Introduction to Philosophy
What is Philosophy?
Plato’s Myth of the Cave
What is Plato’s myth
of the cave? Please
describe it in your
own words.
Autonomy
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How does Autonomy relate to philosophy?
Autonomy – self-directing freedom and moral
independence.
What does it mean to be morally independent?
John Stuart Mill
The diversity of philosophy
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The search for wisdom is of concern to people of both
sexes and all races, yet many philosophy textbooks simply
report the various philosophical theories of western
males.
Why do you think this might be?
Mary Wollstonecraft
Some of the fields of philosophy
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Epistemology means “the study of knowledge”. How do
we know when we know something? What is the
difference between knowledge and belief? What about
the difference between knowledge and true belief? Among
the problems discussed here are those concerning the
structure, reliability, and extent of our knowledge, the
meaning of truth, logic, and a variety of linguistic concerns,
as well as the foundation of knowledge. We will discuss
whether or not the notion of one more truth is the same
as relativism.
Some fields of philosophy

Metaphysics is the study of the ultimate characteristics
of reality or existence. These include questions
concerning the existence of God, the destiny of the
universe, and the immortality of the soul. One of the core
questions in metaphysics is that of whether everything in
the universe is determined, or are humans able freely to
choose for themselves? One important view on this issue
is determinism, the view that all things and all humans are
not free because everything that occurs happens in
accordance with regular patterns or laws. Another is
important view is that we are condemned to be free
(Sartre).
Some fields of philosophy
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Ethics is reasoned discourse about morality. It includes
questions about virtue and obligation, what moral
principles we should adopt, the idea of justice and so
forth, as well as related to practical issues such as
abortion, the merits of capitalism vs. communism, capital
punishment, animal rights, privacy rights.
Peter Singer
Socrates
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In your own words, explain why Socrates is often
considered to exemplify the true philosophical spirit.
Socrates
The Buddha
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The Buddhist philosophical tradition has suggested that
philosophy is the key to a more profound type of
freedom, holding that one we understand the true nature
of the universe we will be freed from the otherwise
unending wheel of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJJtyMUbja4
In your own words, explain the argument that philosophy
can offer freedom from the wheel of existence.
Actualizing Needs
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Abraham Maslow hold that humans also have actualizing
needs, which are associated with self-expression, selffulfillment, and creativity. Philosophy can help by
promoting the ideal of self-actualization and hence help to
meet the need for this.
Aristotle wrote about harmonizing the faculties in order
to achieve eudaemonia.
Aristotle
Actualizing Needs
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In your own words, do you think philosophy can help
people actualize their needs? Why or why not?