Archetypes of Wisdom

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Archetypes of Wisdom

• Douglas J. Soccio
• Chapter 1
• Philosophy and the Search for Wisdom

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Learning Objectives

• On completion of this chapter, you should be able
  to answer the following questions
• What is philosophy?
• What are the primary areas of philosophy?
• What is an archetype?
• How does an archetype differ from a stereotype?
• What is wisdom?
• What is knowledge?
• What is belief?

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Philosophy

• Etymology from Greek roots meaning, the love of
  wisdom.
• Philo (love).
• Sophia (wisdom).
• We sometimes, perhaps wrongly, use the term
  philosophy to refer to a persons code of
  values or the beliefs by which they live (such as
  Abbys philosophy of cooking).

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What is Philosophy?

• Philosophers are especially interested in the
  arguments (reasons) offered to support our ideas.
• Philosophy proper consists of the systematic,
  comprehensive study of certain questions that
  center on meaning, interpretation, evaluation,
  and logical or rational consistency.

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Philosophical Questions

• Philosophical thinking includes careful
  assessment of terms, evaluation of logical
  reasoning, willingness to make refined
  distinctions, and so forth.
• But, what exactly are philosophical questions?

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Examples of Philosophical Questions

• Does God exist?
• What is the meaning of life?
• Could a parent ever be morally justified in
  letting her child starve to death?
• Why do innocent people suffer?
• Is it rational to believe something when all
  evidence is to the contrary?
• Is everything a matter of opinion?
• Did philosophy originate in Africa, China, or
  Greece?
• What is the best form of government?
• Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?
• Do women and men think in different ways?

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The Branches of Philosophy

• Metaphysics the study of ultimate reality or
  how things really are.
• Epistemology the study of knowledge or how to
  tell when we really know something.
• Ethics the study of moral problems, right and
  wrong, and practical reasoning.

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More Branches of Philosophy

• Social and political philosophy the study of
  the origins and nature of the state.
• Logic the study of the rules of correct
  reasoning.
• Aesthetics the study of feelings and judgments
  related to beauty and art.

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Archetypes

• An archetype is an image that all humans use to
  represent the essential qualities of some type,
  the epitome of some kind.
• Archetypes have been around throughout history
  in myths, legends, and dreams.
• Psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961) claimed that
  archetypes are integral to how we think about
  things in general.

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Philosophical Archetypes

• A philosophical archetype is a philosopher who
  expresses an original or influential point of
  view, significantly affecting subsequent
  thinkers.
• Philosophical archetypes are strict advocates of
  a particular philosophical worldview or
  philosophical method.
• They challenge the beliefs of other philosophers.

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Philosophical Archetypes versus Stereotypes

• Philosophical archetypes are powerful
  representations of a fundamental response to
  universal experiences.
• Archetypes exemplify essential ways of coping
  with universal aspects of life (love, loss,
  society, wealth, knowledge, purpose, suffering,
  death) in uncommonly pure ways.
• Stereotypes are simplistic distortions of a type
  of person that lack depth.

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Are Philosophers Always Men?

• The history of Western philosophy contains mostly
  men, leading to the charge that it is a study of
  dead white males.
• While there were many women in the history of
  philosophy whose work went unacknowledged, today
  many more women are joining the ranks of
  professional philosophy.

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The Search for Truth

• Philosophy is perhaps the most open of all
  subjects, since no question or point of view is
  off limits.
• The history of philosophy has been described as
  the history of heresy, since it challenges us
  to question even our most cherished beliefs.
• As the philosopher Baruch Spinoza put it, I do
  not know how to teach philosophy without becoming
  a disturber of the peace.

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But Isnt All This Just A Matter of Opinion?

• Sometimes it appears that there is no clear cut
  right or wrong answer to philosophical questions
  and issues.
• However, if we view philosophical problems as
  just a matter of opinion, we may be (wrongly) led
  to adopt relativism.

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What is Relativism?

• Relativism is the belief that knowledge is
  determined by specific qualities of the observer.
  
• In other words, absolute (universal) knowledge of
  the truth is impossible one opinion is as good
  as another.

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The Goal of Wisdom

• Remember philosophy is a love of wisdom!
• The chief goal of wisdom is a fundamental
  understanding of reality in relation to living a
  good life.

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The Goal of Wisdom

• By combining these and other branches of
  philosophy, a person may gain an understanding of
  how all knowledge is related.
• The attainment of wisdom involves reflection,
  insight, learning from experience, and a
  plausible conception of the human condition.

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The Need for Knowledge

• One of the most important elements in the
  attainment of wisdom is knowledge.
• Philosophers generally think of knowledge as some
  form of true belief.
• They usually make a distinction between
  theoretical and practical knowledge.

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Types of Knowledge

• Theoretical knowledge involves accurate
  assessment of factual and systematic information
  and relationships.
• Practical knowledge consists of skills needed to
  do things like play the piano, build things,
  perform surgery, ride a bicycle, or bake a cake.

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Belief and Ignorance

• In contrast to knowledge, belief refers to the
  subjective mental acceptance that a claim is
  true, though it need not actually be true.
• There is a difference between an informed belief
  and mere belief, which tries to validate itself.
• The only evidence for a mere belief is the act of
  believing itself.

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Willed Ignorance

• If we hold onto a false belief regardless of the
  facts, we become victim to willed ignorance.
• Willed ignorance is indifference to the
  possibility of ones error or enlightenment.
• This is the opposite of the love of wisdom.
• Ignorance is not an option.

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Discussion Questions

• To what extent do you think an individuals
  gender and ethnic background should be considered
  in evaluating his or her philosophical beliefs?
• Do gender, ethnic background, and other factors
  (age, income, etc.) control what we think?
• Is your response to this question dependent on
  such factors?

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Chapter Review Key Concepts

• Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Logic
• Axiology
• Aesthetics
• Ontology

• Archetype
• Philosophical Archetype
• Relativism
• Wisdom
• Knowledge
• Theoretical/Practical Knowledge
• Belief
• Mere Belief
• Willed Ignorance