This document is a 94 page in-depth document of everything you need to know for the PSS exam. It includes in-depth notes on every philosopher, including tutorial and practice exam questions (with answers).
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Table of Contents
Definitions....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Philosophy of the Social Sciences:....................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Rationalism.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Empiricism........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Metaphysics.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Nativism............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Nominalism..........................................................................................................................................................................................................9
Positivism..............................................................................................................................................................................................................9
Hermeneutics....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Methodological Monism..................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Dualism................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Holism................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Induction............................................................................................................................................................................................................10
Determinism...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Week 1: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle..........................................................................................................................................................................10
Socrates................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Socratic Method...........................................................................................................................................................................................................10
Socratic Examination of Essences......................................................................................................................................................................10
Heraclitus: Nothing Is, Everything Changes..............................................................................................................................................................10
Parmenides: Everything Is, Nothing Becomes............................................................................................................................................................10
Exploring Humans: Between Scepticism and Scientism................................................................................................................................... 11
Scientism...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
‘The Mind As A Crooked Mirror’.................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Achieving a ‘God’s Eye’ Perspective: Plato........................................................................................................................................................11
Scepticism...........................................................................................................................................................................................................11
Viewpoints on Scientism............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Postmodernists/Relativists...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Rationalists............................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Empiricists................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
George Berkeley and David Hume on Sensory Perception and Objective Reality................................................................................11
Exploring Humans: Rationalism and Empiricism in Antiquity...................................................................................................................... 12
What is Knowledge?.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
How Can We Justify Knowledge?.....................................................................................................................................................................12
First Justification: Rationalism................................................................................................................................................................12
Second Justification: Empiricism............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Plato’s Views on Rationalism............................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Criticisms of Sensory Perceptions in Rationalism..................................................................................................................................12
Plato...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Rationalist Epistemology............................................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Socratic Question: What is Knowledge - Aporia & World of Appearances/Forms........................................................................................13
Plato on Perception......................................................................................................................................................................................................13
World of Forms (Cont.).....................................................................................................................................................................................13
How to Reach the World of Forms......................................................................................................................................................... 14
Plato: Knowledge as Justified True Belief (Correspondence Theory of Truth)........................................................................................................14
Plato: Republic, Book VII................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
, 2
The Cave Allegory....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
The Meaning...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
The Application................................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Plato’s Meno......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Aporia.................................................................................................................................................................................................................16
Recollection: The Process..................................................................................................................................................................................16
General Application of Plato................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Aristotle................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Aristotle’s Empiricism................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Aristotle’s Metaphysics................................................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Theory of Perception...................................................................................................................................................................................................17
Thomas Aquinas - The Peripatetic Axiom............................................................................................................................................. 18
John Locke - Tabula Rasa........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Aristotle’s Scientific Method.......................................................................................................................................................................................18
How to Establish the Truth of Basic Explanatory Principles...........................................................................................................................18
Stephen Klima: AI................................................................................................................................................................................................19
Aristotle’s Teachings....................................................................................................................................................................................................19
Percepts v. Concepts.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................................................................................20
Adler’s View....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Aristotle’s Standpoint........................................................................................................................................................................................20
Arguments for AI’s Ability to Produce Knowledge............................................................................................................................... 20
Counter-Arguments................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Potential Exam Question.............................................................................................................................................................................................21
Can an AI agent genuinely “know” anything, according to the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle?.......................................................... 21
WEEK 2: The Scientific Revolution; Hume v. Kant.................................................................................................................................................. 21
Exploring Humans: A New Philosophy of Science............................................................................................................................................ 21
Invention of Book Printing and Sociopolitical Transformations (Copernican Revolution)................................................................................... 22
Exploring Humans: Early Modern Rationalism and Empiricism.................................................................................................................... 22
René Descartes............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Descartes' Methodology.....................................................................................................................................................................................22
Cogito Ergo Sum......................................................................................................................................................................................22
Mind-Body Dualism................................................................................................................................................................................ 22
English Empiricists...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Empiricism and Scepticism................................................................................................................................................................................23
Francis Bacon........................................................................................................................................................................................................23
Empirical Science......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Doctrine of the Idols....................................................................................................................................................................................................24
Inductive Reasoning....................................................................................................................................................................................................24
David Hume..........................................................................................................................................................................................................24
Impressions v. Ideas..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25
The Copy Principle..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Causality.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................25
Contingency............................................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Priority......................................................................................................................................................................................................25
Constant Conjunction............................................................................................................................................................................ 26
The Uniformity of Nature Principle.......................................................................................................................................................................... 26
The Billiard Ball Example............................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
, 3
Critique of Causal Knowledge.......................................................................................................................................................................... 26
Problem of Induction........................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Subordination of Reason...................................................................................................................................................................................27
Implications of Hume’s Empiricism...........................................................................................................................................................................27
René Descartes......................................................................................................................................................................................................27
