philosophy

philosophy

1. introduction

   • metaphysics
     • exploring fundamental questions; reality, existence and being (do i have a soul? is there a god?)
   • epistemology
     • theory of knowledge; reasoning and rationality (is the world really what i think it is?)
       • Aristotle: rationality is the distinguishing characteristic which sets us apart from the beasts.
       • Plato: tripartite soul: our psyche is divided into three parts:  rational/logical: seeking truth and is swayed my arguments and facts spirited/ emotional: how feelings fuel your emotions appetitive/ physical desires: hunger, defense etc
       • how to argue (lol)
         • deductive argument: premises that lead to a conclusion
           • true premises, false conclusion
             • premise 1: Cats are mammals premise 2: i am a mammal conclusion: I am a cat
               • all cats are mammals however not all mammals are cats. cats are just a subset of mammals and so are humans. those two elements do not intersect
           • true premises, true conclusion (valid)
             • premise 1: All humans are mortal premise 2: I am human conclusion: I am mortal
           • false premises, false conculsion
             • premise 1: all humans have wings premise 2: i am human conclusion: i have wings
           • false premises, true conclusion
             • premise 1: president of USA must be above 35 years old premise 2: my dad is the president of the USA. conclusion: my dad is above 35 years old
           • true premises, true conclusion (invalid)
             • trashed idea. however i would like to keep this: atoms are the smallest unit of matter with the note attached to it for future references
               • wait a second. atoms arent the smallest unit of matter though, since they consist of electrons which are even smaller...  hmmmm
             • premise 1: grass is green premise 2: cows eat grass conclusion: cows produce milk
               • premises does not lead to the conclusion; premises and conclusion all just happen to be true
         • induction method
         • abduction method
   • value theory
     • ethics
       • study of human behaviour (deciding what's good or evil)
     • aesthetics
       • study of beauty and arts (does beauty exist? what is beautiful?)

2. hot topics in philosophy

   • God
   • death
   • identity
   • language
   • imaginary things
   • free will
   • fate
   • existentialism
   • love