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What is Philosophy?

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PHIL 201 Study Guide Lesson 1: What is Philosophy? Points 1) Three preliminary qualifications in studying philosophy – 1) it is impossible to distinguish rigidly and conclusively between what counts as a philosophical problem and what does not – borderline cases / 2) none of the characteristics we shall examine is unique to philosophy; each by itself may be found in another discipline (approximations that, when applied collectively, describe reasonably adequately a broad range of philosophical issues) / 3) when it comes to describing what all (or nearly all) philosophical problems have in common, it is useful to bear in mind that philosophy always begins in wonder (asking what everything is made of or debating the ethical implications …show more content…

A fundamental idea is one upon which the truth of many other, more specific, ideas depend. The belief that God exists, for example, is a fundamental belief underlying the truth of many Christian scriptures. 9) Logical Relations – two beliefs are logically related if the truth or falsity of one determines or depends upon the truth of the other – linked by a usually unstated if-then inference / Asking whether one of the beliefs is true requires that we ask the same of the other – if “sightings of UFOs all have natural or scientific explanations” is true, then “sightings of UFOs provide evidence for extraterrestrials” must be false 10) Logically Incompatible – Logical Incompatibility – if two beliefs are incompatible, then both cannot be true. If one is true, the other must be false. > If Bill is a feminist, then it is false that he is opposed to greater equality for women. 11) Logical Implications – Logical Implication – If A

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