Questions and Methods of Philosophy PDF

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July 3rd

Questions and Methods of Philosophy

- What is Philosophy? Philosophical questions that can’t be settled with observation/ scientific investigation alone !

- The meaning of the word Philosophy is love of wisdom ! - Famous Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle ! - Pythagoras: no human can achieve wisdom so philosophers are lovers of wisdom ! - Zenos: motion isn’t real ! - Trying to go from point A to point B but to achieve that you would have a halfway point. With an infinite amount of halfway points between point A and B, no human is in motion (motion is LOGICALLY impossible)!

- The world APPEARS to motion but in REALITY it isn’t ! - Thales: all is water ! - Everything is a manifestation of stuff and the underlying substance that is ever changing can be water !

- The truth about reality is different from how our senses present it ! - Philosophical questions = nature of reality ! - The Method of Philosophy ! - Philosophers question things because they believe they can prove it (with reason/ logic) !

- Measuring the validity of an answer is all about the proof or evidence that a philosopher uses!

- Logic: study of correct reasoning ! - What is classified as an argument and what makes it good/bad?! - Epistemology: study of knowledge ! - What is knowledge? What can we know (if anything)?! - Metaphysics: questions about the nature of reality ! 1

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- Is there a god? Do we have freewill?! - Axiology: study of value! - Are judgements subjective/objective? What makes an action right/wrong? ! - Philosophy isn’t subjective and isn’t accepted without proof ! - Most philosophers end up questioning authority in order to pull new perspectives of what our world holds

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