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Course Expectations Respect  We will argue on a daily basis  Argue: Give reasons or provide evidence for an idea or theory, usually with the intent to persuade others to share one's view  Raise your hand when you would like to say something. Please don’t shout out.  Attack ideas, not people

Course Expectations Note-taking  you are responsible for everything said/written on the board If you miss a test/assignment, you must have a doctor’s note to rewrite/submit No cellphones No eating in the classroom

So…

Not quite… That’s “a” philosophy (refers to one’s views on something E.g. my philosophy on teaching...) but this doesn’t tell us what “philosophy” is…

Philosophy So what then, is “PHILOSOPHY”? Philosophy is defined as the “love of wisdom” philos = lover sophia = wisdom

Philosophy What is “PHILOSOPHY”? Suppose that in life, we have black, white and grey matter. A B A B

Philosophy What is “PHILOSOPHY”? The black and white represent what is concrete, what we know for sure. A B

Philosophy What is “PHILOSOPHY”? E.g = 4 (BLACK)= clearly right 2+ 2 = 20 (WHITE) = clearly wrong B In math, we don’t have to contend with “grey” area. An answer is simply “right” or “wrong”.

Philosophy Philosophy is the grey area. A B Philosophy

A B

Now….this “grey area”…does that mean that a right or wrong answer doesn’t exist? That’s a question of philosophy… Does right and wrong even exist? Hmm… B

Philosophy While we’re on the topic of “grey” area and philosophical questions, here are some more examples of philosophical questions: Does God exist? What is the nature of reality? Why should we be moral? Can we be happy? What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose in life? What does it mean to be “cool”?

Am I Going to Like This Course? Well, let’s ask an age-old question… NXY

If a tree falls in a forest…does it make a sound? For the next ten minutes, on a sheet of paper, discuss your answer to this question.

Responses 1. Who Cares? While asking “Who cares?” or responding by saying “What a stupid question!” you are asking an intelligible question.

Responses 2. Of course it makes a sound! (Common Sense Realist) If we imagine the situation, and assume that we are there, then it would only make sense that the tree falling does in fact make a sound; what’s the other alternative? However, to draw this conclusion we are ultimately making an assumption of something we have no awareness of.

Responses 3. I don’t know! Philosophers have to be satisfied with this answer. The tree question asks us, what is it like to be where there is no one? This question is impossible to answer in any final way, except to say, “I don’t know!”

Terms to Define 1.Philosophy 2.Logic 3.Inductive reasoning 4.Deductive reasoning 5.Cosmology 6.Epistemology 7.Metaphysics 8.Ontology 9.Morality 10.Ethics 11.Truth 12.Absolute truth 13.Relative truth 14.Syllogism 15.Categorical syllogism 16.premise

Terms to Define 17. Conditional syllogism 18. Antecedent 19. Consequent 20. Fallacy 21. Formal fallacy 22. Informal fallacy