Understanding the Problem of Induction: Habit, Experience, and Knowledge
The Problem of Induction
Can we be certain that past experiences will repeat in the future? What is the basis of our predictive knowledge? Does it stem from relations of ideas or matters of fact?
Predictive knowledge, a matter of fact, arises from experience. The idea that “the future conforms to the past” relies on experience, yet experience itself depends on this assumption. How can we be sure when experience has often disappointed us?
Psychological Explanation of Induction
According to Hume, our
Read MorePlato’s Critique of Relativism and Dualism
Plato’s Critique of Relativism
Sophists and Relativism
Plato criticized the Sophists’ relativism, exemplified by Protagoras’s famous statement, “Man is the measure of all things.” Plato saw this relativism as a flawed foundation for ethics and political life.
Reasons for Rejecting Relativism
Plato’s rejection of relativism stemmed from several key reasons:
- Ethical and Political Grounds: Plato believed that absolute moral values were essential for a just society and individual well-being. He posited the
Kant’s Transcendental Idealism: Key Concepts
Analytical Judgment
An analytical judgment is any knowledge or truth which is apparent with evidence of the human relation of the concepts involved, without any intervention of experience (e.g., the triangle has three angles). The judgment is always a priori analytical.
A Posteriori
That which is the result of experience is a conical or a judgment or a truth to what can be neither universal nor necessary because it is linked to experimental facts that are contingent.
A Priori
A priori is independent
Read MoreOscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface and Chapters 1-2
Preface
The Preface is a series of epigrams, or concise, witty sayings, that express the major points of Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy. In short, the epigrams praise beauty and repudiate the notion that art serves a moral purpose.
Chapter One
The novel begins in the elegantly appointed London home of Basil Hallward, a well-known artist. Basil discusses his latest portrait with his friend, the clever and scandalously amoral Lord Henry Wotton.
Read MoreImmanuel Kant: Philosophy and Key Works
Immanuel Kant
1. Life and Works
1.1. Life (Königsberg, 1724 – 1804)
Influenced by the school of Christian rationalism and the skepticism of empiricist David Hume, Kant undertook the task of critically analyzing Reason.
He divided the area of Reason’s capabilities into the areas defined by the following questions:
- What can I know?
- What should I do?
- What may I hope?
- What is man?
1.2. Works
- 1.2.1. First Period: Precritical
- 1.2.2. Second Period: Critical
- Critique of Pure Reason (theoretical) (1781)
- Groundwork of
Christian Philosophy: St. Augustine & Scholasticism
The Middle Ages and the Rise of Christian Philosophy
Ages: The dissolution of the Roman Empire, vividly described by St. Augustine in his book *The City of God*, marked the transition from ancient times to the Middle Ages. The crisis of the ancient world gave way to new principles and values of political and social order. Intellectual activity primarily occurred in churches and monasteries, giving rise to a philosophical current known as Scholasticism, a philosophy closely linked to religious concerns.
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