2: What is Philosophy? Flashcards
What is the 1st requirement of doing philosophy?
Attempt to resolve a fundamental questions.
What are the features of fundamental questions?
- Cannot be resolved by appealing to empirical facts
- Involve logical questions of principle
- What must or must not be the case among certain ideas given their logical relations
- Arise when there is a conflict between competing ideas which can be supported by evidence
- Resolving fundamental questions follows what is most reasonable to believe
What is the 2nd requirement of doing philosophy?
Use of Reason by applying critical thinking skills and argumentation.
What are some examples of critical thinking?
- What does “x” mean?
- What conditions must be met for something to be an x?
- Is x true?
- By asserting x, aren’t you assuming y?
- What reasons are there for believing that x is true?
What is an argument?
A family of premises leading to a conclusion.
What is the definition of History of Philosophy?
Study of the emergence, examination, and evolution of philosophical ideas as found in the writings of philosophers.
What is the definition of Logic?
The study of the methods and principles used to distinguish “good” (correct, permissible) reasoning from “bad” reasoning (incorrect, impermissible).
- What makes an argument cogent?
- Does this claim follow from that evidence?
What is the definition of epistemology?
The study of nature, origin, and extent of human knowledge.
- What is the nature of knowledge?
- How do we acquire knowledge?
- How do you know whether something has a mind?
What is the definition of Metaphysics?
The study of the ultimate nature of reality.
- Does God exist?
- Does the soul exist?
- What is the nature of personal identity?
What is the definition of Ethics?
The study of concepts and principles that underlie our evaluations of human actions into the categories of the morally permissible, impermissible and obligatory.
- What makes a person a person?
- Is a fetus a person?
- Should animal testing be permitted?
What is the definition of Social-Political Philosophy?
The study of how society is or ought to be and the fundamental principles of the state, particularly those involving justice, authority, liberty and order
What is the definition of Philosophy of Mind?
The philosophical study of the mind and how minds work.
- What is the nature of minds?
- What is the relation between the mind and the body?
- What are beliefs?
What is the definition of Philosophy of Language?
The philosophical study of language (its syntax, semantics, and pragmatics).
- What is the nature of language?
- How are thought and language related?
- What makes a true sentence true?
What is the definition of Philosophy of Science?
The study of the methods, assumptions, and limits of scientific practice.
- What makes a theory a scientific theory?
- What distinguishes genuine science from pseudoscience?
What is the definition of Philosophy of Religion?
The study of the nature, kinds, and objects of religious belief.
- What does “God” mean?
- Can God’s existence be rationally established?
- Can the conception of God as omnibenevolent be reconciled with the apparent existence of evil?
