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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help

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<v Speaker 1>you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about philosophy. Philosophy from

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<v Speaker 1>ancient Greek philosophia, literally love of wisdom is a systematic

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<v Speaker 1>study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, knowledge, mind, reason, language,

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<v Speaker 1>and value. It is a rational and critical inquiry that

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<v Speaker 1>reflects on its methods and assumptions. Historically, many of the

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<v Speaker 1>individual sciences, such as physics and psychology, formed part of philo. However,

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<v Speaker 1>they are considered separate academic disciplines in the modern sense

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<v Speaker 1>of the term. Influential traditions in the history of philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>include Western, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. Western philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>originated in ancient Greece and covers a wide area of

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<v Speaker 1>philosophical subfields. A central topic in Arabic Persian philosophy is

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<v Speaker 1>the relation between reason and revelation. Indian philosophy combines the

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<v Speaker 1>spiritual problem of how to reach enlightenment with the exploration

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<v Speaker 1>of the nature of reality and the ways of arriving

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<v Speaker 1>at knowledge. Chinese philosophy focuses principally on practical issues about

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<v Speaker 1>right social conduct, government, and self cultivation. Major branches of

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy are epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epistemology studies what

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge is and how to acquire it. Ethics investigates moral

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<v Speaker 1>principles and what constitutes right conduct. Logic is the study

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<v Speaker 1>of correct reasoning and explores how good arguments can be

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<v Speaker 1>distinguished from bad ones. Metaphysics examines the most general features

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<v Speaker 1>of reality, existence, objects, and properties. Other sub fields are esthetics,

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of history, and political philosophy.

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<v Speaker 1>Within each branch, there are competing schools of philosophy that

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<v Speaker 1>promote different principles, theories, or methods. Philosophers use a great

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<v Speaker 1>variety of methods to arrive at philosophical knowledge. They include

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<v Speaker 1>conceptual analysis, reliance on common sense and intuitions, use of thought, experiments,

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<v Speaker 1>analysis of ordinary language, description of experience, and critical questioning.

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<v Speaker 1>Many scientific academic disciplines have associated philosophical sub feels, like

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy of physics and philosophy of biology, examining their fundamental concepts, methods, assumptions,

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<v Speaker 1>and implications. Philosophy is related to and informs many other fields,

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<v Speaker 1>such as law, business, and journalism, providing an interdisciplinary perspective

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<v Speaker 1>in addressing their athacal questions. Before the Modern Age, the

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<v Speaker 1>term philosophy was used in a wide sense. It included

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<v Speaker 1>most forms of rational inquiry, such as the individual sciences,

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<v Speaker 1>as its subdisciplines. For instance, natural philosophy was a major

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<v Speaker 1>branch of philosophy. This branch of philosophy encompassed a wide

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<v Speaker 1>range of feels fields, including disciplines like physics, chemistry, and biology.

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<v Speaker 1>The meaning of philosophy changed towards the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>modern period, when it acquired the more narrow meaning common today.

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<v Speaker 1>In this new sense, the term is mainly associated with

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<v Speaker 1>disciplines like metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, among other topics. It

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<v Speaker 1>covers the rational study of reality, knowledge, and values. It

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<v Speaker 1>is distinguished from other disciplines of rational inquiry, such as

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<v Speaker 1>the empirical sciences and mathematics. The practice of philosophy is

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<v Speaker 1>characterized by several general features. It is a form of

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<v Speaker 1>rational inquiry. It aims to be systematic and it tends

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<v Speaker 1>to critically reflect on its own methods and presuppositions. It

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<v Speaker 1>requires attentively, thinking, long and carefully about the provocative, vexing,

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<v Speaker 1>and enduring problems central to the human condition. The philosophical

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<v Speaker 1>pursuit of wisdom involves asking general and fundamental questions. It

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<v Speaker 1>often does not result in straightforward answers, but may help

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<v Speaker 1>a person to better understand the topic, examine their life,

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<v Speaker 1>dispel confusion, and overcome prejudices and self deceptive ideas associated

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<v Speaker 1>with common sense. For example, Socrates stated that the unexamined

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<v Speaker 1>life is not worth living, to highlight the role of

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<v Speaker 1>philosophical inquiry in understanding one's own existence, and according to

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<v Speaker 1>Bertrard Russell, the man who has no tincture of philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense,

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<v Speaker 1>from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation,

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<v Speaker 1>and from convictions which have grown up in his mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Was out the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason.

