Module 01

Question 1

What is philosophy?

Answer 1

• Thinking about the world and your place in it
• What and why you value things
• Trying to make sense of the world.

Question 2

What is the task and its aim for philosophy?

Answer 2

• to make thoughts clear and give sharp boundaries

- aims at the logical clarification of thoughts

Question 3

The study of philosophy is an ______________ and an ______________.

Answer 3

• Invitation (explore what some of the most profound thinkers have said about the fundamental questions)
• Opportunity (to cultivate own answers to these questions)

Question 4

What is the etymology of philosophy?

Answer 4

Philos = love
Sophia = wisdom
- love of wisdom

Question 5

What does Sophia more specifically mean in Greek?

Answer 5

Any exercise of intelligence or curiosity so all activities that increases one’s knowledge or skills like in art, lit, music, math, etc.

Question 6

Ultimately, philosophy is the _________ of all disciplines. What does phD stand for?

Answer 6

• parent of all disciplines

- Doctor of Philosophy

Question 7

What is conceptual analysis?

Answer 7

Breaking down concepts into constituent parts for a better understanding of an issue

Question 8

What is the aim of conceptual analysis?

Answer 8

• to clarify ideas and sharpening definitions

Question 9

Who are the conceptual analysts?

Answer 9

Philosophers

Question 10

What strategy or method do we use for complicated problems/questions?

Answer 10

Conceptual analysis

Question 11

What is the method of conceptual analysis?

Answer 11

• approach problem by taking apart key concepts pertaining the problem and seeing how they interact

Question 12

What does it mean to analyze a concept?

Answer 12

• to expose, examine, clarify the ideas of which it is composed

Question 13

Is conceptual analysis strictly for philosophy?

Answer 13

Nope! Not exclusive to philosophy. IE) giant pandas

Question 14

Are red pandas racoon or bear?

Answer 14

scientific concept bear was not fine-grained enough to classify all bears as bears and to keep non-bears from being classified

Question 15

Cartographers

Answer 15

construct maps

Question 16

What do philosophers do?

Answer 16

• understand how concepts form

- chart out boundaries of concepts

Question 17

Morality of Abortion

Answer 17

• killing same as murder?
• abortion involves killing something that is alive
• define human being and is fetus a human?
• what rights does a fetus have if it is a human

Question 18

What are the 5 main branches of philosophy?

Answer 18

• history of philosophy
• value theory
• epistemology & metaphysics
• logic
• discipline-specific philosophies

Question 19

History of philosophy

Answer 19

Looks at philosophical Qs and movements from historical perspectives

• contributes key philosophers from diff eras
• ancient, medieval, early-modern, contemporary

Question 20

Value Theory

Answer 20

• aesthetics
• political philosophy
• ethics (moral philosophy)

Question 21

What does the value theory look at?

Answer 21

• looks at practical and theoretical questions involved in moral, political, and aesthetic judgements connected to human values

Question 22

Aesthetics (Philosophy of Art)

Answer 22

Studies nature of beauty cus we value art and beauty

• what counts as art?
• what does true beauty consists
• what is the relationship btwn moral and aesthetic values of art?

Question 23

Political Philosophy

Answer 23

• political order in a state of nature
• how should property be divided?
• who should rule?

Question 24

What are the 3 ethics (moral philosophy)?

Answer 24

1) Normative ethics
2) Meta-Ethics
3) Applied Ethics

Question 25

What is Moral Philosophy?

Answer 25

Ethics

• how do we know what is right and wrong?
• evaluates human conducts and how humans should live with each other

Question 26

Normative Ethics

Answer 26

• study of ethical questions
• sets of Qs that arises when considering how one should act (what to do?)
• how should principles, duties, and intentions shape behaviour?

Question 27

Meta-Ethics

Answer 27

Enquire into foundations of morality itself

• what is goodness?
• relationship between morality and religious conviction
• morality a human construct?
• morality depend on human psychology?

Question 28

Applied Ethics

Answer 28

• Philosophical examination from moral standpoints of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgement
• attempt to use philosophical methods to identify morally correct course of action in various fields of human activities
• apply it into fields
• business ethics, health ethics, legal ethics, etc.

Question 29

Epistemology

Answer 29

Nature of knowledge (study of knowledge)

• what is knowledge and how is it acquired?
• relationship between knowledge and perception
• relationship between belief, evidence, and truth

Question 30

Metaphysics

Answer 30

Nature of reality

• what exists in universe?
• mental events?
• how is consciousness generated by the brain?
• what sense can we make of personal identity, freedom of will, and immortality?
• nature of good and evil?
• God? What basis can we assign attributes to this God?

Question 31

Logic

Answer 31

Philosophers use logic in answering Qs in clear and systematic way

Question 32

When do we use logic?

Answer 32

When we need to understand and critically evaluate different world views

Question 33

What are the 2 sub-branches of logic?

Answer 33

Formal (Symbolic) Logic and Critical Thinking (Informal Logic)

Question 34

What do the 2 sub-branches of logic deal with?

Answer 34

They deal with analysis and evaluation of arguments but in different ways

Question 35

Formal (Symbolic) Logic

Answer 35

• takes argument expressed in natural language
  Ie. spoken language one learns as an infant and translates it into a symbolic language that has specific rules and assessment procedures
• evaluates argument in accordance with these rules and procedures

Question 36

Critical thinking (Informal Logic)

Answer 36

• evaluates arguments in natural languages without translating them into symbolic forms
• more versatile and practical but tend to be less precise than formal logic

Question 37

Fallacy

Answer 37

Failure in reasoning/flawed reasoning —> invalid argument

Question 38

Principle of Charity

Answer 38

Try to understand the strongest more persuasive version of an argument

Question 39

Discipline-specific Philosophies

Answer 39

The 5th branch of philosophy:

• philosophy of education
• philosophy of language
• philosophy of psychology
• philosophy of history
• philosophy of law

Question 40

Philosophy of Education

Answer 40

• nature and aims of education?

- to what extent are gov’t responsible for educating citizens?

Question 41

Philosophy of Language

Answer 41

• how do words acquire their meaning?

- relationship between meaning, interpretation, truth?

Question 42

Philosophy of Psychology

Answer 42

• distinction between perception and cognition?

- what is the scope and limitations of common sense psychology?

Question 43

Philosophy of History

Answer 43

• is history a science?
• are historical investigations based more on objective evidence or subjective interpretation?
• does language distort truth in historical accounts?

Question 44

Philosophy of Law

Answer 44

• relationship between law, rights, and justice?
• how should law serve society and individual?
• connection between rules, order, and morality?

Question 45

What are the 2 steps in philosophy?

Answer 45

1) Try to understand using the principle of charity
2) subject understanding to serious critical evaluation (basically knock down what you know about a particular view of the world whether you agree with it or not)

Question 46

What are some basic questions that contemplated in the field?

Answer 46

What gives life meaning? What makes it beautiful? Where does evil come from? What is the nature of reality itself?

Question 47

What is the problem of free will in philosophy?

Answer 47

It involves various key concepts of freedom, moral responsibility, determinism, ability, etc.