philosophy history

WESTERN Philosophy

Human quest for Perfection

• Western Philosophy: Ancient Period-Medieval Period• Western Philosophy: Modern -contemporary Period• Western Philosophy and Eastern Philosophy• Reasoning: Methods of acquiring knowledge• Religion: faith Belief And Human Civilization• Religion: Eastern Philosophy

• Philosophy is about:– Finding answers to serious questions about ourselves and

about the world we live in:• What is morally right and wrong? And why?• What is a good life?• Does God exist? • What is the mind? • What is art? • Is the world really as it appears to us? • What can we know?• …and much, much more

– Questioning existing knowledge and intuitions to get closer to the truth

What is Philosophy?

• Philosophy is different from many other arts subjects: – To study philosophy you have to do philosophy

• We analyze and criticize existing arguments• We construct our own arguments

– We use fun thought experiments too

What will you do when studying Philosophy?

• The skills are:– Critical thinking, – Argument skills, – Communication, – Reasoning, – Analysis, – Problem solving…

• Which allow you to:– Justify your opinions – Spot a bad argument, no matter what the topic– Explain to people why they are wrong and you are right– Philosophy basically teaches you to think!

What will you get out of Philosophy?

• What is it to know something (and how can we come to know something)?– Epistemology, philosophy of science, logic

• What is there (and what are the natures of these things)?– Metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of

religion• What has value (and why)?

– Aesthetics, moral & political philosophy

The Philosophy Subjects

• What can we have knowledge about?• What does it mean to have knowledge

about something?• Where can we get knowledge from?• How can we get knowledge?• Are we just brains in vats?• Can we be sure we know anything?!• Descartes: “I think, therefore I am”

Knowledge

• What is time?• Is time travel possible?• Was there time before the universe?• How did the universe start?• What happened before the universe?• Is everything in the universe caused?• Is it possible for us to have free will?• What is the meaning of life?

Metaphysics

• What are the arguments for believing in a god?• Do those arguments give good reason to believe in a

God?• What are the arguments that certain kinds of Gods

cannot exist?• Do those arguments give good reason not to believe

in a certain type of God?

• Why would a God who is all powerful, and all good let bad things happen to innocent people?

Philosophy of Religion

• How can we tell what is art and what isn’t?

• Is popular art bad for us?

• Why do people enjoy watching scary movies?

Aesthetics

• Are there universal moral facts?• What is the best possible life someone can

have?• What makes actions morally right or wrong?• What is the best form of government?• Are human rights real?• When, if ever, is it permissible to go to war?

Moral & Political Philosophy

• Applying moral theories to current real life situations to assess what we should do

• Topics include:– Animal rights– Environmental ethics– Euthanasia– Abortion– Cloning and genetic engineering– Business ethics (e.g. is advertising immoral?)– Global poverty

Applied Ethics

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Philosophers – “lovers of wisdom”Sophists – “workers of wisdom” – Teachersphileo = lovesophia = wisdomIf sophia = wisdom and moron = fool,

then a sophomore is a “wise fool.”

Greek Philosophers

Map of Ancient Greece

AthensThe Agora where Socrates ‘lectured’

AthensParthenon: Built between 447 & 438 BCE with adornments continued to 432 BCE. It has served as a treasury, been converted both to a Christian Church and a Mosque and was badly damaged when bombed by Venetians while serving as an Ottoman armory in 1867.

AthensParthenon

Parthenon on AcropolisArtist's rendition

AthensHerodion Theatre (looking down from the Parthenon)

AthensTemple of Zeus (from Parthenon)

AthensTemple of Zeus

AthensTemple

The Beginnings of Western Philosophy

• Socrates and the Story of the Oracle at Delphi (from Apology): Philosophy as a critical stance in search of proper definitions

External Nature

• Thales, water• Anaximander, the indefinite• Empedocles, air earth, fire, and water• Democritus, atoms• Materialism, Reductionism, Determinism, and

Mechanism

The Milesians

• Thales, water• Anaximander (b. 610

BCE), The Indefinite• Anaximenes (b585 BCE),

Air• Plenums and the lack of

space

• Earliest known philosopher• Studied Egyptian and

Babylonian astronomy and mathematics

• Believed that the universe was controlled by fixed laws

• Basic element – water.

Thales of Miletus636-546 B.C.

• The universe could only be understood thru numbers.

• Sun, moon, and earth revolved around a central fire.

• Each planet produces a tone!

• Famous for the Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2

Pythagoras582-500 B.C.

• Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2

Pythagoras582-500 B.C.

a2

c2

b2

• Most famous of the Sophists• Believed that reason and

knowledge should be used to achieve a comfortable, safe, and happy life.

• Teachings to equip citizens for life in the polis:

1. Public speaking – oratory and rhetoric

2. Politics3. Grammar – language4. The art of being respectable

• Plato named one of his dialogues after him.

Protagoras485 - 410 B.C.

• Founded a school of medicine

• Rejected that sickness comes from the gods

• Careful observations of symptoms

• Acute• Chronic

• “Holistic” healing• Hygiene• Diet• Curative powers of nature

• The Hippocratic Oath

Hippocrates460-377 B.C.

• Developed the atomic theory.

• Taught that the universe was formed out of chaos through the joining of atoms of like shape and size.

• Atoma = indivisible particles.

• “the laughing philosopher”

Democritus460? - 360 B.C.

• One of the most prominent mathematicians

• Wrote The Elements • Widely used till about

1903.• 2nd only to the Bible in

numbers of translations, publications, and study

• Greek – Arabic – Latin

• Said to Ptolemy: “There is No Royal Road to geometry!”

Euclidc.300 B.C.

• Greek mathematician – Geometry

• War machines and other devices

• Theory of buoyancy - “Eureka!”

• Law of the lever• Archimedean screw

Archimedes287 - 212 B.C.

