Business Logic - Whether we answer these questions

affirmatively or negatively, our

Lesson 1 – What is Philosophy answer will be a claim about reality
- It will require us to affirm or deny the
Philosophy existence of some being in reality, or
- Means “the love of wisdom” to affirm or deny that a being in reality
- From Greek words (1) philein which has some property
means “to love” and (2) sophia which
means “wisdom” (2) Epistemology
- Interested in ideas - Theory of knowledge
- Has many subfields, each of which - Concerned with the question, “What
focuses on a specific area of human is knowledge— as opposed to mere
thought belief or opinion?”
- Critical - Tries to determine exactly what the
criteria for knowledge are— what
“To pursue philosophy as an academic conditions must a belief satisfy in
discipline is to learn how to think about deep order for it to count as knowledge?
questions in a more rigorous, critical, and - Consider possible sources of
systematic way than we typically do in our knowledge (sensory experience,
day-to-day thinking.” reasoning, or combination of sensory
experience and thinking)
We can define the academic discipline of
philosophy as “the critical study of ideas.” Think of how many things you believe, and
ask yourself how many of those you can
Major Subfields of Philosophy claim to know. Most of us are uncomfortable
(1) Metaphysics claiming to know some of the very same
- Theory of reality things that we nonetheless believe, which
- Focused on the question, “what is suggests we all regard knowledge as having
real— as opposed to merely a higher standard than mere belief does.
apparent?”
- Greek thinkers realized that things Some of our beliefs count as knowledge but
might not be as they appear to us not all of them do, and this is because the
(western philosophy) criteria for knowledge are more stringent
- Reality is not identical to the than those for belief.
appearance
- First philosophers asked, “What if the (3) Ethics
reality of the world is somehow - Theory of value
different from the way it looks to us - Focuses on the question, “How
when we perceive it?” (philosophy) should we live?”
- Ex. Magic show; Do I exist?; Do I - Concerned with our practical lives---
have a body?; Do I have a mind or the choices we make and the actions
soul?— something that exists we perform
differently from the way my body - May focus on the actions of
seems to exist?; Do I have a free will, individuals or it may focus on how we
or are my actions causally organize and govern ourselves as
determined?; Does God exist? groups
 - Social philosophy and political Aristotle
philosophy both fall under this - Contributed in numerous fields of
subfield discipline: natural sciences (biology,
- Ex. What is the meaning of life?; this zoology, embryology, anatomy,
is an ethical question because to ask astronomy, meteorology, physics,
whether our life has some and optics); arts (poetry, music,
meaning/purpose/goal is to ask theater, and rhetoric); government
whether our life has (or could have) and politics; psychology and
some intrinsic value; answer will go a education; economics; ethics;
long way toward answering other metaphysics; and logic, of which he
ethical questions alone was the systematic founder
- One of his greatest works “The
Are there things we should be doing because Organon” constituted all of his
they are right? If so, what are they, and why treatises on logic – the earliest formal
are they right? Are there things we should study of this subject
avoid doing because they are wrong? If so, - Often referred to as “The
what are they and why are they wrong? Philosopher”
- Grasped the necessity of determining
If we can discern the purpose or goal of rules of correct reasoning
human life, then we will be in a better position - Discusses and explained validity and
to say which types of actions are right characterized the four fundamental
(because they lead us to our goal) or wrong types of categorical propositions and
(because they somehow impede progress their relations
toward our goal). - Developed a sophisticated
theoretical account of categorical
Psychology – root word psyche meaning syllogisms, an account that long
mind and soul dominated the realm of deductive
logic and that remains today an
Logic effective tool of sound reasoning
- Study of the methods and principles
used to distinguish correct from Theology – academic discipline connected to
incorrect reasoning religion.
- Focuses on the question, “Is this
correct in the sense of principles and A number of topics pursued by philosophers
methods of reasoning?” are also topics in religion and in theology. Yet
- Tries to discover and apply the both are very distinct disciplines
criteria of objectivity in reasoning
Theologians
When we try to reason for any matter, we - Try to answer deep questions about
produce relations between our ideas in the life but answers are always intended
mind to create arguments and support our specifically for the members of a
reasons and/or conclusions. religious belief system
- Presupposes a shared belief system
Not every reason is good nor correct. Does - Interpret and explain the faith
the conclusion reached follow from the experience of a community of
premises assumed? believers
Philosophers
- Answer some of the same deep
questions about life but rather than
presupposing a common faith
experience, they appeal to reason
and argumentation
- Neither expect nor ask to accept
anything as true on faith, instead
simply expects us to be rational
- Answers questions by means of
argumentation and presents with
arguments
- Convinces us that (a) conclusion of
argument is the correct answer to
some philosophical question, (b)
argument’s premises (reasons it
offers us in support of its conclusion)
are true, and (c) argument’s premises
lead to the argument’s conclusion
- Deal in arguments that logic is also a
subfield of philosophy— but logic is
big enough topic that it needs to be
studied on its own

2 Parts of Argument
(1) A claim being argued for (argument’s
conclusion)
(2) One or more statements in support of
that claim— that is reason/s why we
ought to regard that claim as true
(argument’s premises)

You will need to appeal to your own thoughts

and experiences to determine whether you
can accept a philosopher’s premises as true
or whether you should reject them as false.

Whenever you have good reason to reject

some premise in an argument as false, you
thereby have good reason to reject that
argument’s conclusion as false.