PHILOSOPHY BASICS
What is philosophy?
The study of important questions about knowledge, reality, morality, existence and other big ideas.
What is a conclusion?
The main claim that an argument is trying to prove.
What does subjective mean?
Based on a person's opinions, feelings or experiences.
What is the Golden Ratio?
A mathematical proportion, about 1.618, sometimes connected with art, design and beauty.
What is morality?
Ideas and principles about what is right and wrong.
What is a thought experiment?
An imaginary situation used to explore an idea or question.
What is a premise?
A statement or reason used to support a conclusion.
What does objective mean?
Based on facts rather than personal opinions or feelings.
Why might two people disagree about whether the same painting is beautiful?
Their judgement of beauty may be subjective.
What is equality?
The idea that people should be treated as equals or have equal rights and value.
Why might a philosophical question have several reasonable answers?
Because people can use different arguments, evidence, values or perspectives.
“All birds have feathers. A penguin is a bird. Therefore, a penguin has feathers.” What are the premises?
All birds have feathers, and a penguin is a bird.
What is determinism?
The idea that events and choices are caused by earlier events and conditions.
Someone says, “This is the greatest painting ever made because it is my favourite.” Why doesn't this prove it is objectively the greatest?
Their personal preference is subjective and does not establish an objective fact.
What is equality of opportunity?
Giving people a fair chance to succeed rather than guaranteeing everyone the same result.
A philosopher asks you to imagine that you could become invisible and nobody would ever discover what you did. Why could this be a useful thought experiment?
It could test whether people behave morally because something is right or because they fear consequences.
“If it rains, the playground gets wet. The playground is wet. Therefore, it must have rained.” Why isn't this conclusion certain?
Something else could have made the playground wet.
If determinism is completely true, why might this create a problem for the idea of free choice?
Our choices might be the result of previous causes rather than choices we could genuinely have made differently.
Imagine an ordinary chair is placed in an art gallery and called The Chair. What philosophical question does this create?
Whether something becomes art because of what it looks like, what it means, the artist's intention or the context in which it is presented.
Two runners race, but one must start 20 metres behind the other. They follow exactly the same rules after the race begins. Is this necessarily equality of opportunity? Explain.
Not necessarily, because following the same rules does not create an equal opportunity if they begin with unfairly different conditions.
A ship has every piece replaced one at a time until none of its original parts remain. Is it still the same ship? What kind of philosophical problem is this?
A paradox/problem about identity, commonly called the Ship of Theseus.
Premise: “Everything that is made of cheese is edible.” Premise: “The Moon is made of cheese.” Conclusion: “The Moon is edible.” The reasoning follows logically from the premises, so what is wrong with the argument?
A premise is false. A logically structured argument can still reach an unreliable conclusion if its premises are false.
Imagine every decision you make is completely caused by your genes, experiences and previous events. Could you still be morally responsible for your actions?
This is debatable; answers should connect determinism with responsibility and justify the position.
If beauty were completely objective, what surprising consequence would this have when two people disagree about which painting is more beautiful?
At least one of them would have to be mistaken rather than simply having a different taste.
If there is no single meaning of life given to everyone, does that necessarily mean life cannot be meaningful?
No. A person could argue that humans create meaning through relationships, goals, experiences, helping others or other things they value.