(Ebook PDF) (Ebook PDF) Philosophy: Asking Questions - Seeking Answers by Stephen Stich All Chapter
(Ebook PDF) (Ebook PDF) Philosophy: Asking Questions - Seeking Answers by Stephen Stich All Chapter
(Ebook PDF) (Ebook PDF) Philosophy: Asking Questions - Seeking Answers by Stephen Stich All Chapter
Questions--Seeking Answers by
Stephen Stich
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STEPHEN STICH
TOM DONALDSON
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRF.SS
Conte.nts vu
8. Descartes's Legacy 89
9. Conclusion 91
G lossary 91
Comprehension Questions 92
Discussion Questions 93
What to Look at Next 94
Notes 95
XI
xii PREFACE
and encouraging students to make up their own minds about which side
has the stronger case.
Stephen Stich
Tom Donaldson
What Is Philosophy?
1. Philosophy Is EverY'vhere
Many people think that philosophy is an esoteric subject. Admittedly,
professional philosophers in universities do sometimes devote them-
selves to abstruse questions. We have colleagues w·hdve devoted many
years to figuring out exactly ho\v "a' and "the" differ in meaning, and
\Ve have friends who stay up late at night discussing whether God could
change the la\vs of logic.
But, in fact, philosophical questions often come up in everyday life.
Think about the familiar question of \Vhether it is okay to buy and eat
meat. This is a philosophical question, and it quickly leads to others. As
\Ve'II see in chapter 15, some vegetarians argue that you should not buy
meat because it is ,vrong to inflict pain on animals. Meat eaters might reply
that it is okay to buy meat from humane farms or that it is okay to buy the
meat of animals incapable of experiencing pain- oysters, for example.
Let's think about that last claim for a moment. How can \Ve tell
\Vhether oysters experience pain? You might think that we can figure
out ,vhether oysters experience pain by investigating their nervous sys-
tems. But to do this, we'd have to understand the relation bet\veen con-
scious mental states (such as pain) and the nervous system- and this is
a notoriously difficult philosophical problem. We'll discuss the topic in
chapter 10.
1
2 Ptt1LOSOPHY: ASKING QueSTJONS-SEEKING ANSWERS
Notice that the hvo philosophers aren't content just to say that Cop-
pleston believes God exists while Russell doesn't. They articulate their
disagreement more precisely than that. They agree on what they mean
by "God;' and they clarify that Coppleston believes God's existence "can
be proved philosophically;' while Russell's position is agnostic- that is,
Russell doesn't believe God exists, but he doesn't think that God's nonex-
istence can be proven. 3 What do ,ve mean ,vhen we say that philosophers
attempt to give explicit arguments for their claims? We ,viii talk about ar-
guments and how to evaluate them in the next chapter. For now, suffice it
to say that philosophers don't like to defend their vie,vs merely by appeal
to authority or tradition. As ,ve've said, one of the goals of philosophy
is to scrutinize received v.risdoms; it defeats the point of the exercise to
assume that the existing authorities have figured it all out already.
This is not to say that appeals to authority are al,vays fallacious. On
the contrary, it is often perfectly appropriate to gather information from
experts. Our point is that, in a philosophical context, our goal is to present
arguments for our views without simply leaning upon existing authorities.
\Vhar Is Philosophy? 5
For example, suppose that you're thinking about how· the state
should be structured. You might find it helpful to read through clas-
sics like The Federalist Papers; ho,vever, in philosophical ,vork you're
expected to present arguments for your claims, and "Hamilton said so"
or "Madison said so" ,von't cut it.
It is perhaps for this reason that philosophers don't usually get in-
volved in the interpretation of sacred texts. This is part of what separates
philosophy from theology and religious studies.
5. Why Bother?
Students in their first philosophy class (especially those for whom the
class is compulsory!) often ask why they should bother w·ith philosophy.
Our answer is that philosophy is inevitable. We all have to think about
ho,v to live, and so we are forced to think about normative questions at
one time or another. What's more, ,ve now live in pluralist societies; that
is, ,ve live ,vith people ,vhose worldviews differ greatly from our ov.rn.
When ,ve meet such people and try to understand our differences, ,ve
are forced to discuss our basic assumptions- and this is philosophy.
So even though philosophical questions don't come up every day,
,ve're all forced to confront them sometimes. We hope this book helps you
to think about philosophical questions and to reach your o,vn conclusions.
And even if you aren't able to reach your o,vn conclusions, ,ve think
you can benefit from the time spent thinking the issues through. In such
cases, philosophy sho,vs you something important about the limitations
of your kno,vledge. What's more, even if you can't find the right answer
to a philosophical question, you may still be able to achieve a deeper
understanding of other people's vie,vs about the topic. And the better
,ve understand each other's views, the better ,ve understand each other.
Discussion Question
l. Look at the list of philosophical questions v.rith a friend. Do the two
of you disagree about the ans,ver to a question? If you find a disagree-
ment, can you articulate it precisely? Then, how well can you give an
argument supporting your vie,v?
Notes
I. Gen. 9:1-3 (NRSV}.
2. You n1ay be able to find parts of this discussion online. For a full transcript,
look in Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (London: Routledge,
2004), 125-152.
3. Russell and Coppleston could perhaps have been still more precise about
their disagreen1ent. Their clain1 that God is "supreme" is, we think, slightly
obscure. We suspect that when Coppleston says that God is "supren1e," he
meant that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly n1orally good-
but it's hard to be con1pletely sure.
4. Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design (New York:
Bantan1 Books, 2010), I.
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brincan el contrahecho y el panzudo;
salta el cojo y se estira el encorvado.
Un Juglar
Un Dogmático[40]
Un Idealista[41]
Un Materialista
Un Supernaturalista
Me encuentro bien entre estos malhadados,
cuando en el aquelarre me introduzco;
al ver diablos aquí por todos lados,
que existen también ángeles deduzco.
Un Escéptico[42]
El Maestro de capilla
Los Aprovechados[43]
Fuegos Fatuos
Los Amazacotados
Puck
Ariel
Si la Naturaleza cariñosa,
o el Espíritu os dan ligeras galas,
a la cumbre seguidme do la rosa
feliz ostenta sus purpúreas alas.
La Orquesta, pianissimo
Fausto
Mefistófeles
No será la primera.
Fausto
Mefistófeles
Fausto
No rechines los dientes voraces. ¡Me das asco!
¡Grande y sublime Espíritu, que te dignaste acudir a mi
voz!; tú, que conoces mi corazón y mi alma, ¿por qué me
encadenas a un vil compañero, que se alimenta de males
y se goza en las ruinas?
Mefistófeles
¿Acabaste?
Fausto
Mefistófeles
Fausto
Mefistófeles
Fausto
¿Eso más de ti?... ¡Destrucción y ruina de todo un
mundo sobre ese monstruo! Llévame allá, te digo, y
libértala.
Mefistófeles
Fausto
Vamos, pues.
NOCHE
Fausto
Mefistófeles
Fausto
Mefistófeles
Brujas en aquelarre.
Fausto
Parece que rocíen con el hisopo y que consagren.
Mefistófeles
¡Adelante! ¡Adelante!
CÁRCEL
Fausto
Mi madre, ramera,
me dio muerte fiera;
mi padre, el perdido,
mi carne ha comido;
lo poquito que quedó
mi hermanita lo enterró.
Abriose la fosa;
salió un pajarito de pluma vistosa.
¡Tiende, pajarito,
tiende pronto el vuelo!
¡Vuela, pajarito, piérdete en el cielo!
Fausto, abriendo
Margarita
Fausto
No así grites;
que el dormido guardián despertar puede.
(Toma las cadenas para quitárselas.)
Margarita, de rodillas
Fausto
¿A quién no aflige
tanto dolor?
Margarita
En tu poder me tienes:
deja, al menos, que el pecho al infelice
niño le dé. Toda la noche, toda
lo estreché en mi regazo. Para herirme,
para culparme –¡oh cielos!–, lo robaron
de mis amantes brazos, ¡y ahora dicen
que lo maté! ¡Mis dichas concluyeron!
Con malignas canciones me persiguen.
¡Infames! Así acaba vieja historia;
pero ¿es justo, gran Dios, que me la apliquen?
Fausto, gritando
¡Margarita! ¡Margarita!
Margarita, atenta
Fausto
Sí, yo soy.
Margarita
Fausto, arrastrándola
Margarita, acariciándolo
Fausto
Es peligrosa
la menor detención.
Margarita
Fausto
¡Oh, ven, ven por piedad! Constante y firme
es mi pasión. Sosiégate, bien mío,
oye mis ruegos, y mis pasos sigue.
Margarita, volviéndose a él
Fausto
Margarita
¿Y tú viniste
a libertarme, abriéndome los brazos?
¿Podrá ser que de mí no te horrorices?
¿No te han dicho, no sabes a quién salvas?
Fausto
Margarita
Maté a mi madre;
ahogué al hijo mío. ¿Lo entendiste?
¡Al hijo nuestro! ¡A entrambos nos fue dado!
¡A ti también! Mas, ¿eres tú? Imposible
paréceme. ¡Tu mano! ¡A ver tu mano!
¡Cielo! ¿Es su diestra, o la ilusión lo finge?
Es ella, sí; ¿por qué está humedecida?
¡Enjúgala, por Dios; sangre la tiñe!
¡Insensato! ¿Qué has hecho? Envaina el hierro.
¡Envaina el hierro, por piedad!
Fausto
Lo que hice
hecho está ya. ¿Por qué mentarlo? ¿Quieres
matarme?
Margarita
Fausto
Margarita
¿Adónde?
Fausto
A salvarte.
Margarita
Fausto
Puedes;
la cárcel está abierta.
Margarita
¿Y de qué sirve
la fuga? ¡Nada espero! Tras nosotros
vendrán. ¿Quieres que mísera mendigue
de puerta en puerta el pan; que errante y sola
vaya, cuando me acosan y persiguen
mis propios pensamientos, y que al cabo
me alcancen mis verdugos inflexibles?
Fausto
Margarita
Fausto
Margarita
¡Si hubiéramos traspuesto la montaña!
Allí mi madre, que los años rinden,
está sentada en una piedra –¡Oh cielos!,
¡soplo glacial me acosa y me persigue!–
Sentada está mi madre en una piedra,
y mueve la cabeza, ya insensible.
Ni oye, ni ve. ¡Durmió, la pobre, tanto,
que no despierta ya! ¡Días felices
aquellos –¡ay!– en que su grave sueño
dulce fue a nuestro amor!
Fausto
Margarita
Fausto
¡Bien mío!
¡Dulce amada! ¿No ves que el cielo tiñe
el alba?
Margarita
Fausto