Heads Up Philosophy

351 Pages·2014·90.49 MB·English

by  DK

Contents
What is PHILOSOPHY?
What do PHILOSOPHERS DO?
What is KNOWLEDGE?
The NEED to KNOW
How do you KNOW that?
Where did you get that IDEA?
Don’t trust your SENSES
Knowledge comes from REASONING
Biography: DAVID HUME
We learn from EXPERIENCE
Take NOTHING for granted
BELIEVING is not the same as KNOWING
Biography: IMMANUEL KANT
You can NEVER know it ALL
Do we ever really know the TRUTH?
Philosophy and knowledge IN PRACTICE
What is REALITY?
What is the UNIVERSE made of?
Is there a STRUCTURE to the universe?
What is REAL?
Is the world we know an ILLUSION?
Biography: PLATO
How do you know anything EXISTS?
Is there a GOD?
SCIENCE doesn’t have all the answers
Biography: THOMAS AQUINAS
What is TIME?
What’s the point of my EXISTENCE?
Metaphysics IN PRACTICE
What is the MIND?
Is there such a thing as an IMMORTAL soul?
Is your MIND separate from your BODY?
What is CONSCIOUSNESS?
Biography: RENÉ DESCARTES
ANIMALS have thoughts and feelings, too
Do you FEEL like I do?
What MAKES you YOU?
Biography: THOMAS HOBBES
Can COMPUTERS think?
Can science explain how our MINDS WORK?
Philosophy of mind IN PRACTICE
What is REASONING?
True or false? PROVE IT…
What is a LOGICAL ARGUMENT?
Are there different kinds of TRUTH?
Biography: ARISTOTLE
What makes a GOOD ARGUMENT?
What’s LOGIC got to do with science?
Can we TRUST what SCIENCE tells us?
Just use COMMON SENSE!
Biography: LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
What can LOGIC tell us?
There must be a LOGICAL explanation
Are REASON and FAITH compatible?
Logic IN PRACTICE
What is RIGHT and WRONG?
There’s no such thing as GOOD and BAD
What is a GOOD LIFE?
Biography: SOCRATES
RIGHT and WRONG: It’s all relative…
Do the ends JUSTIFY the means?
What kind of SOCIETY do you want to live in?
Biography: HANNAH ARENDT
What makes a society CIVILIZED?
Is it possible to have FREEDOM and JUSTICE?
We don’t have EQUAL rights
Biography: SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
What’s GOD got to do with it?
Are we playing GOD?
What is ART?
Moral and political philosophy IN PRACTICE
Directory of philosophers
Glossary
Acknowledgment
Imprint
WHY IS THERE ANYTHING AT ALL? WHAT MAKES THINGS RIGHT
AND WRONG? DOES GOD EXIST? IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE
FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE, REALITY, AND
EXISTENCE, PHILOSOPHY TACKLES SOME OF THE GREATEST
MYSTERIES OF ALL. MANY SUCH QUESTIONS HAVE PUZZLED
PHILOSOPHERS FOR CENTURIES. PHILOSOPHY DEVELOPED TO
QUESTION WHAT PEOPLE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED.
Many philosophical questions appear to be beyond the scope of science. Take
moral questions, for instance. It’s true that scientists can make morally
significant discoveries. They can build nuclear weapons, or make it possible for
us to design a baby by choosing his or her eye and hair color, and so on. But
science cannot tell us whether we ought or ought not to use such new
technologies. Science, it seems, is ultimately restricted to telling us how things
are, whereas moral philosophy is concerned with how things ought to be. Doing
philosophy involves trying to figure out as best we can what is true by using our
powers of reason, or logical thought. It is an activity: a great way to learn how to
think well—about anything. And the skills you pick up doing philosophy are
skills you will find useful in all kinds of areas, from giving a presentation to
negotiating an important business deal. Philosophers also question our beliefs.
We might not realize it, but we all hold a great many philosophical beliefs.
These, of course, include moral beliefs: Many believe the universe was created
by God, and that there is some form of life after death. Others believe the
opposite. Often, we acquire our beliefs from our cultures, communities, and
traditions. But these beliefs can change. Not so long ago, most Westerners
thought it was morally acceptable to own slaves, and to prevent women from
voting. Now, we know better. It is the role of the philosopher to try to establish
whether or not such beliefs are true. In doing so, philosophers may be considered
an annoyance. But it is important that we ask these questions. After all, the
answers really do matter.
VERY FEW PEOPLE EARN THEIR LIVING AS FULL-TIME
PHILOSOPHERS, EITHER WRITING PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS OR
TEACHING AND RESEARCHING IN UNIVERSITIES. STUDYING
PHILOSOPHY, HOWEVER, HELPS US DEVELOP SKILLS THAT ARE
USEFUL IN MANY DIFFERENT JOBS, AND PHILOSOPHERS FOLLOW A
WIDE VARIETY OF CAREER PATHS. ALSO, A LOT OF PEOPLE SIMPLY
ENJOY PHILOSOPHY FOR ITS OWN SAKE, AS A HOBBY.