At its core, philosophy involves deep inquiries about existence, knowledge, values, and the nature of reality.
Key themes include:
What do we know?
How do we know what we know?
What ought we to do? (Ethics)
What is the nature of reality? (Metaphysics)
Connection Between Mind and Reality
Philosophy emphasizes the connection between our thoughts and the world.
Example: A person thinks about a triangle, questioning how their thought correlates with the actual triangle.
Skepticism in Philosophy
Types of Skepticism:
Connection between thought and reality.
Communication between individuals about concepts (e.g., triangle).
Historical interpretations of terms and concepts changing over time.
Plato's Perspective on Forms
Theory of Forms:
Plato proposes that abstract forms (e.g., the form of triangularity) exist and that our concepts relate to these forms.
This theory attempts to solve issues of skepticism by asserting a mind-independent reality (the forms) that our thoughts can reflect.
Problems with Plato's Solution
Difficulty in defining forms and their existence beyond our concepts.
The challenge of different interpretations of concepts (e.g., justice, virtue) across individuals.
The skepticism regarding whether people are referring to the same forms or concepts.
Transition to Modern Philosophy
Early Christian philosophy adapted Plato’s ideas, suggesting forms as ideas in the mind of God. This led to a doctrine of illumination (e.g., Augustine).
Descartes and the Evil Deceiver:
Questions the reliability of innate ideas and a priori knowledge, raising doubts about whether our concepts are correct.
The evil deceiver hypothesis suggests that an entity may implant false ideas in our minds.
Kant's Dualism
Kant distinguishes between:
Noumena: Things-in-themselves (independent of mind).
Phenomena: Things as they appear to us (constructed by the mind).
Kant affirms that we can only know phenomena, creating a tension between knowing and the existence of noumena.
Hegel's Idealism
Hegel critiques Kant's distinction and argues that reality is a mental construction.
He emphasizes that ideas and concepts are mutable over time and culturally dependent.
Implications and Concerns
Concerns about the relativism of values, laws, and concepts.
The fragmentation of objective knowledge and truth.
The implications for morality and ethics, questioning whether right and wrong are absolute or culturally contingent.