SOLUTIONS MANUAL
Introduction to Philosophy
05/19/22 1
,Introduction to Philosophy
Chapter 1
Introduction to Philosophy
Chapter Summary
Philosophy is an expansive and complex discipline that defies simple definition. In this
introductory chapter we try to better understand philosophy by (1) looking at past examples of
philosophers, (2) considering one compelling definition of philosophy, and (3) looking at the
way academic philosophers today actually practice philosophy. The section concludes with
signposts to guide students throughout the subsequent textbook chapters.
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify sages (early philosophers) across historical traditions.
2. Explain the connection between ancient philosophy and the origin of the sciences.
3. Describe philosophy as a discipline that makes coherent sense of a whole.
4. Summarize the broad and diverse origins of philosophy.
5. Identify philosophical methods of inquiry.
6. Explain the role of logical consequences in assessing a philosophical position.
7. Define conceptual analysis, coherence, argument, intuition, and experimental
philosophy.
8. Explain the importance of trade-offs in establishing a philosophical position.
9. Explain Socrates’s appreciation for the limits of human knowledge.
10. Identify Socrates’s primary moral principles.
11. Describe Socrates’s life, death, and philosophical interests.
12. Compare Socrates’s moral philosophy with classical Indian philosophy.
13. Identify the role of professional philosophers in academics and beyond.
14. Identify the structure, organization, and thematic goals of the textbook.
Getting Started
It may be worth beginning a discussion of ethics by encouraging students to reflect on their
sources of ethical knowledge dating back to their earliest memories. Have students consider
from where and whom they have learned ethical truths and share this information with their
classmates. Ask for volunteers to share their small-group reflections with the class, identify
common themes across responses, and have students consider the importance of belief
diversity in a class like this.
05/19/22 2
,Introduction to Philosophy
Section Summaries
1.1 What Is Philosophy?
The word “philosophy” derives from ancient Greek, in which the philosopher is a lover or
pursuer (philia) of wisdom (sophia). The earliest Greek philosophers were not known as
philosophers; they were simply known as sages. The sage tradition is a largely prehistoric
tradition that provides a narrative about how intellect, wisdom, piety, and virtue lead to the
innovations central to the flourishing of ancient civilizations. Particularly in Greece, the sage
tradition blends into a period of natural philosophy, where ancient scientists or philosophers try
to explain nature using rational methods.
Wilfrid Sellars emphasizes that philosophy’s goal is to understand a very wide range of topics—
in fact, the widest possible range. That is to say, philosophers are committed to understanding
everything insofar as it can be understood. A philosopher chooses to study things that are
informative and interesting—things that provide a better understanding of the world and our
place in it. To make judgments about which areas are interesting or worthy of study
philosophers need to cultivate a special skill. Sellars describes this philosophical skill as a kind of
know-how. Philosophical know-how has to do with knowing your way around the world of
concepts and being able to understand and think about how concepts connect, link up, support,
and rely upon one another—in short, how things hang together.
1.2 How Do Philosophers Arrive at Truth?
The goal of philosophy is to provide a coherent story of how the world as it appears to us can
be explained in a way that also makes sense of what the sciences tells us. Given the influence of
philosophy on world history, it is worthwhile to engage with the writings of past philosophers
to inform our understanding of pressing philosophical questions of today.
What philosophers today mean by intuition can best be traced back to Plato, for whom
intuition (nous) involved a kind of insight into the very nature of things. This notion has had
religious connotations, as if the knowledge gained through intuition is like catching a glimpse of
divine light.
When philosophers talk about common sense, they mean specific claims based on direct sense
perception, which are true in a relatively fundamental sense. In other words, philosophical
champions of common sense deny that one can be skeptical of certain basic claims of sense
perception.
Experimental philosophy is a relatively recent movement in philosophy by which philosophers
engage in empirical methods of investigation, similar to those used by psychologists or
cognitive scientists. Philosophers use experimental methods to find out what average people
think about philosophical issues. Since common sense and intuition are already a source of
evidence in philosophical reasoning, it makes sense to confirm that what philosophers ascribe
to common sense or intuition aligns with what people generally think about these things.
05/19/22 3
, Introduction to Philosophy
Logic attempts to formalize the process that we use or ought to use when we provide reasons
for some claims. The first and most important move in logic is to recognize that claims are the
product of arguments. In particular, a claim is just the conclusion of a series of sentences,
where the preceding sentences (called premises) provide evidence for the conclusion. In logic,
an argument is just a way of formalizing reasons to support a claim, where the claim is the
conclusion and the reasons given are the premises.
