Intro for Philospphy Group

1. General Stuff
• Website
Currently at www.tristanforsyth.com/
bmgsphilosophy
(hopefully will be moved to school site)
Blog@bmgsphilosophy.wordpress.com
(linked/embedded into main site)
• Want to get people posting on the blog!

2. What is philosophy?/Branches and types of Philosophy?
Types of argument-straw man and ad hominem
introduction to a community of Inquiry+community of Inquiry
COI
Group Presentation
COI
Group Presentation
COI
Group Presentation
COI

3. An Introduction to
‘Philosophy’
“The unexamined life is not worth
living.”
--Socrates

4. Background

5. Background
• Philosophy comes from two Greek
words, philos, which means friend or
lover, and sophia, which means
wisdom.

6. Background
• Philosophy comes from two Greek
words, philos, which means friend or
lover, and sophia, which means
wisdom.
• .: Philosophy is the love of wisdom

7. Background
• Philosophy comes from two Greek
words, philos, which means friend or
lover, and sophia, which means
wisdom.
• .: Philosophy is the love of wisdom
• And the philosopher is the friend of,
or lover of wisdom.

8. What is philosophy?

9. What is philosophy?
• Tries to provides definitive answers to
fundamental questions

10. What is philosophy?
• Tries to provides definitive answers to
fundamental questions
• Is also about “the good” for human
beings, and how to obtain it

11. quot;Become wise yourself, or
if you are incapable of
it, let yourself be guided
by one who is truly wise.
--Plato

12. Goals of Philosophy?

13. Goals of Philosophy?
• Strives to keep crucial questions open
to intellectual review and public
discussion,

14. Goals of Philosophy?
• Strives to keep crucial questions open
to intellectual review and public
discussion,
• BUT: quot;Merely having an open mind is
nothing. The object of opening the mind, as
of opening the mouth, is to shut it on
something solid.quot; (G.K. Chesterton)

15. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)

16. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)
• Helps us become more completely human

17. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)
• Helps us become more completely human
• Knowledge is preferable to ignorance and awareness
is better than innocence

18. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)
• Helps us become more completely human
• Knowledge is preferable to ignorance and awareness
is better than innocence
• Helps us not be content with the trivial

19. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)
• Helps us become more completely human
• Knowledge is preferable to ignorance and awareness
is better than innocence
• Helps us not be content with the trivial
• Offers personal fulfillment and gives our lives
meaning

20. Analysis, Comparison,
Evaluation (ACE)
• Helps us become more completely human
• Knowledge is preferable to ignorance and awareness
is better than innocence
• Helps us not be content with the trivial
• Offers personal fulfillment and gives our lives
meaning
• The capacity and willingness to get to the heart of
what others take for granted is what separates the
educated from the uneducated; gives intellectual
resiliency

21. What is a philosophical
question?

22. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:

23. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:
• What was the score of last night's football game?

24. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:
• What was the score of last night's football game?
• What are the stages of cell mitosis?

25. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:
• What was the score of last night's football game?
• What are the stages of cell mitosis?
• What is the value of pi to a hundred decimal
places?

26. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:
• What was the score of last night's football game?
• What are the stages of cell mitosis?
• What is the value of pi to a hundred decimal
places?
• How did the freezing of the Earth affect
evolutionary forces?

27. What is a philosophical
question?
• Group A:
• What was the score of last night's football game?
• What are the stages of cell mitosis?
• What is the value of pi to a hundred decimal
places?
• How did the freezing of the Earth affect
evolutionary forces?
• Can be answered by looking in a textbook, or a
newspaper, or through scientific investigation.

29. • Group B:

30. • Group B:
 Does God exist?

31. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?

32. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?

33. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?

34. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?
 Do people have an obligation to their fellow human beings?

35. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?
 Do people have an obligation to their fellow human beings?
 What is knowledge, and how do we have any?

36. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?
 Do people have an obligation to their fellow human beings?
 What is knowledge, and how do we have any?
 Is there some ultimate meaning to life?

37. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?
 Do people have an obligation to their fellow human beings?
 What is knowledge, and how do we have any?
 Is there some ultimate meaning to life?
• These questions are much less easily answered

38. • Group B:
 Does God exist?
 Who or what am I?
 How should people behave?
 Are some things clearly good and right or do values differ
from time to time and place to place?
 Do people have an obligation to their fellow human beings?
 What is knowledge, and how do we have any?
 Is there some ultimate meaning to life?
• These questions are much less easily answered
• Philosophy does not answer questions; it questions
answers.

39. There are traditionally 5 main
divisions,
i.e.:-
•LOGIC
•AESTHETICS
•METAPHYSICS
•ETHICS
•EPISTEMOLOGY

40. LOGIC
This branch of Philosophy deals with
the METHOD of argument.
It offers answers to questions such as:
• “Is that reasoning sound?”
• “Is that statement true?”
• “Is that conclusion valid ?”

41. AESTHETICS
This branch deals with beauty
in Music and Art.
It offers answers to questions
like:
• “Is that good music?”
• “Is that painting better than
this one ?”

42. METAPHYSICS
This branch deals with the
question of REALITY and
BEING.
It deals with questions about the
non-physical world, such as :-
• “Is there a God?”
• “What do we mean by real?”

43. ETHICS
This branch is also known as MORAL
PHILOSOPHY.
It deals with questions about right
and wrong, e.g.
•“Is morality subjective?”
•“What makes actions “right”
and “wrong”?”

44. EPISTEMOLOGY
This branch deals with the theory
of knowledge.
It considers questions like:-
•“How do we know anything?”
•“Is there such a thing as
certainty?”

45. Philosophical questions
• In small groups, collate a list of
questions or ‘issues’ that we
as a group, could address in
future meetings
NOTE: Need volunteer
presenters on anything you
want to present