Class,
I found that I couldn’t use my Google Doc in Des Moines because our system blocks it. The network here isn’t recognized, so our system things its dangerous. I’m sorry about that as I made a short video, and now I can’t send it to you. Below is a very quick review for you. Still, to do well you need to study everything we did!
There are 12 multiple guess, and five short answer in the closed part. Then there’s 4 essay questions. Know the philosophies, and how to compare and contrast them and you will be okay.
Buddhism:
-Know the main points:
-People suffer from all walks of life
-suffering is caused by “attachment” – this is usually material attachment – to
“things” but it can be more than that.
-There is a cure for suffering
-It is the eight-way path (in your book)
-Karma: Your current decisions predict your future outcome. Good living in the “middle way” leads to good karma.
-Know the story of Siddhartha Gautama
Stoicism:
-An ordered universe controlled by fate (determinism)
-Logos describes how everything is in order for a purpose
-Was the philosophy of the Roman Empire for hundreds of years.
-Stoics were the mainstream of Roman society, but there were also fatalists who
felt that everything was so fated that nothing mattered.
-There are also other types of determinism –
-psychological: - Your upbringing and your environment determines your
actions
-Economic: Class system (India has the Caste system) Where money
determines much of your choices
-Scientific Determinism: DNA and science. We are like big machines,
and if you could know everything about our brains you could determine
our actions.
Existentialism: The idea that we are completely responsible for our actions and our
future, and that fate plays must less of a role if any.
-Theistic: Kierkegaard – a “few things” are selected/elected to occur, but
we create the rest. In this, essence still precedes existence.
-Athestic: Sartre’ – nothing is selected/elected. People are totally
responsible for their outcome. Everyone is completely free, and freedom
can be a burdon.
Hedonism: The idea that pleasure matters and has purpose:
Cyrenic: Physical pleasure without guild, the more the better
Epicurean: Controlled pleasure – considering the outcome
:ataraxia: lack of physical pain and mental anguish
: know the difference between a kinetic and a static pleasure.
-Kinetic, diminishes with return – mostly physical – glass of
water on a hot day
-Static – stays the same always such as justice, or freedom
Philosophy 101 - NICC
Monday, February 18, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
Chapter 2 Notes 2019
Stoicism: (from the Porch)
Roman Empire’s Main Philosophy for over 500 Years.
Can be “kind of” negative, “kind of” orderly, “kind of” comical, “kind
of” connected
Pre-Stoicism Ideas:
-Skepticism: Generally
a questioner of the “status quo”.
-Sophists: Life is a bunch of twisted words.
-Thesbians: Live is “tragedy”, and it is always a
“comic”.
-Cynicism: Cynosarges (lived in a wine barrel). This was the extreme version.
-All
materials are worthless and evil for the human spirit.
-All
powerful people are evil.
-Organized
society is a joke.
Named Founder of Stoicism is Zeno
-The skeptics
and cynics were “too radical” for the majority.
Zeno created an acceptable
form of skepticism and cynicism which changed
and evolved as Rome changed and
evolved.
-Fate: Everything is a part
of “Fate”. “If it’s meant to be it will
be”.
-“Meaningful Coincidence” – Things don’t happen by chance.
-Stoicism prefers the
“Non-Emotional”. It’s your fate, so deal with it.
-Logos: Order, Control
Everything is
connected and all answers are connected.
Everything works in a “ordered system” with
the universe and with mankind.
-We
need Cesar to be Cesar and ditch diggers to be ditch diggers
-Both are acting out
their fates. Both have meaningful
purpose.
-Critics of
Stoicism argued that it was a ploy to hold Rome together. It’s your “Fate” to
Be a peasant and follow Cesar. Enjoy the role you have, and don’t question
stuff too
Much.
HEDONISM and EPICURIANISM
(Two Greek Philosophies Based on Pleasure).
Hedonism: Pure Pleasure.
-Aristippus founder – student of
Plato. Went on his own.