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<v Speaker 1>Some definitions characterize philosophy in relation to its method, like

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<v Speaker 1>pure reasoning. Others focus on its topic, for example, as

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<v Speaker 1>the study of the biggest patterns of the world as

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<v Speaker 1>a whole, or as the attempt to answer the big questions.

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<v Speaker 1>Such an approach is pursued by Immanuel Khan, who holds

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<v Speaker 1>that the task of philosophy is united by four questions,

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<v Speaker 1>what can I know, what should I do? What may

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<v Speaker 1>I hope? And what is the human being? Both approaches

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<v Speaker 1>have the problem that they are usually either too wide

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<v Speaker 1>by including non philosophical disciplines or too narrow by excluding

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<v Speaker 1>some philosophical subdisciplines. Many definitions of philosophy emphasize its intimate

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<v Speaker 1>relation to science. In this sense, philosophy is sometimes understood

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<v Speaker 1>as a proper science in its own right. According to

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<v Speaker 1>some naturalistic philosophers, such as W. V. O. Quinn, philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>is an empirical yet abstract science that is concerned with

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<v Speaker 1>wide ranging empirical patterns instead of particular observations. Science based

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<v Speaker 1>definitions usually face the problem of explaining why philosophy in

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<v Speaker 1>its long history has not progressed to the same extent

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<v Speaker 1>or in the same way as the sciences. This problem

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<v Speaker 1>is avoided by seeing philosophy as in immature or provisional science,

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<v Speaker 1>whose subdisciplines cease to be philosophy once they have fully developed.

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<v Speaker 1>In this sense, philosophy is sometimes described as the midwife

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<v Speaker 1>of the sciences. Other definitions focus on the contrast between

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<v Speaker 1>science and philosophy. A common theme among many such concer

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<v Speaker 1>is that philosophy is concerned with meaning, understanding, or the

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<v Speaker 1>clarification of language. According to one view, philosophy is conceptual analysis,

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<v Speaker 1>which involves finding the necessary and sufficient conditions for the

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<v Speaker 1>application of concepts. Another definition characterizes philosophy as thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>thinking to emphasize its self critical, reflective nature. A further

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<v Speaker 1>approach presents philosophy as a linguistic therapy. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, philosophy aims at dispelling misunderstandings to which humans

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<v Speaker 1>are susceptible due to the confusing structure of ordinary language.

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<v Speaker 1>Phenomenologies such as Edmund Husserl characterized philosophy as a rigorous

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<v Speaker 1>science investigating essences, a practice a radical suspension of theoretical

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<v Speaker 1>assumptions about reality to get back to the things themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, as originally given in experience. They contend that

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<v Speaker 1>this base level of experience provides a foundation for higher

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<v Speaker 1>order theoretical knowledge, and that one needs to understand the

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<v Speaker 1>former to understand the latter. An early approach found in

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<v Speaker 1>ancient Greek and Roman philosophy is that philosophy is the

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<v Speaker 1>spiritual practice of developing one's rational capacities. This practice is

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<v Speaker 1>an expression of the philosopher's love of wisdom and as

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<v Speaker 1>the aim of improving one's well being by leading a

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<v Speaker 1>reflective life. For example, the Stoic saw philosophy as an

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<v Speaker 1>exercise to train the mind and thereby achieve youdemonia and

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<v Speaker 1>flourish in life. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that

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<v Speaker 1>studies knowledge. It is also known as theory of knowledge

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<v Speaker 1>and aims to understand what knowledge is, how it arises,

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<v Speaker 1>what its limits are, and what value it has. It

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<v Speaker 1>further examines the nature of truth, belief, justification, and rationality.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the questions addressed by epistemologists include by what

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<v Speaker 1>methods can one acquire knowledge? How is truth established? And

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<v Speaker 1>can we prove causal relations. One area in epistemology is

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<v Speaker 1>the analysis of knowledge. It assumes that declarative knowledge is

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<v Speaker 1>a combination of different parts and attempts to identify what

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<v Speaker 1>those parts are. An influential theory in this area claims

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<v Speaker 1>that knowledge has three components, it is a belief that

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<v Speaker 1>is justified and true. This theory is controversial, and the

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<v Speaker 1>difficulties associated with it are known as the gettier problem.