A set of beliefs or statements is coherent, or logically consistent, if it is possible for them to all
be true at the same time. If it is not possible for statements or beliefs to be true at the same
time, then they are contradictory. It seems unreasonable for a person to accept contradictory
claims because a contradiction is a logical impossibility. If a person holds contradictory beliefs,
then they must be wrong about at least some of their beliefs.
One of the techniques that philosophers use to clarify and understand philosophical statements
(either premises or conclusions) is conceptual analysis. Conceptual analysis involves the analysis
of concepts, notions, or ideas as they are presented in statements or sentences. The term
analysis has been a part of philosophical terminology and methodology since its beginning. In
its most basic sense, analysis refers to the process of breaking apart complex ideas into simpler
ones. Analysis also involves a cluster of related strategies that philosophers use to discover
truths. Each of these techniques attempts to arrive at a clearer and more workable definition of
the concepts in question.
1.3 Socrates as a Paradigmatic Historical Philosopher
Most of what we know about Socrates is derived from Plato’s depiction of him as the primary
questioner in most of the dialogues. The idea that a life which is “unexamined” is not worth
living strikes at the heart of what Socrates tells us motivated him to live a philosophical life. The
first form of examination that Socrates clearly advises is self-examination. Even though Socrates
rarely claims to have knowledge about anything at all, the few instances where he does profess
knowledge relate directly to morality. In particular, Socrates asserts a pair of moral principles
that are quite controversial and may appear at first glance false. Socrates claims the following:
1) No one willingly chooses what is harmful to themselves; 2) When a person does harm to
others, they actually harm themselves.
Socrates engaged in a particular method of questioning, sometimes known as the “Socratic
method,” which was characterized by his asking questions of others rather than explaining his
own beliefs. The goal of Socratic questioning is to assist the person being questioned in
discovering the truth on their own. By asking questions and examining the claims made by
another person, Socrates allows that person to go through a process of self-discovery.
1.4 An Overview of Contemporary Philosophy
Contemporary academic philosophy is different from the classical traditions, although the
motivation for doing philosophy remains the same. If you are interested in pursuing a career in
academic philosophy, a graduate degree—most likely a PhD—is required. However, philosophy
majors at any level can have fulfilling and rewarding careers in a variety of fields.
05/19/22 4
Introduction to Philosophy
05/19/22 1
,Introduction to Philosophy
Chapter 1
Introduction to Philosophy
Chapter Summary
Philosophy is an expansive and complex discipline that defies simple definition. In this
introductory chapter we try to better understand philosophy by (1) looking at past examples of
philosophers, (2) considering one compelling definition of philosophy, and (3) looking at the
way academic philosophers today actually practice philosophy. The section concludes with
signposts to guide students throughout the subsequent textbook chapters.
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify sages (early philosophers) across historical traditions.
2. Explain the connection between ancient philosophy and the origin of the sciences.
3. Describe philosophy as a discipline that makes coherent sense of a whole.
4. Summarize the broad and diverse origins of philosophy.
5. Identify philosophical methods of inquiry.
6. Explain the role of logical consequences in assessing a philosophical position.
7. Define conceptual analysis, coherence, argument, intuition, and experimental
philosophy.
8. Explain the importance of trade-offs in establishing a philosophical position.
9. Explain Socrates’s appreciation for the limits of human knowledge.
10. Identify Socrates’s primary moral principles.
11. Describe Socrates’s life, death, and philosophical interests.
12. Compare Socrates’s moral philosophy with classical Indian philosophy.
13. Identify the role of professional philosophers in academics and beyond.
14. Identify the structure, organization, and thematic goals of the textbook.
Getting Started
It may be worth beginning a discussion of ethics by encouraging students to reflect on their
sources of ethical knowledge dating back to their earliest memories. Have students consider
from where and whom they have learned ethical truths and share this information with their
classmates. Ask for volunteers to share their small-group reflections with the class, identify
common themes across responses, and have students consider the importance of belief
diversity in a class like this.
05/19/22 2
,Introduction to Philosophy
Section Summaries
1.1 What Is Philosophy?
The word “philosophy” derives from ancient Greek, in which the philosopher is a lover or
pursuer (philia) of wisdom (sophia). The earliest Greek philosophers were not known as
philosophers; they were simply known as sages. The sage tradition is a largely prehistoric
tradition that provides a narrative about how intellect, wisdom, piety, and virtue lead to the
innovations central to the flourishing of ancient civilizations. Particularly in Greece, the sage
tradition blends into a period of natural philosophy, where ancient scientists or philosophers try
to explain nature using rational methods.
