1. Notes: Philosophy Philosophy – love of wisdom.
* The Greeks believed that philosophy begins with wonder. The
questions are more important than the answers.
Branches of Philosophy
1. Metaphysics – the study of reality.
** What is ultimate reality?
** Is it one thing or is it many different things?
** Can reality be grasped by the senses or is it transcendent?
** What is the mind and what is its relation to the body?
2. Epistemology – study of knowledge.
** What is knowledge?
** Is knowledge acquired exclusively through the senses or
by some other means?
** How do we know that what we perceive through our senses
is correct?

2. 3. Ethics – study of right and wrong in human action.
** What is right?
** Are there any objective standards of right and wrong?
** Are moral values absolute or relative?
4. Aesthetics – the study of beauty.
** What makes a thing beautiful?
** Are there any objective standards of beauty?
5. Logic – the study of the principles of right reasoning.
** What makes an argument valid or invalid?
** What is a sound argument?

3. Socrates – Father of Western Philosophy. (469 – 399 B.C.)
** Devoted later life to discussions that questioned the truth about
popular opinions.
** Did not have his own definition of the truth; only believed in
questioning what others believed as truth.
** Wrote nothing down, so information about him comes from his
students, like Plato.
** Focused on the big question: What is good and what is evil?
** Believed that if he asked enough people, he would find out the truth.
** Developed the Socratic method – trying to find truth by asking and
answering questions.
** Accused and found guilty of corrupting young minds. Sentenced to
death by drinking hemlock (poison).

4. Socrates’ approach to philosophy and its relationship to life:
** Ironic modesty (“No one is wiser than you.”)
** Questioning habit (Goal is to achieve self-knowledge.)
** Devotion to truth (“The unexamined life is not worth living.”)
** Dispassionate reason (Calm reasoning; no matter the circumstance)
Famous Quotes:
** “Know thyself.”
** “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.”
** “Ignorance is the only evil.”