Methods and Tools do

Philosophers Use in the

Conduct of their Study
GROUP 4
 - It is the study of how to do philosophy.

Philosophical - A common view among philosophers is

that the philosophy is distinguished by the
ways that philosphers follow in addressing
Method philosophical questions.

- There is not just one method that

philosophers use to answer philosophical
questions.
 - Characterised as much by its methods
as by its subject matter.

Characteristics
of Philosophy - More fully conceptual than science.

- Formulate hypotheses which ultimately

must answer to reason and evidence.
 - the true philosopher, we are often told,
doubts everything that can not be
proved from absolutely sure premises.

Systematic Philosophy begins with doubt, usually

about some theological or moral
propositions that have so far held the
Doubt rank of beliefs; if it is systematically
pursued, it will lead the devotee to doubt,
in turn,the existence of consciousness, of
space, of relations, of logic, of the
external world, and of other people’s
minds; and this skepticism is supposed
to clear the way for true knowledge.
 - it is employed to determine truth. This
means that every statement, claim,
evidence, and is scrutinized and

Systematic analysed. Nothing is taken as true unless

there is sufficient reason and evidence to
prove that is indeed true.
Doubt - a way of searching for certainty by
systematically though tentatively
doubting everything. The hope is that, by
eliminating all statements and types of
knowledge the truth of which can be
doubted in any way, one will find some
indubitable certainties.
 Examples
1. I am alive = Am I alive? 2. I have a body " Do you have
Are you doubting the statement or arms,legs and feet?'' "Can you
the fact as to whether you are walk or run?"
alive or not? If you are doubting
the statement, then the “I” may
have nothing to do with you. If you
are doubting the fact of your
existence, you appear to be
entering into the wonderful world
of solipsism.
 - a connected series of statements,
including at least one premise, intended
to demonstrate that another statement,
the conclusion, is true.

Argument - offer proof for a claim, or conclusion.

- argument signal words are not always

present when an argument is being
made.
 TYPES OF REASONING

Argument - Deductive Reasoning

- Inductive Reasoning
 Example
I have a very strong feeling that
my lottery ticket is the winning
ticket, so I'm quite confident I will
win a lot of money tonight.
 - The term ‘dialectic’ or ‘dialectics’ also
known as the dialectical method comes
from the Greek word dialektike which
means ‘the art of conversation’.

Dialectic - In philosophy, it is a discourse between

two or more people holding different
points of view about a subject wishing to
establish the truth through reasoned
arguments.
- It may also involve both opinions and
facts as long as they are logical and lead
to the truth.
 Examples
1. Discussing the pros and cons 2. Haggling with a vendor for a
of a variety of human strategies certain product and eventually
to manage employees in the agreeing on a price.
workplace, then choosing the
best option.
Examples
 - Named after the classical Greek
philosopher, Socrates. It is analyzing a
topic by formulating a series of questions
designed to analyze its various aspects,
Socratic and examine and clarify a person's view
on it.
Method - Important to teach students to think for
themselves that to fill their heads with
the right answer.
- Considered one of the most powerful
teaching tools.
 WHEN USING A SOCRATIC METHOD,
REMEMBER:

Socratic - Don't give students a direct answer.

Method - Offer questions in place of answers.

- Help students see that there is never

one "correct" answer unless all other
solution have been ruled out.
 Example
Q: So you think that the Gods know everything?
A: Yes, because they are Gods.
Q: Do some Gods disagree with others?
A: Yes, of course they do. They are always fighting.
Q: So Gods disagree about what is true and right?
A: I suppose they must do.
Q: So some gods can be wrong sometimes?
A: I suppose that is true.

THEREFORE, the Gods cannot know everything!

