Foundations of Philosophy

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FoundationsofPhilosophy
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Philosophy is

• A search for meaning and truth

The general beliefs and attitudes of an
individual or group
The body of principles underlying a branch of
learning or major discipline
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Original Definition

• Love of Wisdom
• Definition was developed by Socrates

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Three Major Areas of Philosophy

• Metaphysics/Ontology - the nature of reality
• Axiology (Morality Ethics) deontology,
  behavior, the nature of values
• Epistemology - the nature of knowledge

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Metaphysics/Ontology

• Concerned with theories of the nature of reality
  
• Why does the universe exist?
• How did it come into being?
• Is mankind free?
• Is there a God?
• What is reality?

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Axiology

• concerned with theories of value
• Three major divisions of axiology
• deontology/morality
• What is right and wrong?
• What is good and evil?
• ethics
• What is right behavior?
• aesthetics
• What is beautiful and ugly?

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Epistemology

• Concerned with theories of the nature of
  knowledge
• Epistemological questions
• What is Knowledge?
• How do people learn?
• What knowledge is of utmost value?
• What are the different types of knowledge?

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Philosophical Schools of Thought

• Idealism
• Realism
• Pragmatism
• Existentialism
• Reconstructionism

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• Idealism

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Idealism (Idea-ism)

• Idealist believe that ideas are the only true
  reality.
• The material world is characterized by change,
  instability, and uncertainty some ideas are
  enduring

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Idealism

• We should be concerned primarily with the search
  for truth. Since truth is perfect and eternal,
  it cannot be found in the world of matter that is
  both imperfect and constantly changing.

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The Dialectic (Hegel)
Antithesis War is bad
Thesis War is good
Synthesis
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Leaders of Idealism

• Socrates (469-399 BC)
• Plato (427-347 BC)
• St. Augustine (350-430)
• Descartes (1596-1650)
• Berkeley (1685-1753)
• Kant (1724-1804)

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Socrates

• Regarded as the father of philosophy
• Believed we learned through questioning (the
  Socratic method)
• Wrote nothing, what we know of his views were
  written by his followers, most notably Plato

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Plato

• A student of Socrates
• Known as the father of idealism
• Operated a school named the Academy
• Believed the world is a pale shadow of
  thePlatonic Sphere

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Plato

• Those who demonstrate proficiency in the
  dialectic would continue their education and
  become philosophers in positions of power to lead
  the state toward the highest good (the
  Philosopher-King)
• Believed both boys and girls should be educated
  and girls should be equals.

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Augustine (354-430)

• Born in North Africa (Roman citizen)
• Mother - Christian, Father - Pagan
• Attended Roman Primary School
• grammar and literature emphasized
• At 16 went to Carthage and studied
• rhetoric, music, geometry, grammar, mathematics
• During his younger days He lied, he stole, he
  wenched.

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Augustine. . .

• Became a grammaticus in his native town
• Taught rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, Milan
• While in his 30s was converted to Christianity,
  took his holy orders and became a great
  evangelist and priest.
• Found great favor in the church andbecame a
  great religious leader.

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Augustine

• People do not create knowledge God hasalready
  created it, but people can discover it through
  trying to find God.

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Augustines Beliefs

• Women were held in low regard (this view was
  incorporated into the church and held for a
  thousand years)
• Only a few people possessed the mental ability to
  quest for the truth. Therefore most people
  should rely on the church for knowledge.

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Augustines Beliefs

• Augustine used Greek writings but began to have
  doubts how people who did not know God could
  write anything which could be of value to
  Christians.
• In 401 the Church outlawed pagan writings such as
  Plato and Aristotle (even the church leaders were
  not allowed to read the ancient literature).
  This continued for 1000 years.

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The Church and Idealism

• Idealism has exerted a great amount of influence
  on Christianity.
• For centuries the Christian church was the
  creator and protector of schooling.
• Generations educated in these schools were
  indoctrinated with the idealistpoint of view
  (including early American education).

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Descartes (1596-1650)

• A renown mathematician
• Wrestled with the question of what was real and
  did he really exist (perhaps he was a dream). He
  finally concluded
• I think, therefore I am
• Thinking and ideas are the ultimate truth.

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George Berkeley (1685-1753)

• Existence is dependent upon some mind to know it,
  and if there are no minds, nothing would exist
  unless it is perceived in the mind of God.

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Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

• the greatest and most difficult problem to
  which a man can devote himself is the problem of
  education
• Education should teach students how to think
  according to principles - moral laws, moral
  ideals and moral imperatives
• Enlightenment is the goal of education

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The Idealist and the Chair

• To an idealist, the concept of chair is
  important. You could destroy all the chairs in
  the world but they would still exist in the mind.
  The idea of a chair is the ultimate truth.

