Philosophy Club Introduction
What Is Philosophy?
Philosophy is the attempt to answer big questions: questions that cannot be answered simply by looking them up or by performing experiments.
These are questions we answer by reason, argument, and careful discussion. One philosopher described them as “the biggest questions a human can ask.”
How We Will Approach Philosophy
Reverence
We will approach philosophy with reverence: awe, respect, curiosity, and humility when these are the right attitudes to have.
Respect
We will respect the search for truth and each other as we search for truth.
Philosophy involves going out on a limb. If you care about truth, you have to be willing to go out there. It might be scary. It might hurt your pride a little. But the search for truth requires us to move forward despite those feelings.
If you have something to say, you should say it.
Relativism is not allowed.
Examples of relativism:
- Whatever a person thinks is art is art.
- Whatever a person thinks is morally right is morally right.
- Whatever a person thinks is knowledge is knowledge.
To claim relativism is to stop searching for the truth.
Humility
The truth is not something any one person can hold in its entirety. The best anyone can have is glimmers and glances.
You do not have all the answers, so do not think you do. Do not be offended when someone thinks you are wrong.
The person across from you does not have all the answers either, so do not assume they do. Do not be afraid to argue against them.
If you have something to say, you should say it.
Curiosity
When we revere something, we want to know more about it. This includes being curious about what other people say.
If someone says something that does not seem correct, ask a question.
If you have an idea, you should want to know how other people respond to that idea.
If you have something to say, you should say it.
Awe
Awe is the feeling we have when we feel connected to something much larger than we can fully comprehend.
You probably will not have this feeling at first, but you should try to cultivate it. The best way to cultivate it is to get involved in the discussion.
Then you may come to find out that the world is bigger and more complex than you ever thought.
If you have something to say, you should say it.
A Brief Outline of Philosophy
Value Theory
Value theory asks questions about value, goodness, beauty, justice, and how we ought to live.
Ethics
- Virtue ethics
- Stoicism
- Utilitarianism
- Deontology
- Feminism
- Applied ethics
Aesthetics
- Philosophy of art
- AI art
- Philosophy of music
Political Philosophy
- Liberalism
- Locke on private property
- Civility
- Rawls
- Marxism
- Conservatism
- Confucianism
Descriptive Philosophy
Descriptive philosophy asks questions about what exists, what we can know, and what reality is like.
Metaphysics
- Philosophy of mind
- Philosophy of mathematics
- Free will
- Ontology
Epistemology
- Skepticism
- Philosophy of science
- The demarcation problem
Methodology
Methodology asks how philosophy should be done.
- Philosophical method
- Logic
- First-order propositional logic