Explain some of the benefits a student may gain by studying philosophy
The major benefit of studying philosophy is that it provokes students’ thinking on the crucial aspects of life and existence. Also, philosophy helps to analyze a variety of approaches and enriches students’ knowledge. Apart from that, learning philosophy helps to understand the meaning of life.
Explain the Socratic Method of Teaching. Is this a useful way for students to learn?
The Socratic method of teaching is a kind of a coordinated argumentative dialogue between people that is grounded on encouraging critical thinking through asking questions and answering them. This approach is a rather useful way for students to learn. With the help of Socratic debate, students can understand their hypotheses better through establishing them and determining which ones are the most contradictory.
Explain how critical thinking can be used to analyze a philosophical issue
The role of critical thinking in analyzing philosophical issues is crucial since it encourages individuals to use rationality in the process of analyzing these issues. Usually, it is not possible to answer philosophical questions with a single word. Thus, critical thinking helps to evaluate various arguments and examine both sides of things before arriving at the final answer.
Compare and contrast induction, abduction, and deduction
A common feature pertaining to induction, abduction, and deduction is that they are all processes of reasoning. The difference between these processes is how they form argumentation. Deduction is the process of reasoning from several statements to gain a logical conclusion. Induction is opposite to deduction, and it presupposes finding evidence to explain the conclusion. Abduction is the process of shifting from evidence into the argument.
Explain some of the different areas of philosophy which will be discussed in this course
Some of the major areas covered in the course will be metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology. Metaphysics studies the basic principles of existence and identity. Ethics is the theory of what is right, and it deals with morals and behavior. Epistemology studies the essence of knowledge, as well as the relationship between knowledge, truth, and belief.
Compare and contrast various views on substance such as materialism, dualism, and idealism
A common thing about materialism, dualism, and idealism is that they all represent views on substance. However, the representation is different in each of the approaches. Materialism defends the idea of matter being the basic substance. In dualism, it is argued that mind is more than only the brain. According to idealism, reality is immaterial.
Evaluate the 4 views as to the nature of universals and particulars
Universals represent the collective qualities of an object. Particulars are the concrete peculiarities of each object. The four views as to the nature of universals and particulars are extreme or Platonic realism, extreme nominalism, exaggerated realism, and conceptualism.
Platonic realism views universals as copies of those from an alternate realm. Extreme nominalism rejects the existence of universals and acknowledges only particulars. Exaggerated realism accepts both particulars and universals and considers them to be co-dependent. Conceptualism is the approach to interpreting particulars as universals.
Explain and evaluate the views of Anaximander regarding the nature of substance
According to Anaximander, the primary substance is infinite. This philosopher doubted the possibility to contemplate any fundamental substance in a pure form. Anaximander argued that the primary substances originated from “apeiron” – the indefinite or unlimited substance.
Explain and evaluate the views of Pythagoras regarding the nature of substance
Pythagoras’s views on the nature of substance relied on numbers. The philosopher believed that since numbers were measurable, they could not lie. Pythagoras’s ideas are highly evaluated nowadays. Indeed, to be able to realize the nature of substances, it is necessary to understand numbers. Pythagoras is well-known for his theorem which states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is always equal to the sum of the squares of two other sides.
Explain Aristotle’s 4 causes
According to Aristotle’s beliefs, if people asked the right questions, they would understand the reality better. Thus, the philosopher created four questions which he called causes and suggested answers to those questions. The four seta of questions and answers are as follows:
- What is it? – The matter.
- What is it made of? – The form.
- How was it made and by whom? – The agent.
- What is it for? – The purpose or end.
Compare and contrast rationalism and empiricism
The similarity between rationalism and empiricism is that both these concepts are the approaches to learning the theories of knowledge. The difference is in the way in which one comes to certain conclusions. In rationalism, knowledge is gained through logic and rational inferences. In empiricism, knowledge is achieved through the things one has witnessed and comprehended.
Explain the difference between A priori and A posteriori knowledge
The difference between a priori and a posteriori knowledge is in the time when we gain the experience. A priori presupposes the knowledge one has prior to experience. These are some well-known facts that do not require much investigation or analysis.
A posteriori knowledge requires observation and leaning. A posteriori knowledge appears only after inspecting some things or processes.
Compare and contrast Foundationalism and Coherentism
Both foundationalism and coherentism are the approaches to beliefs. However, their views on beliefs are contradictory. In foundationalism, knowledge is viewed as something based on true beliefs. According to coherentism, there are no basic beliefs. Thus, coherentism argues that beliefs are dependent not on basic things but on other beliefs.
Compare and contrast pragmatic theories of truth with the correspondence theory of truth
Pragmatic theories of truth view truth in a relative way. They consider an idea true if it is beneficial. Thus, the belief needs to be closely associated with success. In correspondence theory of truth, a belief is considered as true only if it corresponds to some real fact.
What are some of the implications of Gödel’s Theorem?
According to Gödel’s theorem, every theory should contain a minimum of one part which cannot be proved as true. Gödel claimed that if there were no contradictions in a system, it could not be regarded as a complete one.