Nagel- What does it all mean? Flashcards
What is Philosophy? Method
Philosophy is different form science and from mathematics. Unlike science it doesn’t rely on experiments or observation, but only on thought. It has not methods of proof. It is done by asking questions, arguing, trying out ideas and thinking of the possible arguments against them, and wondering how our concepts really work.
What is Philosophy? Subject Manner
what is it that philosophers talk about, think about, discuss. All of human learning is a part of philosophy. Leftover questions; another good question leads to another one. Lots of these questions have no determined answer (specialized techniques). Tend to be the most important questions. Resistant to a final resolution
metaphysics
What exists?
Axiology
What is Valuble?
epistemology
What is truth and knowledge? how much can we accrue, how much do we have?
Logic
What is good reasoning?
World View
we all have one, it doesn’t even matter what it is origin is. They are often shaped by our experiences. You inhabit your world view, you don’t live in the world you live in your view of the world. Conception of how things are is the world that we live in.
Why every person’s world view is different?
There is no way to climb out of our own skin: to take things that seem to me and compare them to the way that things really are, problem is that we don’t have any access to the way things really are. It is impossible to look through some else’s eyes. (Egocentric predicament)
Solipsism
person who believes that he is the only who exists
George Berekely
Idealism; the only kind of thing that there is ideal, believes in only the non physical… physical are just ideas and experiences, God being a consistent and good God gives a consistent amount of experiences, but when nobody is looking its not there
Physicalism
there is only the body and that it consists of nothing but physical matter, and that their mental states are physical states of their brains.
Dualism
that you consist of a body plus a soul, and that your mental life goes on in your soul.
Dual Aspect theory
one who believes that all we are is just brain, but that our brains are not merely physical objects
Other Minds:
- the only experiences you have are your own
- What do you really know?
- –> What does it mean to know something, What is it that we are claiming, What are the criteria for correctly knowing something?
Knowledge Criteria
- Believe It, If you think its true then you believe it
2. To know something it has to be true, you can’t know false stuff
3. Justification, if you claim to believe and then asked why you will have something to say (most difficult concept because truth is black and white, but justification comes in degrees.. much more explanation.. there is always the possibility that you could be mistaken)
Renee DeCarte:
father of modern philosophy, French mathematician, must find new sources of confidence, math instructors agree with each other body of knowledge that is sound and reliable and certain.. my senses do deceive me.. the only that I cannot doubt is that I’m doubting… Cogito ergo sum- I think therefore I am… had a vision of rebuilding human thinking can be built in increments and built back up… tried to prove the existence of God, failed due to the fact that in order to know you have to be certain, then you don’t know much.. Servitude
Plato’s Statement
to have a true belief you must have some sort of ability to articulate why its true or what makes it true (Justification)
Are we determined?
Are we Free?
- Det, Not Free —> Hard determinist
- Not Det, Free —> Indeterminist
- Det, Free —> Soft determinist (compatibilist)
Determinism
The sum total of a person’s experiences, desires and knowledge, his hereditary constitution, the social circumstances and the nature of the choice facing him, together with other factors that we may not know about, because, all events at least all human actions- are determined to be as they are by antecedent causes. The determinist just needs to know enough then a prediction can be made
I could have had the peach instead of the cake.
A. - Having or not having a peach was entirely up to me; nothing prevented me from having a peach. I could have decided to have a peach, selected a peach, picked a peach, and eaten the peach
B. - If I had chosen to have the peach, I could have had the peach instead (BUT, as things were, I could not have chosen to have the peach)
Soft Determinism
affirms freedom. You were free to have the peach instead… if you had chosen to do so, you could have done so.
- but this freedom is compatible with determinism; the soft determinist is called a compatibilist.
- the freedom affirmed is compatibilist freedom: an action is free if one can do otherwise if one chooses to do otherwise.
- this position embraces determined, but free.
libertarianism. (indeterminist)
- so called because of a different notion of human freedom
- Libertarian freedom: an action is free if one can do otherwise. Period.
- one must actually be able to do otherwise for action to be free in a libertarian point of view
2 notions of freedom
- Libertarian
- Compatible
Substantive issues with freedom
a. to what extent is human behavior caused?
b. are some human actions free and, if so, in what sense? ( and which ones? all ? most? some? a few?)
c. what do answers to a) and b) imply about our moral responsibility for our behavior
