Lesson 5

• Rational inquiry


  The critical aspect in doing philosophy
• Immanuel Kant: 'Reason has the peculiar fate in its cognitions to be burdened by questions it cannot dismiss since it was given to him as problems by reason itself'
• Belief


  (by Oxford Dictionary) refers to the acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists
• Belief


  Synonymous to opinion
• Belief


  (St. Augustine's period) to believe is nothing but to think with assent
• Contemporary conception of belief

  Extends to include the forms of representation of a belief
• Qualitative form


  • The table is wooden
• Quantitative form


  • The table will last for the next ten years
• Philosophers' conception of belief

  A belief is a mental state of having some attitude, stance, take, or opinion about a proposition or about the potential state of affairs in which that proposition is true
• Object of belief


  The representation of the fact found in the world or truth conditions about the world
• Structure of belief


  S believes that P is true, where S is the person and P is the representation of the belief
• Correspondence theory of truth

  The key to truth is the relation (or correspondence) between propositions and the world
• A belief is true if there exists an appropriate entity-a fact-to which it corresponds
• Coherence theory of truth


  The truth of any proposition consists in its coherence with some specified set of propositions (or significant wholes)
• The difference of 10 and 5 is 5


  • True
• One and one is zero

  • False
• Pragmatic theory of truth


  A proposition is true if it is useful to believe it
• Under the pragmatic theory of truth, the given proposition is true if it leads to success-that is, if it is expedient for the person to believe that his or her dreams will come true with visualization
• The correspondence theory of truth is criticized in its limitation to give future predictions the characteristic of being a proposition due to the indeterminate state of affairs it refers
• The coherence theory of truth is criticized for its vulnerability that clarifies the notion of consistency
• For the pragmatic theory of truth, expediency seems to imply the relativity of truth
• William Clifford: 'It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence'
• If evidence is equated to truth, you will again be led to the problem cases and criticisms mentioned previously
• Rational inquiry is an ongoing process of asking questions about knowing the world, subjecting its beliefs to its own self's criteria of what evidence to accept as sufficient, and at the same time, validate that which itself created as tests for itself
• Belief


  To think with assent
• Pragmatic theory of truth


  Truth is measured by utility or usefulness
• William Clifford believes that it is wrong to believe "anything on insufficient evidence"
• Earth is the Lord's and all it holds. Our creator has given us the land that nourish us and the entire web of life without which human life cannot flourish and survive
• Our natural environment becomes imbalanced and unsustainable when it's polluted and stripped of it's natural resource by over-consumption
• Our planet Earth is a fragile planet with limited resources
• The growing threat of climate change means everyone from individuals to business must realize their environmental impact and daily choices
• The use of chemicals fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides to increase production but pollutes the air, soil, and water with toxic chemicals
• Removing trees and plants to increase areas for cultivation, housing and road widening
• Burning fossil fuels and toxic gases produced in factories causes pollution
• Wildfires that start spontaneously in dry areas destroy large areas of forest and the animals living in them
• Pope John Paul II: 'Men cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to well-being of future generation'
• Responses to global climate change must reflect men's interdependence and common responsibility for the future of the planet
• Industrial nations must put away their self-interest against its greater universal common good and contribute equitably to global situation
• Freedom and the capacity for moral discussion making are central to what it means to be human. Stewardship requires a careful protection of the environment and calls us to our intelligence "to discover the earth's productive potential and diff ways in which needs can be satisfied
• Ways to show your care for the environment

  • Turn off the computers at night
  • Recycle Class
  • Hang dry
  • Go vegetarian once a week
  • Use less paper napkins
  • Use both sides of paper
  • Take a shorter shower
  • Plant a tree
  • Second hand doesn't mean second best
  • Invest in your own coffee cup
  • Turn off lights
  • Choose matches over lighters
  • Plastic bags suck
  • Pay bills online
  • Share!