filosofia

PHILOSOPHY AND CIVICS 1º BACHILLERATO
YEAR 2014-2015

UNIT 1
PHILOSOPHICAL
KNOWLEDGE

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PHILOSOPHY AND CIVICS 1º BACHILLERATO
YEAR 2014-2015

Philosophical questions include some of the most exciting, puzzling, and
important questions ever asked. They can challenge our most fundamental
beliefs. But what are philosophical questions? And how do philosophers
attempt to answer them?Philosophy is sometimes dismissed as a wholly “head in the clouds”
discipline with no relevance to everyday life. The truth is that philosophy can
be, and very often is, very relevant indeed.
Though we may not realize it, we all hold philosophical beliefs. For
example, for sure you suppose that the past is a fairly reliable guide to the
future. That is a philosophical belief. Some believewe possess immortal souls,
while others suppose we are purely material beings. Many believe things are
morally right or wrong independently of whatever we might happen to
suppose, while others claim that right and wrong amounts to nothing more
than subjective preference. We believe that the world we see around is real, and
that the world continues to exist even when we are not observing it.Again,
these are philosophical beliefs, and they have both been subjected to much
scrutiny by philosophers.
Clearly, these beliefs can have a significant impact on our day-to-day
lives. Someone who believes morality amounts to nothing more than subjective
preference may end up behaving very differently from someone who believes
than the wrongness of stealing or killing is a matter of objectivefact. There is
also a philosophical aspect to many contemporary moral and political debates.
Questions about abortion, animal rights, waging war, and freedom of speech –
all of these have an important philosophical dimension.
Someone who has never really thought about such issues, or who is illequipped to think about them, is therefore at a serious disadvantage when it
comes to figuring outwhat is, or is most likely to be, true.
As we know, children tend to ask “Why?” over and over again. It need
not take long for them to dig down to some of our most fundamental beliefs.
Philosophers have this same child-like tendency to question fundamentals –
to ask those basic questions that, in our day-to-day lives, may simply not occur
to us because they pertain to what we usually take forgranted.
While thinking philosophically can be exhilarating, it can also be
disturbing. When we start to think philosophically, we begin thinking without a
safety net. The firm ground we thought lay beneath our feet can quickly
dissolve away, leaving us hanging over a void. This feeling of intellectual
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PHILOSOPHY AND CIVICS 1º BACHILLERATO
YEAR 2014-2015

vertigo is common inphilosophy. It is not surprising that so many of us prefer
not to think about such issues or consider such questions. We prefer to stay
where we feel safe.

Yet the risk is worth taking. Questioning fundamentals can be fruitful.
Some of the greatest scientific developments have come about through
scientists asking just such questions. Einstein remarked that one of his greatest
inspirations camefrom reading the 18-century philosopher David Hume, who
got him to start questioning what others had just assumed to be true.
It is not just scientists who can benefit from questioning fundamentals.
Some of the most important moral and political developments have come about
through people being willing to question, and in some cases reject, what almost
everyone else simply assumed to be true.Not so long ago it was considered
“obvious” across much of the West that slavery was morally acceptable and
that the proper role of women was in the home. Moral and political progress in
these areas was brought about by those willing to take a step back and question
what others considered “given”.
[Philosophy, Stephen Law, Eyewitness Companion]
1. Look up in the dictionary the words you...