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<v Speaker 1>Alternative views state that knowledge requires additional components, like the

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<v Speaker 1>absence of luck, different components like the manifestation of cognitive

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<v Speaker 1>virtues instead of justification, or they deny that knowledge can

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<v Speaker 1>be analyzed in terms of other phenomena. Another area in

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<v Speaker 1>epistemology asks how people acquire knowledge. Often discussed sources of

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge our perception, introspection, memory, inference, and testimony. According to empirisis,

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<v Speaker 1>all knowledge is based on some form of experience. Rationalists

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<v Speaker 1>reject this view and hold that some forms of knowledge,

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<v Speaker 1>like innate knowledge, are not acquired through experience. The regress

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<v Speaker 1>problem is a common issue in relation to the sources

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<v Speaker 1>of knowledge and the justification they offer. It is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the idea that beliefs requires some kind of reason

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<v Speaker 1>or evidence to be justified. The problem is that the

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<v Speaker 1>source of justification may itself be in need of another

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<v Speaker 1>source of justification. This leads to an infinite regress or

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<v Speaker 1>circular reasoning. Foundationalists avoid this conclusion by arguing that some

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<v Speaker 1>sources can provide justification without requiring justification themselves. Another solution

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<v Speaker 1>is presented by coherentis, who state that a belief is

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<v Speaker 1>justified if it coheres with other beliefs of the person. Ssex,

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<v Speaker 1>also known as moral philosophy, studies what constitutes right conduct.

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<v Speaker 1>It is also concerned with the moral evaluation of character, traits,

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<v Speaker 1>and institutions. It explores what the standards of morality are

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<v Speaker 1>and how to live a good life. Philosophical ethics addresses

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<v Speaker 1>such basic questions as or moral obligations relative, what has

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<v Speaker 1>priority well being or obligation, and what gives life meaning.

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<v Speaker 1>The main branches of ethics are meta ethics, normative ethics,

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<v Speaker 1>and applied ethics. Meta ethics asks abstract questions about the

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<v Speaker 1>nature and sources of morality. It analyzes the meaning of

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<v Speaker 1>ethical concepts like right action and obligation. It also investigates

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<v Speaker 1>whether ethical theories can be true in an absolute sense

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<v Speaker 1>and how to acquire knowledge of them. Normative ethics encompasses

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<v Speaker 1>general theories of how to distinguish between right and wrong conduct.

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<v Speaker 1>It helps guide moral decisions by examining what moral obligations

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<v Speaker 1>and rights people have. Applied ethics studies the consequences of

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<v Speaker 1>the general series developed by normative ethics in specific situations,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, in the workplace or for medical treatments. Logic

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<v Speaker 1>is the study of correct reasoning. It aims to understand

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<v Speaker 1>how to distinguish good from bad arguments. It is usually

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<v Speaker 1>divided into formal and informal logic. Formal logic uses artifical

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<v Speaker 1>languages with a precise symbolic representation to investigate arguments in

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<v Speaker 1>its search for extra criteria. It examines the structure of

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<v Speaker 1>arguments to determine whether they are correct or incorrect. Informal

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<v Speaker 1>logic uses non formal criteria and standards to assess the

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<v Speaker 1>correctness of arguments. It relies on additional factors, such as

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<v Speaker 1>content and context. Logic also investigates incorrect forms of reasoning.

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<v Speaker 1>They are called fallacies and are divided into formal and

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<v Speaker 1>informal fallacies based on whether the source of the error

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<v Speaker 1>lies only in the form of the argument or also

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<v Speaker 1>in its content and context. Is the study of the

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<v Speaker 1>most general features of reality, such as existence, objects and

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<v Speaker 1>their properties, pulls and their parts, space and time, events

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<v Speaker 1>and causation. There are disagreements about the precise definition of

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<v Speaker 1>a term, and its meaning has changed throughout the ages.

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<v Speaker 1>Metaphysicians attempt to answer basic questions including why is there

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<v Speaker 1>something rather than nothing of what does reality ultimately consist?

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<v Speaker 1>And are humans free? An important area in metaphysics is ontology.

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<v Speaker 1>Some zeroists identify it with general metaphysics. Ontology investigates concepts

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<v Speaker 1>like being, becoming, and reality. It studies the categories of

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<v Speaker 1>being and asks what exists on the most fundamental level.

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<v Speaker 1>Another sub field of metaphysics is philosophical cosmology. It is

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<v Speaker 1>interested in the essence of the world as a whole.

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<v Speaker 1>It asks questions including whether the universe has a beginning

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<v Speaker 1>and an end, and whether it was created by something else.

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<v Speaker 1>A key topic in metaphysics concerns a question of whether

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<v Speaker 1>reality only consists of physical things like matter and energy.

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<v Speaker 1>Alternative suggestions are that mental entities such as souls and experiences,

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<v Speaker 1>and abstract entities such as numbers, exists apart from physical things.