Archimedean Screw

Modern application of the Archimedean Screw

The Three Most Famous Philosophers

Socrates Plato Aristotle

• Critic of the Sophists• Encouraged students to think• Left no writings – skeptical• Dialectic method

• Conversational• Based upon reason and logic

• Popular among the youth a “gadfly” in Athens

• Placed on trial for impiety and corrupting the youth

• Was executed in 399 – drank poison hemlock

Socrates469 - 399 B.C.

Socratic Method:I. Admit ignorance.II. Never rely on tradition.III. Continuously question.IV. Formulate your own

opinions.V. Test your opinions with

others.

Socrates469 - 399 B.C.

Socrates469 - 399 B.C.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

• Preserved and perpetuated the work of Socrates

• Most important source of info on Socrates

• Founded the Academy• Wrote dialogues

– Universal Forms was a recurring theme

– The Republic – most important dialogue

Plato427 - 347 B.C.

“Those things which are beautiful are also difficult.”

Theory of Form or Idea

• Form is immaterial, it is pure idea• Form is eternal never change

(transcendent)• Form is backup of all things• Form build up relation of all things

• Most famous student of Plato

• Most famous teacher of Alexander the Great

• Developed Logic as a field of study

• Devised a complex system of classification

– Used in biology

• Views on Government

Aristotle384 - 322 B.C.

• Views on Government• 3 Good Governments:

–Monarchy–Aristocracy–Democracy

• 3 Bad Governments:–Tyranny–Oligarchy–Mob Rule

Aristotle384 - 322 B.C.

• “All things in moderation”

• “Man is by nature a political animal.”

Aristotle384 - 322 B.C.

Alexander the Great356 -323 B.C.

Alexander the Great356 -323 B.C.

Medieval Philosophy

Philosophy and Monotheism

• From the Hellenistic Period forward, Monotheistic Faith and Greek Philosophy engage in a complex interchange.

• Athens and Jerusalem• Pagan thought evolves into monotheism.• Monotheistic faith takes on the charge of reasoning

out the truth.• Christianity in particular comes about in the collision

of monotheistic faith and Greek thought.

Medieval Philosophy

• Consolidates the dialectic of Greek and Jew.• Reasons out a philosophy in which faith is a

constitutive element.• A tension between faith and reason ensues:

what is the precise relationship between the two? How is one to live a life of faith, not betraying it but rather enriching it with Greek reason

Jew, Christian, Muslim

• Orthopraxy—Jewish faith emphasizes a code of conduct, of practices in regard to one’s fellow humans and God.

• Orthodoxy—Christian faith emphasizes a code of belief, of doctrines in regard to one’s soul and one’s G-d.

• Orthosociality—Islamic faith flourishes as a mode of living, of law arrived at through social intercourse infused with the inspiration of Allah.

PLAN

• The character of the Medieval Philosophy• The main features of the Middle Age

philosophy• The philosophers of that period

THE MIDDLE AGES• During the decline of Greco-Roman civilization,

Western philosophers turned their attention from the scientific investigation of nature and the search for worldly happiness to the problem of salvation in another and better world. By the 3rd century ad, Christianity had spread to the more educated classes of the Roman Empire. The religious teachings of the Gospels were combined by the Fathers of the Church with many of the philosophical concepts of the Greek and Roman schools.

THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS• THEOCENTRISM - any philosophical problem is studied in the context of

God.• THEODICY (God and justice)- the study which explains the contradiction of

the idea of God as Absolute and the existence of the world evil. • THEOLOGISM – everything around is determined by God and eventually

reaches its aim. • PERSONALISM – God is Absolute Personality, which served as a sample

for man creating. • GNOSTICISM - derived from the Greek word gnosis (“revealed

knowledge”). To its adherents, Gnosticism promised a secret knowledge of the divine realm. Sparks or seeds of the Divine Being fell from this transcendent realm into the material universe, which is wholly evil, and were imprisoned in human bodies. Reawakened by knowledge, the divine element in humanity can return to its proper home in the transcendent spiritual realm.

LOGOS• Logos (Greek, “word, reason, ratio”), in ancient and especially in medieval

philosophy and theology, the divine reason that acts as the ordering principle of the universe.

• The Logos is “present everywhere” and seems to be understood as both a divine mind and at least a semiphysical force, acting through space and time. Through the faculty of reason, all human beings (but not any other animals) share in the divine reason.

• the Greek word logos being translated as “word” in the English Bible: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .”

• The Logos, for instance, was identified with the will of God, or with the Ideas (or Platonic Forms) that are in the mind of God. Christ's incarnation was accordingly understood as the incarnation of these divine attributes.

St. Augustine of Hippo

• St Augustine was born November 13, 354.

• He died August 28, 430 • He is considered the

patron saint of brewers, printers,

theologians, sore eyes, and a number of cities

and dioceses.

Education and Christianity• St. Augustine was born at

Tagaste, which is now Souk-Ahras, about 60 miles from

Bona (ancient Hippo-Reguis)• His family was not rich, his father Patricius was one of the curiales of the city and still was

a pagan. • Through the prayers of his holy

mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became

convinced that Christianity was the one true religion.

• His mother, Monica

Early Education

• At the age of 11, Augustine was sent to school at Madaurus, a small Numidian city about 19 miles south

of Thagaste noted for its pagan climate.

• At Madaurus he became familiar with Latin literature.

Pre-Christian Days• Once, when very ill, he asked for baptism, but, all danger

being soon passed, he deferred receiving the sacrament, yielding to a terrible ritual of times.

• His association with "men of prayer" left three great ideas deeply engraved upon his soul: a Divine Providence, the

future life with terrible sanctions, and, above all, Christ the Savior.

• But a great intellectual and moral crisis stifled for a time all these Christian sentiments.

Education• Patricius, proud of his son's success in the schools of Tagaste

and Madaura determined to send him to Carthage to prepare for a forensic career.

• Unfortunately, it required several months to collect the necessary means, and Augustine had to spend his sixteenth year at Tagaste in an idleness which was fatal to his virtue

• They gave himself up to pleasure with all the vehemence of an ardent nature.

Education• When he reached Carthage,

towards the end of the year 370, every circumstance tended to draw him from his true course

• The many seductions of the great city that was still half pagan, the licentiousness of other students, the theatres, the intoxication of his literary success, and a proud desire always to be first, even in evil

• Before long he was obliged to confess to Monica that he had formed a sinful liaison with the person who bore him a son

St. Ambrose

• His religious problem would come to end when he went to Italy under the influence of St. Ambrose.

• Having visited Bishop Ambrose, the fascination of that saint's kindness induced him to become a regular attendant at his preaching's.

Bishop of Hippo• In 391 he was ordained a

priest in Hippo Regius

• He became a famous preacher and was noted for combating the Manichaean religion, to which he had formerly adhered.

• In 396 he became Bishop of Hippo

Teaching of Philosophy • Along with being a prominent figure in the religious spectrum,

Augustine was also very influential in the history of education. • He introduced the theory of three different types of students,

and instructed teachers to adapt their teaching styles to each student's individual learning style.

• He claimed there are two basic styles a teacher uses when speaking to the students.

• The mixed style includes complex and sometimes showy language to help students see the beautiful artistry of the subject they are studying.

• The grand style is not quite as elegant as the mixed style, but is exciting and heartfelt, with the purpose of igniting the same passion in the students' hearts.

Pelagian Heresy• St. Augustine was involved

was his battle against Pelagianism.

• The Pelagians denied original sin and the fall of humanity.

Confessions• His Confessions is considered a

classic of Christian autobiography.

• The work outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity.

• St. Augustine writes about how much he regrets having led a sinful and immoral life. He discusses his regrets for following the Manichaean religion and believing in astrology

St Augustine’s Books• City of God a mammoth

defense of Christianity against its pagan critics, and famous especially for the uniquely Christian view of history elaborated in its pages.

• On the Trinity comes from his polemic writings.

• On the Work of Monks, has been much used by monastics.

Influence on the Church• Later, within the Roman

Catholic Church, the writings of Cornelius Jansen, who claimed heavy influence from Augustine, would form the basis of the movement known as Jansenism.

• Augustine was canonized by popular acclaim, and later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII

• His feast day is August 28, the day on which he died.

St. Augustine’s Death• Shortly before Augustine's

death, Roman Africa was overrun by the Vandals, a warlike tribe with Arian sympathies.

• They had entered Africa at the instigation of Count Boniface, but soon turned to lawlessness, plundering private citizens and churches and killing many of the inhabitants.

• The Vandals arrived in the spring of 430 to besiege Hippo and during that time, Augustine endured his final illness.

SCHOLASTICISM• philosophic and theological movement that attempted to use natural

human reason, in particular, the philosophy and science of Aristotle, to understand the supernatural content of Christian revelation.

• It was dominant in the medieval Christian schools and universities of Europe from about the middle of the 11th century to about the middle of the 15th century.

• The ultimate ideal of the movement was to integrate into an ordered system both the natural wisdom of Greece and Rome and the religious wisdom of Christianity.

• Nonetheless, throughout the Scholastic period, philosophy was called the servant of theology, not only because the truth of philosophy was subordinated to that of theology, but also because the theologian used philosophy to understand and explain revelation.

St. Thomas Aquinas (1224 – 1274)

• Aquinas, Saint Thomas, sometimes called the Angelic Doctor and the Prince of Scholastics (1225-1274), Italian philosopher and theologian, whose works have made him the most important figure in Scholastic philosophy and one of the leading Roman Catholic theologians.

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS• Aquinas combined Aristotelian science and Augustinian

theology into a comprehensive system of thought that later became the authoritative philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.

• He wrote on every known subject in philosophy and science, and his major work, Summa Theologica, in which he presents a persuasive and systematic structure of ideas, still constitute a powerful influence on Western thought. His writings reflect the renewed interest of his time in reason, nature, and worldly happiness, together with its religious faith and concern for salvation.

• Aquinas made many important investigations into the philosophy of religion, including an extremely influential study of the attributes of God, such as omnipotence, omniscience, eternity.

• He also provided a new account of the relationship between faith and reason that the truths of faith and the truths of reason cannot conflict but rather apply to different realms. The truths of natural science and philosophy are discovered by reasoning from facts of experience, whereas the tenets of revealed religion, the doctrine of the Trinity, the creation of the world, and other articles of Christian dogma are beyond rational comprehension, although not inconsistent with reason, and must be accepted on faith. The metaphysics, theory of knowledge, ethics, and politics of Aquinas were derived mainly from Aristotle, but he added the Augustinian virtues of faith, hope, and charity and the goal of eternal salvation through grace to Aristotle’s naturalistic ethics with its goal of worldly happiness.

Life and Significance• Educated as Friar (Dominican Order), Studies Theology in

Cologne and Paris, Teaches in Paris and various Italian Cities• Most famous Works Summa contra Gentiles, Summa

Theologiae (unfinished), numerous biblical and philosophical Commentaries

• Scholasticism and the Revival of Learning• Canonized in 1323• Aquinas’ work is declared the official ‘philosophy’ of the

Catholic church in 1879

Aquinas’ Challenge

• The Return of Aristotle– Teleology– Causality– The ‘Errors of Aristotle’

• The Claims of Reason and Faith• What do you know about God?

– Being– Attributes

Book III

Aquinas, God, and Ontology

• Five Ways of proving God’s Existence• Descartes, Leibniz and Kant• Causality, Being, Time, Space

“Not how the world is, is the mystical, but that it is” (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Five Ways of proving God• Motion: Things move and change. Things are put into motion by something else.

There cannot be an infinite regress, therefore there must have been an initial unmoved mover. This we call God.

• Causation: All things have an immediate or efficient cause. The efficient causes cannot go back infinitely, so there must be a first, uncaused cause. This we call God.

• Contingency: It is not necessary for any particular thing to exist, they are, rather, contingent things. All possible things at one point did not exist. If all things are merely contingent, then at one time things did not exist. There must be a necessary essence that caused all contingent things to be. This we call God.

• Goodness: Things have degrees of perfection—larger or smaller, heavier or lighter, warmer or colder. Degrees imply the existence of a maximum of perfection. This maximum perfection we call God.

• The Way of Design: Things in this world are ordered to particular ends. Even unintelligent things are predisposed to this and not that. This order inherent in even inanimate things necessitates an intelligence to direct it. This intelligence we call God.

Politics and Religionin the Middle Ages

• From zoon politikon to homo credens• This world and the next world (St.Augustine

354-430: City of God)• Religion and Politics, Pope and Emperor, The

Holy Roman Empire, Investiture and Coronation

• Feudalism

The Cosmos

Universe/God

Society/King

Household/Pater familias

Analogies and Hierarchies

• God is to the Universe what the King is to Society is what the Head of Household is to the Household

• Harmony, Hierarchy and Teleology

Law and Politics

• Law is “an ordinance of reason for the common good”

• Eternal Law, Natural Law, Human Law, Divine Law

• Disobedience, Resistance, Legitimacy and Legality

What is Natural Law• Underlying principles of moral practice• One more Analogy: The Principle of Non-Contradiction and

the Law of Nature• “Good should be pursued and done and evil avoided” • “Since good has the character of an end and evil the contrary

character, all those things to which a man has a natural inclination reason naturally grasps as goods, and consequently as things to be pursued…”

• Self-Preservation, Community, Contemplation

Modern Philosophy

• The major figures in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and metaphysics during the 17th and 18th centuries are roughly divided into 2 main groups. The "Rationalists," mostly in France and Germany, argued all knowledge must begin from certain "innate ideas" in the mind.

Modern Philosophers

• Rationalists– Descartes– Kant– Leibniz

• Empiricists– Machiavelli – Locke– Hobbes– Bacon– Marx

Epistemology - the theory of knowledge (what and how we know)

• Machiavelli – 1469-1527 – control populace – politics, government - two books, The Prince is still used today in politics (Stalin really liked The Prince), ends justify the means, fear tactic in leadership (better feared than loved)

Epistemology

Epistemology is one of the core areas of philosophy. It is concerned with the nature, sources and limits of knowledge. Epistemology has been primarily concerned with propositional knowledge, that is, knowledge that such-and-such is true, rather than other forms of knowledge, for example, knowledge how to such-and-such. There is a vast array of views about propositional knowledge, but one virtually universal presupposition is that knowledge is true belief, but not mere true belief. For example, lucky guesses or true beliefs resulting from wishful thinking are not knowledge. Thus, a central question in epistemology is: How do we know what we know is true, and what is the difference(s) between knowledge, belief and truth?

• Thomas Hobbes 1588 – 4 December 1679

Everyone is selfish

• Sir Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626)

Bacon has been called the creator of empiricism.

• Rene Descartes ( 1596 – 1650)

Rene Descartes

• Rationalist fixated on figuring out how to know truth.

• Through deconstruction/reduction, he eliminates everything to get to a CRITERION OF TRUTH – a kernel of absolutely true knowledge from which an entire world can be constructed

Phases

• Doubt EVERYTHING that can be doubted• Find the criterion of truth• Expand from that point to find what is

knowable and true• This is a rational exercise – the senses cannot

be trusted.

• John Locke (1632 – 1704),

• Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self

• His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy.

• knowledge is determined only by experience derived from sense perception.

• Karl Heinrich Marx (1818 – 14 March 1883)

Marx has been called "the first great user of Critical Method critical in social sciences."

He criticized speculative philosophy, equating metaphysics with ideology.

By using the above approach, Marx attempted to separate key findings from ideological bias and it set him apart from many contemporary philosophers.

Believes that humans are not trapped in a predetermined state of being.

It is humans who made history, therefore they can change it.

Viewed Capitalism as a step toward progressive society.

Realism v. Idealism: Since society can decide for itself, there are different interpretations

Realism v. Nominalism : The Tangible world and capitalism.

-Ideas exist in tangible world. -Connects abstract to real.

Idealist v. Materialist: -Not about spirituality - Human struggle and capital.

Immanuel Kant ( 1724 – 1804)

Immanuel Kant

• Synthesized rationalism and empiricism– Said both are partly right and partly wrong, took the

“right” parts from each• All knowledge comes from experience, but reason

determines how we perceive reality.• We need to keep in mind HUMAN PERCEPTION - a

“think in itself” vs. a “thing for us”• We cannot evade our humanistic filter

• Disagrees with Hume on causation and says that is the rational structure of the mind at work. We apply meaning.

• Kant’s ETHICS - based on the “Categorical Imperative” – ACT AS IF THE MAXIM OF YOUR ACTION,

THROUGH YOUR WILL, WOULD BECOME THE LAW OF NATURE”

• Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951)

Philosophical Investigations• The later Wittgenstein made an about face (which,

however, does have many roots in the Tractatus): he abandoned the idea that logic had any natural claim to Truth, and (therefore) meaning

• Instead, he argued that logic (and meaning) was rooted in social agreement, defined by grammars arising from forms of life

“Philosophical Investigations is a vote for sanity over system.”

Jan Zwicky / Lyric Philosophy

• 17th to 18th century• Moving from religion to fact/science• Age of reason• Not a single movement or thought, but rather a set

of values• Figure out a reason why we are here without using

religion as an answer – thinking outside the box• The way people thought was changing• Politics and how people were governed

ANDREW WYETH

Christina’s World (1948)

A complex philosophy emphasizing the absurdity

of reality and the human responsibility to make

choices and accept consequences!

GEORGIO DE CHIRICO

Love Song

It was during the Second World War, when Europe found itself in a crisis faced with death and destruction, that the existential movement began to flourish, popularized in France in the 1940s…

MARK ROTHKO

Untitled (1968)

Big Ideas of ExistentialismBig Ideas of Existentialism

Despite encompassing a huge range of philosophical, religious, and political ideologies, the underlying concepts of existentialism are simple…

Existence Precedes Existence Precedes EssenceEssence

Cogito ergo sum.

Existentialism is the title of the set of philosophical ideals that emphasize the existence of the human being, the lack of meaning and purpose in life, and the solitude of human existence… “Existence precedes essence” implies that the human being has no essence (no essential self).

AbsurdismAbsurdism

• The belief nothing can explain or rationalize human existence.

• There is no answer to “Why am I?”

• Humans exist in a meaningless, irrational universe and any search for order will bring them into direct conflict with this universe.

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

“It was previously a question of finding out whether or not life had to have a meaning to be lived. It now becomes clear, on the contrary, that it will be lived all the better if it has no meaning.”

Choice and CommitmentChoice and Commitment

• Humans have freedom to choose

• Each individual makes choices that create his or her own nature

• Because we choose, we must accept risk and responsibility for wherever our commitments take us

• “A human being is absolutely free and absolutely responsible. Anguish is the result.” –Jean-Paul Sartre

MAN RAY

Les Larmes (Tears)

Dread and AnxietyDread and Anxiety

Dread and AnxietyDread and Anxiety• Dread is a feeling of general

apprehension. Kierkegaard interpreted it as God’s way of calling each individual to make a commitment to a personally valid way of life.

• Anxiety stems from our understanding and recognition of the total freedom of choice that confronts us every moment, and the individual’s confrontation with nothingness.

EDVARD MUNCH

Night in Saint Cloud (1890)

NothingnessNothingness and Death and Death

• Death hangs over all of us. Our awareness of it can bring freedom or anguish.

• I am my own existence. Nothing structures my world.

• “Nothingness is our inherent lack of self. We are in constant pursuit of a self. Nothingness is the creative well-spring from which all human possibilities can be realized.” –Jean-Paul Sartre

Nothingness and DeathNothingness and Death

All existentialists are concerned with the study of being or ontology.

TO REVIEW: An existentialist believes that a person’s life is nothing but the sum of the life he has shaped for himself. At every moment it is always his own free will choosing how to act. He is responsible for his actions, which limit future actions. Thus, he must create a morality in the absence of any known predetermined absolute values. God does not figure into the equation, because even if God does exist, He does not reveal to men the meaning of their lives. Honesty with oneself is the most important value. Every decision must be weighed in light of all the consequences of that action…

Life is absurd, but we engage it!

Edward Hopper “New York Movie” (1939)

Edward Hopper “New York Movie” (1939)

Human SubjectivityHuman Subjectivity

“I will be what I choose to be…”

It is impossible to transcend human subjectivity.

“There are no true connections between people…”

My emotions are yet another choice I make. I am responsible for them.

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity

• In reason, subjectivity refers to the property of perceptions, arguments, and language as being based in a subject's point of view, and hence influenced in accordance with a particular bias.

• As I Lay Dying presents a world that is completely subjective (if you rule out Faulkner ordering the chapters and choosing the speakers)

Objectivity

• Subjectivity’s opposite property is objectivity, which refers to such as based in a separate, distant, and unbiased point of view, such that concepts discussed are treated as objects.

• A scientist and a spiritual man have one thing in common– each seeks to understand an objective truth in the world.

GEORGIA O’KEEFFESky Above White Clouds I (1962)

Human existence cannot be captured by reason or objectivity –– it must include passion, emotion and the subjective…

Each of us is responsible for everything and to every human being.

–Simone de Beauvoir

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre

Bad Faith• when individuals negate their true nature in an

attempt to become a self they are not.

• The classic example is Sartre's waiter who is always just slightly too friendly, too helpful, too willing to play the part of a waiter rather than being the less friendly, helpful and waiter-like self he would be if he were not assuming the identity of "waiter."

• In assuming the role of "waiter," Sartre's character has negated himself by denying his authentic ego with all its characteristics not becoming of a waiter.

Bad Faith …

• In social situations we play a part that is not ourselves. If we passively become that part, we are thereby avoiding the important decisions and choices by which personality should be formed

• One of the most important implications of bad faith is the abolition of traditional ethics and morality.

• Because being a moral person requires one to deny authentic impulses and change one's actions based on the will of a person other than oneself, being a moral person is one of the most severe forms of bad faith.

Some Famous Some Famous ExistentialistsExistentialists

• Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

• Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

• Albert Camus (1913-1960)

“A woman is not born…she is created.”

de Beauvoir’s most famous text is The Second Sex (1949), which some claim is the basis for current gender studies…

Albert Camus dissociated himself from the existentialists but acknowledged man’s lonely condition in the universe. His “man of the absurd” (or absurd hero) rejects despair and commits himself to the anguish and responsibility of living as best he can.

Basically, man creates himself through the choices he makes. There are no guides for these choices, but he has to make them anyway, which renders life absurd…

EDGAR DEGAS

“L’absinthe” (1876)

Alienation or Alienation or EstrangementEstrangement

• From all other humans

• From human institutions

• From the past

• From the future• We only exist right

now, right here…

"Just What is it that makes today's home so different, so appealing?" (1956) - Richard Hamilton

POST MODERNISM PHILOSOPHY

Postmodernism: Significant Events

•August 6, 1945 - atomic explosion over Hiroshima, Japan The conclusion of World War II •The Korean War (Conflict?) • The Cold War of the 1950s • McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee • The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 • The assassination of President Kennedy, Nov. 1962 Identity Movements of the 1960s: Feminism, Civil Rights/Black Power• The assassinations, in 1968, of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy

Postmodernism: Significant Events (con’t)

• The Vietnam War (Conflict?) • The killing of four students by the National Guard at Kent State Univ., 1970 • The resignation of President Nixon in 1974 •The AIDS epidemic•Identity Movements: Gay, Lesbian, Queer movements, Postcolonial movements and minority literature.•The rise of Theory•Culture Wars: debates over canonical inclusion and “great books”

Postmodernism Samples (from Jameson)

John Ashbery -- David Antin

Pop Buildings

Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Photorealism

John Cage, Philip Glass, the Clash, Talking Heads, Gang of Four

Vanguard film: Godard, etc. to Hollywood “nostalgia film”

Fiction: Burroughs, Pychnon, DeLillo, French new novel

Other samples?

Still Life with a Bottle of Rum, Summer 1911Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973)Oil on canvas; 24 1/8 x 19 7/8 in. (61.3 x 50.5 cm)

Cubist Still Life by Roy Lichtenstein, 1974.

Recurrent Ideas in Theory (from: Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An

Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Second Edition. Manchester, 2002)

1. Anti-essentialism—many of the notions previously regarded as universal and fixed (gender identity, individual selfhood) are actually fluid and unstable. These are socially constructed or contingent categories rather than absolute or essential ones.

2. All thinking and investigation is affected by prior ideological commitments. There is no disinterested enquiry.

3. “Language itself conditions, limits, and predetermines what we see. Language doesn’t record reality but constructs it. Meaning in texts is jointly constructed by the reader and writer.

4. “Theorists distrust all totalizing notions” (great books, human nature)

Barry sums these ideas up in 5 key points:

politics is pervasivelanguage is constituativeTruth is provisionalMeaning is contingentHuman nature is a myth.

Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles

Metafiction

“Metafiction is a term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. In providing a critique of their own methods of construction, such writings not only examine the fundamental structures of narrative fiction, they also explore the possible fictionality of the world outside the literary fictional text.”

(Patricia Waugh, courtesy of Patrick)

David Lodge: 4 Techniques Typical of PM Fiction

• Permutation: incorporating alternative narrative lines in the same text

• Discontinuity: disrupting the continuity, unity, “reality” of the text (by unpredictable swerves of tone, metafictional asides to the reader, blank spaces in the text, etc).

• Randomness: discontinuity produced by composing accord to the logic of the absurd

• Excess: as a method of departing from or testing the bounds of “reality”

“The Babysitter” fragments“a scream” a fight “Stop it!”

“Decides to take a quick bath” a golf club

a pair of underpants “are you being a good girl?”

“Dolly!” “Where’s Harry?” “peeping in”

“Hey! What’s going on here?” “Harry?” “I’m just wrapped in a towel”

“I’ll spank!” “Something about a babysitter…”

a ringing telephone“Maybe you better get in the tub too”

“They’re all dead”

Eastern Philosophy

Eastern Religion & Philosophy

• Hinduism• Buddhism• Taoism• Confucianism

Hinduism

Hinduism

• The term refers to the collect faiths that originated in India.

• Hinduism does not have a clear origin.• There is not one “holy book” or text.• There is not a single founder.

Indian Civilization• The Indian Subcontinent is home to one of the oldest

civilizations in the world• A wide diversity of religions exists on the Indian

Subcontinent (modern Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka)

• Four major religious traditions have emerged from this area:– Hinduism– Jainism– Buddhism– Sikhism

Hinduism

Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are relatively unified religious traditions

Hinduism, by contrast, refers to a wide variety of religious traditions, philosophies, and folk practices, which may be only marginally related to each other

The term “Hinduism” was introduced by Europeans in the 18th century to describe followers of various Indian religions

History of Hinduism

c. 8000-6000 BCE: the Vedas are “heard,” according to tradition

c. 2500-1500 BCE: Indus Valley civilization flourishes in cities such as Mohenjo-daro and Harappa (modern-day Pakistan)

c. 900-700 BCE: Brahmanas writtenc. 600-100 BCE: Upanishads writtenc. 400 BCE – 200 CE: Ramayana writtenc. 400 BCE – 400 CE: Mahabharata written

History of Hinduism

711 CE – Muslim invasions of India begin1556-1707 – Mughal Empire1857-1947 – British Raj1947 – Independence, partition of India and

Pakistan1948 – Assassination of Mohandas Gandhi

Shaivism

• Shiva-• The supreme being

and creator of the universe.

• Parvati, Sakti- wife• Ganesha-child• Nandi- Bull

Saktism

• Sakti- wife of Siva, the female part of the universe.

• Destroyer or destructive force in this realm.

Vaisnavism

• Vishnu- Is a personal god.

• Protector in this realm

The Buddha was an incarnation of the God Vishnu according to Hindus.

The Vedas The sacred texts of Hinduism are called Shruti, meaning

“heard” The Vedas are a collection of ancient religious hymns Written in Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language The earliest Vedas are among the oldest surviving religious

texts in the world According to Hindu tradition, the Vedas were not created by

humans, but have existed eternally and were “heard” by ancient sages called rishis, and compiled by Vyasa, an incarnation of the god Vishnu

Contemporary scholars believe the Vedas were first written in the first millennium BCE, but were passed on orally prior to being written

The Vedas There are four Vedas:

The Rig Veda: a book of sacred hymnsThe Yajur Veda: a book of knowledge and

melodies for the hymnsThe Sama Veda: descriptions of the materials for

sacrificeThe Atharva Veda: contains magic spells and

other folk knowledge

Don’t Get Confused!

