PHI 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Russian Literature, Thought Experiment

• School: University at Buffalo
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 101
• Professor: Powell Lewis

Document Summary

What is philosophy? (cid:862)philosoph(cid:455)(cid:863) (cid:272)o(cid:373)es f(cid:396)o(cid:373) the g(cid:396)eek (cid:862)philo(cid:863), (cid:373)ea(cid:374)i(cid:374)g lo(cid:448)e, a(cid:374)d (cid:862) ophia(cid:863) (cid:373)ea(cid:374)i(cid:374)g (cid:449)isdo(cid:373). So, one way to think about philosophy is as the love (and pursuit) of wisdom. This makes curiosity, or a passion for learning, one of the key indicators of a philosophical attitude. This means philosophy has a close relationship with inquiry. Many disciplines are defined by their subject matter (chemistry, russian literature, etc. Philosophy is, in contrast, defined by its methods. When we try to answer these questions, we need tools for helping us find the answers. That"s (cid:449)hat the (cid:373)ethods of philosoph(cid:455) a(cid:396)e: the tools (cid:449)e ha(cid:448)e to help us i(cid:374) ou(cid:396) pu(cid:396)suit of wisdom. We"(cid:448)e talked a(cid:271)out (cid:272)ou(cid:374)te(cid:396) e(cid:454)a(cid:373)ples (cid:271)efo(cid:396)e, (cid:271)(cid:396)iefl(cid:455). And (cid:374)ot the so(cid:396)t that allo(cid:449) fo(cid:396) e(cid:454)(cid:272)eptio(cid:374)s (cid:894)(cid:862)usuall(cid:455)(cid:863) o(cid:396) (cid:862)(cid:373)ost of the ti(cid:373)e(cid:863)(cid:895) Mo(cid:396)e like, (cid:862)(cid:271)(cid:396)eaki(cid:374)g a p(cid:396)o(cid:373)ise is al(cid:449)a(cid:455)s (cid:449)(cid:396)o(cid:374)g(cid:863) One of the tools we rely on as philosophers, is to test these universal generalizations, by looking for exceptions.