ES: Think: Introduction In the Think Introduction the author, Simon Blackburn , attempts to provide us with a brief overview of the contents of the the novel. He also gives a base explanation for philosophy and its foundations. Blackburn begins by explaining the main purpose of the book. He wants both men and women to be able to understand “big themes”. These are subjects such as autonomy, certitudes, and morality. Blackburn believes that by reading this text, if done correctly, the audience will have a clear understanding of these “big themes” and be quite able digest complicated philosophy texts at their leisure. (Blackburn 1) I believe that Blackburn accomplishes his goal. Blackburn then continues this introduction by creating a familiarity with the reader. This will set the tone for the following text. He is not talking at the audience, but rather conversing with them. Blackburn forges this familiarity by placing himself on the level of the reader, in this case “philosophers and philosophy students” (Blackburn 2). He states that they share an instant of “silent embarrassment” when a person naively inquires as to their occupation or area of study. Blackburn then offers the description “conceptual engineering” as a possible response. He elaborates by indicating that this is what philosopher are, the engineers of logical …show more content…
In this introduction he continues to reference back to the analogy between philosophy and engineering. Blackburn uses this technique to provide a visual which is easy to understand, thereby expanding his audience past that of the seasoned philosopher. He expands on this technique by emphasizing on the base simplicity of philosophy, Socrates being his primary example:“Socrates...did not pride himself on how much he knew. On the contrary, he prided himself on being the only one who knew how little he knew.” (Blackburn
8. Paul Arthur Schilpp, as noted in Steven J. Bartlett's ``Philosophy as Ideology'', Metaphilosophy, Vol. 17, No. 1, Jan. 1986, pp. 1ff. This article is a penetrating critique of the closed-mindedness of philosophers.
While discussing the unknown frontier that scientists must endure, Barry describes a “wilderness region” that is unfamiliar and new. He continues to say that scientists venture “through the looking glass” into a new frontier. These devices help to create familiar ideas that the audience will understand in an unfamiliar situation. A simile used to compare research to a “crystal” by explaining that “probing” was to “ precipitate an order out of chaos,” much like a crystalline structure forms an ordered structure. Finally, Berry implements a metaphor in order to describe what follows a discovery. He describes “a flood of colleagues” that “ pave roads over the path laid.” This metaphor describes how science continuously changes, one discovery after another while ultimately communicating the patience and curiosity a scientist must have. The culmination of these figurative devices teach a new way of an audience that is unfamiliar with the author's theme.
of them the idea of the philosopher and he wants to see it generated as
(*note to reader:I hope this gives all of you struggling with some concepts in Intro to Philosophy a clearer view on how to approach your own paper, please do not plagerise)
In the article “Reading and Thought” the author Dwight MacDonald provides criticism and disagreement with Henry Luce’s idea of “functional curiosity”. Luce developed the term “functional curiosity” defining it as an eagerness of people to know the latest news happening around the world. On the other hand, MacDonald concludes that functional curiosity only strengthens reader’s practice in reading rather than in providing invaluable information. He underlines that literature nowadays is deficient and insubstantial since there is no deep meaning in the texts. Modern printed literature is simply being skimmed through by the reader as the reader nowadays tends to avoid too much information resisting thinking in such a way. Because of the new nature of the printed materials, MacDonald considers today’s reading behavior and the way people think as flimsy and indifferent. I agree that our thought has definitively changed since we are paying less time to serious critical thinking losing connections with society and awareness of it.
John Locke's, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), was first criticized by the philosopher and theologian, John Norris of Bemerton, in his "Cursory Reflections upon a Book Call'd, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," and appended to his Christian Blessedness or Discourses upon the Beatitudes (1690). Norris's criticisms of Locke prompted three replies, which were only posthumously published. Locke has been viewed, historically, as the winner of this debate; however, new evidence has emerged which suggests that Norris's argument against the foundation of knowledge in sense-perception that the Essay advocated was a valid and worthy critique, which Locke did, in fact, take rather seriously. Charlotte Johnston's "Locke's Examination of Malebranche and John Norris" (1958), has been widely accepted as conclusively showing that Locke's replies were not philosophical, but rather personal in origin; her essay, however, overlooks critical facts that undermine her subjective analysis of Locke's stance in relation to Norris's criticisms of the Essay. This paper provides those facts, revealing the philosophical—not personal—impetus for Locke's replies.