-Physical Pleasure = The Meaning
of Life.
-The more intense the
pleasure, the more meaning and purpose.
-Enjoy Pleasure
without guilt, follow natural desires.
-The Roman’s actually took this
“to the next level”, and some of them somehow made
It fit in with Stoicism.
Epicureanism: Controlled Pleasure.
-Epicurus (341 – 270 BC) Studied under Plato and Aristotle, but rejected
many things.
-Started his own
school (The Garden).
-Everyone was
equal in The Garden. First to treat
women equally.
-All Pleasure is good, but not
all pleasure should be chosen.
-Momentary
Pleasure
-Kinetic Pleasure has a diminishing
return.
-Some
momentary pleasure causes lasting pain.
-some
pain created from pleasure is physical.
-some
pain created form pleasure is mental.
-Lasting
Pleasure
-Grows
rather than diminishes.
-Based
on Static Circumstances.
-Based
less on physical, more on mental and spiritual
-Ataraxia: The lack of physical pain and mental anguish.
-A
constant life of not having troubles.
-A
belief that pleasure = purpose (same as Hedonism)
-A
belief in moderation and balance must exist.
Questions:
-Do some Americans Participate
in Hedonism? Do some Americans
Participate in Stoicism?
-Do we mix the two?
-What does it mean when the
founding fathers say “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”?
-Do we let principles guide our
actions, or do we create principles that justify our actions?
-Is there some of both?
-Does it matter?
. Existentialism:
-The idea that we create
our own purpose.
-The idea that we have
complete Free Will.
-The lack of Fate.
-Usually Atheistic in
Nature.
-A Modern Philosophy –
Non-Greco-Roman.
-Underpinnings with
Kierkegaard (1600ds), but came alive
With Sartre’ (1950’s).
Kierkegaard:
-Was
A Thiest
-God
Designed us before he created us.
-The
creativity we have is part of God’s Plan.
-God
gave us Free Will that we can choose to do either good or evil with.
-We
control “Most” stuff we do.
-Occasionally
God “Elects” someone to perform general function of his plan.
-Examples
Kierkegaard gave were Abraham and Paul.
-There
wasn’t really “fate” as in Greco-Roman Culture, but limited election.
-For Kierkegaard: Essence
Precedes Existence.
Sartre’s Version:
-Absence of Fate, therefore NOTHING
is pre-determined.
-Therefore,
EVERYTHING is by CHANCE
-There is TOTAL FREE WILL.
-When
wrong occurs it is ridiculous to ask “why”.
-Nothing is a nice package of neat
answers like what the Roman Stoics followed.
-Life
is meaningless, other than the meaning we assign to it.
-Therefore we create our
own purpose and meaning.
-We
do this both individually and COLLECTIVELY.
-We are not good or evil by nature, but by
choice.
-Since
we create purpose and meaning, we are therefore RESPONSIBLE for our choices.
-No
one can “make” you to be happy or angry.
-No
action by anyone else can make you experience any emotion other than
what you choose.
-Collective
Choices are actually a result of individual choices, making all choices
extremely important.
-Therefore,
complete freedom is a Huge Burdon, because we now know that we are
Responsible and accountable. The only
freedom we don’t have is the choice to not be
free.
This is why Sartre’ made the famous statement: “You are Condemned to be
free”.
So for Sartre’
Existence Precedes Essence.
-You exist first, then you have
essence.
-Unlike a paper-cutter who’s essence
existed in someone’s mind first.
Deists: Another Option of Determinism and Free Will
-Deism
has some fairly good American Company as most of the writers of the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights were
Deists to some degree.
-They
advocated for Free Will, but they were Theists, and they were somewhat
moderate in their views of the argument.
-God
is a watch-maker who makes a watch and then throws it down and lets it
tick on its own for the most
part, but not all the time.
-The idea of the
Constitution was Inspired to some degree, but also man-designed.
-There’s mostly
free-will, but there is also a divine plan.
