Discovering the philosopher in you : the big questions in philosophy

49 Pages·1.449 MB·English

by  Colin McGinn

D
ISCOVERING THE
P Y
HILOSOPHER IN OU
THE BIG QUESTIONS
IN PHILOSOPHY
COURSE GUIDE
Professor Colin McGinn
RUTGERSUNIVERSITY
Discovering the Philosopher in You:
The Big Questions in Philosophy
Professor Colin McGinn
Rutgers University
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DiscoveringthePhilosopherinYou:
TheBigQuestionsinPhilosophy
ProfessorColinMcGinn
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Lecturecontent©2003byColinMcGinn
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2003byRecordedBooks,LLC
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CourseSyllabus
DiscoveringthePhilosopherinYou:
TheBigQuestionsinPhilosophy
AboutYourProfessor/Introduction....................................................................................4
Lecture1 Skepticism:WhatDoYouReallyKnow?......................................................5
Lecture2 Knowledge:HowShouldKnowledgeBeAnalyzed?....................................8
Lecture3 Truth:WhatIstheNatureofTruth? ..........................................................11
Lecture4 Logic:WhatIsValidReasoning? ..............................................................14
Lecture5 KnowledgeandExperience:WhereDoesKnowledge
ComeFrom?..............................................................................................17
Lecture6 TheBasisofEthics:WhatMakesSomething
RightorWrong? ........................................................................................20
Lecture7 HappinessandRightAction:HowAreMoralityand
HumanWelfareRelated? ..........................................................................23
Lecture8 MoralityandBlame:AreWeFree?............................................................26
Lecture9 MindandBody:HowAreTheyRelated? ..................................................29
Lecture10 Consciousness:CantheMysteryBeSolved? ..........................................32
Lecture11 MindandWorld:AreObjectsReallyas
TheyAppear? ............................................................................................35
Lecture12 TheSelf:WhoAmI?..................................................................................38
Lecture13 God:CantheExistenceofGodBeProven?..............................................41
Lecture14 TheMeaningofLife:WhatGivesHuman
LifeValue?..................................................................................................44
CourseMaterials............................................................................................................48
3
Ginn
Mc
Colin
of
courtesy About Your Professor
Photograph Colin McGinn
©
ProfessorColinMcGinnwaseducatedatOxfordUniversity.Hehaswritten
widelyonphilosophyandphilosophersinsuchpublicationsasTheNewYork
ReviewofBooks,LondonReviewofBooks,TheNewRepublic,andTheNew
YorkTimesBookReview.McGinnhaswrittenfourteenbooks,includingThe
MakingofaPhilosopher;TheMysteriousFlame;TheCharacterofMind;
Ethics,EvilandFiction;andthenovelTheSpaceTrap.Heiscurrentlyapro-
fessorofphilosophyatRutgersUniversity.
(cid:1)
Introduction
Everyonehasaninnerphilosopher—avoicewithinthatasks,ohsoinsis-
tently,philosophicalquestions.Everyonewantstoknowwhattheultimate
natureoftheworldis,whattheselfis,whetherwehavefreewill,howour
mindsrelatetoourbodies,whetherwecanreallyknowanything,whereethi-
caltruthcomesfrom,whatthemeaningoflifeis,andwhetherornotthereis
aGod.Thisinnerphilosopherisrelatedtotheinnerchild,sincethechildtoo
ispronetoaskingphilosophicalquestions.Butitismuchbettertohavea
disciplinedguidethroughphilosophythansimplytotrytodoallthethinking
byyourself.
ProfessorColinMcGinnwillactasyourguide.Hewillcoverallthemain
problemsofphilosophy,fromlogictoethics,fromthehumanmindtoGod,
introducingyoutohowphilosophersthinkandthetheoriestheyhavecome
upwith.Thefirstfourlecturesfocusonfoundationalquestionsthatneedto
beclarifiedbeforeweengageuponmoreapplieddiscussions.Weneedto
knowwhatknowledgeis,whattruthis,andwhatlogicalreasoningisbefore
westartdiscussingethics,themind,freewill,andGod.Solet’sstartwith
thebasics,thenbreakintoarunonlywhenwehavelearnedhowtowalk.
