PHL - Philosophy Module Overview

Philosophy

Introduction

Philosophy presents the deepest considerations of everything that we know or think about as a collection of human beings. Great minds are drawn to philosophy in many ways because philosophy presents the deepest line of inquiry and the broadest implications for all other topics that require critical thinking. Unfortunately, this often creates such an elevated level of discourse, especially concerning the jargon. The first glance at philosophical treatise can be daunting, even to trained philosophers. However, the difficulty of reading some texts was never the intention of our greatest thinkers. Plato, Aristotle, Avicenna, and even William Shakespeare intended to spread wisdom and to model using our minds for the pleasure of reasoning. As we navigate through a very limited presentation of philosophical thought, please be mindful that everyone struggles a bit with reading, thinking, and writing about philosophy. Enjoy the obstacle.

In this editorial image, the Greek mythology figure Sisyphus is portrayed, rolling a boulder up a hill.

Essential Questions

  1. How can words really describe reality?
  2. What are our origins, what should we do with the time we have to live, and what happens to us when we die?
  3. Can language transmit eternal truths or core beliefs?
  4. Are "emerging uncertainties" a better approach to learning than strict objectives?

A word cloud consisting of words from the module.

Tabula Rasa ("blank slate")

A slate and chalkboardTo start with a "clean slate" means to start over. The slate in this cliché refers to the stone tablet that students formerly used in classrooms (prior to iPads). A "blank slate" in philosophy refers to the idea that we are born with the full potential to learn and absorb knowledge. We begin this module with a blank slate on the topic of philosophy, but we will also only scratch the surface of this subject studied by many of the greatest minds to have ever inhabited this planet. For instance, Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna:

The human intellect at birth is rather like a tabula rasa, a pure potentiality that is actualized through education and comes to know. Knowledge is attained through empirical familiarity with objects in this world from which one abstracts universal concept.

- Ibn Sina

Philosophy, the "love of wisdom," begins with wonder about the world. It is one of the oldest academic disciplines, but traditionally it has not been considered a subject for children. Yet, in many ways, young people are natural philosophers. They ask philosophical questions and are curious about philosophical issues: How do we know things? What is beauty? How are the mind and body connected? Young people do not need to learn philosophy; it is something they do.

Key Terms

Philosophy 

  1. Epistemology: The study of knowledge and justified belief.
  2. Ethics: The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.
  3. Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that examines the true nature of reality, whether visible or invisible; it includes the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, and fact and value.

Metaphysics

  1. Ontology: The branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being.
  2. Teleology: The doctrine that there is evidence of purpose or design in the universe.
  3. Eschatology: Is a part of philosophy concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world.
  4. Empirical: Knowledge gained by experience and not by a theory
  5. Logos: The rational principle that governs and develops the universe.
  6. Allegory: A kind of story in which what happens is being compared to something else that is similar and unstated.

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.