Determinism
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------FREE
WILL
Find the Answer Create the
Answer
Many Philosophers are Both
(Dualism)
Buddhism
Siddharta Guatama (Around 560-480 BC – but no one really
knows for sure)
-Said to have lived in extreme
luxury until his 30’s.
-Said to have lived in
unproductive self-indulgence.
-He became bored.
-He went on 4 secret trips to find out what the “real world was”. Buddhism is about his findings
on his trips, and interpretation
of what other’s thought his sayings meant.
-But really hardly anything is actually known about him.
Major Elements of Buddhism:
1)
Everyone Suffers.
a.
Physical Suffering is more obvious.
b.
Dukkha:
Anxiety, Anguish, Persistent Dissatisfaction.
2)
Suffering is caused by “Attachment”. Attachment creates “Bad Karma”.
3)
“Enlightment” Cures suffering and creates “Good Karma”.
a.
Enlightment is like a journey on a raft.
b.
The raft exists in simple daily life.
c.
The raft moves toward Nirvana.
i.
Nirvana is being unattached.
ii.
Nirvana is being “Totally Awake” (some define
Buddhism by this).
iii.
Nirvana is found in the “Middle Way”.
Ascetic----------------------------------------------X---------------------------------------------------Indulgence
(extreme self-denial)
The Desired “Middle Way”
Other Things about Buddhism:
-Buddhism is the
only major religion without a deity. It
is actually an argument whether
it really is a
religion.
-Some consider
being “Totally Awake” a good definition of Buddhism.
-Being
Totally Awake comes from Controlled Living.
-Simplicity.
-Meditation.
-Concentration.
-Denial (but not too
much or you lose the Middle Way).
-Compassion.
-Buddhism is
deterministic as everything has a cause; but
It does not have to be the same for everyone.
-There is a “thirst”
or “desire” to either have or avoid.
-Cessation – The
process of getting rid of the desire and creating a re-education of
desire toward God and Enlightment.
-Anatta – No
Self. Self is a fiction that we invent.
-Anicca –
Nothing is permanent.
-Everything is in continuous change.
-Process is all there is.
-Actions are greater than stability.
Monday, January 7, 2019
Spring 2019 Chapter 1 Notes:
What
Actually IS Philosophy?
Study of Thoughts
Broadly the study of the "nature of knowledge" reality, existence, reason, values, beauty, time causation, language, government.
-Specifically could be the study of the above as applied to anything – i.e. – the philosophy of Science, History, or business …………. Or bowling, hunting, or quilting.
Philosophy may or may not be done as an academic discipline.
Academic Philosophy: You study it in college
Practical Philosophy: The art of applying philosophical skills to normal problems.
Growing Need for critical thinking skills in 2019. It used to be "here's the job, do it" Now it might often be, "here's what we want, create it".
Study of Thoughts
Broadly the study of the "nature of knowledge" reality, existence, reason, values, beauty, time causation, language, government.
-Specifically could be the study of the above as applied to anything – i.e. – the philosophy of Science, History, or business …………. Or bowling, hunting, or quilting.
Philosophy may or may not be done as an academic discipline.
Academic Philosophy: You study it in college
Practical Philosophy: The art of applying philosophical skills to normal problems.
Growing Need for critical thinking skills in 2019. It used to be "here's the job, do it" Now it might often be, "here's what we want, create it".
-Philosophy has a Critical
Attitude – one of Questioning.
-Seeking
Truth: Can be Skeptical, yet
Open-Minded.
-Having “Rational Disinteredness”. A good referee has this. A bad referee gets sucked into the game.
Philosophy and being Practical.
-See All Options to a problem, not just what society has conditioned you
to see.
-Think outside the Box, but in a structured way.
-Questions absolutely everything, but in a respectful way.
-To see the Other Perspectives and Other People’s Perspectives.
-A Key to understand how other people might think.
-A Key to understand what might be motivating someone or someone’s actions.
-It is possible to see philosophy in almost everything.
