetoric• Ethos = Ethics
– Appeal based on the trustworthiness/character of the speaker– Relies on the reputation of the author
• Logos = Logic– Appeal based on logic or reason– Found primarily in scholarly articles and corporate financial reports
• Pathos = Pathetic, sympathy, empathy– Appeal based on emotion– Found in advertisements– The more people react without full consideration for the “why,” the
more effective an argument can be– Although it can be manipulative, it is the cornerstone of moving
people to action
Legacy of Greek Philosophers• Taught us how to think• Provided a great deal of insight into the natural
world• Provided many of the most profound and
meaningful answers to the great philosophical questions that have befuddled humans since the dawn of civilization
• Provided a comprehensive, valid, and reliable method by which we could test whether or not a given idea is true
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
ARISTOTLE• Aristotle is a towering
figure in ancient Greek philosopher, making contribution to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theater.
• He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. He was more empirically-minded than Plato or Socrates and is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of forms.
• As a prolific writer and polymath, Aristotle radically transformed most, if not all, areas of knowledge he touched. It is no wonder that Aquinas referred to him simply as “The Philosopher.” In his lifetime, Aristotle wrote as many as 200 treatises, of which only 31 survive.
Saint Thomas AquinasSaint Thomas Aquinas
“The Philosopher”
Socrates
• Aristotle was the first to classify areas of human knowledge into distinct disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and ethics. Some of these classifications are still used today.
• As the father of the field of logic, he was the first to develop a formalized system for reasoning. Aristotle observed that the validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content. A classic example of a valid argument is his syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.
MathematicsBiology Ethics
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S LIFE• Aristotle was born in 384
BCE at Stagirus, a now extinct Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace. His father Nichomachus was court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia, and from this began Aristotle’s long association with the Macedonian Court, which considerably influenced his life.
• While he was still a boy his father died. At age 17 his guardian, Proxenus, sent him to Athens, the intellectual center of the world, to complete his education. He joined the Academy and studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years.
ARISTOTLE’S LIFE
Aristotle’s
• It is reported that Aristotle’s writings were held by his student Theophrastus, who had succeeded Aristotle in leadership of the Peripatetic School.
ARISTOTLE’S WRITINGS
The works of Aristotle fall under three headings:
• Among his writings of a popular nature the only one which we possess of any consequence is the interesting tract On the Polity of the Athenians.
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S LOGIC
• Aristotle’s writings on the general subject of logic were grouped by the later Peripatetics under the name Organon, or instrument. From their perspective, logic and reasoning was the chief preparatory instrument of scientific investigation. Aristotle himself, however, uses the term “logic” as equivalent to verbal reasoning.
“Organon”Peripatetics
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S METAPHYSICS• Aristotle’s editors gave the name
“Metaphysics” to his works on first philosophy, either because they went beyond or followed after his physical investigations. Aristotle begins by sketching the history of philosophy. For Aristotle, philosophy arose historically after basic necessities were secured. It grew out of a feeling of curiosity and wonder, to which religious myth gave only provisional satisfaction.
Aristotle’s
• Aristotle sees the universe as a scale lying between the two extremes: form without matter is on one end, and matter without form is on the other end. The passage of matter into form must be shown in its various stages in the world of nature. To do this is the object of Aristotle’s physics, or philosophy of nature. It is important to keep in mind that the passage from form to matter within nature is a movementtowards ends or purposes.Everything in nature has itsend and function, and nothingis without its purpose. Everywherewe find evidences of design and rational plan.
ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S THE SOUL AND PSYCHOLOGY
• Soul is defined by Aristotle as the perfect expression or realization of a natural body. From this definition it follows that there is a close connection between psychological states, and physiological processes. Body and soul are unified in the same way that wax and an impression stamped on it are unified.
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS• Ethics, as viewed by Aristotle, is an
attempt to find out our chief end or highest good: an end which he maintains is really final. Though many ends of life are only means to further ends, our aspirations and desires must have some final object or pursuit. Such a chief end is universally called happiness. But people mean such different things by the expression that he finds it necessary to discuss the nature of it for himself.
Aristotle’s
• Aristotle does not regard politics as a separate science from ethics, but as the completion, and almost a verification of it. The moral ideal in political administration is only a different aspect of that which also applies to individual happiness. Humans are by nature social beings, and the possession of rational speech (logos) in itself leads us to social union.
ARISTOTLE’S POLITICS
Aristotle’s
ARISTOTLE’S ART AND POETICS
• Art is defined by Aristotle as the realization in external form of a true idea, and is traced back to that natural love of imitation which characterizes humans, and to the pleasure which we feel in recognizing likenesses. Art however is not limited to mere copying. It idealizes nature and completes its deficiencies: it seeks to grasp the universal type in the individual phenomenon.