Bell Ringer
 Wonder: to think or speculate curiously (I wonder why my cat purrs.)
 On a sheet of paper list the types of things do you wonder about
 Hold on to your bell ringer paper, you will continue using it through class today.
 Turn it in at the end of the period in the 2nd block B group bucket.
Nature of Philosophy
Unit 1
Introduction: What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy begins with wonder
 We all wonder about things, both large and small
 What types of things do you wonder about?
 Commonly wondered about things include:







Does God exist? Is God a He or a She?
Why is there evil, sorrow, and pain in the world?
Who am I? Why am I here?
Are there things in the world that science cannot explain?
What is true love? Friendship?
Should I serve myself or others?
What is right versus wrong?
Introduction: What is Philosophy?
 We start wondering early in life
 Children often ask where they came from and where people/pets go when they die
 The goal of philosophy is to get us to move beyond the basic answers we are
given to these questions
 Questions: Where do you go when you die?
 Answer: In the ground (or wherever your ashes are placed if you’re cremated)
 Does that answer satisfy you, or do you believe there is more to that answer? For
most people, they are looking for a deeper answer that deals with the soul.
 It is the goal of this course to help you understand how to think so that you can
come to your own conclusions instead of the technical ones typically given
Introduction: What is Philosophy?
 Socrates, the most noted philosopher in history, once said “The unexamined life
is not worth living.”
 On your bell ringer paper answer the following:
 Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
 What would life be like if we did not examine the things around us?
 You have developed many beliefs since you were a child
 Do you ever question them?
 It is okay to question things that you “believe”
 It allows you to determine if you really believe it or if you originally believed it
because of your parents/friends/teachers/society but now your opinion has changed
Introduction: What is Philosophy?
 “Others can give you a name or a number,
but they can never tell you who you really
are. That is something you yourself can
only discover from within.”
 So, who are you? This is something we will
discover through the course.
 By analyzing what we believe instead of
accepting what others believe we gain
freedom and independence (often seen as
confidence)
 This is called autonomy: freedom of being
able to decide for oneself by using one’s
own rationality
Plato’s The Republic: Myth of the Cave
 Socrates'’ greatest student, Plato, wrote The Republic which includes Myth of the
Cave over 2000 years ago
 This is a parable (story that teaches a lesson) that explains much of what philosophy
is
 We will be discussing this writing during next class
Assignment
 For the rest of the class period you are going to read Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
 As you are reading, draw a picture of the scene that Socrates describes (you will turn
this in)
 You will also paraphrase each paragraph that Socrates speaks and turn in those
notes.
 Finally, there is an assignment that you will complete once you finish the reading.
 Your picture, notes, and assignment will be due next class period (Thursday).
Bell Ringer
 What did you think about the Allegory of the Cave?
 If it was hard to understand, explain why.
 If you understood it well, explain whether you enjoyed it or not.
Plato’s The Republic: Myth of the Cave
 The parable discusses journeying upward from the dark
 Philosophy is much like this as we journey from the “dark” (not knowing) to the “light”
(knowing)
 Philosophy is not about memorizing facts, its about coming to conclusions with the focus
on being “why”
 “Philosophy is not a theory but an activity.”—Ludwig Wittgenstein
 Philosophy “is all just arguing, thinking, and reasoning.”—W.D. Hart
 Plato points out that the journey is not easy
 You have to challenge even your most basic beliefs
 You sometimes journey into areas that society does not support
 Sometimes you have to be dragged “up the steep rugged ascent from the cave and
[forced out] into the full light of the sun.”
 A philosophy teacher does this by getting their student(s) to ask questions they are
reluctant to ask on their own
Plato’s The Republic: Myth of the Cave
 Plato implies that philosophy allows us to break the chains that weigh us down
 It frees us from the beliefs and opinions of those around us and allows us to have
views that are actually our own
 Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom”-Since wisdom is an understanding of
the fundamental aspects of human living, philosophers examine our existence
and why we are here
 To understand why we are in the universe, we must study the universe around us
and how we interact with it
The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy
 When studying philosophy there are typically three questions asked:
 What is knowledge?
 What is real?
 What is right and good?
 Each of these are divided into three different types of philosophy
 Epistemology is “the study of knowledge”
 Metaphysics is the branch that studies the nature of reality or existence
 Ethics is the study of our values/morals and how they relate/conflict with societies’
Epistemology
 This looks at the structure,
reliability, extent, and kinds of
knowledge that we have
 Seeks to answer questions like is
there only one truth, or can their
be multiple truths?
 If we accept that there is not a
single answer then what would
our world be like?
 We will get into the idea of
relativism later in the course
Truth
Knowledge
Epistemology
Belief
Metaphysics
 This topic covers the study of reality or existence