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Lecture1:
Skepticism:WhatDoYouReallyKnow?
TheSuggestedReadingforthislectureisWilliamIrwin’s(ed.)The
MatrixandPhilosophy:WelcometotheDesertoftheReal.
WhatDoYouReallyKnow?
Peopledon’talwaysknowwhattheythink CONSIDER THIS . . .
theyknow.Theymakemistakes.Buthow
widespreadcouldourmistakesbe?Could Could we be wrong
webewrongabouteverything?
about everything
Skepticismsaysthatourknowledgeisfar
we know?
morelimitedthanwethink.Itgoesbackto
theancientGreeks,butRenéDescartes
Is our reality not all
(1596–1650)wastheconsummateskeptic.
we think?
Descarteswantedtoknowwhatcouldbe
doubted,whatwaslessthancertain.Ithink
IknowthatIamsittingatadesktyping,
butmightthisallbeadream,andIam
reallylyingasleepinbed?Afterall,Iamoftenconvincedbymydreams.Or
mightIbeavictimofthemachinesinTheMatrix—hookeduptoelectrodes
thatworktoconvincemethatIamanormallysituatedperson?Maybethe
wholeexternalworldisanillusion;canIproveitisnot?CanIevenbecertain
thatIhaveabody?Maybemywholebodyhasbeenamputated,leavingonly
mybrain,andIhaveamere“phantombody.”
Cometothinkofit,howdoIknowthatotherpeoplehaveminds?Evenif
theyhavebodies,whatshowsthatinsidethosebodiesaremindslikemine?
Mightother“people”simplybemindlessautomata?AllIseeistheirexternal
behavior,butmightn’tthatcomefromameremachine?MaybeIamtheonly
consciousnessthatexists,aloneinthecosmos(“solipsism”).Ormaybethey
havemindsbuttheirmindsareverydifferentfrommine;forexample,they
mightseetheworldindifferentcolorsfromme.HowcouldItell?
Thenthereisthefuture:howcanIbesureitwillresemblethepast?Just
becausebreadhasalwaysnourishedme,doesitnecessarilyfollowthatit
alwayswill?HowdoIknowthatthelawofgravitywillkeepworkingthewayit
has?Thisistheproblemofinduction:howtojustifyinferencesfromthepast
tothefuture.(Thereisalsotheproblemof
howIknowthattheworlddidn’tspringinto
“Allmen existencefullyformedfiveminutesago.)
bynature ButthenistherenothingIcanbecertain
of?HereDescarteshadabrilliantidea:I
desireknowledge.” canatleastknowforcertainthatIam
doubtingandthinking,andhencethatI
~Aristotle exist.“Ithink,thereforeIam”;cogito,ergo
sum.Ican’tknowforcertainthatyouexist,
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orthattheplanetEarthdoes,butI RENÉDESCARTES
canknowthatIdo—andthatIama
Inadditiontobeingapreeminent
hinkingthing.Itmaynotbemuch,but
philosopher,Descarteswasanout-
it’ssomething. standingmathematicianandscien-
Noonehaseverreallyrefutedtheskeptic, tist,inventinganalyticgeometryand
theCartesiancoordinatesystem,
whichisdisturbing.Butwhydoesitmatter
whichstronglyinfluencedcalculus.
thatweknowmuchlessthanwethought?
