Practice Flashcards
What is philosophy for (in one line)?
Track your progress — Sign up free to save your progress and get smart review reminders based on spaced repetition.
All Flashcards in Topic 9.3
Below are all 24 flashcards for this topic. Sign up free to track your progress and get personalized review schedules.
9.3.18 cards
What is philosophy for (in one line)?
Understanding ideas, questioning our assumptions, and helping us live well — all through argument.
Why isn't 'philosophy settles nothing' a fatal objection?
It pays off in the thinking it trains, not just the answers; each round you understand the question better.
'Understanding' as a function of philosophy?
Grasping WHY things are so, not just THAT they are — seeing ideas like justice or mind from the inside.
Philosophy vs science?
Science settles questions by observation/experiment; philosophy argues ones no experiment can decide.
Philosophy vs religion?
Religion often rests on faith or authority; philosophy accepts a claim only if the reasons hold up.
Philosophy's distinctive tool?
Argument — reasons for and against — not the experiment (science) or faith/authority (religion).
The 'Go further' point about science's foundations?
Science rests on assumptions (nature is regular, senses track truth) no experiment proves — philosophy examines them.
Separate the two questions about philosophy's value?
Whether it SETTLES its questions (mostly no) vs whether it's WORTH doing (the real question).
9.3.28 cards
The philosopher's core method?
Analyse an idea to get clear on it, then argue — give reasons, raise the objection, reply.
Argument vs analysis?
Argument = giving reasons for a conclusion; analysis = breaking an idea into parts to see what it means.
Why did Plato write dialogues?
So you watch the reasoning happen between characters, instead of just being told the answer.
Why did Nietzsche write aphorisms?
Short sharp bursts to jolt you into re-thinking, rather than prove a tidy theorem.
Why use poetry (e.g. the Tao Te Ching)?
Some truths about living resist being pinned down in flat prose, so poetry reaches what prose can't.
Does the form change the method?
No — styles differ wildly, but underneath each is still giving and testing reasons.
One method or many — the honest answer?
One shared core (reasons open to challenge) practised through many forms — a both/and.
What keeps all of it philosophy?
The reasons stay open to being challenged — that's the line, whatever the form.
9.3.38 cards
Philosophy as thinking vs as practice?
Thinking = reason your way to truth (living is separate); practice = a way of life that transforms you.
The Western 'thinking' picture?
Philosophy is disciplined argument aimed at truth; whether it changes your habits is a separate question.
Sadhana?
A disciplined practice or path you follow to transform yourself — philosophy as something lived, not just argued.
What do the Stoics add?
In the West too, philosophy was seen as daily 'training for life', practised, not just discussed.
The objection to the pure thinking picture?
You could argue brilliantly about virtue yet live badly — on the practice view that's a failure, not success.
The risk of the pure practice picture?
If living it is the only test, philosophy blurs into religion or self-help and loses its challengeable reasons.
The both/and answer to 'what is doing philosophy'?
Thinking that changes how you live — reason and practice held together, each needing the other.
The topic's arc in one line?
What is philosophy for? → how do philosophers work? → is doing philosophy thinking, or a way of life?
Topic 9.3 study notes
Full notes & explanations for The nature, function and methodology of philosophy
Philosophy exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
Want smart review reminders?
Sign up free to track your progress. Our spaced repetition algorithm will tell you exactly which cards to review and when.
Start Free