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On Philosophy and Answers The study of the most fundamental questions about the world and things in it. 3 primary categories of philosophical inquiry: ◦ Metaphysics, ◦ Epistemology, and ◦ Ethics The study of nature and existence. Some metaphysical questions: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ What is the nature of mind? Does God exist? What is God’s nature? What types of things are there? Ideas? Physical things? The study of knowledge. Some epistemic questions: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ What is knowledge? How do we acquire knowledge? What can/do we know? How can we determine whether we know? The study of the right and the good. Some ethical questions: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ What makes right acts right? What is the nature of goodness? Is the death penalty morally justified? When is killing wrong? 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. 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? 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) 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? Rationalizing involves seeking only evidence that supports a particular conclusion. “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. “…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.” 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.