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How I think about teaching philosophy
How I think about teaching philosophy
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When a person studies philosophy, he or she can expect to? Have a better understanding of how to ponder the questions at hand. Philosophy is like a mathematical formula, in order to find the answers one must have evidence to support it. How one determines two separate opinions would be based on facts or the way one could persuade a person into imagining it from their point of view. I believe philosophy is trying to prove your answers with whatever means necessary, whether it is using fear tactics, arguments, assumptions, facts or fallacies to prove your point. Philosophy will help us become better critical thinkers, problem solvers, and assessors. To be a successful philosopher one must have an open-mind and be able to understand all the terminology that comes with it. Learning philosophy should help in whatever field we decide to go into, the question itself is very broad and could also entail much speculation. In the reading thus far, I am already questioning my ability to learn this. I honestly had no idea what philosophy was until this week. I can see where it co...
In short, what's gained from studying philosophy is not so much the material as the method: developing an ability to discuss and to understand things to a greater degree and in a greater context.
Philosophy is a very important part of people’s lives. Philosophy is quite basically asking inquiries about existence, reality and nature of knowledge. To better understand philosophy we must look throughout history. Looking back through history helps better show what the philosophers thought during the time period in which they lived. The relativity of the theories, to the time period, is a very important factor in how efficient these theories they were. The first philosopher’s ideas to people today would be considered either very basic, or insane. Yet, in the time period they lived in, they were considered to be geniuses. Also, looking back through time and studying philosophers and what they believed can help create a better idea for our own philosophical creations. The first philosophers were also known as the Presocratics. They were called this because they were in a time period before Socrates was born. They mainly focused on answering what is the explanation of nature, also referred to as metaphysics. Even before the Presocratic philosophers, we need to look at the ancient Greek poets that created myths and examine how their stories came into being made and how it had an effect on their civilization. These myths are a part of Philosophy because they were the first ideas about creation. The transition between these mythic worldviews and pre-Socratic philosophers’ worldview was important because it lays down the structural work for great philosophers to learn from them and develop further theories based on their findings.
I believe that Philosophy is the study of different ways of thinking. In philosophy, you should question everything and never take anything for face value. There are always two sides to every coin as there are different ways of looking at things, is what philosophy teaches us. In philosophy, you must throw off all the limitations you have set on yourself when dealing with how you view things and how things seem to be.
At the heart of philosophy is philosophical argument. Arguments are different from assertions. Assertions are simply stated; arguments always involve giving reasons. An argument is a reasoned inference from one set of claims – the premises – to another claim – the conclusion. The premises provide reasons to believe that the conclusion is true. If the premises are true, the conclusion is more likely to be true. Arguments seek to ‘preserve truth’ – true premises will lead to a true conclusion. It is worth knowing a little bit more about arguments straightaway.
A philosopher is someone who loves wisdom, not just part of it, but all of it. A true philosopher feels he has never attained enough knowledge or wisdom. He is always curious, wants to learn more and is anxious to know the truth. He can never get his fill of knowledge, wisdom, and truth.
When a student goes through the state of California’s University system, the student is encouraged to take many different courses of broadly ranged material including courses dealing with philosophy. Some individuals argue that studying and reading philosophy is a waste of a student’s time and has little value to the student and his/her education. Though this argument shows valid concerns for a university student’s education, it is more beneficial for a student to take courses dealing with philosophy because these courses teach students how to think logically and critically. Without the study of philosophical thinking and lack of philosophy courses taken throughout a student’s educational journey, university students would not be given the necessary critical thinking skills they need to be successful in their society.
The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.
Why should you study philosophy? If you are busy and don't have the patience or interest to reflect on fundamental issues, then perhaps philosophy is not for you. But for people who are interested in critical reflection, philosophy can be an enjoyable activity.
The word “philosophy” is derived from two roots that are “philo” and “Sophia.” Philo means love whereas Sophia means wisdom. Therefore, philosophy means the love of wisdom. In actual practice, philosophy entails study of, pursuit, and enquiry into wisdom. A good number of great philosophers have referred to philosophy as the art of thinking. Others have only defined it as the systematic study of human feelings and thoughts.
Knowledge is generated through critical and creative thinking. Creative thinking is something new or original that is created with value. Critical thinking is a type of thinking that questions assumptions and validates or invalidates a current belief or something that is said to be previously true. Knowledge is created through the culmination of generally accepted assumptions and creativity. How do you separate general assumptions and creativity? These two types of thinking can be easily separated in regards to concrete or realistic ideas compared to abstract or original ideas however to generate new, acceptable knowledge critical and creative thinking must interact together. The questioning of established beliefs with the creation of unorthodox new ideas will expose the most beneficial knowledge for the world.
When I think of philosophy I think back to my personal beliefs and experiences. Philosophy for me is a term that goes beyond choosing what's right from wrong, philosophy goes deeper that a decision. Philosophy for me is the roots of my being and what determines the way I live my everyday life. Philosophy refers back to the codes I count on to help me handle situations better and find the right path that will bring me happiness within myself.
There is always that one person or thing that creates a confusion in your mind. That person could speak wise words to you, but leave you to figure them out at a later time or maybe that one thing a coach made you do that you couldn’t seem to understand. Sometimes being lead to the answers kills the understanding process. A philosophy is known for being an activity of thought. It expresses the way you see certain things and the beliefs you build towards them. My personal philosophy is to simply start.
Philosophy as an activity is not simply a way of living like many people have come to believe. It’s a journey, a journey where the philosopher finds them selves constantly thinking. Constantly thinking and questioning authority until you get what you are looking for in a statement. Philosophy in so many ways is similar to trying to look at the inside and outside of a door at once. At first you may think it can’t be done, but then you ask question, which reveal answers and outlets that lead to more question and you realize that there are so many more ways to look at the door, so many more ways to look at the world. So many more ways to look at philosophy. Philosophy as an activity is looking at a door.
study of basic concepts such as existence and freedom, however, philosophy does extend on to other
many different topics which can be covered under the umbrella of philosophy. Philosophers are supposed