philosophy: language, thought experiments and laws of thought
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Philosophy: Language, Thought Experiments and Laws of Thought. Plato’s Cave: An Analysis. the prisoner’s climb from darkness into light symbolized the search for knowledge suggests that like the prisoner, people can be freed from blindly accepting uninformed opinions - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Plato’s Cave: An Analysis
the prisoner’s climb from darkness into light symbolized the search for knowledge
suggests that like the prisoner, people can be freed from blindly accepting uninformed opinions
in order to do so, we need to acquire and develop certain skills
Language Matters!
philosophers distinguish between what they refer to as:
FIRST ORDER LANGUAGE
SECOND ORDER LANGUAGE
Examples:
FOL:Is it right or wrong to cheat on
this test?
SOL:What does it mean to say that
cheating is wrong?
examples illustrate that that SOL is more general
its used to clarity FOL which refers to specifics
SOL is sometimes called higher-order language
must of philosophy is concerned with SOL which helps clarify language use and thinking
it enables philosophers to produce well-reasoned arguments and to arrive at clear, precise conclusions
Thought Experiments
another tool used by philosophers to challenge ‘common sense’
they begin with or include the question, “What if”…
depict an imaginary situation/propose a possible world
example: ‘The Ship of Theseus’ (p. 14)
Laws of Thought (Aristotle)
The law of non-contradiction
The law of the excluded middle
The law of identity
This law says that something cannot be said both to be and not to be at the same time
and in the same respect.
Example: Bertha exists.
If this statement is true, it cannot also be false. Bertha cannot exist and not exist at
the same time.
Law of non-contradition:
This law says that something must either be or not be.
Example: Bertha exists.
The statement Bertha exists must either be true or false. There is no third or middle possibility. Either Bertha exists or she does not exist.
The Law of the Excluded Middle
This law says that something is what it is.
Example: Bertha is Bertha and Lorenzo is Lorenzo.
To say that Lorenzo is Bertha is untrue.
The Law of Identity.