...RUNNING HEAD: PHILOSOPHY 1 Thinking Critically: Philosophies of Life Michele Brown Eastern Nazarene College East Meets West Western Philosophy and Globalization CP 290 August 15, 2013 PHILOSOPHY 2 For centuries philosophers have been examining the significance of life. Throughout the content of this paper I will specifically look at the following philosophies, stoicism, existentialism, hedonism, and Buddhism. These philosophies if adopted may contribute to ones’ own answer when determining the significance of their own life. The thinkers have established clear characteristics to each of these philosophies. I will discuss some of these attributes and share my view on what philosophy I identify most with and why. I am planning to additionally share what I do not like about the other beliefs. The philosophy that most resembles my thinking is stoicism. I believe in God our only one true creator. According to a true stoic our...
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...Philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Discussed in this paper will be the most prominent individuals in each time period and their ideas, starting with the “Pre-Socratic” philosophers and ending in the era of post modernism. The time period in ancient Greece between the end of the seventh century B.C. and the middle of the fourth century B.C. is what is known as the “Pre-Socratic Era”. The thinkers known as the “Pre-Socratic Philosophers” used the four basic elements (water, earth, fire, and air) as their foundations for their ideas. Thales and most of the other Pre-Socratic philosophers limited themselves mostly to inquiring the nature of existence, being, and the world. They were mostly Materialists, believing that all things are composed of material and nothing else, and were mainly concerned with trying to establish the single underlying substance of which the world is made up. They used this idea of “Monism” without resorting to supernatural or mythological explanations. To these men even the commonest of phenomena like lightning, water freezing to ice, and natural disasters would have appeared miraculous. Empedocles, first of the pluralists, who proposed that reality, is composed of an irreducible plurality of elements. He also documented the first theory of evolution. Democritus developed the extremely influential idea of Atomism (that all of reality is actually...
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...1: Philosophy, sophism/sophistry, “pilosopo” 1 [Published in Rolando M. Gripaldo, ed. 2004. Philosophical landscape. Manila: Philippine National Philosophical Research Society.] PHILOSOPHY, SOPHISM/SOPHISTRY, “PILOSOPO” Rolando M. Gripaldo PHILOSOPHY: Ancient Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom.” In contemporary philosophy there are as many definitions of philosophy as there are schools of philosophy.1 What is interesting is that one school defines philosophy to the exclusion of other schools. For instance, the analytic school defines philosophy as the clarification of the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences, and it rejects metaphysical propositions as cognitively meaningless. Its emphasis is logic and language. On the other hand, the continental school defines philosophy in terms of the meaning of life and one’s relationship with the world and the Other (other human beings and/ or God). It considers the activities of the analytic tradition as meaningless to one’s life. Its emphasis is life. It is therefore advisable to just leave the definition of philosophy in its original etymological meaning, although even this is not safe. Quite recently, Hans-Georg Gadamer (1989), an hermeneute, has rejected epistemic wisdom as within the realm of human control. The ancient Greeks defined philosophy as love of (epistemic) wisdom. Thales, who is traditionally considered the father of philosophy, was interested in “knowing” the ultimate reality,...
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...Metaphysics Do you know what is real and what is not real? I think depending on the person and what their beliefs are. There are people who are capable of contacting the unloving. This does not mean just because one person believes everyone else has too. I am a spiritual person and I believe that the people that have passed on in our lives try to contact me. I know there is a God, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does. I am thinking do we really know? I am in the process of reading a book titled Angel Therapy by Doreen Virtue. I am at the starting point in reading the book and I am finding this book has really interesting points. “Is this life real or are we dreaming? I wondered if what we’re doing is dreaming and if our dreams are actually our reality. The physical world of course is real, we feel pain and love. There are plenty of people today who are not happy. Will they ever find their happiness? Every living soul can find love and happiness. The spiritual world is just as real as this world, we just can’t see it. There are many unexplained things that happen to not believe in the spiritual world. One example is, one night a few months ago I was sitting in my living room, all of a sudden I hear tapping on my table next to me. I just kept hearing it. Finally I said to the spirit “please stop tapping, if you are not going to show yourself, Please stop. The tapping stopped after I spoke those words. I know that I did not...
