Philosophy “Love of Wisdom”

Why? Ask “Why?” once and you are a scientist. Ask “Why?” a second time and you are a philosopher. Ask “Why?” a third time and you are probably three years old and annoying your mother. A friend of mine once said that if you ask "why?" once, you are a scientist. If you ask "why?" twice, you are a philosopher. If you ask "why?" more than twice, you are just a three year old annoying your mother.

Philosophy Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology The nature of reality The nature of knowledge Axiology The nature of value judgments Ethics Aesthetics The intro to philosophy answer to the question is that the subject matter of philosophy is divided into three parts: metaphysics, which examines the nature of reality; epistemology which studies the nature of knowledge; and axiology, which studies the nature of value judgments (ethics and aesthetics).

Philosophers as Physicists The Monists Concerned with composition of matter. Thales – all matter is made from water. Anaximander – all matter is made from “the boundless.” Anaximenes – all matter is made from air.

Order in the Universe Heraclitus All things change in a “orderly way.” “One cannot step into the same river twice.” Strong influence on Socrates. Pythagoras The universe could be reduced to numbers.

Creation of Matter Empedocles Everything made from earth, air, fire, and water. Leucippus/Democritus Small, invisible particles that moved in a void. Atomic Theory

From Physics to Ethics The Sophists First Humanists “Man is the measure of all things.” – Protagoras. Taught wisdom for a price.

How do we know what we know? Sophists We can’t know anything Socrates Question until you find one truth then work backwards Plato Reminiscence theory of knowledge Aristotle Empirical approach Observation leads to universal laws

Socrates “Know thyself.” “The unexamined life is not worth living.” “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”

Socrates To know good is to do good. Most important to know what you don’t know. Dialectical method –questioning until you question what you believed.

Plato “Wisdom begins in wonder.” “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

Plato Theory of the Forms What is the nature of a just society? Ideal for every object Aspatial & atempural What is the nature of a just society? The Republic – Utopian society based on education and ability. Men and women are equal. What is the Form of a right triangle? Any three sided polygon which satisfies the statement a2 + b2 = c2 Form – That which defines all others

Aristotle “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” “Women are failed men.”

Aristotle Empirical Method – inquiry based on experience Knowledge is deductive – inside the mind. Syllogism – 1 conclusion from 2 premises All men are mortal Mr. Kelly is a man Mr. Kelly is mortal and has great hair All men are mortal. Mr. Kelly is a man. Mr. Kelly is mortal.