What is Philosophy

1
What is Philosophy?

• Excerpted from Geisler Feinbergs Introduction
  to Philosophy, Baker, 1980
• By Steve Badger

2
Characteristics of Philosophy

• Disputes are generally not caused by a lack of
  factual information, but by disagreements of
  interpretation or of value
• Problems are seldom solved by an appeal to facts
• Philosophy is often more concerned with method
  than with theoretical content

3
Characteristics of Philosophy

• A primary goal is clarification (often of
  meaning, definition)
• Concerned with critical reflection on evidence
  and justification (truth claims)
• Typically centers on a search for truth about
  crucial issues discussed by thoughtful people

4
Characteristics of Philosophy

• Often involves an appeal to a system of
  principles (e.g., )
• At times, concerned with the nature of being,
  or reality (metaphysics)

5
Branches of Philosophy

• Epistemology
• Metaphysics
• Logic
• Axiology
• Ethics
• Aesthetics
• Philosophy of (Religion, Science, History, etc.)

6
Methodology in Philosophy

• Interrogation (Socrates)
• Reductio Ad Absurdum (Zeno)
• Deduction (Aristotle)
• Induction (Bacon, Mills)
• The Scientific Method(s?)
• Other Contemporary Methods (existentialism,
  phenomenology, and the analytic method)

7
Verification Principle

• A J Ayer (1910-1970)
• For a statement to be meaningful (true) it must
  be either 1) purely definitional or else 2)
  verifiable by onor of more of the five senses.
  All other statements (ethical, theological,
  metaphysical) are nonsense or meaningless.
• Logical Positivism
• Self-refuting

8
Falsification Principle

• Anthony Flew and Karl Popper
• Any statement or proposition is meaningless
  unless it is subject to falsification (at least
  in principle)
• Flew used it to challenge a belief in God
• Self-refuting
• But Flew recently changed his mind