Doing Philosophy

Gerald Rochelle

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000089943
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Phenomenology in Philosophy

First published in 2012, Doing Philosophy presents the basics of how 'to do' philosophy — what philosophy is, how we can think, the nature of logic, some special terms — in a straightforward and easy to understand style. Then, using questions and exercises as well as everyday examples, the author takes the reader on a wide-ranging tour of key philosophical topics which, as well as the 'standard fare' of logic, epistemology, mind, God etc., also includes ethical, social, scientific, cultural and human issues such as time, cosmology, war, animal rights, euthanasia, abortion, genetics, evolution, and the meaning of life.

The author's emphasis throughout is that philosophy is accessible to anyone keen enough to try and do it and that, as a subject, philosophy is practical, fascinating and exciting. By encouraging independent critical thinking and being succinct yet informative, the book involves the reader with the history, the breadth of subject matter, the skills of philosophising and the benefits that philosophy can offer to the enquiring individual.

The book accesses major philosophical topics briefly, breaking them down into convenient points, with challenging questions throughout and exercise questions at the end of each chapter, whilst introducing major thinkers and their ideas. There is an extensive further reading list to help those who wish to take this absorbing subject further.

    1

Doing Philosophy

What do you think philosophy is?

Introduction

We make our lives fuller when we reflect on them. Philosophy gives us some basic thinking tools and a ready-shaped framework of ideas into which we can fit our thoughts. To know why it is that we do things, to be able to fit our motivations into an ethical code and to project our ideas into the abstract world of mind, allow us to experience the best of life. Philosophy is a huge body of knowledge. Tapping into it can help us interpret all aspects of the world that cause us to ask questions, and it can provide solid, well-thought-out concepts against which to match our moral actions and worth. In short, philosophy can help us understand and attain the good life.

Understanding information

There is a difference between manipulating information and understanding it. Whereas a computer helps us to manipulate information, philosophy helps us to understand its content and, in so doing, encourages us to reason. Human beings have a unique facility to reason, it stems from our self-conscious ability to know that we exist. We are not like computers that simply manipulate information and are not self-aware. The test for artificial intelligence applied to computers (the ‘Turing test’) demands that the machine’s replies to questions should be indistinguishable to those of human beings. No computer has yet passed this test.

? Is a computer cleverer than a human? What information did you use to arrive at an answer?

What is philosophy?

Philosophy is thinking, not just thinking in the way that every day we say we think (e.g. about where I should go this afternoon and whether or not it will rain tomorrow) but a special kind of thinking. It involves us in abstract thought and ideas (e.g. not where I should go this afternoon but why I am here at all, not whether or not it will rain but what do I mean by the sensation of wetness when I talk about rain).

This sort of thinking helps us to ask questions about the often-puzzling world in which we find ourselves. First, it allows us to work out whether the question is meaningful (and that we are justified in pursuing an answer), second, it helps us work through the problem, obtain a conclusion and decide whether that conclusion is valid. Whether or not the conclusion is true will depend on the truth contained in the argument.

The method of philosophy, as a way of thinking, can be (and is) used in all fields of human enquiry: scientific, ethical, religious, political or any other matter psychologically important to us as individuals or members of society. We may say that philosophy is a systematic method of asking valid questions about uncertainties.

? Is it possible that when it is raining it is not actually raining?

Doing philosophy

We do philosophy (in its weakest sense) all the time because we are continually taking in information, thinking about it and coming up with conclusions. But, although we all do this, our results can sometimes be misleading (e.g. we turn left when we should have turned right) or confusing (e.g. ‘Why did I say that? I knew it would upset her’). This sort of thinking may lead us to reasoned conclusions but more often than not, in this sense, we use ‘conclusion’ to stand for the last thing we thought in a connected chain of thoughts. Whether that conclusion is entailed by (relies upon) the thoughts that preceded it is another matter.

Even if we do come up with results that seem to work or make sense, it is common that we come up with different results from other people. This is so even though we start out with the same question and try to balance the same sort of information or evidence. The variations in this process could, for example, lead me to thinking that X is good looking while someone else thinks they are not, or me sitting on a jury and thinking someone guilty of a crime while someone else on the jury thinks them innocent.

Human difference is valuable and important — the world would be a dull place if everyone thought X was good looking — but sometimes human difference is a result of different people tackling thinking in different ways. This might not be so important for X (though it may be if X wishes to be admired for her good looks) but it may have serious consequences for the person accused of murder whose future is dependent upon the thoughts of a jury.

The reason to philosophise need not be abstract. Primitive people were doing philosophy when they thought about the best ways of trapping animals for food. Should they dig a hole, cover it to make a trap or should they make a net, chase the animal and throw the net over it? How we come to conclusions about such questions involves us in thinking rationally and so involves us in philosophy. There is no gain in thinking about this sort of thing in an irrational way.

? Because I like digging holes in the ground and I like eating wild duck for my dinner, I conclude that if I dig holes in the ground I will be able to catch wild duck (and have a satisfying dinner). Does this make sense? If not, why not? Explain carefully your reasons for holding this view.

Philosophy (in its strongest sense) first started when human beings began to wonder why their world was like it was. For example, human beings did not philosophise (in this strong sense) when they assumed that God created the world (if this was the case then no amount of thinking about it would alter the conclusion). Philosophy in the strong sense began when people started to wonder about the nature of God himself (e.g. Who is he or she? Where is God? Is God completely powerful? Is God good?). We call this sort of thinking ‘metaphysics’ and is to do with thinking about what things ‘really are’. All philosophy, in some way, connects to this central metaphysical theme.