 - As defined in classic philosophy, an
axiom is a statement that is so evident or
well-established, that it is accepted
without controversy or question. As used
in modern logic, an axiom is a premise or
Axioms starting point for reasoning.
- a statement that serves as a starting
point from which other statements are
logically derived. Whether it is
meaningful (and, if so, what it means)
for an axiom to be "true" is a subject of
debate in the philosophy of
mathematics.
 - In logic, an indemonstrable first
principle, rule, or maxim, that has found
general acceptance or is thought worthy
of common acceptance whether by
virtue of a claim to intrinsic merit or on
Axioms the basis of an appeal to self-evidence.
- The foundation of all knowlegde.
- Axioms in philosophy are not axioms
until they are proved upon our pulses: we
read fine things but never feel them to
the full until we have gone the same
steps as the author. - By John Keats
 THERE ARE ONLY A FEW
AXIOMS:

Axioms - Existence exists

- The law of identity
- Consciousness
 Example
“Nothing can both be and not be at the same time
and in the same respect.”
 - A principle of theory construction or
evaluation according to which, other
things equal, explanations that posit

Occam's fewer entities, or fewer kinds of entities,

are to be preferred to explanations that

Razor posit more.

- It is sometimes misleadingly
characterized as a general
recommendation of simpler explanations
over more complex ones.
 Example
You are sitting in your living room and hear a
loud noise coming from above. Should you assume
that:

a. A low-flying airplane is flying overhead or

b. A spaceship is right above your roof and about
to abduct you.

While both can be considered possible conclusions,

“a” is a more likely explanation.
 - It involves deductive reasoning

Formal typically using a formal language or

formal system.

Logic - Logic is generally considered Formal

when it is translated from natural
language into a formal language based
upon a well set of rules.
 Example
Premises: All spiders have eight legs.

Conclusion: A Tarantula have eight legs.

 LAWS OF THOUGHT

Law of Identity- states that each thing is

Formal identical with itself.

Logic Example: whatever is, is or all A are A

Law of Contradiction- a principle in logic

a thing cannot at the same time both be
and not be of a specified kind (as a table
and not a table) or in a specified manner
(as red or not red).
 LAWS OF THOUGHT
Law of Excluded Middle- a thing must

Formal either be or not be. It says that either this

proposition or its negation is true for every

Logic
proposition.

Example: If P is the proposition

:Socrates is mortal. Then the law of
excluded middle holds that the logical
disjunction: Either Socrates is mortal, or it
is not the case that Socrates is mortal.
 - are imagined scenarios used to
illustrate a certain problem or describe a
theory.
Thought Experiment THOUGHT EXPERIMENT
- are a classic tool used by many great
and Allegory thinkers, which enable us to explore often
impossible situations and predict their
implications and outcomes.
- resemble real experiments, except that
they are experiments in the mind and are
performed in the imagination.
 - setting up some situation, observing
what happens, then trying to draw
appropriate conclusions.
Thought Experiment - a means of exploring a concept,
hypothesis or idea through extensive
and Allegory thought. When finding empirical evidence
is impossible, we turn to thought
experiments to unspool complex
concepts.
- are usually rhetorical. No particular
answer can or should be found.
 Examples
Mary’s Room
The Impossible Barber
Achilles and the Tortoise -Zeno (430 BC) Leaning
Tower of Pisa Experiment-Galileo (17th Century)
 ALLEGORY

Thought Experiment - a literary work that conveys a hidden

meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or
political—through the use of symbolic
and Allegory characters and events.

- used to deliver a broader message

about real-world issues and occurrences.
 Example

The Tortoise and The Hare

 Examples f Allegory
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is one of literature’s most famous
allegories. The surface story is about a group of farm animals
who rise up, kick out the humans, and try to run the farm
themselves. The hidden story, however, is about the Russian
Revolution, and each of the characters represents some figure
from that revolution. The pigs represent Communist leaders like
Stalin, Lenin, and Trotsky, the dogs represent the KGB, the
humans represent capitalists, the horses represent the working
class, etc.
 Examples f Allegory
Seuss wrote The Sneetches as an allegory for racism and other
forms of prejudice. The story is all about creatures who are
treated as inferior because they don’t have stars on their bellies.
Like all Dr. Seuss stories, it’s written in a child-friendly, playful
style, but it still contains an important political message.
 Examples f Allegory
One of the most famous examples of allegory in history is Plato’s
Allegory of the Cave, in which a group of people is chained inside
a cave and sees only shadows of the outside world projected on
the wall of the cave. One person escapes the cave and is able to
see reality for the first time. However, upon reentering the cave
and trying to describe the outside world, the people still chained
to the wall reject this other interpretation and vision. Plato’s
allegory is meant to symbolize the difficulty of the philosopher’s
task when trying to expand the worldview of the common man.