Discovering the Philosopher in You
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The Big Questions in Philosophy
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Everyone has their own inner philosopher—a voice within that asks, oh so insistently, philosophical questions. Everyone wants to know what the ultimate nature of the world is, what the self is, whether we have free will, how our minds relate to our bodies, whether we can really know anything, where ethical truth comes from, what the meaning of life is, and whether or not there is a God. This inner philosopher is related to the inner child, since the child too is prone to asking philosophical questions. But it is much better to have a disciplined guide through philosophy than simply to try to do all the thinking by yourself. I will be acting as your guide. I will cover all the main problems of philosophy, from logic to ethics, from the human mind to God, introducing you to how philosophers think and the theories they have come up with. The first four lectures focus on foundational questions that need to be clarified before we engage upon more applied discussions. We need to know what knowledge is, what truth is, and what logical reasoning is before we start discussing ethics, the mind, free will and God. So let’s start with the basics, then break into a run only when we have learned how to walk.
Colin McGinn was educated at Oxford University, where he won the prestigious John Locke prize and later taught before moving on to UCLA. He is currently a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. McGinn regularly writes newspaper and magazine articles and is the author of numerous books, including philosophical works, fiction, and an autobiographical book, the acclaimed The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy.
Lecture 1 Skepticism: What Do You Really Know?
Lecture 2 Knowledge: How Should Knowledge Be Analyzed?
Lecture 3 Truth: What Is the Nature of Truth?
Lecture 4 Logic: What Is Valid Reasoning?
Lecture 5 Knowledge and Experience: Where Does Knowledge Come From?
Lecture 6 The Basis of Ethics: What Makes Something Right or Wrong?
Lecture 7 Happiness and Right Action: How Are Morality and Human Welfare Related?
Lecture 8 Morality and Blame: Are We Free?
Lecture 9 Mind and Body: How Are They Related?
Lecture 10 Consciousness: Can the Mystery Be Solved?
Lecture 11 Mind and World: Are Objects Really as They Appear?
Lecture 12 The Self: Who Am I?
Lecture 13 God: Can the Existence of God Be Proved?
Lecture 14 The Meaning of Life: What Gives Human
 Write a Review of Discovering the Philosopher in You
 
A Well-Structured and Thoughtfully Presented Introduction, March 15, 2010
Reviewer: eddiebaby
As a beginner to the subject of Philosohpy - unlike, presumably, Brian Everill - I found Colin McGinn's lectures illuminating. All of the main areas of philosophical debate, ie. the big questions, are presented in a balanced and well-explained manner with appropriate examples. Where Mr McGinn holds a strong personal belief one way or another on any question, he takes pains to point out that this is what he thinks but that it is up to the audience to make up their own minds. In so far as I can tell - from my beginner's perspective - alternative points of view are always objectively presented, without any particular skew.
I am somewhat bewildered by the comments of the previous reviewer when he says "an outline of how Colin McGinn thinks a philosopher should think". I feel this is most unfair and rather disingenuous. I don't believe reviewers should be questioning the motives of authors/lecturers in this way. My view is that this is a genuine and well-intentioned effort to introduce beginners to the main questions in Philosophy and it achieves it's end admirably.
How to think like Colin McGinn, March 07, 2009
Reviewer: Brian Everill
This lecture series gives an outline of how Colin McGinn thinks a philosopher should think, not necessarily "How to think like a philosopher". After listening for several hours to him describe problems debated in philosophy today I was struck by his lack of real guidance through those debates. He completely ignores, or perhaps purposely steers away from, any sort of acknowledgement of the Indicative approach to philosophy. In doing that he leaves his listeners, who may not be the most informed philosophical group (since they are buying this introductory course), with something of an unbalanced, incomplete perception of where philosophy stands to date. Wittgenstein, for example, is neither mentioned, nor alluded to, throughout the seven-hour course. If we are to believe that what Colin McGinn is engaged in is informing his audience about the state of philosophical thought, as it exists to date, and how we should be thinking as philosophers about the problems it throws up, why does he leave out such an influential protagonist of the twentieth century; someone, who has had such a profound influence on how we now approach the subject. McGinn states that many of the philosophical problems that exist today have existed for over 2,500 years and that they still have no resolution. Yet, he does not expose his audience to the full panoply of important philosophical thought on the matters in question. It is as if he were giving the lectures to an audience back in the early twentieth century ignoring philosophical debate taking place after that time. It is obvious, after studying the series in any sort of depth, that McGinn is a proponent of the metaphysical approach to philosophy and as such is somewhat skewed and biased in his postulations regarding the philosophical problems at issue.
Should you be looking for an informative text to help with an understanding of philosophical problems you would be well advised to purchase something like “A Common Humanity” by Raimond Gaitor. Gaitor’s text, written for the educated public who are not necessarily philosophers, is the sort of information more likely to be a useful source of how problems in philosophy are handled.
- Published:
2004
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
U003489
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9781440732591 |
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Philosophy
Ancient & Medieval Philosophy
Philosophy
Modern Philosophy
Philosophy
History of Philosophy
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