Sunday, September 7, 2014

[PHI 1000] Is philosophy about questions?

The results of our (HON1010C Philosophy of the Human Person) word association game are in:


Size of word indicates prominence.


Are these results consistent with Russell's claim that "Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves"? If so, why? If not, why not? 

7 comments:

  1. The three most prominent words are "existence", "questions", and "debate". The prominence of these words indicates that Russel is correct in asserting that philosophy is about the questions rather than the answers themselves. People ask these questions in philosophy of why (in regards to existence or not) in order to spark debate and be able to think more critically about their stance and beliefs. It is thus about the asking questions and formulating answers that is important. We are never going to know for sure the questions of existence, for example. We can't know. But the process of thinking critically about the questions we pose is much more important than knowing the answers to things like existence which can't be known for certain. The prominent words indicate this. The smaller words are about answers: philosophers and textbooks. People and things that are all about the answers. Clearly, according to the graphic, the questions are more important. -Savannah Adkins

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  2. The words in the picture above are consistent with the claim philosophy is to be studied for the sake of questions themselves. Prominently in the pic are the words questions, debate, and critical thinking, which all revolve the concept of a question and how to answer it. In order to understand philosophy, people go to philosophers such as some listed above for their knowledge. Questions that are commonly asked revolve around many ethical debates and ideas of existence. This leads to formation of new questions, which as a result seem to be at the heart of philosophy

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  3. At first, the results seemingly coincide with Russell's claim. The word "question" glares at us from the picture, and it was the first one I noticed. However, some of the other large words in the frame also beg for answers, such as "understanding" and "critical-thinking." Both of these words denote a search for the "truth" that we may think about and attempt to understand. Therefore, while I believe that Russell is correct, the general class results seem to indicate otherwise.

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  4. The results display much of what Russell's claims to be philosophy. Russell approaches philosophy as a question without a finite answer but a subject to be studied. Some of the words listed above such as "existence, debate, question" all dovetail with Russell's ideology; philosophy in its own very definition deals with the very fundamental questions of human.This leaves questions unanswered and unable to prove scientifically. However, I personally think that this very own characteristic of philosophy truly leaves an array of areas to be "studied" in philosophy as Russell mentions.

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  5. I think the results are consistent because most of these words are about searching for answers and constantly questioning. Understanding, critical-thinking, argument, debate, questions, and discovery are all revolved around constantly asking questions and looking for an answer. It's more important to look at all possibilities and not go straight towards the obvious and easy answer. When you're in a debate it's more important you have the best reasoned response not so much what your ending opinion. You can't have a winning debate that doesn't analyze and look at all arguments and to do so you need to ask questions along the way of your researching process. Philosophy is constantly looking for more, not limiting yourself to one answer.

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  6. I believe that the results of our discussion on the first day of class do align with Russell's claim. Philosophy is definitely about questions, not so much about the exact answer. However, I don't think it is the sole word from our poll that is consistent with his statement. In order to focus on the questions rather than getting the right answer, and to keep digging for questions even further, we need to think critically. From critical thinking comes all of the questions that philosophy is centered around. People don't just come up with the "questions of life" on the spot. The questions that we really focus on in philosophical thinking are ones that we have to critically think about.

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  7. These results are in accordance with Russell's claims as they focus on the questions rather than finding out the answers. The main keywords portrayed- existence, debate, questions, and critical thinking- don't seem to place value on finding solutions to any given question.

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