Selected Topics in Philosophy

By John L. Bowman

Selected Topics in Philosophy is an eclectic mix of various topics in philosophy including the nature of language, epistemology, ethics, the nature of religion and literature, metaphysics, existentialism and transcendentalism.

Some particularly interesting issues discussed in the book include George Berkeley and John Locke's theories on the difference between language and reality (most confusion and much conflict in the world seems to be because we use words for things that do not exist) Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism and in particular his discussion of antinomies (we are not passive tabula rasas on which the external world writes but rather active minds organizing and making sense of a random and incomprehensible world) Jean Paul Sartre's existential admonition that we must accept the world with no telos (which naturally leads us to the truism that if we wish life to have meaning we must look to ourselves to create it) the question of whether there are certain timeless, objective standards by which we can judge human actions (if we cannot, and ethics is subjective, how do we distinguish between good and evil?) what are the limits to our knowledge (are there certain immutable truths which we can discover which are built like a pyramid with a broad foundation and each layer resting on the one below, or is all knowledge simply how well things cohere like a raft on the open sea floating around with no permanent tether)

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 21, 2002
• ISBN: 9781469782386

John L. Bowman

The author received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from Whitman College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1993 from Portland State University, and a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies degree from Oregon State University in 2010. His areas of study for the master’s degree were philosophy (ethics and theories of the mind) and ancient history. He is the author of numerous books on philosophy, real estate, and politics. He lives in Portland, Oregon where he raised three daughters with his wife Kathy.

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Contents

Introduction

Part I

Language

1

JOHN LOCKE AND GEORGE BERKELEY: PHILOSOPHIES OF LANGUAGE

2

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN’S CONCEPT OF THE NATURE OF UNDERSTANDING

3

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN’S LANGUAGE-GAMES

4

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN’S CONCEPT OF FAMILY RESEMBLANCE

Part II

Epistemology

5

THE RAFT AND THE PYRAMID

Part III

Ethics

6

EMOTIVISM

7

PRESCRIPTIVISM

8

DAVID HUME: WHY MORALITY IS FOUNDED ON SENTIMENT

9

G. E. MOORE: GOODNESS IS A SIMPLE AND DEPENDANT PROPERTY

10

MARCUS SINGER’S DEFENSE OF THE GENERALIZATION ARGUMENT AS THE FUNDAMENTAL MORAL PRINCIPLE

11

W. D. ROSS AND A. I. MELDEN ON THE NATURE OF MORAL REASONING

12

JOHN RAWLS’ RULE-UTILITARIANISM

13

J. J. C. SMART’S CONSEQUENTIAL ACT-UTILITARIANISM

Part IV

Religion

14

THE WISE MAN AND RELIGION

15

A DEFENSE OF RELIGION

16

A DEFENSE OF FAITH

Part V

Literature

17

PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE

18

THE NATURE OF LITERATURE

19

SOME PHILOSOPHIC IMPLICATIONS OF RICHARD WRIGHT’S BLACKBOY

20

DIDACTICISM, ETHICS, AND CENSORSHIP IN POETRY

Part VI

Metaphysics

21

IMMANUEL KANT AND DAVID HUME: PHILOSOPHIES OF METAPHYSICS

22

AN EXPOSITION AND EVALUATION OF BEING AND BECOMING IN CHARLES HARTSHORNE’S METAPHYSICAL PROCESS PHILOSOPHY

Part VII

Existentialism

23

EXISTENTIALISM

24

HEIDEGGER’S PHENOMENOLOGY

25

MARTIN HEIDEGGERAND OSCAR SCHINDLER

Part VIII

Transcendentalism

26

ANTINOMIES

Endnotes

Michelangelo spoke of …liberating the figure from the marble that imprisons it.1 Much of the intellectual history of mankind is the effort to free us from the marble prison of ignorance and gain truth. The study of philosophy seems to be one of those chisels that help us in that process.

Introduction

I started studying philosophy because I was looking for something meaningful in life. What I got was something different. Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Wisdom is a somewhat vague term because we can be wise in many ways. Central to the various ways of wisdom, however, seems to be the search for truth. It would seem that truth is the end of knowledge; the place of rest; the solution to our problems; the answer to our questions; and ultimately, it would seem, where we could find meaning. The veil would be lifted and there would be no more guesswork. There would be no more ignorance; we would be liberated. It is because philosophy is the love of wisdom and search for truth that I thought it would bring meaning. Not just meaning to my life but any meaning.

What I discovered was that no matter how hard I tried, I was incapable of attaining complete and lasting truth. It was like a mirage that recedes as we approach; I could never seem to get there. When I arrived at the place where the mirage occurred, it had mysteriously vanished. It only occurred in other places, never where I was. It was illusive. Everything seemed subjective and confusing; what is right today is wrong tomorrow; what is beautiful now is ugly with the next generation; what is praised at one time is scorned another.

I am not sure whether this is because truth does not exist or because we are incapable of recognizing it when we see it. In any case, it does seem that we are limited souls trying to comprehend a very complex, and apparently changing, world.

My search for meaning was frustrated because without ultimate truth there can be no real meaning. Some never recognize this illusive nature of truth and live their lives as satisfied pigs ardently supporting the status quo. Others recognize the subjective nature of truth and resign themselves to a meaningless life, often as skeptics. What I got in my studies of philosophy was not meaning but rather enlightenment. When you search for something so elusive as meaning you are bound to learn something. What I learned was how little I know, which seems to be the first step of freedom from ignorance and prejudice. These essays are the manifestation of that search.