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<v Speaker 1>Another topic in metaphysics concerns the problem of identity. One

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<v Speaker 1>question is how much an entity can change while still

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<v Speaker 1>remaining the same entity. According to one view, entities have

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<v Speaker 1>essential and accidental features. They can change their accidental features,

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<v Speaker 1>but they cease to be the same entity if they

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<v Speaker 1>lose an essential feature. A central distinction in metaphysics is

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<v Speaker 1>between particulars and universals. Universals like the color red and

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<v Speaker 1>exist at different locations at the same time. This is

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<v Speaker 1>not the case for particulars, including individual persons or specific objects.

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<v Speaker 1>Other metaphysical questions are whether the past fully determines the

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<v Speaker 1>present and what implications this would have for the existence

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<v Speaker 1>of free will. Aesthetics, in the philosophical sense, is the

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<v Speaker 1>field that studies the nature and appreciation of beauty and

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<v Speaker 1>other esthetic properties like the sublime. Although it is often

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<v Speaker 1>treated together with the philosophy of art, aesthetics is a

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<v Speaker 1>broader category that encompasses other aspects of experience, such as

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<v Speaker 1>natural beauty. In a more general sense, esthetics is critical

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<v Speaker 1>reflection on art, culture, and nature. A key question in

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<v Speaker 1>esthetics is whether beauty is an objective feature of entities

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<v Speaker 1>or a subjective aspect of experience. Aescetic philosophers also investigate

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<v Speaker 1>the nature of esthetic experiences and judgments. Further topics include

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<v Speaker 1>the essence of works of art and the processes involved

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<v Speaker 1>in creating them. The philosophy of language studies the nature

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<v Speaker 1>and function of language. It examines the concepts of meaning, reference,

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<v Speaker 1>and truth. It aims to answer questions such as how

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<v Speaker 1>words are related to things and how language affects human

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<v Speaker 1>thought and understanding. It is closely related to the disciplines

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<v Speaker 1>of logic and linguistics. The philosophy of language rose to

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<v Speaker 1>particular prominence in the early twentieth century and analytic philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>due to the works of Frega and Russell. One of

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<v Speaker 1>its central topics is to understand how sentences get their meaning.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two broad theoretical camps, those emphasizing the formal

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<v Speaker 1>truce conditions of sentences and those investigating circumstances that determine

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<v Speaker 1>when it is suitable to use a sentence, the latter

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<v Speaker 1>of which is associated with speech act theory. The philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>of mind studies the nature of mental phenomena and how

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<v Speaker 1>they are related to the physical world. It aims to

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<v Speaker 1>understand different types of conscious and unconscious mental states, like beliefs, desires, intentions, feelings, sensations,

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<v Speaker 1>and free will. An influential intuition in the philosophy of

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<v Speaker 1>mind is that there is a distinction between the inner

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<v Speaker 1>experience of objects and their existence in the external world.

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<v Speaker 1>The mind body problem is the problem of explaining how

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<v Speaker 1>these two types of thing, mind and matter are related.

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<v Speaker 1>The main traditional responses are materialism, which assumes that matter

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<v Speaker 1>is more fundamental, idealism, which assumes that mind is more fundamental,

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<v Speaker 1>and dualism, which assumes that mind and matter are distinct

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<v Speaker 1>types of entities. In contemporary philosophy, another common view is functionalism,

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<v Speaker 1>which understands mental states in terms of the functional or

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<v Speaker 1>causal roles they play. The mind body a problem is

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<v Speaker 1>closely related to the hard problem of consciousness, which asks

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<v Speaker 1>how the physical brain can produce qualitatively subjective experiences. The

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy of religion investigates the basic concepts, assumptions, and arguments

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<v Speaker 1>associated with religion. It critically reflects on what religion is,

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<v Speaker 1>how to define the divine, and whether one or more

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<v Speaker 1>gods exist. It also includes the discussion of worldviews that

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<v Speaker 1>reject religious doctrines. Further questions addressed by the philosophy of

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<v Speaker 1>religion are how are we to interpret religious language if

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<v Speaker 1>not literally, is divine omnissions compatible with free will? And

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<v Speaker 1>are the great variety of world religions in some way

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<v Speaker 1>compare in spite of their apparently contradictory theological claims. It

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<v Speaker 1>includes topics from nearly all branches of philosophy. It differs

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<v Speaker 1>from theology since theological debates typically take place within one

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<v Speaker 1>religious tradition, whereas debates in the philosophy of religion transcend

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<v Speaker 1>any particular set of theological assumptions. The philosophy of science

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<v Speaker 1>examines the fundamental concepts, assumptions, and problems associated with science.

