Intro to Phil Copy

7/23/2019 Intro to Phil Copy

1/24

Introduction toIntroduction to

PhilosophyPhilosophy


2/24

Philosophy a word which comesPhilosophy a word which comes

from the Greek:from the Greek: philo sophiaphilo sophia

philo means lovephilo means lovesophia means wisdomsophia means wisdom


3/24

The love of wisdomThe love of wisdom

What does that mean?What does that mean?

Well if you love a person aWell if you love a person ado! or a "ook son! ordo! or a "ook son! or

movie what does lovin!movie what does lovin!

mean?mean?


4/24

Pytha!oras was the

ancient Greek

philosopher and

mathematician who

#some say$ coined thisword% &e added that

humans can't "e wise%

(nly the !ods are wise%)ut we can "e lovers of

#or friends of$ wisdom%


5/24

lovin! wisdom has somethin! tolovin! wisdom has somethin! to

do with en*oyin! it !ettin! todo with en*oyin! it !ettin! to

know it understandin! it a littleknow it understandin! it a little"it sharin! it with others"it sharin! it with others

protectin! itprotectin! it

and "enefittin! from it%and "enefittin! from it%


6/24

Philosophy can "e done

or it can "e studied or

"oth% +s with musicyou can study it and you

can play it% ,ou should do

"oth of course%


7/24

Philosophy can be compared to

other subjects: science,

religion, poetry and literature,

psychology, logic,

religion and cooking.


8/24

To "e !ood at cookin!

you must do itand also study it%

They feed on eachother%


9/24

-cience you can "e a scientist and you-cience you can "e a scientist and you

can study science% -cience as we usuallycan study science% -cience as we usually

think of it seeks to learn a"out nature%think of it seeks to learn a"out nature%.oin! science is askin! /uestions and.oin! science is askin! /uestions and

findin! answers to those /uestions a"outfindin! answers to those /uestions a"out

nature%nature%


10/24

Poetry: you can study it andPoetry: you can study it and

you can do it% That is you canyou can do it% That is you can

write poetry% What is poetrywrite poetry% What is poetry

a"out? What do you think?a"out? What do you think?


11/24

In doin! poetry you are a"le toIn doin! poetry you are a"le to

e0press your thou!hts ande0press your thou!hts and

feelin!s a"out anythin!feelin!s a"out anythin!whatsoever% Is it necessarilywhatsoever% Is it necessarily

wisdom? Is it science? 1ouldwisdom? Is it science? 1ouldit "e either of these?it "e either of these?


12/24

Cooking: you can study it, andCooking: you can study it, andyou can do it.you can do it.


13/24

-o how does philosophy

differ from these other

su"*ects?


14/24

Science, religions,Science, religions,music, poems, and cookingmusic, poems, and cooking

each have a fairly welleach have a fairly wellknown subject matter.known subject matter.But what is the subjectBut what is the subject

mattermatterof philosophy?of philosophy?


15/24

We could say that philosophys subjecmatter is simply a deeper understandof those other subjects it is tryingunderstand the foundations of any andsubjects. The foundations what a

+ foundation that which+ foundation that which

comes first and supports allcomes first and supports all

the rest%the rest%


16/24

We mean theideas, the

concepts, thedefinitions

andassumptions

which are thestarting

points andthe contet

of e!erything


17/24

Honesty is good

and so is generosity.

Courage and unselfishness

are good.

But what do you mean by good ?

Is goodness real can you see it or smell it or weigh it?

Is it only a bunch of rules made up by human beingsto control each other, or to bring some kind of

peace and harmony

to their lives?


18/24

A movie is good what does that mean?

A cheese sandwich is good.

And so was Mother Theresa.

A clean floor is good and so is football.

So, what does good mean?


19/24

QuickTime and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.


20/24

What is technology?

Why do we want it?

When is it good for us?

When is it harmful?

Is there a point of diminishing returns?

Can we ever refuse to use some technologies?


21/24

The sciences what do they study?

Nature the universe, the atoms, animals, plants,and bugs and fish and birds and microbes.

Throw in featherless bipeds (man and woman) and

society and politics and economy

What are the foundations of science?

Thats where philosophy comes in.

What is Nature? and how can we go about

discovering things about it? If we look

through a telescope or a microscope,

how do we know what it is

we are looking at?


22/24

ReligionsReligions Define God, the soul, Nirvana,

Brahman, Tao, Tien.Do any of these actually exist?

Is there an after-life?

What does salvation mean indifferent religions?


23/24


24/24

Documents

Intro to Phil Copy