-It helps you to try to see it through the eye of the critic, regardless
of how basic they might
seem, or how irrational they might seem.
The ability to question, reason, negotiate,
pass rational, logical mostly non-emotional judgment, and to continuously weigh
options pays big bucks and is in large demand.
-There is no
mystical value to philosophy, but it can be therapeutically good for a person.
-Philosophy
“can” help a person to rise above his/her own cultural bias/acceptance.
-Values and one’s philosophy are
connected. Thought and action are
connected.
-It is possible for an entire
culture to develop a philosophy that is generally not
acceptable.
: Nazi Germany
: American Slavery
-Philosophy
can help a person understand that everyone has bias to a degree, some more than
others.
-Author
suggests Philosophy is practical for understanding assimilation of
Technology/21st Century Skills.
-Oracle of
Delphi: Know Thyself.
Philosophy’s Body of Knowledge
-Philosophy has a body of
knowledge like any other academic discipline such as math, or history.
-Philosophy has different opinions: For example: All knowledge must be rational and come from a-priori principles (Descartes), or there are no a-priori principles therefore all Knowledge must be based on experience, and therefore the most we can hope for is a feeling of what might be true (Hume).
-Some argue that philosophy was the first body of knowledge.
-Philosophy’s
Body of Knowledge is sometimes cultural:
-Western Philosophy: Based on Greeks and Romans.
-Eastern Philosophy: Based on Eastern
Culture and Eastern Religions.
-Philosophy’s
Body of Knowledge has various directions that have similar themes: The main veins of philosophy are:
-Metaphysics - Purpose -
anything that deals with purpose
-Epistemology – Knowing - Anything that deals with “How do we
know what we know”? Epistemology
sometimes does not deal with metaphysics.
Epistemology often asks the question of whether we know by experience or
by innate truths.
-Ethics -Right
and Wrong:
-Logic -Making Sense:
In a sequential and rational way.
-Aesthetics -Beauty: Asks the question of what beauty actually
is.
-Each of
these themes have various dimensions, and can then have depth from that
dimension – or a “body of knowledge within the body of knowledge”. Example:
Calculus requires an understanding of Trigonometry which is related to
Mathematics. Logical Positivism requires
an understanding of Empiricism, which is related to Philosophy.
-Philosophy
has basic “themes” that are “perennial” (come back again and again)
-Is human action pre-determined or not, or both and to what degree? (A metaphysical
-Is human action pre-determined or not, or both and to what degree? (A metaphysical
argument)
-Is knowledge based on known
truths and rationalized from there, or do we experience
all knowledge? (An
epistemological argument)
-What is good conduct and how
should we therefore live? (Ethical)
-Is human purpose to: Have Fun, be dutiful, be kind, all of the
above or none of the
above? (Metaphysical)
-Philosophy DOES have an element of religion, but is it one of many
elements.
-What is beauty, and is there
such a thing as pure beauty? (Aesthetic)
-What is “good” What is “just”
What is “truth”? (Aesthetic and Metaphysical)
-What is our responsibility, if
any, to the state?
Other Large Commonly Studies Veins: In these veins of the body of knowledge of
philosophy, they are all actually elements of one or all of the above:
Political Philosophy: What is government?
What should be the role of government?
Is there
a better or best government?
Philosophy of History: What is
history? Is it what really happened or
what we wanted it to
be? Is history
actually journalism? Is there history or
are there “histories”? If there are only
“histories, then is there really “history”?
Is true history a history of events or of ideas and
which is greater?
Philosophy of Science: What is
science? What qualifies something as
being scientific? What
is the scientific method, and who says that is the right
method?
Philosophy of Education: What is education? What is the purpose of education?
Philosophy of Bias – phenomenology – the chance and degree that bias can
be eliminated.
Philosophy or Race, Religion, Culture, Liberalism, Conservatism
There are many other large categories commonly studied.