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<v Speaker 1>It reflects on what science is and how to distinguish

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<v Speaker 1>it from pseudoscience. It investigates the methods employed by scientists,

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<v Speaker 1>how their application can result in knowledge, and on what

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<v Speaker 1>assumptions they are based. It also studies the purpose and

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<v Speaker 1>implications of science. Some of its questions are what counts

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<v Speaker 1>as an adequate explanation, is a scientific law anything more

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<v Speaker 1>than a description of a regularity? And can some special

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<v Speaker 1>sciences be explained entirely in the terms of a more

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<v Speaker 1>general science. It is a vast field that is commonly

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<v Speaker 1>divided into the philosophy of the natural sciences and the

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy of the social sciences, with further subdivisions for each

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<v Speaker 1>of the individual sciences under these headings. How these branches

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<v Speaker 1>are related to one another is also a question in

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<v Speaker 1>the philosophy of science. Many of its philosophical issues overlap

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<v Speaker 1>with the fields of metaphysics or epistemology. Political philosophy is

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<v Speaker 1>a branch of philosophy that aims to seek knowledge on

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<v Speaker 1>the essence of politics. It examines the basic concepts, assumptions,

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<v Speaker 1>and arguments in the field of politics. It investigates the

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<v Speaker 1>nature and purpose of government and compares its different forms.

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<v Speaker 1>It further asks under what circumstances the use of political

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<v Speaker 1>power is legitimate rather than a form of simple violence.

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<v Speaker 1>In this regard, it is concerned with the distribution of

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<v Speaker 1>political power, social and material goods, and legal rights. Other

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<v Speaker 1>topics are justice, liberty, equality, sovereignty, and nationalism. Political philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>involves a general inquiry into normative matter and differs in

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<v Speaker 1>this respect from political science, which aims to provide empirical

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<v Speaker 1>descriptions of actually existing states. Political philosophy is often treated

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<v Speaker 1>as a sub field of ethics. Influential schools of thought

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<v Speaker 1>and political philosophy are liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and anarchism. Methods

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<v Speaker 1>of philosophy are ways of conducting philosophical inquiry. They include

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<v Speaker 1>techniques for arriving at philosophical knowledge and justifying philosophical claims,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as principles used for choosing between competing theories.

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<v Speaker 1>A great variety of methods have been employed throughout the

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<v Speaker 1>history of philosophy. Many of them differ significantly from the

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<v Speaker 1>methods used in the natural sciences, and that they do

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<v Speaker 1>not use experimental data obtained through measuring equipment. The choice

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<v Speaker 1>of one's method usually has important implications, both for how

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<v Speaker 1>philosophical theories are constructed and for the arguments cited for

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<v Speaker 1>or against them. This choice is often guided by epistemological

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<v Speaker 1>considerations about what constitutes philosophical evidence. Methodological disagreements can cause

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<v Speaker 1>conflicts among philosophical theories or about the answers to philosophical questions.

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<v Speaker 1>The discovery of new methods has often had important consequences,

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<v Speaker 1>both for how philosophers conduct their research and for what

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<v Speaker 1>claims they defend. Some philosophers engage in most of their

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<v Speaker 1>theorizing using one particular method, while others employ a wider

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<v Speaker 1>range of methods based on which one fits the specific

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<v Speaker 1>problem investigated best. Philosophical inquiry is relevant to many fields

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<v Speaker 1>that are connected with what to believe and how to

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<v Speaker 1>arrive at evidence for one's beliefs. This is a key

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<v Speaker 1>issue for the sciences, which have as one of their

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<v Speaker 1>prime objectives the creation of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is

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<v Speaker 1>based on empirical evidence, but it is often not clear

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<v Speaker 1>whether empirical observations are neutral or already include theoretical assumptions.

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<v Speaker 1>A closely connected problem is whether the available evidence is

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<v Speaker 1>sufficient to decide between competing theories. Epistemological problems in relation

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<v Speaker 1>to the law include what counts as evidence and how

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<v Speaker 1>much evidence is required to find a person guilty of

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<v Speaker 1>a crime. A related issue in journalism is how to

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<v Speaker 1>ensure truth and objectivity when reporting on events. In the

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<v Speaker 1>field of politics, philosophy addresses issues such as how to

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<v Speaker 1>assess whether a government policy is just. Philosophical ideas have

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<v Speaker 1>prepared and shaped various political developments. The idea that philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>is useful for many aspects of life and society is

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes rejected. According to some academics, philosophy is mainly undertaken

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<v Speaker 1>for its own sake and does not make make significant

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<v Speaker 1>contributions to existing practices or external goals.