What is the best approach to philosophy?

We can approach philosophy by looking at its history and what philosophers in the past have said (e.g. the Ancient Greeks, Descartes (1596– 1650)) or we can study it by topic (e.g. philosophy of science, philosophy of mind). Both of these have their merits and different individuals will have differing success with differing routes. Whichever we choose, it is important to have an understanding of what philosophers have already thought about. Without this, we would waste too much time trying to think over the same ground. However, philosophical thinking is not in itself a historical process. It is to do with using our imagination to come up with new ideas and argue in their defence, or to challenge existing ideas by providing rational arguments against them. It is an activity. To argue effectively we need to be aware of what it is to reason. There is little (or nothing) to be gained by proclaiming we have a ‘philosophy’ about this or that without supporting our ideas by reason, or if we have no declared reasons for holding a view to simply state ‘That’s what I believe and that’s all there is to it.’

Further questions

This introductory exercise offers a broad-ranging set of questions to help you explore expressing yourself abstractly. Focus on the formulation of argument more than the ideas pursued or the conclusions reached. Use a checklist to measure the reasoning of your argument: ‘How is it justified?’ ‘What makes it true?’, ‘Why should I believe it?’, ‘Have I used true reasons?’, ‘Is there a logical framework?’, ‘Have I reached valid conclusions?’.

For each of the following decide how you wish to respond to the question, then work out:

Why do you think this?

What reasons do you have for thinking this?

Where do these reasons come from?

Why do you believe your reasons?

Would you change your view, should someone convince you otherwise?

1.  Do you believe that war is wrong?

2.  Do you think that criminals should be punished for their crimes or helped to lead better lives?

3.  Do you think the earth is flat?

4.  Do you think that water goes down the bath plughole in different directions according to whether you are in the northern or the southern hemisphere?

5.  Do you think computers are intelligent?

6.  Do you think that everyone in the world should have the same amount of money?

7.  Do you think philosophy is worthwhile? If so, why? If not, why not?

Further reading

Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), Chapter 15.

Roger Scruton, Modern Philosophy: an Introduction and Survey (London: Pimlico, 2004), Chapter 1.

Nigel Warburton, Thinking from A to Z (London: Routledge, 2007).

2

Some Philosophical Terms

Does it matter what words we use to represent things or concepts?

Introduction

As with all areas of thought, philosophy has a broad and sometimes complex vocabulary. Some terms we use in everyday life may have a more specific meaning in philosophy. Understanding some of these terms makes for more certain progress in doing philosophy. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but these terms are used regularly in philosophy and in particular ways that if not explained may cause confusion.

Metaphysics

Philosophy tries to deal with (and possibly answer) questions about the nature and reality of things in the world such as God, time or causality. This so-called ‘metaphysical’ aim is the main thrust of philosophy and all its other areas are in some way connected to, or elaborations of, this central theme.

Nature

By ‘nature’, we mean the ‘way something is’, its character and the qualities it has. We do not mean nature as the content of the universe regulated by universal laws (outside of which may be God who is by his ‘nature’ super-natural), nature as the living (not inorganic) world (which may be past or present and so includes ‘natural’ history) or ‘nature’ in the sense of everything in the (especially) organic world which is not subject to the influence of human beings (i.e. ‘nature’ the way it is). In the philosophical sense, the nature of something which is ‘natural’ is the character of something which is accessible to scientific study and the nature of something non-natural is an attempt to describe something which is abstract or beyond the reach of space and time.

Reality

By ‘reality’, we mean the ultimate nature of the sum total of the universe (and its constituent reality). We do not mean ‘real’ as opposed to ‘fake’. Something which is fake, although an improper imitation of the ‘real thing’ will still constitute something real in the universe (it will still be a ‘real’ fake).

Epistemology

Philosophy concerns itself with what we know (if indeed we are entitled to say we know anything) and we call this enquiry ‘epistemology’. When faced with a concern about our knowledge of something, we call it an ‘epistemic concern’.

Scepticism

Much epistemological philosophy leads to doubt about whether we know anything. This doubting of our knowledge we call ‘scepticism’. Epistemological scepticism about what and how we know anything drives us back to the central metaphysical aim and either supports further philosophical scepticism (if doubt remains) and consequently more enquiry, or leads to the generation of accepted certainty (and so becomes part of scientific ‘fact’ or ‘law’). When we establish facts in this way and formulate laws sufficient to constitute a body of knowledge, a new science arises. When this happens, philosophy concerns itself more with the methods that the science uses rather than the substance of the science itself. For example, physics was once part of philosophy but now stands alone as the central natural science.

Things

By ‘thing’ we mean any entity or being the existence of which has been tested by some inve...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Doing Philosophy
• 2 Some Philosophical Terms
• 3 Argument and Logic
• 4 Possibility
• 5 What Do We Know?
• 6 Perceiving the World
• 7 Mind
• 8 Right and Wrong
• 9 Equality
• 10 God
• 11 Science
• 12 Time
• 13 Human Rights
• 14 Freedom and Determinism
• 15 Politics, Political Equality and the State of the World
• 16 War
• 17 Punishment
• 18 Abortion
• 19 Euthanasia
• 20 Animal Rights
• 21 Genetics
• 22 Life, Death, Immortality and Reincarnation
• 23 Evolution
• 24 Cosmology
• 25 The Meaning of Life
• Annotated Bibliography
• Index