Issues in Philosophy

371 Pages·1990·32.872 MB·English

by  Calvin Pinchin (auth.)

Issues in Philosophy
Issues in Philosophy
Calvin Pinchin
palgrave
* o Calvin Pinchin 1990
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CONTENTS
Introduction Vll
I. PERCEPTION AND KNOWLEDGE
I Epistemological theories 1
11 Descartes' Rationalism 6
III Hume's theory ofknowledge 14
IV Russell's Problems 01 Philosophy 26
V A.j. Ayer's Language, Truth and Logic 50
2. PROBLEMS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND 59
I Cartesian Dualism 59
11 Physicalism 71
111 Persons 87
IV The problem of other minds 89
V Behaviourism 97
VI Freud and psychoanalysis 105
VII The problem offree will and determinism 113
VIII The philosophy of the social sciences 121
IX Artificial intelligence 134
3. THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 139
I Introductory remarks 139
11 Arguments for the existence ofGod 145
Contents
Vl
111 Problems facing the religious believer 174
IV The concept offaith 196
V Verificationism and religious language 201
4. AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS 205
I Plato's ethical theory 206
11 Aristotle: the Nicomachean Ethics 218
111 U tilitarianism 238
IV Deontological ethics 257
V The emotive theory of ethics 261
VI Richard Hare and prescriptivism 268
VII Moral principles and behaviour 286
VIII Jean-Paul Sartre and existentialism 289
5. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 303
I Introduction to social and political philosophy 303
11 Images ofsociety 322
Questions 345
Notes 351
Bibliography 357
Name Index 361
Subject and Concept Index 363
INTRODUCTION
This book is intended primarily for students of the new 'A'
level in philosophy. It can, however, be used by students on
degree courses in philosophy and by those who may be taking
accessory courses in certain areas of philosophy. The book
also serves as a useful introduction for the general reader into
a number of traditional branches of the subject.
My approach has been to connect up a number of problem
areas in philosophy with 'A' level-prescribed texts. The aim of
this approach is to create an integrated course which should
help students to understand why the writings of the great
philosophers of the past have relevance to modern philosophi
cal problems.
As each of the chapters contains its own introduction, I am
not going to provide further introductory comments here. I
shall, however, make some introductory remarks about phil
osophy in general. The importance of philosophical problems
can hardly be doubted. The briefest perusal of the kinds of
questions to wh ich philosophers have addressed themselves
will reveal that this is the case.
Philosophers have concerned themselves with questions
relating to:
(i) Our knowledge of the world and what justifications
our claims to knowledge have.
(ii) The relation between mind and body, together with
the teasing out of the implications that the different
available theses have.
(iii) The existence ofGod and the problems which face the
religious believer.
(iv) What we mean when we say that a particular course of
action is 'right', or a particular state of affairs is 'good'.
Vlll Introduction
Philosophers have concerned themselves with the
rationality or otherwise of our moral judgements.
Some have sought to lay down criteria for testing
moral judgements or maxims.
(v) The issue of political obligation and the justification of
power together with related questions concerning the
relationship between the individual's freedom and the
state's authority.
The author believes that the importance of these questions is
self-evident and that many of them will inevitably touch our
lives in one way or another. To think seriously and rationally
about such issues is the best definition of philosophy that the
author can give. It is hoped that the definition will contain its
own impetus for study. To someone with no interest in the
aforementioned questions, the author has nothing to say. To
the reader who has either feit the weight of such questions, or
can see how that weight could be feit, the author sincerely
hopes that something of use will be found in these pages.
The philosophical approach adopted here is predominantly
that of linguistic or conceptual analysis. The author believes
that most philosophical problems are concerned with meaning
and the implications of wh at we say. In the field of ethics,
philosophy has at least a vital clarificatory role to play.
Whether it has a role to play in the deliverance of moral
judgements is an issue which the reader is invited to consider
for hirnself.
Finally, some mention must be made of the philosophy of
science. I had originally intended to include a chapter on this
topic in the present volume. However, owing to space
limitations, this is not possible. Its inclusion would have
resulted in the serious curtailment of other chapters. It is now
hoped that a supplementary text dealing exclusively with the
philosophy of science will be published separately at a later
date. There is sufficient material covered in adequate depth
within the present volume to plan and work through an 'A'
level course with many options.
The author wishes to express his gratitude to the following
philosophers for their stimulating conversation and more than
useful suggestions: Mr Maurice Charlesworth, Mr Richard
Introduction IX
Beardsmore, Mr John Daniel, and Ms Eluned Price -
especially for her lengthy philosophical correspondence.
A special debt is owed to the person who fired my interest in
the subject and kept it fuelled, Professor C. W. K. Mundle.
Deganwy, N. Wales CALVIN PINCHIN
September 1988
CHAPTER I PERCEPTION AND
KNOWLEDGE
I. EPISTEMOLOGICAL THEORIES
An epistemological theory is a theory of knowledge. Such
theories are concerned with the questions of how we know
what we know and with how we distinguish knowledge from
belief, opinion or faith. What we mean by 'knowing' involves
an analysis of the meaning of our statements. There are two
opposed epistemological theories. They are the theories of
Rationalism and Empiricism. In considering the two areas on
which they disagree, the reader will become acquainted with
important philosophical terminology.
1. Rationalism and Empiricism: an introduction
The two central areas of disagreement concern (a) the source
of our ideas, and (b) how we know necessary truths. We shall
later discuss in some detail the epistemological theories of
some important philosophers. Let us first of all get c1ear on the
nature of the disagreements and equip ourselves with the
technical terminology.
We shall begin with the issue of the source of our ideas.
Empiricists claim that all our ideas are derived from experi
ence. By 'experience' they mean sense-experience plus intro
spection. Empiricists do not claim that a person can only form
ideas of things he himself has experienced. They draw a
distinction between, (i) ideas given in experience, and (ii)
constructed ideas such as mermaids and atoms. According to
empiricism, all of our ideas must either be of things or
properties presented to us in our own experience, or they must
be derived from, and analysable into, ideas ofthe former kind.