The place of humans in the universe
The purpose/nature of reality
Understanding the mind, self, and consciousness
The existence of God, the destiny of the universe, and the immortality of the soul is also covered
here.
 The most common question under metaphysics is “Is everything in the universe determined
by outside causes, or are humans, at least freely able to choose for themselves?”
 Some believe in determinism or the idea that humans are “unfree”
 Paul Henri d’Holbach supports this by saying humans are “never free; they are always the necessary
consequence of his temperament, of the ideas he has received, including his true of false notions of
happiness, and of those opinions that are strengthened by example, by education, and by daily
experience…”
 On your bell ringer paper, respond to d’Holback’s comment
Metaphysics
 Others believe that people have free will
 “Man does not simply exist, but always decides what his existence will be, what he
will become in the next moment…”—Viktor Frankl
 Finally, a third concept on this topic is that humans can be free and determined
 Karma is the idea that your current position is based on your past deeds
 While that means that you would be set on a course, your actions now would set you
on a better course in the future
 On your paper
 Describe an instance where you feel like you were experiencing karma.
Ethics
 Ethics allows us to look at moral obligations, what principles we should follow, what is
good for human beings, and justifying social and political systems
 Mahatma Gandhi said that it was the primary moral duty of humans to live for others
 He believed it was necessary to lay down your life so that others may live if called to do
so
 Others believe ethics is a sham
 Harry Browne stated that “Selfishness is and should be everyone’s policy.”
 This is called “egoism”
 On your paper
 Which philosopher do you agree with—Gandhi or Browne?
Bell Ringer
 Philosophers assume that expanding our personal freedom, autonomy, and the
alternative open to us are all good, and that the extent that philosophy expands
these it must also be good. Is that assumption necessarily true? Or, could
philosophy open us up to “bad” things as well?
 Make sure to support your answer with logical reasoning.
The Value of Philosophy
 Some may ask— “why devote all this time to studying philosophy?”
 The answer was in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” as he showed that philosophy
provides us with freedom
 Freedom from assumptions we have unquestioningly accepted from others, freedom
to decide for ourselves what we believe about ourselves, and freedom to determine
our place in the universe
 On your own paper:
 Now that you have had a brief introduction to philosophy, explain what value you
think you will find in it. (If you are new to the class, do your best to explain what you
think you will get out of this class)
The Value of Philosophy
 Buddhism holds that when we
remove our philosophical ignorance
we are freed from the cycle of
birth, suffering, death, and rebirth
that all creatures are bound to
 In other words, you are doomed to
deal with karma and reincarnation
until you come to the a
philosophical understanding of
your place in the universe
 So, if you’re a Buddhist—
philosophy is super important 
The Value of Philosophy
 Today’s life is full of mundane details that make it difficult to focus on these types
of questions
 In other words, why spend time on this subject when you need to focus on subjects
that will help you get a job.
 You need a job, but does philosophy fill a need as well?
 When you say your doing alright, typically you are referring to “maintenance
needs” like food, shelter, security, social interaction, etc.
 Some psychologists, like Abraham Maslow, would argue that you have other
needs called “actualization needs” too
 These include self-fulfillment, creativity, self-expression, and realization of our
potential
The Value of Philosophy
 While studying philosophy does not guarantee it will lead you to selfactualization it does promote the process
 The characteristics of self-actualization include:





Making up your own mind
Self-awareness (you don’t have delusions about yourself)
Flexibility (lack of definite answers are not overwhelming for them)
Creative (not necessarily in the “art” sense, but in everyday living)
Clearer, well-thought out value systems in morality and politics
 On your own paper answer the following:
 How does philosophy help you achieve each of the items mentioned above?
The Value of Philosophy
 Some philosophers, like Aristotle, have categorized self-realization into three
groups
 Bodily goods (health)
 External goods (wealth)
 Moral goods (virtue)
 Aristotle stated that happiness is the goal of all humans, but it does not consist in
any action of the body or sense
 As Maslow would say, it is not in the “maintenance needs” but rather in the “selfactualization” needs
 Aristotle says that it is in what is noble and best in us: our reason
 Happiness is seeking philosophic wisdom, a life of intellectual virtues that equips us
to contemplate the highest truth and good
The Value of Philosophy
 Philosophy does help us with maintenance needs as well
 We need security so we get insurance
 Philosophy allows us to put order to the world around us which in turn helps us live
in the world with government, religious, and social rules
 Philosophy integrates thought, feelings, and action in meaningful ways
 Philosophy allows you to look at your beliefs in such a way that you may learn
you only believe them because you were “raised that way”
 After questioning your beliefs you may find that another system is more suitable for
your or you may realize you have taken your beliefs for granted and need to better
appreciate them as truth (in other words, stop going through the motions)
The Value of Philosophy
 Philosophy also exposes you to the history of thought
 We can see how thoughts have changed over time and how we are continuing to
develop
 Philosophy breeds humility
 We realize that sometimes there is more than one way, or our way wasn’t correct,
and thus we have to examine, and potentially accept, other’s ideas
 This makes us more tolerant, sympathetic, and receptive
 When we study philosophy we are less likely to be biased, provincial, or ingrown
 Philosophy refines your power of analysis (which English teachers love )
 You can think critically, reason, evaluate, theorize, and justify much better (all those
AP/SAT/ACT concepts you need in the next two years!)
The Value of Philosophy
 If you want philosophy to work for you, you have to pay the price
 It takes a willingness to examine and reexamine ideas, outlooks, and assertions
 This process is endless (YIKES)
 You risk unmasking cherished personal and cultural assumptions
 It is highly likely you will find yourself resisting those concepts, even when they are
“logical”
 On your own answer the following:
 Can individuals or societies progress without intellectual suffering?
 Based on what we have discussed today, how can this class help me in my daily life?
Assignment
 Read Ayn Rand’s “Philosophy—Who Needs It?”
 Summarize the article (turn this in with your questions)
 Answer the following questions
 What is the significance of the story she tells?
 What is the main point of the article?
 Do you agree or disagree with her statement “Hatred of the good for being good is
the hallmark of the twentieth century. This is the enemy you are facing.” Explain
your answer.