By calling philosophy “edifying,” Rorty calls for a more historicistic and pluralistic point of view of reality. In line with historicism, Rorty wants people to view discussions in light of the time period in which those discussions took place; he wants to see how different time periods influence thought rather than pinpointing any fundamentals truth beyond all time periods. Philosophy of the current time will serve to edify since this time period is different from other time periods and will influence thought in a new way. In line with pluralism, Rorty does not want philosophers to agree on fundamentals truths, but wants philosophers to keep interpreting the world in different ways and reach new conclusions. Rorty wants philosophers to edify by breaking away from tradition and avoiding dogma.
Garner, Richard. The Experience of Philosophy. Ed. Daniel Kolak, Raymond Martin. Belmont California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996.
Alan Turing exhibits the characteristics of a genius, evidence of this comes from his description as a "math prodigy" at Kings College- Cambridge, and the fact that he became a fellow at Cambridge at the age of twenty-four. However, Alan Turing compares himself to genius's such as Newton and Einstein and believes that he is no prodigy because he has yet to accomplish as much as the two. Additionally, Turing recognizes he is one of the best mathematicians in the world, at only twenty-seven years old. Turing exhibits the characteristics of an isolated individual as seen through his inability to understand humor, his arrogance towards others, and his refusal to work as a team while trying to break Enigma, one of the greatest encryption devices
Is it possible for human beings to rise above the sensory interpretation about the world and become an intellectual? Both Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and René Descartes’ “Cogito, Ergo Sum” examine this issue, and come to the conclusion that it is possible, and from this ascent, to become certain and rational. For each author, though, this is accomplished in different ways. Plato’s allegory points out that we need to look beyond the surface of the knowledge we learn and let the idea of good be our basis in life. Descartes expresses that we need to eliminate doubt in order for us to know certainty and feel comfortable in our knowledge.
"Local thinking" involves some "imagination, charity, and forbearance," as well as willing to be "independent and self-sufficient" (Berry, IV). "Local thinking" involves imagination because it takes creativity to separate oneself from the global culture of today and "learn to live at home," which requires independence and self-sufficiency (Berry, V). Self-efficiency will require people to live with only what the land provides and to use imagination in order to solve problems that occur with living simply (Berry, V). For example, cities should become sustainable by exchanging the massive amounts of money cities receive for fresh crops that the countryside provides; therefore, cities would be able to support local communities and use less material and the countryside could be given more money to make fresh food and not have to worry about being below the poverty line because of the just wages are given by the local communities rather than global ones (Berry, VI). Ecological good sense is another example of "local thinking" that requires the support and labor of the local communities to be independent and self-sufficient (Berry, XIV). "Local thinking" is a tight-knit community effort that requires a love for the land they live on and the love for their neighbors (Berry, XXI).
Moore, Brooke Noel., and Kenneth Bruder. "Chapter 6- The Rise of Metaphysics and Epistemology; Chapter 9- The Pragmatic and Analytic Traditions; Chapter 7- The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries." Philosophy: the Power of Ideas. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
The word Philosophy comes from the Greek words of ‘philo’ meaning love and ‘sophos’ meaning wisdom (Philosophy). It is the pursuit for wisdom, to comprehend human behavior, nature and ultimately the meaning of life. Plato was the student of Socrates, influenced by his work, Plato aged to become a great philosopher himself; establishing his philosophy from that of his teacher. Aristotle was the student of Plato, and like his teacher, grew up to ground his philosophy from that of Plato. Although, both Plato and Aristotle criticized their teacher’s works, they were also influenced by them. Both Plato and Aristotle developed their own modes of knowledge acquisition; Plato’s Platonic Idealism and Aristotle’s Analytic Empiricism. In this paper, my objective is to identify the differences in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, which lead to the development of two contradictory modes of knowledge acquisition and their influence on succeeding thinkers.
Ideology is a way of thinking that reflect the social needs and political doctrines of an individual or group. There are many different people and different circumstances this results in a variety of different ways of thinking, values and beliefs. Our ideology grows with us from childhood. From the moment you are born the family influence begins to impact your thought process.
Philosophy is an ever-growing field of study due to the fact that people are constantly yearning to discover the underlying truth in all of life’s matters. Dating back all the way to before the life of Jesus Christ, a great Greek philosopher by the name of Plato, exemplified this nature. He earnestly sought to find the root of true knowledge by using the Divided Line. Plato laid a strong foundation for the future of philosophy and since his time other intelligent philosophers have arose. In the seventeenth century two of the most vital philosophers in all of history came on the scene, René Descartes and John Locke. In attempt to discover how one acquires true knowledge, these two philosophers developed extensive concepts and ideas that greatly