Wilfrid Sellars emphasizes that philosophy’s goal is to understand a very wide range of topics—
in fact, the widest possible range. That is to say, philosophers are committed to understanding
everything insofar as it can be understood. A philosopher chooses to study things that are
informative and interesting—things that provide a better understanding of the world and our
place in it. To make judgments about which areas are interesting or worthy of study
philosophers need to cultivate a special skill. Sellars describes this philosophical skill as a kind of
know-how. Philosophical know-how has to do with knowing your way around the world of
concepts and being able to understand and think about how concepts connect, link up, support,
and rely upon one another—in short, how things hang together.
1.2 How Do Philosophers Arrive at Truth?
The goal of philosophy is to provide a coherent story of how the world as it appears to us can
be explained in a way that also makes sense of what the sciences tells us. Given the influence of
philosophy on world history, it is worthwhile to engage with the writings of past philosophers
to inform our understanding of pressing philosophical questions of today.
What philosophers today mean by intuition can best be traced back to Plato, for whom
intuition (nous) involved a kind of insight into the very nature of things. This notion has had
religious connotations, as if the knowledge gained through intuition is like catching a glimpse of
divine light.
When philosophers talk about common sense, they mean specific claims based on direct sense
perception, which are true in a relatively fundamental sense. In other words, philosophical
champions of common sense deny that one can be skeptical of certain basic claims of sense
perception.
Experimental philosophy is a relatively recent movement in philosophy by which philosophers
engage in empirical methods of investigation, similar to those used by psychologists or
cognitive scientists. Philosophers use experimental methods to find out what average people
think about philosophical issues. Since common sense and intuition are already a source of
evidence in philosophical reasoning, it makes sense to confirm that what philosophers ascribe
to common sense or intuition aligns with what people generally think about these things.
05/19/22 3
, Introduction to Philosophy
Logic attempts to formalize the process that we use or ought to use when we provide reasons
for some claims. The first and most important move in logic is to recognize that claims are the
product of arguments. In particular, a claim is just the conclusion of a series of sentences,
where the preceding sentences (called premises) provide evidence for the conclusion. In logic,
an argument is just a way of formalizing reasons to support a claim, where the claim is the
conclusion and the reasons given are the premises.
A set of beliefs or statements is coherent, or logically consistent, if it is possible for them to all
be true at the same time. If it is not possible for statements or beliefs to be true at the same
time, then they are contradictory. It seems unreasonable for a person to accept contradictory
claims because a contradiction is a logical impossibility. If a person holds contradictory beliefs,
then they must be wrong about at least some of their beliefs.
One of the techniques that philosophers use to clarify and understand philosophical statements
(either premises or conclusions) is conceptual analysis. Conceptual analysis involves the analysis
of concepts, notions, or ideas as they are presented in statements or sentences. The term
analysis has been a part of philosophical terminology and methodology since its beginning. In
its most basic sense, analysis refers to the process of breaking apart complex ideas into simpler
ones. Analysis also involves a cluster of related strategies that philosophers use to discover
truths. Each of these techniques attempts to arrive at a clearer and more workable definition of
the concepts in question.
1.3 Socrates as a Paradigmatic Historical Philosopher
Most of what we know about Socrates is derived from Plato’s depiction of him as the primary
questioner in most of the dialogues. The idea that a life which is “unexamined” is not worth
living strikes at the heart of what Socrates tells us motivated him to live a philosophical life. The
first form of examination that Socrates clearly advises is self-examination. Even though Socrates
rarely claims to have knowledge about anything at all, the few instances where he does profess
knowledge relate directly to morality. In particular, Socrates asserts a pair of moral principles
that are quite controversial and may appear at first glance false. Socrates claims the following:
1) No one willingly chooses what is harmful to themselves; 2) When a person does harm to
others, they actually harm themselves.
Socrates engaged in a particular method of questioning, sometimes known as the “Socratic
method,” which was characterized by his asking questions of others rather than explaining his
own beliefs. The goal of Socratic questioning is to assist the person being questioned in
discovering the truth on their own. By asking questions and examining the claims made by
another person, Socrates allows that person to go through a process of self-discovery.
1.4 An Overview of Contemporary Philosophy
Contemporary academic philosophy is different from the classical traditions, although the
motivation for doing philosophy remains the same. If you are interested in pursuing a career in
academic philosophy, a graduate degree—most likely a PhD—is required. However, philosophy
majors at any level can have fulfilling and rewarding careers in a variety of fields.
05/19/22 4
