Introduction to the Philosophical Journey  Kierkegaard–despairs over achieving fame for making life easier for people  Kierkegaard–task was to create difficulties everywhere

Philosophy and Aerobics  Kierkegaard's point: gain something valuable only by facing difficult issues  What philosophy can give is self- understanding  Self-understanding is a difficult task–"no pain, no gain"  First definition: philosophy is the search for self-understanding

Philosophy and Love  Philosophy means "love of wisdom”  Pythagoras: first to call himself a philosopher  Socrates: philosopher has a passion for wisdom; was intoxicated by this love  Second definition: philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom

Philosophy and Peanut Butter  What makes certain questions philosophical questions?  Orwell: meanings of words are important to philosophy  Third definition: philosophy is the asking of questions about the meaning of our most basic concepts

Philosophy and Colds  Everyone is, in one sense, a philosopher  Philosophy has to be learned and practiced  Catch ideas as you catch a cold  Philosophy asks for evidence and justification  Fourth definition: philosophy is the search for fundamental beliefs that are rationally justified

What Do Philosophers Study?-1  Logic: Study of principles for distinguishing correct from incorrect reasoning  Epistemology: Questions about nature and source of knowledge, concept of truth, and objectivity or relativity of our beliefs

What Do Philosophers Study?-2  Metaphysics: Area of philosophy concerned with fundamental questions about the nature of reality  Philosophy of religion: Questions about the existence of God, problem of evil, and relationship of faith and reason

What Do Philosophers Study?-3  Ethics Are there any objectively correct values? Or are they all relative? Which ethical principles (if any) are the correct ones? How do we decide what is right or wrong?

What Do Philosophers Study?-4  Political Philosophy What makes a government legitimate? What is justice? What is the proper extent of individual freedom? What are the limits of governmental authority? Is disobeying the law ever morally justified?

Philosophy as a Journey  Text is a guidebook to a journey  Readers are explorers  Limitation of the metaphor: the philosophical journey is never finished

Guideposts for Your Journey-1  Scouting the territory  Charting the terrain–what are the issues?  Choosing a path–what are my options?  What do I think?  Questionnaire  Key to the questionnaire  Leading questions  Surveying the case for...  A reading from...

Guideposts for Your Journey-2  Looking through X's lens  Examining the strengths and weaknesses of X  Philosophy in the marketplace  Thought experiment  Stop and think  Spotlight on…  Checklist  Reward of the journey.....self-understanding

Socrates and the Search for Wisdom  Two questions arise from Socrates’ death: 1. Why was a philosopher considered so dangerous? 2. Why was Socrates willing to die for his philosophical ideas?

Socrates’ Life and Mission-1  Born 470 B.C. in Athens  Father was a sculptor and mother was a midwife  Information about his life comes from Plato's dialogue, Apology Apology means a formal defense at a court of law Oracle at Delphi said no man was wiser than Socrates

Socrates’ Life and Mission-2 Socrates would not forsake his mission, even on pain of death Socrates calls himself a gadfly Socrates is perceived as arrogant in arguing his sentence For Socrates, the real danger in life is not death but living an evil life

Seven Stages of Dialectic 1. Unpacking the philosophical issues 2. Isolating a key philosophical term 3. Professing ignorance and requesting help 4. Proposing a definition 5. Analyzing a definition through questioning 6. Producing an improved definition 7. Facing ignorance

Socrates’ Teachings  The unexamined life is not worth living  The most important task in life is caring for the soul  A good person cannot be harmed by others

Argument and Evidence: How Do I Decide What to Believe?  Does the conclusion logically follow from the other statements?  Avoid the bottom-line syndrome: looking at the conclusion and not paying attention to the reasons

Criteria for Evaluating Claims and Theories  Clarity  Consistency logical inconsistency self-referential inconsistency  Coherence  Comprehensiveness  Compatibility  Compelling arguments

Elements of Arguments  Premise(s)  Conclusion  Premise and conclusion indicators

Evaluating Arguments  Valid and invalid  Deductive argument  Sound, strong, and cogent arguments  Inductive argument

Conditional Statements  Antecedents  Consequents  Sufficient condition  Necessary condition

Deductive Arguments  Modus ponens  Modus tollens  Fallacy of denying the antecedent  Fallacy of affirming the consequent  Syllogism  Hypothetical syllogism  Disjunctive syllogism  Fallacy of affirming the disjunct  Reductio ad absurdum arguments

Inductive Arguments  Probability  Three fallacious inductive arguments Hasty generalization False cause False analogy

Informal Fallacies  Ad hominem (abusive, circumstantial)  Appeal to ignorance  Begging the question  Composition  Division  Equivocation  False dichotomy  Strawman  Wishful thinking