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Realism
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Realism

• Reality, knowledge and value exist independent of
  the human mind. Trees, sticks and stones exist
  whether or not there is a human mind to perceive
  them.
• Ideas must be subject to public verification
• must be proven through scientific experimentation
• Science for the sake of science

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Realism

• Universal properties of objects remain constant
  and never change, whereas particular components
  do change
• Need to study nature systematically
• Deductive reasoning - truth is derived from
  generalizations
• Earth is the center of the universe

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Leaders of Realism

• Aristotle (384-322 BC)
• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
• John Locke (1632-1704)

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Aristotle (384-322 BC)

• Ideas may be important but a proper study of
  matter could lead us to better and more distinct
  ideas.
• Golden Mean - a path between extremes
• Balance is key - body and mind operate together
  in a balanced whole

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Aquinas (1225-1274)

• God created matter therefore it must be ok to
  learn about it
• This view helped lead civilization out of the
  dark ages, replaced the influence of Augustine

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Aquinas

• Truth was passed from God to Humans by divine
  revelation, but God alsohas endowed humans
  withthe reasoning ability toseek out truth.

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Bacon (1561-1626)

• Novum Organum - challenged Aristotelian logic
• Science must be concerned with inquiry, pure and
  simple with no preconceived notions
• We need to examine all previously accepted
  knowledge

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Bacon (1561-1626)

• Need to rid our mind of idols
• Idol of the Den - we believe things because of
  limited experience
• Idol of the Tribe - we believe things because
  many people believe them
• Idol of the Marketplace - we are misled by
  language
• Idol of the Theatre - Religion and philosophy may
  prevent us from seeing the world objectively

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Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

• Known as the father of inductive
  reasoning--important logical form
• (arrive at generalizations from systematic
  observations of particulars)
• Died as a result of the only experiment he
  performed - stuffed a dead chicken with snow to
  see if it would preserve the flesh, caught a cold
  and died

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John Locke (1632-1704)

• At birth, the mind is a blank sheet of paper - a
  tabula rasa
• All ideas are derived from experience by way of
  sensation and reflection

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The Realist and the Chair

• To a realist, the actuality of chair is
  important. A realist would measure the chair,
  weigh it, examine the physical characteristics,
  etc. The fact that the chair exists is the
  ultimate truth.

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Pragmatism
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Pragmatism

• The root of the word Pragmatism is a Greek word
  meaning work.
• It is primarily a 20th century philosophy
  developed by Americans.
• Truth is what works in the real world. We must
  keep the desired end in mind.
• Ideas should be applied to solving problems
  including social problems.

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Leaders in Pragmatism

• Auguste Comte, 1798-1857
• Not a pragmatist but emphasized using science to
  solve social problems

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Leaders in Pragmatism

• Charles Darwin, 1809-1882
• Reality is not found in Being, but in Becoming
• Reality is open-ended, in process, with no fixed
  end.

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American Pragmatists

• Charles Sanders Pierce, 1839-1914
• Widely acknowledged as the father of pragmatism
• Wrote an article on How to make our Ideas Clear
  in Popular Science Monthly that is regarded as
  the basis for pragmatism.
• True knowledge of anything depends upon
  verification of our ideas in actual experience

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American Pragmatists

• William James, 1842-1910
• The truth of an idea is its workability
• Truth is not absolute and immutable rather it is
  made in actual, real-life
• James called his philosophy radical empiricism
• Jamess 1907 book Pragmatism did much to
  promote pragmatism.
• Rufus Stimson, a leader in agricultural
  education, studied under James.

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American Pragmatists

• John Dewey, 1859-1952
• Need to concentrate on real-life problems
• Sought practical solutions for practical problems
• How We Think
• Felt Difficulty
• Define the problem
• Formulate possible solutions
• Examine Evaluate possible solutions
• Accept or reject solutions

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The Pragmatist and the Chair

• To a pragmatist, the use of the chair is
  important. What is the purpose of the chair and
  does it fulfil that purpose? The workability of
  a chair is the ultimate truth.

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Reconstructionism
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Reconstructionism

• Society is in need of constant reconstruction
• Such social change involves both a reconstruction
  of education and the use of education in
  reconstructing society
• Problems are viewed holistically
• Futuristic thinking (utopian thinking)

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Reconstructionism

• Do not believe preparing students for the world
  as it exists today will be sufficient (too much
  emphasis on the status quo)

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Reconstuctionists want to

• link thought with action
• theory with practice
• intellect with activism

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Noted Reconstructionists

• George S. Counts
• Theodore Brameld
• Paole Freire
• Karl Marx
• Ivan Illich
• John Dewey (he is also recognized as a
  pragmatist)

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The Reconstructionist and the Chair

• To a reconstructionist, the redesign of the
  chair to better serve the needs of society is
  important. How can the chair be improved to
  prepare society for the future?

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Existentialism
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Existentialism

• Received new emphasis in the 60s and 70s
• Civil rights
• Women rights
• Individual rights
• Special needs

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Existentialism

• Traditional philosophies consider questions about
  the nature of knowledge, truth and meaning but
• Existentialists are concerned with how these
  things are significant within the lived
  experiences of individuals.

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Noted Existentialists

• Soren Kierkegaard
• Martin Heidigger
• Martin Buber
• Jean-Paul Sartre
• Fredrich Neitzche

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The Existentialist and the Chair

• To an existentialist, the individuals use of
  chair is important. Whatever the individual
  wants to do with the chair is important. The
  experience of the individual with the chair is
  the ultimate truth.

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Match the philosophyto the image

• Idealism
• Realism
• Pragmatism
• Reconstructionism
• Existentialism