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I. Book/Media Discussion –
o Introducing Philosophy, Dave Robinson
An introduction to philosophy in comic book form but with the main points in tact.
o Philosophy Made Simple, Popkin, Richard, M, Ph.D.. and Stroll, Avrum,
Ph.D.
A nice summary of the major areas of philosophy. Nicely written.
- These two questions are intertwined. Also, should we always
tell the truth?
- In some cases truth seems to be relative such as when a doctor tells
you that you have cancer and will die in six months. This is
his truth or rather what he believes but it could be false. This appears to be not so much an objective truth as an opinion.
- An objective truth such as “If I drop this rock, it will fall to the
ground.” represents an accepted fact.
- What about a claim that “God created the universe.”? This can
be a belief but not a knowledge claim as it is not provable.
- What about
telling the truth? What if the other person does not want to know?
Suppose the truth cannot help them? Do you still have a duty to tell
the truth? Is it selfish in such cases to satisfy your own moral
standard at the cost of the other person’s happiness?
- On the other hand, there is a long history of people seeking the truth. Why am I here? What should I do? What is the ethical thing to
do? Clearly, people earnestly seek the truth most of the time.
Kant might point out that to use language to lie defeats the purpose
of language.
- Religious truths can lead to wrong actions like the crusades or in
modern times, the jihad.
Is philosophy like science? Or math? Or history? Or?
The
Context: The Great Debate
The Difference Between our Discussion and Formal Philosophy.
- They are similar but in professional philosophy a sound case for a position, i.e. based on logic and/or experience is usually sought after. Any weakness, inconsistency or contradiction will be pounced on by other philosophers.
- It’s like a debate in which philosopher’s pick up the argument over time. However, the debate is carried out in essays and sometimes illustrated through a fictional story such as Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged.
Revolution, Evolution or just new ideas? When can we throw an idea out?
- Like a political debate, you may take either side depending on how the argument appeals to you. Even the weaker argument cannot be said to be completely rules out. Therefore, philosophy is not like science where the latest information is the best. What is accepted is heavily influenced by society’s culture, trends and needs. However, weaknesses in arguments are identified over time and the arguments are often modified to improve their viability. Some ideas do come very close to being ruled out such as the idea that we can obtain knowledge with absolute certainty.
But Wait, They Disagree. Who is right?
- You must weigh the arguments and decide. If you are to apply philosophy to life, then only you can make this decision and what others say becomes less important. However, based on reason and experience, some arguments are clearly stronger than others.
Philosophy:
The
Defining the underlying structures on which the other subjects; science, medicine, political science, psychology, etc.; are built.
- Philosophy established the process by which we gain scientific knowledge,
i.e. the scientific method, logical inference, deduction, and many
improvements on this process to account for validation of theories
that cannot be directly observed.
- Philosophy is where psychology began with such philosophers as William
James.
- Economic
theory was developed in the philosophy of Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham
and on and on.
- Medical science dates back to the ancient Greek Hippocrates.
Needs,
Culture, Individual Perspective and Ad Hominem
What is the effect of the culture at a time and place, personal experience, and biases on the philosophy proposed by the philosopher?
- This has a profound effect on the philosophy proposed and so the ideas
need to be understood in their proper context. For example, The Republic
was written after
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