philosophy “love of wisdom”. why? ask “why?” once and you are a scientist. ask “why?”...
TRANSCRIPT
Why?
Ask “Why?” once and you are a scientist.Ask “Why?” a second time and you are a
philosopher.Ask “Why?” a third time and you are
probably three years old and annoying your mother.
Philosophy
MetaphysicsThe nature of reality
EpistemologyThe nature of knowledge
AxiologyThe nature of value judgments
EthicsAesthetics
Philosophers as Physicists
The MonistsConcerned with composition of matter.
Thales – all matter is made from water.Anaximander – all matter is made from “the
boundless.”Anaximenes – all matter is made from air.
Order in the UniverseHeraclitusAll things change
in a “orderly way.”“One cannot step
into the same river twice.”
Strong influence on Socrates.
PythagorasThe universe could
be reduced to numbers.
Creation of MatterEmpedoclesEverything made
from earth, air, fire, and water.
Leucippus/Democritus
Small, invisible particles that moved in a void.
Atomic Theory
From Physics to Ethics
The SophistsFirst Humanists“Man is the measure of all things.”
– Protagoras.Taught wisdom for a price.
How do we know what we know?Sophists
We can’t know anythingSocrates
Question until you find one truth then work backwards
PlatoReminiscence theory of knowledge
AristotleEmpirical approachObservation leads to universal laws
Socrates
“Know thyself.”
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Socrates
To know good is to do good.
Most important to know what you don’t know.
Dialectical method –questioning until you question what you believed.
Plato
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
Plato
Theory of the Forms Ideal for every object
Aspatial & atempural
What is the nature of a just society?
The Republic – Utopian society based on education and ability.
Men and women are equal.
What is the Form of a right triangle?
Any three sided polygon which satisfies the statement a2 + b2 = c2
Aristotle
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
“Women are failed men.”