PHL101Y1 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - God, Monotheism, Empirical Evidence
PHL101Y1
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Monday September 10th, 2018
Introduction to Philosophy
What is Philosophy?
• A hard question! Indeed, “what is philosophy?” is itself a philosophical question.
A response I’m partial to—it’s far from perfect but it will help us get started—involves two
separate distinctions between different kinds of questions one can ask.
-philosophers argue over this subject as well.
• First:
o Some questions are important (directly related to matters of central human concern):
▪ “Is there a cure for cancer?”
▪ “Does God exist?”
o Some questions are not important: (not related to matters of human concern)
▪ “How long were Julius Caesar’s thumbnails ten days before the Ides of March
(March 15, 44 BCE)?”
▪ “How many blades of grass are in Queen’s Park on September 10, 2018?”
• Second:
o Some questions are empirical (resolvable by recourse to sense experience and the
inductive/abductive methods of the natural sciences):
▪ The cancer and grass questions.
o We cannot answer these questions easily
o Some questions are not empirical: cannot be answered through scientific methods
▪ The Caesar and God questions.
o By principal, the question about Ceasar is not empirical (because
Ceasar is dead, and therefore, we cannot ask him), but we can possibly
find an indirect method to answer this question (archeologist, etc.)
which will make the question empirical.
o Questions that begin as non-empiracle (philosophical) can become
empirical, so scientists sometimes need to think about things
philosophically in order to reach answers. (for example, people used to
think that motion was a non-empirical phenomenon, but through
science, the question of motion has been solved empirically)
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• Now for the answer to our question about philosophy: While the natural sciences deal
with important questions that are empirical, philosophy deals with important questions
that are not empirical.
o Philosophy is a type of inquiry (trying to find things out), but the difference
between science and philosophy is that scientists seek to answer empirical
questions, whereas philosophers seek to answer non-empirical questions.
o All important questions begin as philosophical. Many become empirical once we
learn how to treat them scientifically.
o Sometimes the boundary between philosophy and the natural sciences is vague. (And
it is a good question where, exactly, to put mathematics.)
Examples of philosophical questions: see the syllabus!
How do we answer philosophical questions?
• Once more, this is itself a philosophical question!
• An answer that might strike you at first as problematic but which I hope to convince you
over the course of the year is actually pretty good: we answer philosophical questions by
the careful use of reason—essentially, by thinking really, really hard. This involves
getting as clear as possible on what the questions are asking, eliminating all ambiguity,
stating as clearly as possible answers to the questions and arguments for and against those
answers, and arguing as objectively as possible about what standards to employ in
evaluating answers and arguments for them. (And sometimes it will require
understanding and carefully applying any relevant scientific work.)
o If you are suspicious of this, remember that mathematics achieves substantial results
without ever conducting any experiments. So philosophy isn’t alone in being non-
empirical. However, there have been many philosophers who have thought that, for
various reasons, philosophy is impossible. We will talk about this….
Some things philosophy isn’t
While philosophy is certainly related to all of the following things it itself isn’t the same as any
of them. Don’t confuse philosophy with:
• Theology: theologians are doing philosophical work to some extent, but they reach
conclusions through use religious texts, however, in philosophy, we don’t let these
religious texts place restraints over our thinking.
• History of ideas: philosophy is not concerned with the history of how these important
philosophical questions rose, philosophy is only concerned with answering them.
• Speculative natural or social science
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Indeed, what is philosophy? is itself a philosophical question. A response i"m partial to it"s far from perfect but it will help us get started involves two separate distinctions between different kinds of questions one can ask. Many become empirical once we learn how to treat them scientifically: sometimes the boundary between philosophy and the natural sciences is vague. (and it is a good question where, exactly, to put mathematics. ) So philosophy isn"t alone in being non- empirical. However, there have been many philosophers who have thought that, for various reasons, philosophy is impossible. While philosophy is certainly related to all of the following things it itself isn"t the same as any of them. You are expected to be knowledgeable about your country and its government, and it is your responsibility to think clearly about how to vote and behave as a citizen. Philosophy is at the heart of any solid liberal arts and science education.
