Philosophizing — that is, making philosophical claims — is a vital part of what it is to be a human being. When you say that something is true, or when you say that you know something, or when you say that something is good, you are making a claim that is based on a series of other claims that ultimately resolve to philosophical claims. In other words, implicit in saying that something is true, or is known, or is good are philosophical assumptions about truth, knowledge and goodness.

Let’s start with a simple claim: “It is raining outside.”

What makes this claim true or false?

Is it true or false because you believe it to be false?

Is it true or false because everyone believes it to be false?

Is it true because it can be proven to be true? And false because you can prove it to be false?

(And, if so, what counts as proof? Is sensory evidence proof? Is seeing believing and, thus, believing truth?)

Is it true if it is actually raining outside and false if it is not?

Or is it some other factor or set of factors that determines whether this claim that it is raining is true or false?

These questions are philosophical questions and when you say, “It is raining outside” the truth of your claim rests on your answer to these questions.

In some ways this discussion of the claim “It is raining outside.” may seem too simple an example. However, even this simple example shows that philosophical questions like “What makes a statement true?” and “What is the relation between truth and belief?” and “How do we prove a statement to be true?” lie right under our feet everywhere we go. When we make claims about what we know and what is right or wrong and what is good and bad, the philosophy in our lives becomes even more obvious.

In order to distinguish between the philosophizing that underlies our quotidian^[1] existence and doing philosophy, it may be useful to make a distinction between having philosophical opinions and doing philosophy. An opinion is a belief. In many cases opinions are mere beliefs. In other words, they are beliefs we have but do not have good reasons to have. (Can you give any examples of such beliefs you have?) Some of our opinions are prejudices or pre-judgements. We make a pre-judgement when we arrive at a belief without considering the evidence. For example, some students believe that Philosophy is difficult. But do these students have evidence for this belief? Or is it simply a prejudice. And, of course, it is not uncommon to hold prejudicial beliefs about people based on things such as appearance or group membership.

1. Philosophical argumentation

Philosophy can be characterized as reasoned opposition to prejudice and mere beliefs. The philosopher wants to have good reasons for what she believes. Philosophers are concerned with arguments. An argument here is not a disagreement. It is a series of statements were some of the statements (the premises) are used to provide good reasons to believe another statement (the conclusion) true. In is important to emphasize that in philosophy the point of an argument is to determine what is true. It is not to persuade someone that a statement is true. Persuasion is the purpose of rhetoric. Many of the Ancient Greek Sophists were teachers of rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art and study of persuasion. Philosophy is the art and the study of the truth.

Here is an example of a philosophical argument from the French philosopher Rene Descartes.

P1 If there is thought, there must be a thinker.

P2 If there is a thinker, then the thinker exists.

P3 If I question whether I exist, there is thought.

C The thinker exists.

This argument is called the “cogito argument” and is sometimes abbreviated “I think, therefore, I am.” Statements P1-3 are premises. Statement C is the conclusion.

Of course, we make all sorts of arguments, where we give reasons for a conclusion, in our day-to-day lives. At some point you may make an argument for someone to lend you money, or to accept a late paper, or to see you socially. These are not in themselves philosophical arguments. So, what makes an argument an argument a philosophical argument?

It is sometimes said that philosophers ask the “big questions” that do not have settled answers or agreed methods by which to settle the answers, but this is, perhaps, still not clear. Another way of describing philosophy is that philosophy asks questions so fundamental that most of what we believe is based on what we take to be the answers to these questions. For example, a metaphysical philosopher might ask whether material things exist. A material thing is a solid and tangible object. Examples include chairs, atoms and clouds. For the most part, we take it for granted that material things are real. There are, though, good arguments against this belief that material things are real. Philosophy takes seriously such arguments. Another belief many take for granted is that economic growth is a societal good. Again, there are good reasons to question this belief. Philosophers of economics consider the arguments that question this belief.

On this account of what philosophy is, we can say that philosophy is the most radical^[2] field of study because philosophers try to get to the root of things. In a way, philosophers are like young children who have not yet learned that some questions (Like, “Why is there blue?”) are not supposed to be asked. The difference between the philosopher and the child is the philosophers doesn’t just ask the question, the philosopher uses reason and argumentation to find the answer.

“I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher; for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” (Plato, Theaetetus 155c-d, tr. Jowett)

2. Core Areas of Philosophical Study

Philosophy is often divided into two broad areas of concern. These are Theoretical Philosophy and Practical Philosophy. Theoretical Philosophy is concerned with determining how the world is and how things in the world are. Two areas of theoretical philosophy are Metaphysics, which is concerned with what exists and the nature of existence itself, and Epistemology, which is concerned with what knowledge is and how we can have knowledge. Practical Philosophy is concerned with what we should do. This includes Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy and questions about the nature of what is good and beautiful.

While this distinction has some merit, many philosophical concerns integrate both theoretical and practical questions and overflow what can be contained in just these two areas. An example of this is Existentialism, a philosophical tradition we will acquaint ourselves with towards the end of the semester.