An Introduction To Philosophy

1. An Introduction To Philosophy You don’t have to write any of this down, but feel free to do so if you are interested…

2. The English word “Philosophy” comes from the Greek “philosophia” which literally means “love of wisdom”… The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

3. Philosophers like me spend our lives thinking about, and trying to understand, the world in which we live… The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

4. I was so devoted to my life as a philosopher that I chose to die, rather than give it up… The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

5. In 399BCE the Athenian government convicted me of corrupting the youth for questioning democracy after our defeat by the Spartans. I was given a choice: The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

6. Either give up philosophy and live in exile or die. I chose death by the poison hemlock. After all, as I once said: “the unexamined life is not worth living” The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

7. And, as I later wrote, Socrates felt he had made a choice to live in Athens and was subject to the laws and rulings thereof so he refused to flee from the state, he also believed that no true philosopher feared death and that his ideas would likely be just as unwelcome anywhere else in Greece… Plato The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

8. So, by definition, philosophy is: the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

9. What you just did in Daily Pondering #3 makes you a philosopher! The Thinker by August Rodin (1902)

10. So…now that you are such an expert, let’s take a look at a few examples of philosophers’ attempts to answer life’s big questions! The Thinker by August Rodin (1902)

11. René Descartes

12. “Cogito ergo sum” or in English: “I think, therefore I am” When he made this statement, Descartes was struggling with the question “how do I know that I exist and that I am not simply the product of a deceiving god or demon tricking me into thinking I truly exist as me?” His solution was that in order to question the reality of his own existence he must, in fact, exist: cogito ergo sum! In its most basic sense, Descartes is saying that the simple act of thought guarantees one’s own existence. René Descartes (1596-1650) French “Father of Modern Philosophy”

13. David Hume

14. Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from experience…my biggest philosophical contribution was a proof against the existence of God. David Hume (1711-1776) Scottish empiricist and historian

15. David Hume’s proof against God: God is omniscient (all knowing) and knows that there is evil in the world. God is omnipotent (all powerful) and could eliminate evil from the world. God is benevolent and would not want people to experience evil. There is evil in the world. Therefore, God does not have these attributes and must not exist! What do you think about this?

16. Blaise Pascal

17. I perfected some of the earliest mechanical calculators, developed human understanding of vacuums, and invented Pascal’s Triangle, which is an extremely important mathematical development in the field of probability. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher

18. MATH TIME: YAY!

19. Pascal’s Triangle is created by adding the two digits above the spot in the following line:

20. Pascal’s Triangle provides the likelihood (or probability) of a random event with two possible outcomes (such as a coin toss) coming out in a specific way. It is also designed to take into account multiple instances of that event. Row 0 Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Et Cetera

21. The row number (or first value after one in any given row) is the number of random events (such as a flip of a coin) to be taken into consideration. Row 0 Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Et Cetera

22. For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times as a set of flips) To calculate the probability of any outcome we use row 4. Row 0 Row 1 Row 2 Row 3 Row 4 Et Cetera

23. Step 1: We must determine the denominator of our probability (the number “out of”). To do so, we sum the entire row. In this case: 1 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 1 = 16 For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

24. Step 2: Now that we know our number “out of” we must determine the outcome we wish to predict. For now, let’s say we want to find the probability of the coin flips resulting in 4 heads and 0 tails. To do so we start at the place farthest to the left: “1” For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

25. Step 3: So, using this method we now know that the probability of 4 flips all resulting in heads is 1 out of 16 For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

26. The same methodology applies to any other outcome of 4 flips: 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

27. The same methodology applies to any other outcome of 4 flips: 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 3H, 1T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

28. The same methodology applies to any other outcome of 4 flips: 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 3H, 1T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 2H, 2T – 6 out of 16 (3 out of 8) For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

29. The same methodology applies to any other outcome of 4 flips: 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 3H, 1T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 2H, 2T – 6 out of 16 (3 out of 8) 1H, 3T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

30. The same methodology applies to any other outcome of 4 flips: 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 3H, 1T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 2H, 2T – 6 out of 16 (3 out of 8) 1H, 3T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 0H, 4T – 1 out of 16 For example, let’s say we are going to flip four coins (or one coin four times).

31. It is important to note that the complex outcome of 3H, 1T or 3T, 1H is less common than 2H, 2T, but the simple outcome of 3 and 1 (disregarding face) is actually 8 out of 16 (1 out of 2) 4H, 0T – 1 out of 16 3H, 1T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 2H, 2T – 6 out of 16 (3 out of 8) 1H, 3T – 4 out of 16 (1 out of 4) 0H, 4T – 1 out of 16

32. This can be used for any number of flips that appear on the triangle and it can be extended infinitely, so it works for any number of flips. Let’s say we wanted to find the probability of 8H and 4T when flipping 12 coins. First, we go to row 12. The denominator (“out of”) for that row is 4096. The numerator is 495. So the probability of getting 8H and 4T is 495 out of 4096 or approximately 1 out of 8

33. Pascal’s Triangle can also be used to find the number of possible ways (or combinations) to pick multiple different objects from a group. For example, let’s say we had four different playing cards. We begin at row 4 because we have four playing cards

34. The first 1 represents the number of different ways to take 0 of the 4 cards. (In math terms, “4 choose 0”)

35. The first 4 represents the number of different ways to take 1 of the 4 cards. (In math terms, “4 choose 1”)

36. The 6 represents the number of different ways to take 2 of the 4 cards. (In math terms, “4 choose 2”)

37. The second 4 represents the number of different ways to take 3 of the 4 cards; this is the same as choosing one to leave. (In math terms, “4 choose 3”)

38. The second 4 represents the number of different ways to take all 4 cards. (In math terms, “4 choose 4”)

39. Like the coin flips, this can be used for any number of items. Let’s say we wanted to find the number of ways to choose 8 of 12 cards (12 choose 8). There are 495 different ways to choose 8 of 12 different objects

40. YAY MATH!

41. Aside from the math and science, I also spent a lot of time thinking about the logic of faith. My solution is known as Pascal’s Wager. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher

42. Blaise Pascal’s Punnett Square supporting his argument for faith: Pascal’s Wager There are no rewards…you rot with the worms. The rewards are ∞ (infinite) in Heaven. You rot with the worms, but at least you aren’t in Hell. You spend ∞ suffering in Hell, Purgatory, Limbo, etc. So, clearly, the best bet is to live as if there is a God… Note, however, that this does not prove that God exists.

43. Thomas Hobbes

44. I mostly thought about government and politics. My book Leviathan promoted Social Contract Theory, the idea that people must give up some individual rights in order to maintain social order through the rule of law and protect everyone (including oneself) from our natural state as brutish, self interested creatures. The “Prisoner’s Dilemma”, an ethical problem created after my death, emphasizes these ideas of trust in each other and the need for regulatory law… Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) English political philosopher

45. The Prisoner’s Dilemma: You and your friend stole a PS3 and were captured by the police, but you don’t think that they actually have any evidence to prove it was either of you. The police separate you and tell each of you that if you just tell the truth your punishment will not be as harsh. It raises the question of how much you actually trust this other person… The Prisoner’s Dilemma You go to jail for 8 years, while your friend goes to jail for 2 Neither of you ends up going to jail. Your friend goes to jail for 8 years while you go to jail for 2. You both go to jail for 5 years. So, the distinct advantage is with the person who implicates the other. In Hobbes’ mind this is proof of man’s self preserving nature and the need for a government based on Social Contract Theory.

46. Now let’s talk about the nature of man! YAY Philosophy!