PHILOSOPHY and the Search for Wisdom

Chapter 1: Archetypes of WisdomDouglas J. Soccio

Philosophy: love of wisdomconsists of careful reasoning about ultimate values, general principles,

the nature of reality, knowledge, justice, truth, God, beauty, happiness

Areas of Philosophy• Metaphysics: ultimate reality• Epistemology: theory of knowledge• Ethics: moral problems, right and wrong, virtue• Politics: government, power• Logic: rules of reasoning• Aesthetics: ideas about beauty and art• Ontology: study of being; what it means to exist

What kinds of questions do philosophers ask?

• Does God exist?• What is the meaning of life?• Why do innocent people suffer?• Are all people really equal?• What is the best form of government?• How is the mind connected to the body?• Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?• Does might make right?• Is there one standard of right and wrong?• Is objectivity possible?

Philosophical ArchetypesArchetype: an image of the essence of a certain type of person; a philosopher or “sage” is one such archetype, often pictured as a wise old man with a beard.Other archetypes include mother, warrior, trickster, cynic, saint, pessimist, optimist,atheist, idealist, etc.

A philosophical archetype is a philosopher who expresses an original or influential point of view in a way that affects subsequent thinkers

Philosophy and the Search for Truth•Primary goals: clarity of expression and thought

•Chief components: reason, insight, contemplation, experience

“Isn’t all this just a matter of opinion?”

Relativism: belief that knowledge is determined by specific qualities of the observer, including age, ethnicity, sex, and

cultural conditioning

Relativism: Tolerance? Moral ambiguity?Sophistry? Respect of diversity?

What’s worse than being judgmental?

Is there such a thing as “good”?

More DefinitionsWisdom—fundamental understanding of reality as it relates to living a good life; reasonable and practical, focusing on the true circumstances and character of each individual; good judgment about complex situationsBelief—conviction or trust that a claim is true; an individual’s subjective stateKnowledge—true belief Knowledge (theoretical)—the accurate compilation and assessment of factual and systematic relationshipsKnowledge (practical)—the skills needed to do things like play the piano, remove a tumor, operate a power saw, or bake a cakeMere belief—conviction that something is true for which the only evidence is the conviction itselfWilled ignorance—the close-minded attitude that refuses to consider new facts or arguments, mocking other points of view without investigating them

Before philosophy, there was mythology.

•Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, 8th century BCE•Every human event or natural process has a divine origin: war, harvest, community life, love, sunrise, sunset, thunder, lightning, storms, etc. •Greek mythology not fantasy, but an attempt to find explanations.•Two principles:

1. There is a difference between the way things appear and the way they really are.

2. There are unseen causes of events.

Science and philosophy grew out of the quest for rational answers to the questions that mythology could not answer.

Themes in classical philosophy:1. Search for excellence or virtue2. Search for happiness