Introduction to Philosophy - Core Questions and Problems

Definition of Philosophy

• Inquisitivity: Asking deep, fundamental questions
• Main Problems:
  • How we know what we know (Epistemology)
  • What we ought to do (Ethics)
  • Metaphysics - What there is

Core Idea of Philosophy

• Looking at the connection between the mind and the world
• Understanding the relationship between thoughts and reality

Skepticism and Knowledge

• Triangle example illustrating skepticism
  • How do we know our thoughts capture reality?
  • Interpersonal skepticism
    • How do we know our thoughts correspond with others' thoughts?
  • Conceptual disagreements, e.g., the concept of God
  • Temporal skepticism
    • Do our thoughts today match our thoughts in the past?
  • Possible world skepticism
    • Would our thoughts be different in different circumstances?

Plato's Solution to Skepticism

• Theory of Forms
  • Forms as a solution to connect thoughts with reality
  • Forms are independent and immutable
  • My thought and your thought can connect to the same form
• Skepticism about forms
  • How do we know if we are referring to the same form?
  • The challenge of defining forms

Counterarguments to Plato

• Forms must have causal power and be mind-independent
• Challenges in knowing forms and the eye of the mind metaphor
• Plato’s myth of recollection
  • Forms impressed on the soul before birth
  • Memory issues - Are memories reliable?
• The doctrine of illumination
  • Forms as ideas in the mind of God
  • God’s role in revealing forms to us

Modern Take

• Descartes and innate ideas
  • The problem of an evil deceiver
  • Could innate ideas be false?
• Other philosophers' views on concepts as mind-dependent

Kant and the Object Problem

• Distinguishing the object itself (noumenon) from the object's appearance (phenomenon)
• Objects as phenomena constructed by the mind
• Skepticism towards the noumenon
  • How do we know the noumenon?

Hegel’s Reaction

• Denying mind-independent objects
• Phenomena as the things themselves
• The world as a mental construction

Idealism

• The mind as a projector constructing reality
• Everything is a mental construction
• Challenges in consistency across minds

Summarizing Questions

• How do we know the forms or innate ideas?
• How do we achieve intersubjective agreement?
• Is reality mutable and relative?
• How do we maintain consistency in mental constructs?

Future Discussion

• Introduction to Frege’s philosophy
• Frege’s reaction to idealist views and analytic philosophy