Philosophy 1
- Introduction to Philosophy
- Spring, 2002
- G. J. Mattey
|
What is Philosophy?
- Three kinds of answer
- Philosophy treats a certain subject-matter
- Philosophy uses a certain method
- Philosophy is the sort of thing people called "philosophers" have done
|
The Subjects of Philosophy
- Metaphysics: the general nature of reality
- Epistemology: the nature of knowledge
- Ethics: the values of human action
- Aesthetics: the nature of beauty
- Logic: the forms of inference
- History of Philosophy
- Philosophy of X (e.g., science)
|
The Methods of Philosophy
- Analysis of language or concepts
- Analysis of mental activity
- Theorizing about what is beyond experience
- Theorizing about methods
- Theorizing at a high level of generality
- Posing and trying to solve puzzles
- Support of claims through argumentation
|
The History of Western Philosophy
- Hellenic philosophy (Plato)
- Hellenistic philosophy (Epicurus)
- Medieval philosophy (Aquinas)
- Modern philosophy (Descartes)
- Analytic Philosophy (Russell)
- Continental philosophy (Sartre)
|
Time Line
- 6th to 4th cent. BC: Hellenic
- 3rd cent. BC to 2nd cent. AD: Hellenistic
- 3rd cent. to 4th cent.: Neo-Platonic
- 5th cent. To 14th cent.: Medieval
- 15th cent. to 16th cent.: Renaissance
- 17th cent. to 18th cent.: Modern
- 19th and 20th cent.: Analytic, Continental
|
Plan for the Course
- Part One: Metaphysics and Epistemology
- Part Two: Ethics
- Each class will cover reading from a classic text in the history of Western philosophy
- Emphasis will be on the most influential philosophical theories and the basic arguments supporting them
|
Philosophy's Greatest Hits
- Plato: The Republic
- Aristotle: Metaphysics, Nichomachean Ethics
- Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy
- Hume: A Treatise of Human Nature
- Kant: Critique of Pure Reason, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
|