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...Za’Qoya Richardson The term philosophy derives from the Greek terms philein (love) and Sophia (knowledge). Philosophy means the love of knowledge. People quite often find themselves questioning what we know to be reality. If we went our whole lives without knowing the factual detail of our society, the world would be chaotic. People would make up their own rules and there would be little structure. Back then during the Greek period anyone who sought knowledge was considered a philosopher. With that being said what would our history be like without scientists who have answered many philosophical questions in theory? Would there even be a history? These questions can be examples of philosophical questions. People have the misconception that if two people have opposing views on a certain subject, then one has to be correct and the other is incorrect. Philosophy proves that there can be multiple solutions or answers to the same issue at hand. People have their own philosophy. Some people misconceive philosophy with opinion (only). Philosophy uses one’s opinion to support good reasoning. Philosophy is supporting your position with an argument to create something logical. Philosophy can correlate with debate. Philosophers have to be willing to take criticism from opponents. Philosophy has paved the way for a lot of higher offices and leadership roles. Government officials and politicians use their philosophy to manipulate what is going on. They have to deal with reasoning...
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...Department of Philosophy / Programs / Undergraduate Program / What is Philosophy? What is Philosophy? Quite literally, the term "philosophy" means, "love of wisdom." In a broad sense, philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other. As an academic discipline philosophy is much the same. Those who study philosophy are perpetually engaged in asking, answering, and arguing for their answers to life’s most basic questions. To make such a pursuit more systematic academic philosophy is traditionally divided into major areas of study. Metaphysics At its core the study of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, of what exists in the world, what it is like, and how it is ordered. In metaphysics philosophers wrestle with such questions as: Is there a God? What is truth? What is a person? What makes a person the same through time? Is the world strictly composed of matter? Do people have minds? If so, how is the mind related to the body? Do people have free wills? What is it for one event to cause another? Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It is primarily concerned with what we can know about the world and how we can know it. Typical questions of concern in epistemology are: What is knowledge? Do we know anything at all? How do we know what we know? Can we be justified in claiming...
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...Surname Instructor Course Date Survey of Mexican Philosophical Thought The philosophy of the Mexicans is a production of philosophers from ancestries from Mexico, residing either within or outside the country. The general philosophy surfaced with the introduction of the first school by the Spanish conquerors, with teaching and publications on philosophical treaties. As such, it is critical to deny that these thinkers got education from the European schools, making it quite impossible for Hispanic thinkers to express the sense of racism in their works. In addition, Hispanic-American thought intellectuals rarely produce original profiles because there elements originate from the elements and motifs originally designed for the European thought. Meanwhile, philosophy and religion plays a critical role in ancient civilization, culture creation, and preservation in the sense that they not only bind, but also influence the societal structure, statutes, and personal lives. This paper documents the Mayan culture taking into consideration their civilization, ideologies, as well as their rituals. Civilization Factors contributing to culture creation and preservation extend from geographical to a number of patterns. The origin of the Mayan culture from the central part of America gives the perfect example of socio-cultural effects, which even after several years, continue to exist. The review of Mayan gods, as well as their conquest by the Spanish holds confirms...
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...shouldn’t been seen as a lack of faith, but as a positive creed (Brooks, 1). In other words, atheism doesn’t correspond with faith, instead it is viewed as a positive ideological way of life. Then, Phil Zuckerman claims that secular morality is built around individual reason, individual choice, and individual responsibility (Zuckerman, 1). In my opinion, I think that secular people don’t believe in faith nor do they have any. Therefore, how can secularism be seen as a positive creed, if in order to have creed, you must have faith. As Brooks continues his article, he also mentions the several tasks a person would have to perform to live secularism. First, he says that secular people build their own moral philosophies. I believe that if secular people build their own philosophies, then that alone gives them their meaning to life. I think that people that believe in God do find their meaning of life through God’s purpose and plan for their life. Whereas atheist search for their meaning of life by exploring different theories. This is connected to the next point that Brooks mentions in his article. He says that “secular people have to choose their own communities and come up with their own practices to make them meaningful” (Brooks, 2). Meanwhile, I agree with the claim that Brooks makes when he states that religious people are motivated by their love for God and their desire to please him. Secularists have to come up with their own purpose that will enforce sacrifice. I agree because...
