Epistemology

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”-Einstein. I am energised by the debates that are sparked by statements like this and this is where my love of philosophy has flourished; studying reason and argument at university is a natural and exciting progression for me. Philosophy and Ethics A level has encouraged me to build up my views as an individual, specifically exploring the Christian perspective of debates and how they contrast with other beliefs. to do this, I…

There is a nearly extreme difference between an objectivist and subjectivist definition of social problems. Objectivism is defining social conditions as true social problems through measurable characteristics, usually statistics. In contrast, subjectivism approach defines social problems in people’s individual perception of a condition as a social problem, coupled with ample evidence. In Gladwell’s reading, Making Road Dangers Invisible, NYC has been targeting drunk drivers by repossessing…

story by mentioning other elements that changed when expose to extreme temperatures, ending the chapter with a discussion on yttrium (Y) and neodymium (Nd). In the seventeenth chapter, starts with Donald Glaser, the drunk who was interested in bubbles. Surprisingly, Glaser won a Noble Prize at the age of Thirty-three after he switched his research from bubbles in beer to bubbles in liquid nitrogen (N2). Kean also mentions Ernest Rutherford, who was interested in radioactivity. Rutherford mimic…

“The Allegory of the Cave” is another interesting reading of the semester which was written by Plato. I enjoyed this story because of how Plato made it into a conversation with Glaucon to make it feel like we are actually there with them when they are talking about this. The lesson that I learned from this allegory is about education and that if you want to learn you must explore and/or listen to what wise people have to say. In the reading it says: And now he would begin to draw the conclusion…

Beliefs and practices based on pseudoscience are those that are falsely regarded as being established by scientific research and methods. Examples of pseudoscientific beliefs include, but are absolutely not limited to, the mystery of the dreaded Bermuda Triangle, crop circles by aliens, human hypnosis, and denial that men really went to the moon. What all pseudoscientific beliefs have in common are that they are fueled by skepticism and the human desire to bridge “logical” gaps between when they…

Faith and Reason Faith and reason are acknowledged as the primary sources for justifying religious beliefs. Socrates has played an essential role in reconciling both faith and reason as seen in the Plato’s text “Crito” is a discussion by Socrates and Crito about Socrates jail sentence. Crito tries to convince him to escape before the trial because of the fear of death. However, Socrates does not agree with his suggestions and faces the trial. Crito tries to reason with him, but Socrates refuse…

Assignment 4 Naree L. Greenland Argument and Exposition 2152 A practical and powerful method of constructing and analyzing arguments is the Toulmin Argument, so named after its creator British philosopher Stephen Toulmin. This method asserts to breaking down an argument into several parts, The claim,evidence, Warrants backing and qualifiers all form the building blocks of Toulmin’s argument structure. The claim is the argument you wish to prove (130), the main part of the…

Socrates’ argument for the Tripartite soul is as follows; “The same thing cannot do or undergo contraries at the same time, in the same respect, and within the same part.” And “the human psyche undergoes contraries at the same time in the same respect.” Therefore “the human psyche must have different parts.” Socrates claims that the soul has three distinct parts. They are reason, appetite, and spirit. Plato believes that reason should rule the other two. He says, “…[we call an individual] wise…

In the beginning of book VII of the republic is one of the famous metaphors of philosophy: the allegory of the cave. The allegory of the cave is a theory designed by Plato to show how knowledge we get thru our five senses is nothing more than opinions. If we keep accepting this as real knowledge we are forever stuck in the cave. If we want to reach actual knowledge we must do so by using philosophical reasoning, and that is how we escape the cave. By escaping the cave, one reaches the…

In The Republic, Plato tells a scene through the conversation between of one of his students, Glaucon, and his mentor, Socrates. The scene, titled Allegory of the Cave, represents the state of the human race, who is blind to reality. The allegory continues to demonstrate what happens when one person becomes enlightened. Socrates describes a scene set deep in a cave, where a group of men sit chained to a wall. Above and behind them another group of men hold up a flat cut-out shape that…