Rethinking Our World
Rethinking our world
Linguistic analysis: * Claims that almost all philosophical problems can be dispensed with once their underlying linguistic basis is exposed * No matter how hard we try to solve a problem we fail, then we are dealing with a false problem/ meaningless set of words * 2 British philosophers = Bertrand Russell & AJ Ayer * Focused on logic, linguistic meaning & verifiable facts
Help us do: * Think more clearly * Be precise in what we mean * Spot hidden assumptions & dishonesty in all forms of propaganda
Can’t help us with: * Moral problems * Life choices * Facing own mortality * Seeing the people we love suffer * Our own suffering
Logical symbolism & argument: * Arrive at the basic structure of truth * Process is facilitated by representing objects & relationships symbolically * Any statement that is true/false by definition can be expressed in form of symbolic logic
Empiricism: * Gained through traditional 5 senses(seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting) gives us our most reliable form of information * Concerned with establishing the truth by means of scientific testing * Searching for objective truth * Linguistic analysis, logical symbolism & empiricism = logical empiricism
Can help us: * Understand how our physical world operates * Test truth of certain claims * Refute what is false * Respect natural laws of the Universe * Learn from experience
Failings: * Places too much emphasis on science * Ignores human values * Views human beings as machines * Tend to ignore anything that can’t be explained scientifically * Confines truths to that which can be experiences through senses
Critical Rationalism: * Encourage questioning & open-mindedness * Socrates, 470-399 BC * Challenge existing ideas & beliefs by questioning them * Essential for the future of true
Linguistic analysis: * Claims that almost all philosophical problems can be dispensed with once their underlying linguistic basis is exposed * No matter how hard we try to solve a problem we fail, then we are dealing with a false problem/ meaningless set of words * 2 British philosophers = Bertrand Russell & AJ Ayer * Focused on logic, linguistic meaning & verifiable facts
Help us do: * Think more clearly * Be precise in what we mean * Spot hidden assumptions & dishonesty in all forms of propaganda
Can’t help us with: * Moral problems * Life choices * Facing own mortality * Seeing the people we love suffer * Our own suffering
Logical symbolism & argument: * Arrive at the basic structure of truth * Process is facilitated by representing objects & relationships symbolically * Any statement that is true/false by definition can be expressed in form of symbolic logic
Empiricism: * Gained through traditional 5 senses(seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting) gives us our most reliable form of information * Concerned with establishing the truth by means of scientific testing * Searching for objective truth * Linguistic analysis, logical symbolism & empiricism = logical empiricism
Can help us: * Understand how our physical world operates * Test truth of certain claims * Refute what is false * Respect natural laws of the Universe * Learn from experience
Failings: * Places too much emphasis on science * Ignores human values * Views human beings as machines * Tend to ignore anything that can’t be explained scientifically * Confines truths to that which can be experiences through senses
Critical Rationalism: * Encourage questioning & open-mindedness * Socrates, 470-399 BC * Challenge existing ideas & beliefs by questioning them * Essential for the future of true