Philosophy: Plilos (love) + Sophia (wisdom)
Axiom: Basic statements taken as starting points and assumed to be true. Self evident statement or principle. i.e. Something cannot come from nothing.
A Priori: Before experience.
A Posteriori: After experience.
Inferences: Process of moving from premises to conclusion.
Existentialism: Movement in philosophy that focuses on questions of human existence and themes such as choice, subjectivity, and angst.
Skepticism: View that there is no certain knowledge. Hume is the supreme skeptic.
Etymology: is the study of word origins.
Deductive: An argument (reasoning from general premises to a specific conclusion).
Inductive: This method is the scientific method and the opposite of deductive (reasoning from specific to general).
Valid: Generally follows rules + structure.
Sound: Premises themselves must be true.
Hypothesis: Anything that may be proposed to our belief.
Egoism: The view that the individual, and his self-interests, are the basis of all behavior.
Altruism: The view that others, and the interests of others, should be the basis of all behavior.
Scolaticism: Philosophy done during the Middle Ages dominated by the Roman Catholic Church.
Atheism: View that there is no God.
Theism: View that there is a god.
Deism: View that there is a God but he is not involved in the affairs of the world.
Agnosticism: View that we cannot know that God exists. (Hume belived this)
Pragmatism: The view that the meaning of a doctrine is the same as the practical effects of adopting it; in other words, a belief is true if it works.
Dualism: (i) The view that a human being is comprised of both a visible part (body) and an invisible part (soul), and (ii) the view that there are 2 distinct worlds, physical in immaterial.
Syllogism: (Syllogistic Logic) argument that has a specific form. i.e.
- All men are mortal. (premise)
- Socrates is a man. (premise)
- Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (conclusion)
Epicureanism/Hedonism: The view that pleasure, or happiness, is the highest
good.
Ontalogical: The study of being. Argument by St. Anselm.
Cosmological: The study of the world. Argument by Aquinas.
Teleological: The study of ends, purposes, or design. Observation of design
in nature. Argument by Paley.
Logic: (truth) How people think and the rules of thinking. The study of the rules of thought.
Metaphysics: Meta means beyond or after. Physics means physical world, laws of nature. Study of things beyond the physical world. i.e. Does God exist? Do I have a soul?
Epistemology: The study of knowledge. i.e. What can I know? What are the limits of my knowledge? "Epistemic" = Knowledge
Ethics: The rules and principles of behavior. Socrates = how one acts. Social + Political.
Aesthetics: What is beautiful or sublime. Study of the Aesthetic experience.
Philosophy of art. i.e. watching a sunrise.
Philosophy is divided up into four periods:
Ancient: 7th Century B.C. to Pre-Socratic 3rd Century A.D. (Socrates, Plato,
Epicurus)
Medieval: During the Middle Ages 500 A.D. to 1500 A.D. (Aquinas, Anselm)
Modern: 17th Century to 19th Century Begins with Descartes (1596-1650) (Descartes,
Hume, Paley, Dostoevsky, Kirkegaard)
Contempory: 20th Century to present
- accused by the state for corrupting the youth.
- encouraged people to question authority and deny the Gods of the Athenian
state.
- Sentenced to die by drinking Hemlock, which he did.
- Never wrote anything down.
Socrates views and philosophy was learned through the writings of others
since Socrates never wrote anything.
Socrates' most famous student.
Wrote "Death of Socrates".
Plato's "Republic"
- Blueprint for the ideal society.
- "Republic" was Plato's masterpiece.
Principles of the good life
- God = Believe that God is a blessed and immortal being.
- Death = Irrational to fear death. Death is nothingness. It is absent
of sensation.
- Pleasure = Live the most happiest/pleasurable life you can. The absense
of freedom from pain in the body and trouble in the mind. Basic
inate state. Highest good.
God is that which no greater can be conceived. God is a being which cannot be concieved not
to exist
The Argument from Motion. Whatever is in motion is moved by something else. i.e. a staff is
moved by your hand. There is a first mover, put in motion by no other, and this we understand to
be God.
Also known as "The Argument from Design or Analogy".
I. Central thesis: If we found a watch in Nature we would be justified in inferring a watchmaker.
II. Strategy of Argument: Defensive, considers 8 possible objections.
III. Application of Argument: Analogy. Inference from Watch to Watchmaker.
Inference from Nature to God.
The Central Point: No grounds for inference from this world to a benevolent creator.
1. The capacity of pain: Moral Evil = Suffering caused by Human Beings. Physical Evil = Suffering caused by Nature.
2. General Laws of the World: Based on the will of God. Why could God not makes things better?
3. Great Frugality: God gave just enough faculties to creatures to help them survive. God gave humans reason.
4. Imperfection of Nature: Laws of Nature. Why are there extremes?
i.e. Hurricanes, Floods, Tornadoes, Drought, etc...
Intellectual, against God as being just, regretful about rebellious nature
Injustice of God. Rejection of creation
He was Danish Philosopher who was considered the father of Existentialism.
Central point of Leap of Faith: "Fath begins where thinking leaves off". Faith would not be
needed if we could prove it.
Jame's Thesis: Passion must decide on a genuine option that cannot be decided on intellectual grounds.
The best things in life are eternal. We ae better off now if we believe that the best things in life are eternal. See graph below: