Introduction to Philosophy: Defining, Studying,
Although
Doing Philosophy is Important
Why Do Atheists Need Philosophy? We Need to
Reason Well Defining and explaining philosophy is
no easy task — the very nature of the subject seems
to defy description. The problem is that philosophy,
in one way or another, ends up touching upon nearly
every aspect of human life. Philosophy has
something to say when it comes to science, art,
religion, politics, medicine, and a host of other
topics. This is also why a basic grounding in
philosophy can be so important for irreligious
atheists. The more you know about philosophy, and
even just the basics of philosophy, the more likely
you'll be able to reason clearly, consistently, and
with more reliable conclusions.
First, any time atheists get involved in debating
religion or theism with believers, they end up either
touching upon or getting deeply involved with
several different branches of philosophy —
metaphysics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of
science, philosophy of history, logic, ethics, etc.
This is inevitable and anyone who knows more
about these subjects, even if it's just the basics, will
do a better job at making a case for their position, at
understanding what others are saying, and at
arriving at a fair, reasonable conclusion.
Second, even if a person never gets involved in any
debates, they still need to arrive at some conception
about their life, what life means to them, what they
should do, how they should behave, etc. Religion
typically presents all of this in a neat package that
people can just open up and start using; irreligious
atheists, however, generally need to work a lot of
these things out for themselves. You can't do that if
you can't reason clearly and consistently. This
involves not just the various branches of
philosophy, but also various philosophical schools
or systems where gods are unnecessary:
Existentialism, Nihilism, Humanism, etc.
Most people and most irreligious atheists manage to
get by without any specific or formal study of
anything in philosophy, so obviously it isn't
absolutely and unquestionably necessary. At least
some understanding of philosophy should make it
all easier, however, and will definitely open up
more options, more possibilities, and thus perhaps
make things better in the long run. You don't need
to be a philosophy student, but you should
familiarize yourself with the basics — and there's
nothing more basic than understanding what
"philosophy" is in the first place.
Defining Philosophy
Philosophy comes from the Greek for "love of
wisdom," giving us two important starting points:
love (or passion) and wisdom (knowledge,
understanding). Philosophy sometimes seems to be
pursued without passion as if it were a technical
subject like engineering or mathematics.
there is a role for dispassionate research, philosophy
must derive from some passion for the ultimate
goal: a reliable, accurate understanding ourselves
and our world. This is also what atheists should
seek.
Why is PhiWhy should anyone, including atheists,
care about philosophy? Many think of philosophy as
an idle, academic pursuit, never amounting to
anything of practical value. If you look at the works
of ancient Greek philosophers, they were asking the
same questions which philosophers ask today.
Doesn't this mean that philosophy never gets
anywhere and never accomplishes anything? Aren't
atheists wasting their time by studying philosophy
and philosophical reasoning?
Certainly not — philosophy is not simply something
for egghead academics in ivory towers. On the
contrary, all humans engage in philosophy in one
form or another because we are philosophizing
creatures. Philosophy is about gaining a better
understanding of ourselves and our world — and
since that is what humans naturally desire, humans
quite readily engage in philosophical speculation
and questioning.
What this means is that the study of philosophy is
not a useless, dead-end pursuit. It is true that
remaining with philosophy does not afford an
especially wide range of career options, but skill
with philosophy is something which can be readily
transferred to a wide variety of fields, not to
mention things we do every day. Anything which
requires careful thinking, systematic reasoning, and
an ability to ask and address difficult questions will
benefit from a background in philosophy.
Obviously, this makes philosophy is important for
those who desire to learn more about themselves
and about life — especially irreligious atheists who
cannot simply accept the ready-made "answers"
typically provided by theistic religions. As Simon
Blackburn stated in an address he delivered at the
University of North Carolina: [blockquote
shade=yes] People who have cut their teeth on
philosophical problems of rationality, knowledge,
perception, free will and other minds are well
placed to think better about problems of evidence,
decision making, responsibility and ethics that life
throws up.
These are some of the benefits which irreligious
atheists, and just about anyone else, can derive from
studying philosophy:
Problem Solving Skills: Philosophy is about asking
difficult questions and developing answers which
can be reasonably and rationally defended against
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hard, skeptical questioning. Irreligious atheists need
to learn how to analyze concepts, definitions and
arguments in a way conducive towards developing
solutions for particular problems. If an atheist is
good at this, they can have greater assurance that
their beliefs may be reasonable, consistent and well-
founded because they have examined them
systematically and carefully.
Communication Skills: A person who excels at
communicating in the field of philosophy can also
excel at communication in other areas. When
debating religion and theism, atheist need to express
their ideas clearly and precisely, both in speaking
and in writing. Far too many problems in debates
about religion and theism can be traced to imprecise
terminology, unclear concepts, and other issues that
would be overcome if people were better at
communicating what they are thinking.
Self-Knowledge: It isn't just a matter of better
communication with others that is helped by the
study of philosophy — understanding yourself is
improved. The very nature of philosophy is such
that you get a better picture of what you yourself
believe simply through working through those
beliefs in a careful and systematic fashion. Why are
you an atheist? What do you really think about
religion? What do you have to offer in place of
religion? These aren't always easy questions to
answer, but the more you know about yourself, the
easier it will be.
Persuasive Skills: The reason for developing
problem solving and communication skills is not
simply to gain a better understanding of the world,
but also to get others to agree with that
understanding. Good persuasive skills are thus
important in the field of philosophy because a
person needs to defend her own views and to offer
insightful critiques of the views of others. It is
obvious that irreligious atheists seek to persuade
others that religion and theism are irrational,
unfounded, and perhaps even dangerous, but how
can they accomplish this if they lack the skill for
communicating and explaining their positions?
Remember, everyone already has some sort of
philosophy and already "does" philosophy when
they think about and address issues which are
fundamental to questions about life, meaning,
society and morality. Thus, the question is not really
"Who cares about doing philosophy," but rather
"Who cares about doing philosophy well?" Studying
philosophy isn't simply about learning how to ask
and answer these questions, but about how to do it
in a systematic, careful, and reasoned manner —
exactly what irreligious atheists say isn't typically
done by religious believers when it comes to their
own religious beliefs.
Everyone who cares about whether or not their
thinking reasonable, well-founded, well-developed
and coherent should care about doing this well.
Irreligious atheists who are critical of the way
believers approach their religion are being at least a
little bit hypocritical if they themselves don't
approach their own thinking in an appropriately
disciplined and reasoned manner. These are
qualities which the study of philosophy can bring to
a person's questioning and curiosity, and that is why
the subject is so important. We may never arrive at
any final answers, but in many ways it is the
journey which is most important, not the
destination.
losophy Important?
Why should anyone, including atheists, care about
philosophy? Many think of philosophy as an idle,
academic pursuit, never amounting to anything of
practical value. If you look at the works of ancient
Greek philosophers, they were asking the same
questions which philosophers ask today. Doesn't
this mean that philosophy never gets anywhere and
never accomplishes anything? Aren't atheists
wasting their time by studying philosophy and
philosophical reasoning?
Studying and Doing Philosophy: The study of
philosophy is usually approached in one of two
different ways: the systematic or topical method and
the historical or biographical method. Both have
their strengths and weaknesses and it is often
beneficial to avoid focusing on one to the exclusions
of the other, at least whenever possible. For
irreligious atheists, though, the focus should
probably be more on the topical than on the
biographical method because that will provide clear
overviews of relevant issues.
The systematic or topical method is based upon
addressing philosophy one question at a time. This
means taking on an issue of debate and discussing
the ways in which philosophers have offered their
views and the various approaches they have utilized.
In books which use this method you find sections
about God, Morality, Knowledge, Government, etc.
