Download Seeking Truth

On Philosophy and Answers
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The study of the most fundamental
questions about the world and things in it.
3 primary categories of philosophical
inquiry:
◦ Metaphysics,
◦ Epistemology, and
◦ Ethics
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The study of nature and existence.
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Some metaphysical questions:
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What is the nature of mind?
Does God exist?
What is God’s nature?
What types of things are there? Ideas? Physical
things?
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The study of knowledge.
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Some epistemic questions:
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What is knowledge?
How do we acquire knowledge?
What can/do we know?
How can we determine whether we know?
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The study of the right and the good.
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Some ethical questions:
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What makes right acts right?
What is the nature of goodness?
Is the death penalty morally justified?
When is killing wrong?
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You cannot learn until you realize that you
don’t know.
Through questioning, Socrates helped
people realize that they didn’t know all
they thought they did and put them in a
position to learn.
Socrates’ method forces people to figure
out the answers for themselves.
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Facts – the way things actually are
(sometimes called objective reality)
Truth – a statement that matches the facts
(an accurate representation of the way
things are)
 The
goal of philosophical inquiry
is to discover the truth.
 But
how can you do that when
none of the answers are clearly
established?
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The primary tool of the philosopher is reasoning.
“He who knows only his own side of the case knows
little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one
may have been able to refute them. But if he is
equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite
side, if he does not so much as know what they are,
he has no ground for preferring either opinion...
Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of
adversaries from his own teachers, presented as
they state them, and accompanied by what they
offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them
from persons who actually believe them...he must
know them in their most plausible and persuasive
form.” (J.S. Mill, On Liberty)
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In order to have a well-reasoned position,
you have to understand the evidence both for
and against the claim being considered.
◦ What reasons are there to accept it?
◦ What reasons are there to reject it?
◦ Are there alternative positions that are better
supported?
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Rationalizing involves seeking only evidence
that supports a particular conclusion.
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“The beliefs which we have most warrant for
have no safeguard to rest on but a standing
invitation to the whole world to prove them
unfounded.”
In the spirit of intellectual inquiry, College of Saint
Mary is committed to the exchange of diverse ideas
and viewpoints. In this environment, honest
discourse is valued; demeaning remarks are not
tolerated. Each member of the campus community
is encouraged to:
◦ Recognize the basis of her or his own
assumptions and perspectives,
◦ Acknowledge the assumptions and perspectives
of others,
◦ Promote understanding and respectful dissent.
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“…the peculiar evil of silencing the
expression of an opinion is that it is
robbing the human race… If the opinion is
right, they are deprived of the opportunity
of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they
lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the
clearer perception and livelier impression of
truth produced by its collision with error.”
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Just because we are not certain of what the
answer is, it does not mean that there is no
answer.
Philosophers rely on reason and argument to
try to determine what position is best
supported and thus most likely to be true.