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Why Philosophy

OVERVIEW

What is philosophy and why should you care? In this course we shall try to develop answers to this two-part question. That is, we will endeavor to understand not only what philosophy is but why it matters to us as individuals. From the outset, it will be clear that philosophy does not matter to us for instrumental reasons; it is unlikely that philosophy will increase our wealth, make us famous, make us desirable to others, etc. For the most part, philosophy does not concern itself with such instrumental goals but rather seeks answers to the perennial questions that have faced humankind throughout history: Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? What kind of being am I? What is wisdom? What is the good life? How do I know that I am free? Does God exist? How can I be certain that my beliefs have authority? We will approach these questions and others through a study of the history of philosophy and the questions that have been pertinent since the dawn of time. In studying this tradition, we will attempt to uncover the relevance of philosophy to our everyday lives and to develop our own answers to these difficult and pressing questions.

RELEVANCE TO THE STUDENT’S LIFE:

WHAT COULD BE MORE RELEVANT THAN LEARNING TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, DEFINING OURSELVES, DISCOVERING FOR OURSELVES WHO WE ARE, HOW WE THINK, AND WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US AS INDIVIDUALS. WHEN A THOUGHTFUL PERSON REFLECTS ON HIS PERSONAL FREEDOM, HE/SHE DISCOVERS HE IS ONLY AS FREE AS HE IS ABLE TO EXPRESS HIS IDEAS ON PAPER AND ON HIS FEET. FURTHERMORE, IF HE HAS HAD NO EXPOSURE TO HOW PEOPLE BEFORE HIM LIVED, THOUGHT, BELIEVED, CREATED, VALUED, COMMUNICATED, HOW WILL HE DETERMINE THOSE THINGS FOR HIMSELF? LIVING THROUGH ANOTHER MAN’S LIFE - - HIS LITERATURE AND HISTORY AND ART - - STIMULATES, BY COMPARISION, A DEFINITION OF ONESELF.

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AND I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR MY OWN PERSONAL ADDITION: TO LEARN IS A JOY. TO KNOW, TO UNDERSTAND, TO EXPERIENCE ANYTHING NEW, UNUSUAL, DIFFERENT GUARANTEES A SMILE - - MENTALLY, EMOTIONALLY, SPIRITUALLY (BROADLY SPEAKING) - - INSIDE, IF NOT OUTSIDE A PERSON. NEW INSIGHTS, UNUSUAL IDEAS UNIQUE MODES OF EXPRESSION, ALL VITAL AND JOYFUL ASPECTS OF BEING HUMAN, BECOME RELEVANT TO LIVING LIFE TO ITS FULLEST! LIFE IS LEARNING! LEARNING IS LIFE! AND WHAT A JOY TO EXPERIENCE IT ALL.

Tips for reading difficult philosophy passages:

Reading philosophy, especially contemporary philosophy, is like working your way through a maze. Remember you are joining a 2500 year old conversation in midstream and some of the concepts and passages will seem rather obscure at first. Philosophers use a lot of specialized terminology to refer to the ways in which we perceive and process information.

When I explain readings in class it looks relatively easy because I have experience in the field and can anticipate the context under which the assigned essay was written. A great way to learn a little more about each writer that we cover is to do some general research on your own. For example, you could spend 20 minutes or so on the web looking up the name of the author just to see what he/she has written about in the past. Lots of pages are devoted solely to one thinker and you'll uncover valuable general background information that may help explain why/how the author wrote a particular essay.

In the beginning:

1. Read difficult passages in the text more than once.

2. Write down the terms that you do not understand and bring them to class.

3. Write down any questions that you have while you are reading. Bring them to class and ask me to explain when we review the material.

As the course becomes more difficult:

1. Learn about your work style.
• At what time of day do you work best?
• Do you prefer a quiet work environment or background noise to fill the void?
• Do you learn best when you read (visual learning style), or when you hear (auditory learning style), or when you work through exercises (kinetic learning style)? Most people learn best with a mix of all three.
• Learn to manage your time.
2. Time yourself and note how long it takes you to read a secton.
3. Budget time in advance to work on reading assignments.
4. Make the work environment pleasant so that you enjoy your surroundings.
5. Divide large work tasks into small 45 minute units.
6. Set small goals for completing a certain amount of reading.
7. If you finish early, reward yourself with an early break.
8. Readjust your schedule if you find that you are scheduling too few, or too many, tasks.
9. Only schedule intense study for one hour periods with 10-15 minute breaks in between. Studies show that the adult attention span is about 40 minutes and our bodies need rest/relaxation at regular intervals.
10. If you find that you are putting in six or more hours of study time per week and still having great difficulty mastering material, see me for an appointment. I am here to assist you.