1.6: Philosophy

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Philosophy

Let’s move into this idea of philosophy.

Philosophy (from Greek: φιλοσοφία, philosophia, ‘love of wisdom’ is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. The term was probably coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – 495 BCE). Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation.

Classic western philosophical questions include: “Is it possible to know anything?”, and if so, “Can we prove it?” Philosophers also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: “Is there a best way to live?”, “Is it better to be just, even if one could get away with being unjust?”, ‘do humans have free will?’

Major subfields of academic philosophy include metaphysics, which is concerned with the fundamental nature of existence and reality; epistemology, which studies the nature of knowledge and belief; ethics, which is concerned with moral value; and logic, which studies the rules of inference that allow one to deduce conclusions from true premises. Other notable subfields include philosophy of science, political philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy

Some of the questions that we’ll be thinking about are: (Jot down some of your thoughts as you read through these questions)

• How do we know what we know?
• What is changeable within ourselves?
• How does what we know about the world shape the way we view ourselves?
• How do our personal experiences shape our view of others?
• What does it mean to be an insider or an outsider?
• What does it mean to “grow up”?
• Where do our definitions of good and evil come from?
• What is the relevance of studying multicultural texts?
• How does the media shape our view of the world and ourselves?
• What turning points determine our individual pathways to adulthood?
• What is changeable within ourselves?

Let’s begin here with this question, Who am I? A philosophical inquiry.

At the age of 21, Simone de Beauvoir became the youngest person to take the philosophy exams at France’s most esteemed university. But as soon as she mastered the rules of philosophy, she wanted to break them. Her desire to explore the physical world to its fullest would shape her life, and eventually, inspire radical new philosophies. Iseult Gillespie explores the life of the revolutionary thinker.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/introductiontohumanitiesv2/?p=39#h5p-1

For Simone De Beauvoir, philosophy was a way of understanding our place in the world and determining our direction. As a pioneering existential philosopher, she dedicated her life to mining human experience for meaning and action; making some radical arguments about what needed to change along the way. For a crash course in existentialism, read 10 Reasons to be an Existentialist.

A core belief of existentialism is the idea that “existence proceeds essence”, in the words of De Beauvoir’s intellectual and romantic life partner Jean-Paul Sartre. This means that humans do not possess our traits “naturally,” but adapt to the social and cultural world we’re born into.

De Beauvoir applies this idea to gender in The Second Sex, which she summarizes in the trailblazing statement: “one is not born, but rather becomes, woman.” Here she makes a crucial distinction that revolutionized the way we think about bodies and behavior: gender is socially and culturally constructed. To learn more about why you should read The Second Sex, visit this page; then take a look at this visual essay about De Beauvoir’s life and work. You can access the introduction to The Second Sex here.

De Beauvoir insisted that systems of oppression and exclusion can never be taken to be natural – rather, we must all understand ourselves as molded by society. Thus The Second Sex is not solely about the plight of women. Rather, it is De Beauvoir’s attempt to reveal the power structures that govern our perception of the world. As she states in this interview, “I’m against all forms of oppression.” You can listen to a detailed discussion of her legacy and ideas in this radio documentary.

Her argument resonated with many readers who struggled to untangle social, sexual and political hierarchies. In its first week of publication alone, the book sold 22,000 copies. While many readers admired her candor and rigorous intellectual standards, others were dismissive of her anger or scandalized by her frank discussion of women’s bodies. De Beauvoir lambasted numerous myths that many believed to be hard facts about women – that they have an inherent maternal instinct, for instance, or that they are more emotional than men. She argued that women can only escape these narrow roles by pursuing her own version of freedom, independently.

As this essay argues, the importance of pursuing concrete, livable versions of freedom is one of De Beauvoir’s biggest contributions to a philosophy that was often abstract. Visit this page for an exploration of De Beauvoir’s radical thoughts on happiness as an important form of freedom.

De Beauvoir knew that the pursuit of freedom was by no means easy: her own refusal of social norms was a life-long process. Although she had wanted to be a nun as a child, she rejected her strict Catholic upbringing and studied math, philosophy and literature at university. She led a long open relationship with Sartre, which involved editing each other’s work and collaborating on intellectual projects such as the journal Les Temps modernes. Read this article to learn more about her colorful life and social circles at university.

Despite being a prolific philosopher, memoirist, and accomplished editor, De Beauvoir became embroiled in a publishing debacle which ironically involved the sort of suppression of female thought she resisted in her work. Soon after The Second Sex was published, the wife of the New York publisher Alfred Knopf, Blanche, was traveling through France. Initially under the impression that the book everyone was talking about was a sex manual, Knopf purchased the rights and enlisted Howard M. Parshlety to translate it from French. But Parshlety was a zoologist with little knowledge of existential feminist philosophy, who dismissed De Beauvoir’s deep analysis as “verbal diarrhea.” He cut or paraphrased swathes of the original text, and De Beauvoir could do nothing to stop the translation’s release. Read more about this controversy here.

Subsequent editions has since reversed many of these errors, and De Beauvoir’s language and ideology continue to ignite curiosity and debate. Many of the ideas expressed in The Second Sex became crucial reference points in feminist theory, literature and activism. Over time, people have grappled with concepts proposed by De Beauvoir as the project of intersectional feminism continues. For an interactive overview of intersectional feminism (and consideration of De Beauvoir’s role in it), click here. As key texts of radical feminism and philosophy, the work of Simone De Beauvoir never be static – rather it’s a living archive to return to, dispute and discuss.

Let’s take another look at this philosophical question. How do you know what’s true?

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/introductiontohumanitiesv2/?p=39#h5p-3

So, we’ve taken a look at several philosophical questions. Let’s take a look at How the World Thinks according to Julina Baggini. He has traveled around the world looking at different ways the world thinks. There are two videos on his page. You’ll want to follow this link to listen to both videos. You may also want to listen to the podcast on the same page. (Note – his book is quite interesting as well.) How the World Thinks link.

Complete the following activity while you listen to the lecture on the website. It is the second video.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
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So, next let’s take a closer look at The Philosophy of The Buddha

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/introductiontohumanitiesv2/?p=39#oembed-1

According to the video, wisdom and enlightenment are habits, or “practices,” not moments of realization. Can you think of other aspects of your life that grow healthier through habits, not single moments of success?

Think of three aspects of your life that cause you to feel anger or dissatisfaction. For each example, think of a way you could focus on changing your outlook, rather than your circumstances.

After some brainstorming and discussion, write some answers to these questions. You may want to do a little research as you write.

• How do we form and shape our identities?
• In a culture where we are bombarded with ideas and images of “what we should be,” how does one form an identity that remains true and authentic for her/himself?
• What turning points determine our individual pathways to adulthood?
• In a culture where we are bombarded with other people trying to define us, how do we make decisions for ourselves?