Philosophy vs. Science: Understanding Reality and Knowledge
Arguments For and Against Philosophy and Their Defenders
Opponents of the first philosophy accused it of being just a piece of cake, a hobby in the early formative years, but improper for a full-fledged adult.
According to Callicles
Philosophy makes young people and adults confused and do not act naturally under the law of the strongest.
According to Socrates
It is just to enforce the law and be fair, which Callicles denies, lying and saying it is only fair that the strongest prevail over the weak.
The Task of Philosophy
The philosophy questions answers are to know what the information we already have means, how we interpret it, how we relate it to other information, and how all of that fits into the reality we live in.
Life Choices
They are the choices we make in our lives in disagreement with the values we consider best.
Levels of Understanding: Science vs. Philosophy
Science moves between the level of information and knowledge, while philosophy deals with knowledge and wisdom. Science studies the “how,” and philosophy the “why.”
The Wise Man
The wise man is he who knows how to live and choose the best options.
One of the aims of philosophy is to attain this wisdom, and science tells us things are not as we live them.
Traits Distinguishing Science from Philosophy
Sciences seek to explain how things are made and how they work, while philosophy focuses on what they mean to us.
Scientists
Depart from the findings of other scientists and investigate what others have discovered and taken for valid.
Philosophers
Are always rethinking everything (what other philosophers have discussed) in their investigation.
Kant: Teaching How to Philosophize
What Kant means when he says you cannot teach philosophy but how to philosophize is that one should not be content to learn philosophy without questioning, as one learns countries and their capitals. Instead, one should learn a method in which we need the contents of philosophy, but this alone is useless if it does not lead us to think and reason.
Sabater’s Arguments to Defend Kant
Sabater argues that one cannot philosophize on another’s behalf, while one person can think scientifically on another’s behalf. This idea supports what Kant once said. Why? Because philosophy seeks to extend our personal vision of the world, without giving data, and because the findings of others are only worthwhile if they help us reach our own.
“I Only Know That I Do Not Know”
The issue in question is knowledge, which is directed toward Socrates, the Sophists (who think they know), and the thesis that is posted is whether the Sophists say, “This is knowing I do not know.” And because after analyzing this knowledge, I have found no bugs. In conclusion, he knows more than them because he finds that this knowledge is wrong, and they do not know (still in error). Therefore, he knows more than they do.
According to Socrates, philosophy is to examine the knowledge of others to determine its validity.
Philosophy vs. Science
- Philosophy: Questions posed by reality. Reflect and relate things to each other. Meaning of knowledge. Question what you know.
- Science: Explain things and their function. Fragments of knowledge obtained. Specialized knowledge gives us knowledge. Seeks to know.
Different Levels of the Word “World”
At the first level is what each person calls “my world,” which is the people closest to them. At the second level is the social and cultural level, people we do not know or barely know. At the third level is the state, nation, our country. At the fourth level is the global scale; my world is this place (Earth) where we are born and die. And finally, the universe, which is huge and unknown.
The most notable in this succession of worlds is that the closest are the ones I care about most. Despite this, we remain aware that we are part of the universe and wonder about it.
Philosophical Discourse vs. Myth
Lists the advantages that philosophical ideas have:
- Philosophical ideas are not mere repetitions per tradition but developed thoughts that suggest a viewpoint.
- Myths refer to impersonal material elements; however, philosophical thought is impersonal but is linked to the person who has developed it.
- Philosophy offers a more real and objective view, while myths are always subjective.
- Philosophical questions always differentiate between reality and what the senses make us look real.
Archytas of Tarentum on the Universe
Archytas of Tarentum argued against the theory that the universe is finite, a position that, if so, could come to an end and allow one to reach out a hand. Therefore, we reach an absurdity: if we can reach out a hand, there will be something on the outside, and consequently, the universe cannot be finite but infinite.
Why We Are Forced to Believe in a Universe
Our conscience is the container of all our thoughts, feelings, etc. Therefore, we are forced to believe the same for all that exists, to understand and explain, and the universe is the container of all existing things.
Materialist Conception of the Universe
It is characterized by denying the existence of a universe but an infinite plurality and the composition of all parts that sooner or later will rot.
- Conservative Vision: Our agenda is the same as that of the world by chance, which has made us exist and understand. (Possible)
- Light-Consciousness: Development of the universe as all that exists, just a term to define the grouping of all things.
- Heavy-Vision: The universe was made so that he could no longer appear to be human. (Certainty)
- Heavy Meaning: Design of the universe as a whole, an entity that encompasses everything.
The universe is all that exists. A cause is a different object, and before the cause occurs. If the universe has a cause, then there will be a different object in the universe. Then the universe is all that exists. Therefore, we incur an absurdity, then the cause of the universe must be different and before it. Then it will be outside the universe, as the universe would not be what surrounds all things.
The Universe as a Watch
No, because we only have a point of comparison to the complexity of both but lack experience in creating worlds. On the contrary, if we have experience in creating watches.
Order is subjective. And we have experience creating watches but lack it in the universe, so the analogy is no longer valid.
Kant on the Universe
Kant states that order is not inherent in things but that it is the subject of thought who is awarded an order according to their interest.
Why Scientists See Order in the Universe
Scientists see the universe in order to obtain a criterion to understand and then explain it in reality.
The Problem of Causal Laws
The problem is uncertainty about whether the order as we know it was implemented and by God (like a king in the land) or instead is a series of random qualities.