Philosophical Analysis

Philo 1

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Philosophical Analysis

Philosophy: The critical examination of the grounds for fundamental beliefs and an analysis of the basic concepts employed in the expression of such beliefs. -Involves a rational is used to analyze or comprehend intellectual matters Language: a system (order/rules) of units (words) realizable in some sensory medium; only certain combinations of which have meaning by convention and hence, can be used for communication. Grammar (language rules – rules – pattern, order, form) 1. Syntax (rules unique to a language) – language) – form of language 2. Semantics – Semantics – external rules *syntax and sematics are necessary components of non-trivial language. Syntax only: trivial language; no syntax: no language 3. Phonetics 4. Morphology Tools of Language Terms: material and physical because they can be observed and sensed. Used to refer, to indentify, to point out. Relationship between term and meaning: arbitrary and conventional. Secondary functions of a language 1. Facilitates transfer and accumulation of knowledge 2. Language facilitates thinking; the more you know, the more you can think about things 3. Language makes people perceive more (facilitates perceptions) Theories of Meaning (to avoid ambiguity and vagueness) 1. Referential: words are names of objects; problem is, when you lose the object, you lose the meaning (ex. What is nothing?) Thomas Hobbes  –  Social Contract Theory:  citizens: tools of machine (society)  –  also made up of tools  –  brain –  mind –  terms/figures of speech  2. Ideational: words are names of ideas/”concept” (more neutral regarding privacy of ideas) Declarative (point something out) sentences  – may be true or false  – fact – fact  – state of affair – affair  – statement Theories of Truth 1. Correspondence: If what is is, then it is true. If what is in your mind corresponds with your experience, then it is true; problem is, same experience yet different thoughts. 2. Coherence: Thoughts must cohere with one another. Problem is, what may be coherent for some, may not be for others.

3. Pragmatic: basing truth in the usefulness in predictability. Problem is, not all of us have the same values – values – not all of us have the same concept of usefulness (what may be useful for some, isn’t for others) Sentences: have signs, thoughts, truth 1. Empirical: sentences that can be observed. 2.  Analytic: sentences that contain the predicate in the subject 3. Tautologies: sentences that are always true 4. Contigent: sentences that depend on situations 5. Contradiction: true and false at the same time  Arguments: to reason, to infer, to argue (moving from one statement to another statement) - Premise: can be more than one, used to get the conclusion - Conclusion: can only be one *measurement of an argument: norm (standard rule) Dimensions of Reasoning -Conceptual analysis: analytic sentences -Empirical sentences: can be validated through observation 1. Correct form in argument: valid 2. Correct form + content: sound 3. Form+content+context: fully rational *Deductive – *Deductive – necessity; 1+1=2;2+2=4 *Inductive – *Inductive – probability; D1,D2,D3-Drule-Dtom Syllogisms: arguments with 2 premises -Advantages of Symbolic Language 1. Economical 2. Separation of form and content 3. Easier to compare Gottlob Frege: aimed to unite all mathematics; “logic is about sets” = set theory. Bertrand Russel said he was wrong. *Fregeian Theory of Meaning: meaning is the result of a functional/mathematical relationship between the sign, the sense, and reference; sentence: have signs, complete thoughts, truth (meaning of  sentence) 3 Types of Sentences 1. Simple: t/f  2. Compound 3. Complex