I have grouped these diverse essays into eight general areas which include language, epistemology, ethics, religion, literature, metaphysics, existentialism, and transcendentalism. Some simply summarize various philosophers’ theories such as Kant’s transcendentalism or Heidegger’s phenomenology. Others express my views on some topic. Some philosophers, philosophic ideas, and issues particularly interested me and influenced my thinking. Some of these include:

George Berkeley’s discussion of the difference between language and reality. Most confusion and much conflict in the world is because we use words for things that do not exist.

Immanuel Kant’s transcendental idealism and in particular his discussion of antinomies. We are not passive tabula rasas on which the external world writes but rather active minds organizing and making sense of a random and incomprehensible world.

Jean Paul Sartre’s existential admonition that we must accept a world with no telos. This naturally leads us to the truism that if we wish life to have meaning we must look to ourselves to create it.

The question of whether there are certain timeless, objective standards by which we can judge human actions. If ethics are subjective, how do we distinguish between good and evil?

How do we know anything and what are the limits to knowledge? Are there certain immutable truths which we can discover or is all knowledge simply how well things cohere? The more I studied philosophy, the more I became aware of the limits of reason and knowledge in general and the more skeptical I became about our

Introduction 3 ability to really know anything. Knowledge often seems to create more problems than it solves. Reason alone often leads to some odd and non-humanistic conclusions. If knowledge is coherentist, it would seem reason only makes ideas fit better; if it is foundational perhaps intuition is a better guide to understanding.

Studying philosophy created new insights, changed some paradigms, and altered some beliefs. It was a rewarding effort and these essays are the result.

Part I

Language

1

JOHN LOCKE AND GEORGE BERKELEY: PHILOSOPHIES OF LANGUAGE

One of the greatest sources of confusion and misunderstanding in philosophy may be due to language. The inability to know the meaning of words and whether other people have the same mental picture attached to the same word confounds many philosophers. Both John Locke and George Berkeley contemplated this topic and agreed largely on the problem but offered different interpretations as to why this happens.

Man is capable of making sounds and these sounds stand as marks for ideas within his own mind, according to John Locke. Words stand for general ideas. Words .stand for nothing but the ideas in the mind of him that uses them² and .until he has some ideas of his own, he cannot suppose to correspond with the conception of another man.³ Consent between men is arrived at only when men use the same names.

John Locke felt problems arise in language when we begin using suppositions. First, men suppose their words to be marks of ideas in the minds of other men with whom they communicate. Consequently, because words only signify particular ideas and because they are arbitrary, they may fail to excite in others the same ideas the speaker takes them to be signs of and unless you can excite the same idea in another man, you are unintelligible.⁴ Secondly, men suppose that words stand for the reality of things. To Locke, these suppositions caused problems and confusion because words only stand for those ideas we have in our minds.

Locke proceeded to develop a theory surrounding man’s ability to abstract. He began by saying that it is beyond the human mind to frame every distinct particular thing (like every bird and beast men see). As a consequence of this, words in language are made general.

Words become general by being made the signs of general ideas; and ideas become general by separating from them the circumstances of time and place, and any other ideas that may determine them to this or that particular existence. By this way of abstraction they are made capable of representing more individuals than one; each of which, having in it a conformity to that abstract idea, is of that sort.⁵

In fact, according to Locke, general natures or notions are nothing but abstract ideas. The reason for generalizing and abstracting is not out of necessity or greater clearness, but for quickness and dispatch sake.⁶

Names of simple ideas and substances intimate some real existence. Substance is supposed because qualities cannot exist by themselves, although in the end, Locke admitted that matter …is something I know not what. Locke developed a concept of simple ideas and complex ideas. Simple ideas cannot be defined because this would lead to an in infinitum. Specifically with motion, if we used the term of one definition to define another, where does it stop? Consequently, the simple ideas (i.e. motion) are obtained only by the impressions objects themselves make in our minds. If they did not, then a name would never be able to produce in us the idea it stands for. Locke used the example of a blind man trying to define the color scarlet as the sound of a trumpet. This was to demonstrate that a blind man cannot get a simple idea from a definition but only by seeing scarlet.⁷

Complex ideas are a mixture of several simple ideas. It is the power of words standing for a simple idea to create a complex idea. Thus, unlike scarlet (a simple idea), statue (a complex idea) can be explained to a blind man.

One important aspect of Locke’s theories concerning language deals with the ability to frame ideas before existence. This is involved with mixed modes which are general ideas made by the mind, arbitrarily, without patterns or reference to any real existence. The result can be that often, as in the case of adultery or sacrilege, the idea can be framed before the existence.

Much of George Berkeley’s criticism of Locke involved his criticism of abstract ideas. Berkeley felt the use of language has caused innumerable errors, difficulties and misunderstandings in man’s knowledge. He said we are told the mind perceives, via the senses, a commonality and develops an abstract idea of it. An example of this would be a man observing three individual men and arriving at the abstract idea of humanity. Berkeley, however, said he cannot conceive of the abstract idea like Locke, or .form the abstract idea of motion distinct from the body moving.⁸ Abstract ideas come from the learned, and simple men do not pretend to such abstract notions.

Generally, Berkeley felt that the doctrine of abstraction did not follow common sense. He said Locke proposes words become general by being made the signs of general ideas.⁹ Berkeley did not deny general ideas but only abstract general ideas. Abstract general ideas mark imperfection and contrivances of the mind. Men only develop them by constant and familiar use.

The cause of man’s developing a notion of abstraction standing for universals comes from language. Abstract ideas are ".made in order to naming: from which it is clear consequence that if there had been no such thing as speech or universal signs, there never had been any thought of