Philosophy Terminology and Background

1. Philosophy Terminology and Background This PPT is on jsnape.com. Click on “Philosophy.”

2. First-some important philosophical questions. • Why is it only drug dealers and software developers call their clients 'users'? • Does the Little Mermaid wear an algebra? • Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery? • How is it possible to have a civil war? • If God dropped acid, would he see people? • If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too? • If you ate pasta and antipasta, would you still be hungry? • If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? • Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "assteroids"? • Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?

3. More questions • Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? • Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket? • If the black box flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of the stuff? • Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? • If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? • I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said, "If I tell you, it would defeat the purpose. • If all those psychics know the winning lottery numbers, why are they still working? • Should crematoriums give discounts for burn victims? • If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap? • Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? • OK, so what's the speed of dark?

4. It is symptomatic of the problems we have in philosophy that there is no agreement on this. Philosophers would not even all agree on the definition of a cow. Literally it is Greek for “love of wisdom.” There are certainly a billion and twenty-seven definitions we could list, but here is one I like by Bertrand Russell: What Is Philosophy?

5. “Philosophy is the no-man’s land between science and theology, exposed to attack from both sides.” Karl Marx (and others) thunk philosophy were dead. It is more accurate to state that philosophy is still here, and Marx is dead. I think that philosophy, at its worst, is puddin’ head mumbo-jumbo that only has meaning for seventeen people, and at its best can give greater insight into our existence or a fresh way of looking at the world. So—here vee go.

6. What Are the Components of a Philosophical Discussion? • Sorry—no general agreement here either, but let’s talk about some of the big words that these guys toss around. • The Dialectic—Socrates immortalized this method of question and answer as a method for arriving at the truth. It’s like giving birth to the truth. Questioning exposes false arguments and leads one inexorably to true statements.

7. Metaphysics • Study of things that transcend or go beyond science. • Two main branches are cosmology, the study of all the stuff that happens in space and time and ontology, the study of being, existence or reality. • For instance, metaphysics for Aristotle maintained that matter + form = substance—arguing against Plato’s idea of the ideal and perceptible.

8. Ethics • While metaphysics discusses the nature of existence, ethics is concerned with what we should or should not do. • Of course religion is all about this, and philosophers have about 16,044 various ideas—from Epicurus and the principle of pleasure to Rousseau and the idea that we are born perfect to Calvin and original sin. • Aristotle saw good as “that at which all things aim.”

9. Some names • Roger Occam—Occam’s Razor—the simplest hypothesis is most likely to be correct • Rene Descartes—considered to be the father of modern philosophy • All knowledge of external things is in the mind.

10. Dualism • Literally it means something that has two basic, exclusive parts. • In philo. it has a few definitions. • It can refer to the idea that reality consists of two opposing parts i.e. mind and matter. • In a more religious vein it can refer to good vs. evil as in Manichaeism.

11. Epistemology • Theory of knowledge • How do we know what we know? • What is possible for us to know? • We will probably hear about the theories of Locke and Berkeley later on. • Some philosophers believe that perception is everything. • Some believe that perception is an illusion.

12. Idealism • Idealism in philosophy says that reality is based on the mind or ideas. • The external world is inseparable from mind and perception.

13. Empiricism • Scientific method • Says that we gain knowledge through perception and experience. • Therefore, stuff exists independent of our consciousness.