A Philosopher’s View
In Outline Form
- Philosophy
- Philosophy is the investigation of fundamental issues by rational argument.
- It’s defined by:
- Philosophy is the investigation of fundamental issues by rational argument.
- It’s defined by:
- Applied Philosophy
- Application of the philosophic method — the analysis of arguments — to matters of public concern
- Application of the philosophic method — the analysis of arguments — to matters of public concern
- Arguments
- An argument is a piece of reasoning, from premises to a conclusion.
- Democracy
- The idea of democracy is simple: rule by the people. But functioning democracies are complex, for good reason.
- Epistemology
- The investigation of knowledge and rational belief
- Ethics
- The investigation of right and wrong, good and bad, and what should be
- Logic
- Tools for formulating and evaluating arguments
- Probability
- Nature of probability and the mathematical theory
- Scientific Theories
- A scientific theory is
- designed to explain certain kinds of phenomena,
- defined by its postulates,
- supported or disproved by its predictions.
- Big Bang, Electromagnetism, Energy, Evolution, General Relativity, Global Warming, Mendel’s Heredity, Newton’s Gravitation, Plate Tectonics, Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Special Relativity
- Skepticism
- The disposition to believe based only on rational argument
- Statistics
- The branch of mathematics dealing with presenting, summarizing, and making inferences from data
- Two philosophies of statistical inference: Bayesian and Frequentistism
A Philosopher's View