Minor Philosophies
Philosophy
of ________________ (You insert basically whatever you want)
Philosophy Based on Regions/Time
Frames/Religions:
Western Philosophy:
Eastern:
Ancient Egyptian:
Jewish
Christian
Buddhist
40’s USA – To defeat the one defined enemy (while today often no one
knows who the actual
enemy is)
50’s USA – Prosperity - Conservatism
60’s USA - Opposition to the government/cultural revolution.
Philosophy based on Specific Philosophers/Leaders/Artists:
Plato
Aristotle
Kantian
Hegelian
Husseral/Ponty
- Phenomenology
Jeffersonian/Hamiltonian
Arguments
Marx/Adam
Smith Arguments
Whitman/Emerson/Thoreau
–(American Writers)
Dewey
(American Educator)
John Lennon
(Singer-Song Writer)
Senator
Grassley (Political)
Claude
Debussy (Musician)
Picasso
(Artist)
Traits of Most all Philosophy:
1 Love of Wisdom
2 Seeking Truth
3 Reason
4 Study of Thought
5 Critical Questioning
Open Mindedness
Periods of Philosophy:
1.
Ancient: About 500 BC to 200 AD
–Pre Greek
-Classical Greek: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
-Hellenistic
-Roman
2. Medieval: Around 200 AD to 1650-ish
-Mostly Catholic Philosophers
(Scholastic)
-Protestant Reformation in the
1500d’s (printing press
invented about 100 years earlier).
3.
Modern: 1650-1900:
Science became more important. It
was no longer always required to connect philosophy to a deity.
4.
Contemporary: 1900 – (2000?):
Contemporary Analytical: More of an analytical focus on what they can
conclude as fact in the physical world.
Contemporary Continental: Focus on freedom, being, meaning, and other
metaphysical concerns.
5.
Next period? (2000-Present). Philosophy after the onset of the internet.
Greek Philosophers
Pre-Greek:
Island of Miletus (500 BC) – Discussions of what the Earth is made up of.
-Atomists: Anaximander, Pythagoras
-Zeno: Paradox of Movement
-Had arguments about infinity
and divisibility
Greeks
-All Greeks believed in fate and
the Devine.
-They had no mind-set of a life without purpose.
-Purpose, fate, and a spiritual dimension all existed a-priori without
question.
Socrates: (No real proof that he actually existed)
-The Socratic Method:
-The unexamined Life not worth
Living.
-Moderation
-Corruption of the Youth,
Sentences to death by his peer. Could
have escaped.
Plato:
-Student of Socrates.
-Wrote the
Dialogues.
-Started the
“academy” which was the first school.
-Practiced
deductive reasoning, which is going from large ideas to small details.
-Believed in
the concept of “forms” The idea = the Form
-Teleology: The purpose of the forms. The purposes are assigned.
-Reality =
the unseen world of ideas and the physical world of things, but the world of
ideas is greater than the world of things.
The unseen world does not decay.
The seen physical world is always in decay.
-Plato Believed
in the concept of a three dimensional person:
The Physical/Mental/Spiritual
-Plato Believed
in the “Divided Line” concept between physical world and spiritual world.
: Seen and unseen.
: Decay and non-decay.
Aristotle:
-Student of
Plato
-Later
started his own school “Lyceum”
-Practiced
inductive reasoning, which is going from small observations to large ideas.
: This turned into the concept
of “experimentation”
: Aristotle believed in
probability in experimentation.
: This turned into the
“Scientific Method” that we still use today.
-Aristotle
was an extreme classifier and labeler.
He invented the “Classification System” for animals.
-Aristotle
named many animals.
-Aristotle
rejected forms.
-Aristotle
believed that worrying about the unseen was a waste of time.
-Truth had to be seen and experienced and lived in the physical world.
-How we lived in the physical world matters – “ethics”.
Alexander (The Great):
-Student of
Aristotle
-Was not
actually Greek – was from Macedonia
-Became a
warrior, and conquered the known world.
-Spread
Greek Culture throughout the world – known as “Hellenistic Culture”.
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