Scepticism of Empiricism............................................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Descartes’ Texts............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28
The Meditations.................................................................................................................................................................................................28
Method of Doubt, The Argument from Doubt.............................................................................................................................................. 28
The Cogito......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Clarity and Distinctiveness..........................................................................................................................................................................................29
John Locke............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Defence of Empiricism................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Primary and Secondary Qualities................................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Distinguishing Between Primary & Secondary Qualities.................................................................................................................................30
Immanuel Kant.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Kant v. Hume...............................................................................................................................................................................................................30
Kant’s Distinctions...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
A Priori v. A Posteriori Knowledge................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Synthetic v. Analytic Judgements......................................................................................................................................................................31
The Synthetic A Priori............................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Noumenal and Phenomenal Worlds...........................................................................................................................................................................31
Link to Plato’s World of Forms............................................................................................................................................................... 32
Categories of Mind...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Kant’s Copernican Turn............................................................................................................................................................................................. 32
Lessons Learned........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Four Logical Stages of Knowledge.............................................................................................................................................................................. 33
The Limits of Reason.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Week 3: Positivism and Hermeneutics........................................................................................................................................................................ 33
Methodological Approaches in Social Sciences....................................................................................................................................................................33
Positivism v. Hermeneutics......................................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Quants v. Quals............................................................................................................................................................................................................34
Contributions.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34
Descartes’ Influence........................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Kant’s Contribution.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Causality.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................35
Importance of Meaning in Social Sciences................................................................................................................................................................. 35
Hermeneutics Revisited (Origin, Expansion, Culture)............................................................................................................................................. 35
Methodological Monism v. Dualism...........................................................................................................................................................................36
Auguste Comte.....................................................................................................................................................................................................36
Connaissance Approchée............................................................................................................................................................................................ 36
Auguste Comte and Positivism...................................................................................................................................................................................36
The Law of Three Stages................................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Positivism - A Methodological Monism Approach....................................................................................................................................................37
Wilhem Dilthey....................................................................................................................................................................................................37
Scientific Approach..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Methodological Dualism............................................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Erlebnis v. Verstehen.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38
, 4
Lived Experience (Erlebnis)............................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Different Kinds of Understanding (Verstehen)................................................................................................................................................ 38
The Hermeneutic Circle............................................................................................................................................................................................. 39
Application in Social Sciences..................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Max Weber - Ideal Types......................................................................................................................................................................................39
Hermeneutic Circle Awareness................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Ideal Types....................................................................................................................................................................................................................39
Problem of Generalisation.................................................................................................................................................................................40
Safeguarding Objectivity................................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Weber v. Plato...............................................................................................................................................................................................................40
More In-Depth...................................................................................................................................................................................................40
Interpretivism v. Positivism......................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Interpretivism.....................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Positivism............................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Link to Economics.......................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Limitations...................................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Challenges For Qualitative Researchers............................................................................................................................................................ 41
Hans-Georg Gadamer...........................................................................................................................................................................................42
Beyond Author’s Intentions........................................................................................................................................................................................42
Verstehen in Social Sciences.........................................................................................................................................................................................42
Truth and Interpretation.............................................................................................................................................................................................42
Dualism and Holism....................................................................................................................................................................................................43
The Fusion of Horizons.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 43
The History Effect............................................................................................................................................................................................. 43
The Absolute Opposition Between Reason and Tradition....................................................................................................................................... 44
Gadamer’s Prejudices...................................................................................................................................................................................................44
Mootz: Hermeneutics and Law........................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Role of Language in Legal Interpretation...................................................................................................................................................................44
Hermeneutics and the Rule of Law............................................................................................................................................................................ 45
Gadamer v. Legal Practice............................................................................................................................................................................................45
Hermeneutics and Natural Law........................................................................................................................................................................45
Hermeneutics and Critical Legal Theory......................................................................................................................................................... 45
Rittel & Webber - Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning....................................................................................................................... 46
Wicked Problems......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
Planning Problems............................................................................................................................................................................................. 46
Social v. Scientific Problems.....................................................................................................................................................................46
Ill-Defined Nature of Social Problems.................................................................................................................................................... 47
Lack of Clear Mission in Governmental Planning................................................................................................................................. 47
Difficulty in Testing the Results.............................................................................................................................................................. 47
Characteristics of Wicked Problems........................................................................................................................................................................... 47
Balancing Efficiency and Equity..................................................................................................................................................................................48
Centralisation v. Decentralisation............................................................................................................................................................................... 48
Predicting and Managing Urban Systems...................................................................................................................................................................48
Importance of Stakeholder Engagement.................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Nuanced Approach..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Transdisciplinarity and Wicked Problems (Guest Lecture).............................................................................................................................. 49
Week 4: Demarcation Principles.................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
EH: Chapter 6 and 7............................................................................................................................................................................................ 50
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