His1637works,Discourseonthe
Whyisknowledgevaluabletous?Ithink
MethodofRightlyConductingthe
theansweristhatknowledgeiswhatlinks ReasonintheSearchforTruthin
ustotheuniverse—itunifiesworldand theSciencesandLaGéometrieare
self.Knowledgeiswhatrelievestheexis- hismostsignificantworksinthese
tentialisolationofthesolitaryconscious- areas;inDiscourseontheMethod,
ness.Ifwedon’tknowwhatwethoughtwe healsomadecontributionstothe
did,wearemuchlonelierthanwesup- fieldofoptics.
posed,muchmorelockedintoourownpri- Descartesinspiredgenerationsof
vateworld.Ourconsciousnessseems philosophersandalsohispeers.His
muchmorelikeaprisonthanawindow ideasformedthebaseoftheseven-
teenth-andeighteeenth-century
ontotheworldoutsideofit.Thusthe
Europeanphilosophicalmovement
stakesarequitehigh.
knownasContinentalRationalism,
whichcitedhumanreasonasthe
sourceofknowledge.Therivalphi-
losophyofthisAgeofReasonera
wasBritishEmpiricism,whichheld
thatallknowledgeisacquiredsolely
throughthesenses.
E
N
O
E
R
U
T
C
E
L
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FORGREATERUNDERSTANDING
(cid:1)
Questions
1.Whyhavephilosophersthroughouttheagesbeensointerestedinthe
questionofwhatwereallyknow?Whynotjusttakeself-existenceandthe
existenceoftherestoftheworldforgranted?
2.Whatistheproblemofinduction?Whichelementsofourexperiencecan
webesureof,ifany?
Suggested Reading
Irwin,William,ed.TheMatrixandPhilosophy:WelcometotheDesertofthe
Real.PopularCultureandPhilosophy,Vol.3.Chicago:OpenCourt
PublishingCompany,2002.
Other Books of Interest
Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy.
Trans.DonaldA.Cress.NewYork:HackettPublishingCompany,Inc.,1999.
Hume,David.ATreatiseofHumanNature.Eds.DavidFateNortonandMary
J.Norton.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2000.
Russell,Bertrand.TheProblemsofPhilosophy.Mineola,NewYork:Dover
Publications,Inc.,1999.
Websites to Visit
1.TheInternetEncyclopediaofPhilosophy—
www.utm.edu/research/iep
2.ThePhilosophyPagesoffersinformationforstudentsoftheWestern
philosophicaltradition,includingTheDictionaryofPhilosophicalTerms
andNames;asurveyofthehistoryofWesternphilosophy;atimelinefor
intellectualfigures;detaileddiscussionofseveralmajorphilosophers;
summarytreatmentoftheelementaryprinciplesoflogic;agenericstudy
guideforstudentsofphilosophy;andlinkstootherphilosophysiteson
theInternet—www.philosophypages.com
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Lecture2:
Knowledge:HowShouldKnowledgeBeAnalyzed?
TheSuggestedReadingforthislectureisEdmundGettier’sIsJustified
TrueBeliefKnowledge?
WhatIsKnowledge?
InthelastlectureIconsideredwhatwe CONSIDER THIS . . .
know,ifanything;butIdidn’tenquiretoo
closelyintotheconceptofknowledgeitself. What composes
Whatisinvolvedinknowingthings?What
knowledge?
composesknowledge?Howshouldknowl-
edgebeanalyzed?Thisbreaksintotwo
Can you know
questions:whatisnecessaryforpossessing
something if
knowledge,andwhatissufficienttocount
asaknower?Weareseekingtheneces- it is not true?
saryandsufficientconditionsforknowing.
Thetraditionalansweristhatknowledgeis
tobeanalyzedastrue,justifiedbelief:you
can’tknowsomethingunlessthatthingistrue,youbelieveit,andyouarejusti-
fiedinbelievingit(theseareallnecessaryconditionsforknowledge).You
mightthinkyouknowsomethingandyourbeliefturnsouttobefalse,butyou
can’treallyknowsomethingunlessyourbeliefistrue.Thisisevidentjustfrom
examinationoftheconceptitself—itisan“analytic”truth.Andmeretruebelief
isnotsufficientforknowledgebecauseyoumighthaveatruebeliefjustby
guessing,inwhichcaseyoudon’tknow.Toknowsomethingyouhavetohave
therighttobelieveit.