Because atheists tend to find themselves engaged in
specific debates about the nature of the mind, the
existence of gods, the role of religion in
government, etc., this topical method will probably
prove most useful most of the time. It probably
shouldn't be used exclusively, though, because
removing philosophers’ answers from their
historical and cultural context causes something to
get lost. These writings were not, after all, created in
a cultural and intellectual vacuum, or solely in the
context of other documents on the same topic.
Sometimes, a philosopher’s ideas are best
understood when read along with his or her writings
on other issues — and that is where the historical or
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biographical method proves its strengths. This
method explains the history of philosophy in a
chronological manner, taking each major
philosopher, school or period of philosophy in turn
and discussing the questions addressed, answers
offered, major influences, successes, failures, etc. In
books using this method you find presentations of
Ancient, Medieval and Modern philosophy, on
British Empiricism and American Pragmatism, and
so forth. Although this method can seem dry at
times, reviewing the sequence of philosophical
thought shows how ideas have developed.
Doing Philosophy
One important aspect of the study of philosophy is
that it also involves doing philosophy. You don’t
need to know how to paint in order to be an art
historian, and you don’t need to be a politician in
order to study political science, but you do need to
know how to do philosophy in order to properly
study philosophy. You need to know how to
analyze arguments, how to ask good questions, and
how to construct your own sound and valid
arguments on some philosophical topic. This is
especially important for irreligious atheists who
want to be able to critique religion or religious
beliefs.
Simply memorizing facts and dates from a book
isn’t good enough. Simply pointing out things like
violence committed in the name of religion isn't
good enough. Philosophy depends not so much on
regurgitating facts but on understanding — an
understanding of ideas, concepts, relationships, and
the reasoning process itself. This, in turn, only
comes about through an active engagement in the
philosophical study, and can only be demonstrated
through the sound use of reason and language.
This engagement, of course, starts with
understanding the terms and concepts involved. You
cannot answer the question “What is the meaning of
life?” if you don’t understand what is meant by
“meaning.” You cannot answer the question "Does
God exist?" if you don't understand what is meant
by "God." This requires a precision of language not
normally expected in ordinary conversations (and
which may at times seem annoying and pedantic),
but it is crucial because ordinary language is so rife
with ambiguities and inconsistencies. This is why
the field of logic has developed a symbolic language
for representing the various terms of arguments.
A further step involves investigating the various
ways in which the question can be answered. Some
potential answers might seem absurd and some very
reasonable, but it is important to try and determine
what the various positions may be. Without some
assurance that you have at least brought up all of the
possibilities, you’ll never feel confident that what
you have settled on is the most reasonable
conclusion. If you're going to look at "Does God
exist?" for example, you need to understand how it
might be answered in different ways depending on
what one means by "God" and "exist."
After that, it is necessary to weigh the arguments for
and against the different positions — this is where
much philosophical discussion takes place, in
supporting and critiquing different arguments.
Whatever you finally decide upon will probably not
be “right” in any final sense, but by assessing the
strengths and weaknesses of the different
arguments, you will at least know just how sound
your position is and where you need to do further
work. Too often, and especially when it comes to
debates over religion and theism, people do imagine
that they have arrived at final answers with little
work done to seriously weigh the various arguments
involved.
This is an idealized description of doing philosophy,
of course, and it is rare that any one person goes
through all of the steps independently and fully.
Much of the time, we have to rely upon the work
done by colleagues and predecessors; but the more
careful and systematic a person is, the closer their
work will reflect the above. This means that an
irreligious atheist can't be expected to investigate
every religious or theistic claim to its utmost, but if
they are going to debate any particular claims they
should spend at least some time on as many of the
steps as possible. Many of the resources on this site
are designed to help you go through those steps:
defining terms, examining various arguments,
weighing those arguments, and reaching some
reasonable conclusion based upon the evidence at
hand.
The study of philosophy is usually approached in
one of two different ways: the systematic or topical
method and the historical or biographical method.
