Section A of our course deals with some introductory materials. These set the context for our study of Philosophy of Religion.The Nature of PhilosophyWe'll begin by considering a short handout on "The Nature of Philosophy"; this is taken from the Introduction to Harry Gensler's Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (London and New York, Routledge: 1998).
These computerized exercise materials are copyrighted (c) 2002 by Harry J. Gensler; but they may be distributed freely.
To do philosophy is to reason about the ultimate questions of life -- questions like "Is there a God?" and "Are our actions free or determined?"Philosophical ArgumentsPhilosophy reasons about such questions. We first try to get clear on what the question is asking. Then we consider the range of possible answers. We criticize each answer as brutally as we can; and we eliminate views that lead to absurdities. We look for the most adequate of the remaining views. If we can't completely resolve the issue, at least we can hope to arrive at a well thought-out view.
Reasoning about philosophical questions involves constructing arguments, which consist in premises and a conclusion. We aim for clearly true premises from which our conclusion logically follows. The most common way to reason is to attack a view by showing that it logically implies things that are false or doubtful.As we develop our philosophical views, reasoning and personal commitment are both important. Reasoning alone won't resolve all the disputes. After considering the arguments on both sides, we have to make up our own minds. But if we pick a view with strong objections, then we have to respond to these.