5.1 What is ‘Philosophy’?

Philosophy as practice & skill building = Promotes a certain kind of knowledge, way of engaging with the world through questions and issues

Philosophy

From the Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia)

‘Philo’ = “to love” + ‘Sophia’ = ‘knowledge’

Philosophy is and can be:

• Critical and constructive
• Analytic and thoughtful
• Built upon logic = codification of rules for correct reasoning
• Ideally, communal

Philosophy’s norms are sometimes different from everyday norms in that we are required to:

• Ask challenging questions (respectfully)
• Listen charitably to responses (interest)
• Search for weaknesses, faulty reasoning, and / or unjustified assumptions (allows progress)
• Criticize & analyze both one’s own positions and those of others (constructively)
• Engage in this activity together as a joint enterprise by seeking out those who may disagree with you (community)

5.2 No Single Definition

There are as many definitions for ‘philosophy’ as there are philosophers. However, this does NOT mean it is just a matter of personal opinion. A good definition of ‘philosophy’ aims to capture it as a deliberate and intentional method / approach to solving problems. The evolution and development of all other disciplines (including theology) could be understood as the result of having arrived at answers to some of these fundamental questions. As such, it is fitting that the first institutions of higher learning were built by and for philosophers, and that no matter what academic discipline one major’s in, the highest degree possible is a PhD (i.e., Doctorate in Philosophy).Thus, one might best define Philosophy as the Mother of all Questions; or as it is more literally translated, “the love of wisdom”.

5.3 Are You a Philosopher?

ANYONE can be a philosopher, though that hasn’t always been acknowledged.

Like most institutions of authority, women and POC have been excluded and erased from the History of Philosophy. “The habit of ignoring female philosophers has become so entrenched that even the secondary literature is marked by their absence.”^[1]

Academic Philosophy

Discipline that encompasses a wide range of skills and foundational issues (logic, metaphysics, epistemology, & axiology).

Philosophy as Practice

Study of general and fundamental problems in the form of questions. Whether inside or outside of academia, this intellectual activity, when done well, promotes a boundless way of engaging in the world

Sample Philosophical Questions

• What does it mean to have knowledge?
• What is reality like?
• Does a god exist?
• What is the meaning of life?
• What is morally right and wrong?

Philosophers value careful analysis, questioning, and criticism by aiming to…

• clarify concepts
• provide reasons and justification for our beliefs and our actions
• construct, and critique, arguments
• scrutinize our foundational assumptions

5.4 Questions & Answers

Whatever else philosophy may be, it begins with wonder & curiosity (questions)

Academic Philosophy has organized sub-disciplines around related lines of inquiry

Divisions of Philosophy & Sample Questions

Metaphysics = The study of reality

Inquiry into fundamental nature of the universe & the things that exist within it-overlaps w/ religion

Ontological Questions

• What is real?
• What exists?
• What are these things like?
• What makes a thing what it is?

Cosmological Questions

• How did the universe begin?
• How will it end?

Responsibility Questions

• Do we act freely? Or are things (pre)determined?
• Is there an afterlife?

Identity Questions

• Is there a permanent self?
• How should we classify persons?

Epistemology = The study of knowledge / justified belief

Overlaps w/ psychology & cognitive sciences (underpins most areas)

Knowledge Questions

• What are the conditions for knowledge?
• What distinguishes knowledge from (accidentally) true belief?
• Can we know anything at all?

Belief Questions

• What are the conditions for justified / reliable / rational belief?
• What makes a belief true? Or what is the nature of truth?

Logic = The study of / codification of rules for correct reasoning

Overlaps w/ computer science & programming (coding)

• What can we infer from a given /set of proposition(s)? What cannot be implied?
• What is contradictory / inconsistent / equivalent?

Axiology = The study of value, including both aesthetic value and moral value

Axiological Questions:

• What are the conditions for something to be “art” / “beautiful”?
• Are aesthetic / moral judgments objective / subjective?

Ethics (metaethics and applied) = Normative (ought) & Descriptive (do)

Ethical Questions:

• What is the nature of morality / “right” / “goodness”?
• Is it morally permissible to eat non-human animals?

5.5 Philosophy of Anything & Everything!

Given the nature of the discipline, philosophy refers to a wide range of areas available for inquiry & exploration.

One does not simply have “a philosophy”, they have or study “philosophy of…[something]”

• Philosophy of Science (social / physical)
• Philosophy of Technology
• Philosophy of Sport
• Philosophy of Humor

… the possibilities seem only as finite as our imagination.

Regardless of the subdiscipline(s), a good philosopher will adopt a coherent and consistent system of philosophies to encompass as many areas of life as they are interested in exploring. Ready to dive into your beliefs?

PRACTICE [forthcoming]