Methods of Philosophy:
What is Philosophy anyway?
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Not a body of knowledge to be memorized
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Science, Math, (some) History, etc.
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Not a collection of unrelated beliefs
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A "philosophy of life"
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"The philosophy of ______"
What is Philosophy anyway?
What it is:
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It is an activity that you do
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Can be hard to explain - best way is to do it.
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Philosophers rely on the use of reason to determine what to accept as knowledge
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"Philos-opher" means "Lover of Wisdom"
Things to look out for: (2) Bad and (1) Good
Questionable Presuppositions:
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Things assumed to be true by a position which might in fact not be true
Circular Arguments:
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Arguments which assume the conclusion as one of the premises
Simplicity of world view:
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(Occamís Razor) - Donít include things in your world view
which have no explanatory value.
Questions, Questions, Questions!
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Philosophers ask lots of questions
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Very few solid answers result - so no progress?
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Knowing what not to believe is progress
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Socrates: Being grateful to those who prove you wrong
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Some of the simplest questions are the most difficult to answer.
Philosophers engage in asking questions, examining beliefs - trying to
get closer to knowledge.
Sometimes finding out what is not true is
progress.
Three levels of certainty:
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opinions - beliefs without thought (often inconsistent and
vague).
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beliefs - thoughts/beliefs you have thought about.(enough
to make them consistent with each other)
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knowledge - belief with evidence. Either empirical or rational evidence...this
is what philosophers want most.
As might be expected, there will be times when we come up against an aspect
of a religious doctrine which we cannot "get at" philosophically - through
the use of reason. Historically, reason is the best method for justifying
our beliefs (claims of knowledge). Blind Faith and popular opinion
are also appealed to by many as a justification for their beliefs, but
since these are unable to convince others to accept the justification,
and have proven unreliable in our search for what is true, the Philosopher
relies on the use of rational justifications alone.
This perspective presupposes several principles:
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Justified beliefs are better (philosophically) than unjustified beliefs.
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The passionate expression of a belief does not make it true.
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If there is a `truth' to be known , it is philosophical inquiry which will
reveal it.
copyright
2003© Michael J. Connelly,
Longview Community
College
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last update: 1/30/03
(file address: www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/socsci/philosophy/religion/introduction.htm)