Intro to Philosophy, SUM 2011 Benjamin Visscher Hole IV

Transcription

1 Intro to Philosophy, SUM 2011 Benjamin Visscher Hole IV

2 Φιλοσοφία Philos + Sophia Love of Wisdom

3 Historical Contemporary

4 Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living

5 Philosophy is thinking in slow motion. It breaks down, describes and assesses moves we ordinarily make at great speed. - John Campbell

6 Without philosophy, thoughts are, as it were, cloudy and indistinct; its task is to make them clear and to give them sharp boundaries. - Ludwig Wittgenstein

7 The word philosophy means the love of wisdom, but what philosophers really love is reasoning. They formulate theories and marshal reasons to support them, they consider objections and try to meet these, they construct argument against other views. - Robert Nozick

8 Active. Philosophy is an activity, of thinking very clearly and slowly about things we normally take for granted. Abstract. Philosophy deals with ideas, and often very complicated ideas. It doesn t study the world directly; it studies how we understand and think about it. Argumentative. The goal of philosophy is to construct arguments about what we should think about these ideas.

9 1. What is there? (Metaphysics) 2. How do I know? (Epistemology) 3. What is valuable? / What should I do? (Value Theory / Ethics)

10 To demonstrate what arguments philosophers have used in their attempts to answer the major questions in classical Western philosophy. Does God exist? How do I know? How do I know anything about the nature of existence? What is the difference between right and wrong? And so on. To give you a chance to apply the tools of philosophy to these questions yourself.

11 Socrates: The unexamined life is not worth living

12 Plato s Apology The trial of Socrates ἀπολογία = defense

13 The Clouds by Aristophanes

14 Informal charges are charges against his reputation: 1. Scientism: Being a student of all things in the sky and below the earth. 2. Sophistry: making the worst argument the stronger. 3. Teaching these things to others. Charges are brought by nameless enemies (except Aristophanes) through rumors.

15 The Oracle at Delphi

16 Socrates explains the origin of his reputation: Oracle at Delphi said no one was wiser than Socrates. Socrates tries to find a wiser man by asking people questions.

17 As a result, the people questioned, as well as bystanders, become annoyed by Socrates. The informal charges against him are a result of the fact that many people don t like him. Socrates: I was attached to this city as upon a great and mobile horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size and needed to be stirred by a gadfly.

18 Accusers: Meletus (on behalf of the poets) Anytus (on behalf of the craftsmen and politicians) Lycon (on behalf of the orators) Charges: 1. Corrupting the Youth 2. Atheism: not believing in the Gods in whom the polis (Athens) believes.

19 Argument Against Corrupting the Youth 1.If Socrates corrupts the youth deliberately, then he wants to be harmed.* 2.But no man wants to be harmed. 3.Therefore, Socrates does not corrupt the youth deliberately. * By deliberately making the young wicked, Socrates would be harmed by those around him.

20 Reconstructing the argument against the 2 nd formal charge is your first skills assignment due Friday. We ll go over arguments later this week.

21 Is someone who knows that he doesn t know something or indeed that he knows nothing worthwhile- nonetheless wiser than someone who mistakenly thinks he knows something? (BonJour/Baker, 29). For example, consider a good artist with a mistaken conception of beauty.

22 Socrates claims not to be a sophist. He claims that he speaks the truth, and does not make the weaker argument the stronger. Do you think that he has proved himself not a sophist? Why or why not?

23 What do you think about the famous Socratic saying that the unexamined life is not worth living? Contrast that with the saying that ignorance is bliss. What assumptions would someone have to make about the value and importance of human life to defend each one of these very different philosophies of life? Which one strikes you as one you might want to life by? What is wrong with the other one? (BonJour/Baker, 37)

24 Do you think that Socrates performed an important function for his society? Do we have any people in our public life who function as gadflies? Do you know anyone personally who functions as a gadfly? Do you think that Socrates should have been put to death? Should someone be punished for being a gadfly? (BonJour/Baker, 37)