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...Intro to Philosophy Wendy Broussard-Murray Aiuonline Intro to Philosophy Mere Assertion – A belief that what you think is true just because you want it to be, but you have nothing solid to prove it to be correct. It is basically ones opinion. Example: Brenden did not steal the IPod because he is not a thief. Circular Reasoning – (begging the question) A question that is never really answered or proved. Example: Perry Marshall claims, “DNA is not merely a molecule with a pattern; it is a code… and an information storage mechanism. All codes are created by a conscious mind; there is no natural process known to science that creates coded information. Therefore, DNA is designed by a mind.” (Perry, 2014) Ad Hominem – The attack on a person’s character distracting you from the real issue. Example: Don’t believe what Larry says about raising children. He is the head of pro-abortion campaign. Red Herring – During a disagreement, one person goes on a tangent, bring up a different side of the disagreement that distracts everyone from what is really going on, usually not going back to the original disagreement. Example: A person is reading a book and is lead to believe a specific character is guilty, when in fact the person is innocent. Pseudo-questions – A question that has no real answer because it makes no sense. Example: “Do you support the right to possess a hand gun as set forth by our constitution?” (Gracyk, 2012) False Cause – It is assumed that there is a...
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...HZT4U1 Mrs. Faria February 13, 2014 Philosophy Reflection Essay What is Philosophy? Philosophy is more than simply a school subject, it is a worldview that involves complex and contemplative ways of thinking. It can also be considered as a hypothesis, the love of wisdom, law, equation, and major part of it, science and religion. As Socrates once said " philosophy is a quest for wisdom- an unrelenting devotion to uncover the truth about what matters most in one's life." As mentioned above, Philosophy according to Socrates is a process of proving the truth and validity of certain visual ideas. Philosophy branches out. To understand Philosophy, we need to know what makes someone a philosopher, which helps to determine analytic philosophy. Along with this, we need to understand the method of philosophy which leads us to the true value of philosophy. The study of philosophy is a discipline that develops analytic thought and, ultimately, autonomy. To understand philosophy, and how it leads up to autonomy through analytic thought, we must understand what makes someone a philosopher. in the article " What makes someone a philosophy" by Mark Warnock, she helps to define the subject. Warnock clearly defines a philosopher through her articles. She says "Professional recognition is unimportant: what matters is that a philosopher is someone who thinks at a high level of generality, has 'explanatory ambition' and most importantly, provides arguments in support of his or her views. these...
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...Philosophy LueAnn Wolaridge PHL/215 February 03, 2010 Steve Elder Philosophy According to Moore, Philosophy means “to love wisdom,” the tract on which one travels seeking answers to questions of knowledge, existence, moral judgment, and society. One cannot define philosophy in one compact, single minded definition. Philosophy is to broad and thought provoking field of study to seek one concrete definition. Philosophy in my mind is an attempt to understand how we all connect in the universe. Philosophers ask questions that make one go “umm.” Because there are no wrong answers in philosophy. Each answer can provoke question after question and still not present the answer one seeks. Take the question “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it do it make a sound?” First thought would be to say yes it does make a sound. But philosophers may argue the question, how do we know it makes a sound, it was not heard. “What is sound?” “Is sound produced only if one can hear it?” “Does falling produce sound or did the tree produce sound?” Philosophical questions are speculative, which give philosophers the road to examine different avenue of study at once. Philosophy tends to overlap other areas of study from physic, art, science, to any other subject that one can name. Any subject can be study philosophically when the right questions are asked. Questions are categorized in different areas of study. Epistemology deals with the questions concerning...
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...Emerson’s Unifying Philosophy Throughout human existence, scholars have earnestly pursued knowledge and the attainment of truth. Historical figures such as Plato, Descartes, and Emerson sought answers to daunting questions of: ‘What is truth?’; ‘What is reality?’; ‘How is wisdom acquired?’ Many scholars believe these philosophers presented conflicting viewpoints: Plato encouraging skepticism among all previous historical, cultural, and personal perspectives; Descartes questioning definitions of reality and his very existence; Emerson encouraging self-trust and confidence in one’s ideals, opinions, and convictions. Surprisingly, reconciliation can be reached from these three differing hypotheses. Emerson’s thesis merely expounds from Descartes and Plato’s philosophies. He builds from Descartes’ search for self-identity and reconciles Plato’s skepticism with his views of self-trust and unconformity among scholars. Throughout “Mediations I and II”, Descartes disputes definitions of reality and identity, establishing a precursor to Emerson’s philosophy. Initially, Descartes questions all notions of being. In “Mediation I”, Descartes begins his argument explaining the senses which perceive reality can be deceptive and “it is wiser not to trust entirely to any thing by which we have once been deceived” (Descartes 59). But, he then continues to reason; “opinions [are] in some measure doubtful…and at the same time highly probable, so that there is much more reason to believe in...