• The study of Hinduism requires learning a number of Sanskrit terms, some of which are similar but have distinct meanings.– Brahman = the Infinite– Brahmanas = Shruti texts on sacrifice– Brahma = a creator god– Brahmin = a priestly-caste Hindu

Brahman and Atman

• The Atman is the inner essence of the human being – the soul– The Atman is the same as Brahman – a commonly-

used analogy is the relationship between a drop of water and the ocean

– The goal of some schools of Hinduism is for practitioners to realize that their individual consciousness is nothing but Brahman and to reunite with the Infinite

Other Concepts Reincarnation: the belief that the atman migrates after death

to a new body (human or other) Karma: the law of cause and effect; good deeds lead to good

results, and evil deeds lead to evil results.This may follow the atman through death and affect reincarnationTheistic schools may view karma as being divine judgement

Samsara: the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation Moksha: enlightenment; freedom from Samsara. One

realizes the unity of atman and Brahman and is freed from the cycle of samsara, existing in a state of blissful union with Brahman

Common Themes in Hinduism

• Most forms of Hinduism have the following in common:– Connection to Truth through the Vedas and other

scriptures, and also through meditation and mystical experiences

• Acceptance of the Vedas is the primary factor that distinguishes Hinduism from Buddhism and Jainism

– Importance of ethics (karma)– Seeking of personal enlightenment through

realization of the true nature of the Self

Philosophical Schools Indian civilization has a long and rich philosophical

tradition, much of which is closely related to religious belief

Samkhya: An ancient philosophical school based on dualism, which is the belief in two separate states of reality: the material world (Prakriti) and the eternal Self or cosmic consciousness (Purusha)

Advaita Vedanta: a monistic philosophy. Holds that everything is one (Brahman), and all differentiation in the world is illusion (maya)

Yoga• Yoga (Sanskrit meaning “to yoke,” a metaphor for “union”)

refers to spiritual disciplines for attaining a state of samadhi: higher awareness, or union with the true Self

• Systematized in the Yoga Sutras, developed by the sage Patanjali in the 3rd century BCE

• Different types of yoga are appropriate for different types of people– Raja yoga: meditation

• Includes chanting of mantras, breath control, channeling of prana energy, and moral living

– Jnana yoga: rational questioning– Karma yoga: disinterested good deeds– Bhakti yoga: loving devotion to a personal deity

• The form of yoga most commonly practiced in the West derives from Hatha Yoga, a later form of yoga developed by Yogi Swatmarama in the 15th century CE

What about this What about this kind of yogakind of yoga??

Some older Some older traditions of traditions of Hinduism Hinduism acknowledge three acknowledge three aspects of the aspects of the Divine:Divine:– Brahma, the Brahma, the

creatorcreator– Vishnu, the Vishnu, the

preserverpreserver– Shiva, the Shiva, the

destroyerdestroyer Brahma is rarely the Brahma is rarely the

object of devotionobject of devotion The other deities The other deities

may be seen as may be seen as representing the representing the totality of the Divinetotality of the Divine

Shaivism

• Shaivites are worshippers of Shiva

• Shiva represents asceticism and the union of the masculine and the feminine

• Shiva is sometimes depicted with a consort, either Parvati or Kali

The popular deity Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, is the son of Shiva and Parvati

Vaishnavites

• Vaishnavites are worshippers of Vishnu

• Vishnu is a merciful deity who appears in many incarnations (avatara)

• One popular avatar of Vishnu is Krishna

• Another is the hero Rama

The Epics

• In Hindu mythology, Vishnu incarnates as an avatar at critical times in history to restore the moral order (dharma)

• Two great epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, tell of Vishnu’s intervention in the world and conquest of evil forces

The Ramayana• The Ramayana, probably composed between 400 BCE and

200 CE, tells the story of the mythical prince Rama, identified as an avatar of Vishnu

• The central theme of the Ramayana is dharma, the virtuous life, as exemplified in proper human relationships

• Rama is banished from his kingdom by his stepmother. He goes willingly to live in the forest for fourteen years, accompanied by his wife, Sita

• Sita is abducted by the demon king Ravana• Rama, his brother Lakshman, and the monkey king Hanuman

fight a war against Ravana’s armies to retrieve Sita

The Mahabharata The Mahabharata is a famous epic poem in Sanskrit, was

probably composed between 400 BCE and 400 CE It tells the story of an ancient dynastic struggle One of the best-known parts of the Mahabharata is the

Bhagavad-Gita, or “Song of the Supreme Being” In the Bhagavad-Gita, the prince Arjuna is forced to go to

battle against his friends and loved ones Distraught, he turns to his charioteer for advice His charioteer, who is Krishna, gives Arjuna instruction on

self-transcendence, dharma, and philosophy, which explain in detail many core beliefs in the Hindu tradition

“Do your duty to the best of your ability, O Arjuna, with your mind attached to the Lord, abandoning worry and selfish attachment to the results, and remaining calm in both success and failure. The selfless service is a yogic practice that brings peace and equanimity of mind.”

- Bhagavad-Gita 2.48

Puranas

• The Puranas are Sanskrit texts that narrate myths based on the Upanishads

• Eighteen Puranas in total – six about Brahma, six about Vishnu, six about Shiva

• Best known is Bhagavata Purana, which tells stories of Krishna, avatar of Vishnu– Strong emphasis on practice of bhakti – loving devotion to

Krishna– Depicts Krishna as a mischievous child– Also depicts Krishna as a young man dancing with gopis

(young, female cow-herders)

Ritual Life

• Many rituals make up Hindu religious life• Puja is Hindu worship

– Sometimes takes place at temples; may be connected by specialists such as brahmin priests

– May also take place at home shrines• Statues of deities are often the focal point of

ritual; these are treated as if they were the actual deity

Caste Over the course of history, Hindu society came to be divided

into four castes, or social classes:Brahmins: priests, the highest casteKshatriyas: warriors and kingsVaishyas: merchantsShudras: manual labourers

Some people do not fall into any caste; these are called dalits, or untouchablesDalits have traditionally been tasked with work such as cleaning

streets and working with human and animal corpses and waste Caste-based discrimination is now illegal in India, and

affirmative-action policies aim to improve standards of living in lower castes, but inequalities persist