Thisanalysisbringsinthreeveryimportantconcepts,whichneedtobedis-
cussedintheirownright.First,belief:tobelievesomethingistotakeittobetrue,
tobecommittedtoitstruth.Itisaveryimportantpropertyofbeliefthattheycan-
notbewilled:youcan’tjustdecidetobelievewhatyouhavenoreasonforbeliev-
ing.Thereissuchathingaswishfulthinking,
butitcannottaketheformofaconscious
“Whenever,therefore,people
efforttobelievewhatyouknowtobefalse.
aredeceivedandform Beliefsaimatobjectivetruth;theyare
responsibletohowthingsreallyare.They
opinionswideofthetruth,
mustfittheworld.
itisclearthattheerrorhas Theideaofjustificationistheideaofrea-
sonsforbelief—reasonsthatentitleyoutoa
slidintotheirmindsthrough
belief.Itisnotagoodreasonforbelieving
O themediumofcertain somethingthatIwishweretrue;reasons
W
T havetoconsistofotherthingsItaketobe
E resemblancestothattruth.” true.Forexample,myreasonforbelieving
R
U thatitisrainingoutsideisthepitter-patter
T ~Socrates
C soundIhearonmyroof.Beliefsmustbe
E
L
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basedonevidenceiftheyaretocountas EDMUNDL.GETTIER,III
knowledge.Thisiswhatwemeanbyratio- (1927–)
nality—basingone’sbeliefsonevidence,and Dr.GettierisanAmericanphiloso-
beingcarefultoevaluatetheevidencecor- pherwhose1963paper,“IsJustified
rectly.Descartes’skepticalargumentisin TrueBeliefKnowledge?”questioned
effectsayingthatourevidenceisnever theconceptofknowledgeasitwas
enoughforcertainty. definedatthatpointbymostofthe
world’sphilosophers.Inthethree-
Arethesethreeconditionssufficientfor pagepaper,Gettierprovidesexam-
knowledge?Surprisingly,theanswerisno. plesofbeliefsthataretrueandjusti-
SupposeIamexpectingmybrothertovisit fied,butthatcannotbecalledknowl-
atanymoment.Youtellmehehasarrived edge.“Gettier(counter-)examples”
atthedoor,butyouaretryingtodeceiveme showthatinagivensituation,cer-
tainelementsofthesituationwhich
intobelievingthis.However,itjustsohap-
areconsideredtobetrueandjusti-
pensthathearrivedattheverymomentof
fiedareinfactmisrepresentations.
yourattempteddeception.Inthiscasemy
beliefistrue(hehasarrived),Ibelieveit
(becauseyoutoldme),andIhaveagood
reasontobelieveit(youaregenerallyaveryreliableinformant).ButIdon’t
knowhehasarrived,becauseitwasonlyanaccidentthatIgotitright.So
knowledgerequiresinadditionthatmyjustifiedbeliefnotbemerelyaccidentally
true.
Theconceptofknowledgeprovidesagoodexampleofconceptualanalysis,
wherewehavetothinkcarefullyandsystematicallyaboutourconcepts.
Nextwehavetotalkabouttruth—theprimarythingthatbeliefsarerequiredto
beiftheyaretoadduptoknowledge.
SOCRATESASKING“WHATISKNOWLEDGE?”
Socrates,wholivedinancientAthens,wasthepioneer
ofWesternphilosophy.HisstudentPlatorecordedmany
ofhisideasasconveyedthroughdialogues.Inthe
Socraticdialogues,Socratesappliesadialecticalmethod,
calledelenchos,toexamineknowledgeinthesearchfor
truth.Themethod,aprocessoflogicalreasoning,essen-
tiallyentailsaskingthequestion,“Whatisit?”Socrates
believedthatacquiringknowledgedependsonaccepting
one’sownignoranceandseeingtheessenceofthingsas
Clipart.com tahllefyorrmeasllywoaureld.Fleuardthteor,thineagotroude,soerakrncohwfolerdtgheisoefsosneen’cse,
© selfandpurposeinlife.TheSocraticmethodchallenges
interlocutorstoexaminewidelyheldbeliefsforinadequaciesandinconsistencies.True
knowledge,hebelieved,isequaltovirtueandleadsbacktothegoodofone’sself.
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