INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1799 Francisco Goya) What is Goya saying in this painting?

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? Western philosophy has been described as “the study of things human and divine” Tackles the ‘big questions’ School of Athens by Raphael

MAIN PERIODS OF PHILOSOPHY The Classical Period 700 BCE – 300 CE Ancient Chinese philosophers looked at the order of celestial bodies and their relationship with earth to the order in society Lao Tzu who founded Taoism was a prominent figure in the classical period Ancient Indian philosophy recorded in the Upanishads questions the underlying reality behind appearances (Maya), truth and harmony that unify the real world (Purusha) and bring us closer to our higher self (Atman) and ultimate reality (brahman) Yajnavalkya and Gargi Vachaknavi are prominent Upanishad philosophers

Plato was a classical Greek philosopher Born in c. 428 BCE and died in c. 348 BCE Student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle Father of western philosophy Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE) Wrote about many different topics like aesthetics, logic, physics, politics, theatre, and poetry

Stoicism began around 301 BCE and continued until about 180 CE Major stoic philosophers include Zeno, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius St. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 CE) North African scholar, Catholic theologian and philosopher Built on Stoicism

The Medieval Period 900 – 1400 CE Central figures are Indian philosopher Adi Shankara ( ), Arabic Islamic philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (1126 – 1198), Thomas Aquinas ( 1225 – 1274), English philosopher, William of Occam (1288 – 1348)

The Renaissance Period 1500 – 1600 Rebirth of classical ideas between middle ages and Enlightenment Humanism was the philosophical basis Philosophers include Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

The Enlightenment Period The 1687 publication of the Principia (Philosophaie Naturalis Principia Mathimatica (Mathimatical Principals of Natural Philosophy)) marked the beginning of the Enlightenment Period and the French Revolution in 1789 marked its end Philosophers include John Locke (1632 – 1704), David Hume ( ), Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804)

The Early Modern Period Descartes ( ), Hobbes ( )

The Late Modern Period 1800s Massive industrialization and developments in science and technology

The Contemporary Period Deconstruction, existentialism structuralism emerged in the contemporary period

WHY STUDY PHILOSOPHY? Bertrand Russell, 20 th century British philosopher, logician and mathematician “It is exclusively among the goods of the mind that the value of philosophy is to be found, and only those who are not indifferent to these goods ca be persuaded that the study of philosophy is not a waste of time.”

Questions without definitive answers are the realm of philosophy whereas science is filled with questions with definitive, quantifiable answers