Four Goals of Life

• Hinduism defines for objectives, or “ends,” of the good life:– Dharma: carrying out duties and responsibilities– Artha: pursuit of worldly success and wealth– Kama: love, sensual pleasure, and art– Moksha: enlightenment

• Different goals are considered appropriate for different people

The Life Cycle• The journey towards enlightenment is thought to

take many lifetimes• Being born as a human, especially an upper-caste

male, is thought to be a unique opportunity for spiritual development

• Brahmin males are ideally expected to pass through four stages of life:– Student– Householder– Spiritual seeker– Ascetic

Women in Hinduism The place of women in Hinduism has a complex history Hindu tradition prescribes clear social roles for all members

of society, including womenThese social roles often involve marriage and family lifeWhile domestic roles are honoured in Hindu tradition, in practice they

often lead to limited social status for womenExpectations of a large dowry being given to the husband’s family at

marriage have led to women being seen as an economic burden in some families

Arranged marriages are a Hindu tradition that is sometimes still practiced today

Women are not traditionally expected to pursue spiritual enlightenment, although many women become ascetics

Buddhism

• Buddha• Four Noble Truths• Eightfold Path

Buddhism

A philosophical tradition, founded by Gautama Siddhartha Buddha in the fifth century b.c., that took on various forms as a religion and spread throughout Asia; It is a branch of Hinduism

Buddhism attempts to help the individual conquer the suffering and mutability of human existence through the elimination of desire and ego and attainment of the state of nirvana.

Eightfold Path• The way or practice recommended in

Buddhism that includes:• Right View, • Right Aim, • Right Speech, • Right Action, • Right Living, • Right Effort, • Right Mindfulness, • Right Contemplation.

Four Noble Truths

• Buddha's answer to the central problem of life (1) There is suffering; (2) suffering has specific and identifiable causes; (3) suffering can be ended; (4) the way to end suffering is through enlightened living, as expressed in the Eightfold Path.

Different planes of reality

• For some Buddist, this plane of existence is not the only one.

• You can be reincarnated as a higher or lower being, depending upon your karma at death.

Taoism

• Lao Tzu• Chuang Tzu• Sun Tzu• Lieh Tzu• Yin and Yang

Chinese Philosophies

Zhou China c. 500 bceConfucianism,

Daoism, Legalism

Why did these philosophies develop?

• War and social changes were disrupting everyday life

• Government lacked control

• These philosophies helped guide people and the government to a better life

ConfuciusK’ung fu-tzu or Kongfuzi

• 551-479 bce• Itinerant teacher• Sayings collected in The

Analects

Confucianism• Founder: Confucius• Sacred Test: Analects – collection of Confucius’

sayings• Major Teachings:• 3 Levels

– Status/Position– Age– Gender

• 5 Relationships to Develop• Ruler to Subject• Parent to Child (Filial Piety)• Husband to Wife• Older Brother to Younger Brother• Friend to Friend (Golden Rule)

– Importance of Education– Importance of Morals and Values

The ancient State of Lu

That’s where Confucius was born & spent most of his life.

Confucian goal• Unconditional moral obligation to work for:

– Universal human well-being– Order & harmony – peace & happiness in this life here on earth

• Good ruler– Morally good– Reasonable– Moderate – not extreme– Kind and helpful

• Implications for Government – Best rulers are wise – Lead by example – Developed & used civil service system

• Exams and training for gov’t jobs

Followers of Confucius

Confucian Values Li: Politeness

4 basic rules of human conduct: ○ Courtesy○ Politeness○ Good manners○ Respect

Jen (Ren): RespectGolden Rule:

○ Do not do to others what you do not want done to you.” Te: Moral action

Strong leaders guide by example Wen: Arts of peace:

Music, poetry, art ○ harmony, order, excellence, beauty.

Daoism / Taoism• Founder – Laozi (Lao-Tze) • Sacred Text –Tao-te-Ching

– Lao-Tze - The Book of the Way

• Major Teachings– Live in harmony with nature– Be like water:

• Water goes with the ‘flow’• but is unstoppable

• Implications for Government – Government unnatural

• Tries to change too much• Usually makes things worse

Daoism / Taoism• Tao: ultimate reality behind existence• Man must conform to nature

– But not to society• Confucian & Legalist social, economic, and

political thinking: – Masculine, hard, managing, aggressive, rational,

and commanding• Daoists are different.

– balancing masculine with feminine– Be yielding, permissive, withdrawing, mystical, and

receptive

Yin and Yang

• Negative and positive principles of the universe.

• One cannot exist without the other• Each is incorporated into the other• Not Opposites, but Complements

– Complete each other

Yin & Yangfemale

dark

cool

moist

passive

negative

evil

malebrighthotdryactivepositivegoodEarth

& Moon

Heaven & Sun

Three Jewels of Taosim

• Compassion - leads to courage • Moderation - leads to generosity • Humility - leads to leadership

Taoist Response to Confucianism

Chuang Chou (Chuang Tzu or

ZhuangZi )

The Way has nothing to do with the “rights” and “wrongs” associated with traditions such as Confucianism.

"Once I, Chuang Tzu, dreamed that I was a butterfly. Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, visibly Tzu. I do

not know whether it was Tzu dreaming that he was a butterfly or the butterfly dreaming it was Tzu,

Between Tzu and the butterfly there must be some distinction. [But one may be the other.] This is called

the transformation of things."

Legalism• Hanfiezi c. 250 bce• Major Teachings

– People are naturally selfish and corrupt so they need to be controlled

– Intellectualism and literacy are discouraged

– Law is the supreme authority and replaces morality

– The ruler must rule with a strong, punishing hand.

– War is the means of strengthening a ruler’s power.

• Implications for Government – Many rules – Harsh punishments– Strong military

• Important during Q’in & Sui dynasties

Confucianism --> Moral order in society.

Legalism --> Rule by harsh law & order.

Daoism --> Freedom for individuals and less govt. to avoid uniformity and conformity.

Summary of the 3 Chinese Philosophies