Both have their strengths and weaknesses and it is
often beneficial to avoid focusing on one to the
exclusions of the other, at least whenever possible.
For irreligious atheists, though, the focus should
probably be more on the topical than on the
biographical method because that will provide clear
overviews of relevant issues.
About Life & Society
http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutphilosoph1/a/bran
ches.htm
Instead of being treated as a single, unified subject,
philosophy is typically broken down into a number
of specialties and it is common for contemporary
philosophers to be experts in one field but know
little about another. After all, philosophy addresses
complex issues from all facets of life - being an
expert on all of philosophy would entail being an
expert on all of the most fundamental questions
which life has to offer.
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This doesn't mean that each branch of philosophy is
entirely autonomous - there is often much overlap
between some fields, in fact. For example, political
and legal philosophy often crosses with ethics and
morality, while metaphysical questions are common
topics in the philosophy of religion. Sometimes
even deciding which branch of philosophy a
question properly belongs in isn't very clear.
Aesthetics
This is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the
form of the comic, the tragic, or the sublime. The
word comes from the Greek aisthetikos, "of sense
perception." Aesthetics has traditionally been part of
other philosophical fields like epistemology or
ethics but it started to come into its own and become
a more independent field under Immanuel Kant.
Epistemology
Epistemology is the study of the grounds and nature
of knowledge itself. Epistemological studies usually
focus upon our means for acquiring knowledge; thus
modern epistemology generally involves a debate
between rationalism and empiricism, or the question
of whether knowledge can be acquired a priori or a
posteriori.
Ethics
Ethics is the formal study of moral standards and
conduct and is also often called "moral philosophy."
What is good? What is evil? How should I behave -
and why? How should I balance my needs against
the needs of others? These are some of the questions
asked in the field of ethics.
Logic and the Philosophy of Language
These two fields are often treated separately, but
they are close enough that they are presented
together here. Logic is the study of methods of
reasoning and argumentation, both proper and
improper. The Philosophy of Language involves the
study of how our language interacts with our
thinking.
Metaphysics
In Western philosophy this field has become the
study of the fundamental nature of all reality - what
is it, why is it, and how are we to understand it.
Some only regard metaphysics as the study of
"higher" reality or the "invisible" nature behind
everything, but that isn't actually true. It is, instead,
the study of all of reality, visible and invisible.
Philosophy of Education
This field deals with how children should be
educated, what they should be educated in, and what
the ultimate purpose of education should be for
society. This is an often neglected field of
philosophy and is often addressed only be in
educational programs designed to train teachers - in
that context, it is a part of pedagogy, which is
learning how to teach.
Philosophy of History
The Philosophy of History is a relatively minor
branch in the field of philosophy, focusing on the
study of history, writing about history, how history
progresses, and what impact history has upon the
present day. This is can be referred to as the
Critical, Analytical, or Formal Philosophy of
History, as well as the Philosophy of
Historiography.
Philosophy of Mind
The relatively recent specialty known as Philosophy
of Mind deals with the consciousness and how it
interacts with the body and the outside world. It
asks not only what mental phenomena are and what
gives rise to them, but also what relationship they
have to the larger physical body and the world
around us.
Philosophy of Religion
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy
of Religion is the philosophical study of religious
beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and
religious history. The line between theology and the
philosophy of religion isn't always sharp because
they share so much in common, but the primary
difference is that theology tends to be apologetical
in nature, committed to the defense of particular
religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion
is committed to the investigation of religion itself
rather than the truth of any particular religion.
Philosophy of Science
This is concerned with how science operates, what
the goals of science should be, what relationship
science should have with society, the differences
between science and other activities, etc. Everything
that happens in science has some relationship with
the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon
some philosophical position, even though that may
be rarely evident.
Political and Legal Philosophy
These two fields are often studied separately, but
they are presented here jointly because they both
come back to the same thing: the study of force.
Politics is the study of political force in the general
community while jurisprudence is the study of how
laws can and should be used to achieve political and
social goals.