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...PHILMAN PRELIM Lesson 3: Greek Wisdom of Man The Greek Triumvirate The Greek Triumvirate of philosophy is known for having a chain of teacher-student relationship. Socrates was the teacher of Plato; Plato was the teacher of Aristotle; and Aristotle was the teacher of one of history’s greatest conqueror – Alexander, the Great. The Greek Triumvirate & the Three Oriental Sages * Although the teachings of the Three Oriental Sages and the Greek Triumvirate are dissimilar, they however, have a resembling view on the soul of man. * The Oriental sages and the Greek triumvirate believed that man’s soul pre-existed his body. * The Greek triumvirate believes that man, in his original and ideal existence as a soul or a « pure mind », knew all things by direct intuition and had all knowledge stored in his mind. However, when man was banished into his world of sense, man blurred out and forgot almost everything he ever knew. * The Greek triumvirate posited that the present problems of man was caused by ignorance or lack of knowledge and that the only way for man to solve these problems is by recalling all his previous knowledge. * However, while they believe in the vitalityt of looking into one’s self as a method to resolve man’s problem, there are still major differences when it comes to the ‘specifics’ of their ideologies. Socrates * He was born in Athens circa 469 B.C. and died in 399 B.C. * He is known as one of mankind’s greatest teachers. ...
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...P LA T O and a P LAT Y P U S WA L K I N TO A B A R . . . Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes < T H O M A S C AT H C A RT & D A N I E L K L E I N * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * P l at o a n d a P l at y p u s Wa l k i n t o a B a r . . . PLATO and a PLAT Y PUS WA L K I N T O A B A R . . . < Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Th o m as Cat h c a rt & Dan i e l K l e i n A B R A M S I M AG E , N E W YO R K e d i to r : Ann Treistman d e s i g n e r : Brady McNamara pro d u c t i on m anag e r : Jacquie Poirier Cataloging-in-publication data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress. ISBN 13: 978-0-8109-1493-3 ISBN 10: 0-8109-1493-x Text copyright © 2007 Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein Illlustration credits: ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/Bruce Eric Kaplan/ cartoonbank.com: pg 18; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 32; ©Mike Baldwin/www.CartoonStock.com: pgs 89, 103; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Matthew Diffee/cartoonbank.com: pg 122; ©The New Yorker Collection 2000/ Leo Cullum/cartoonbank.com: pg 136; ©Merrily Harpur/Punch ltd: 159; ©Andy McKay/www.CartoonStock.com: pg 174. Published in...
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...Thinking about Philosophy ! The word philosophy refers to both a discipline and a mindset. At its essence, philosophy implies the mindset of critical thinking, a quest to find out the truth and the discipline to have a good argument. Derived from the Greek words Philos - loving and Sophia - meaning wisdom and the the love of wisdom. Philosophy can be broken down into many categories. Included in theses subsets are metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, aesthetics and logic. Metaphysics encompasses the why and how of reality and being. Ethics incorporates morality moral systems. Epistemology explains ways of individual knowing. Aesthetics lends elements of beauty and the arts. Lastly, logic contributes the attributes of logic and reasoning. Philosophers pursue fundamental questions - questions that make sense but cannot be answered by relying on common sense or scientific procedures. Pythagoras defines philosophy as “too modest to wish to be called wise, he said he was not a wise man, but only a lover of wisdom”. According to Descartes, philosophy is the highest wisdom that could be achieved by logic; it taught the reason how to set about obtaining knowledge of as yet unknown truths. Frances Bacon described philosophy as the universal science, from which all other sciences grew like branches of a tree. Philosophers do not do experiments, they use priori - truths derived from a direct intuitive understanding of the truth. Many people misuse the word Philosophy. You will hear...
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