What Do Philosophers Do? | Timothy Williamson
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the nature of philosophical inquiry, highlighting the propensity of children to ask 'why' questions, which can lead to profound philosophical discussions. It emphasizes the pursuit of understanding through abstract questioning, such as 'What is knowledge?' or 'What is justice?', and the importance of seeking answers to these questions. Philosophy is portrayed as a discipline that not only asks difficult questions but also strives to find methods to address and test potential answers.
Takeaways
- 🤔 Philosophers are known for asking questions, especially 'why' questions, similar to children in their inquisitive phase.
- 👶 Children often ask 'why' questions that can lead to philosophical discussions if parents attempt to provide thorough answers.
- 🔍 When parents try to answer children's 'why' questions, they are often led to provide more abstract explanations, which can be philosophical in nature.
- 🧐 Philosophers also ask 'what is' questions, such as 'what is knowledge?' or 'what is justice?', which are abstract and general.
- 🚫 Not all 'what is' questions are philosophical; some are better suited for other disciplines, like 'what is electricity?' for a physicist.
- 💡 Philosophy involves not just asking questions but also seeking methods to answer them, especially when the questions seem difficult to tackle initially.
- 🤷♂️ Many philosophical questions, like 'what is knowledge?', can initially leave people without any idea of how to approach an answer.
- 🔑 A significant part of philosophy is about gaining a grip on such questions, understanding potential answers, and devising ways to test those answers.
- 📚 The script suggests that philosophical inquiry has been ongoing for over 2,000 years, indicating its long-standing importance in human thought.
- 🌐 The process of answering philosophical questions often involves moving from specific instances to more general and abstract concepts.
Q & A
What role do questions play in philosophy?
-Questions are fundamental to philosophy, often starting with 'why' or 'what is' inquiries that delve into the nature of things, concepts, and abstract ideas.
How does the script relate the questioning phase of children to philosophy?
-The script suggests that children's persistent 'why' questions can lead to philosophical discussions, especially when parents attempt to provide deeper, more abstract explanations.
Why do some people continue asking 'why' questions into adulthood?
-Some individuals, referred to as philosophers, continue asking 'why' questions as a way to explore deeper meanings and understanding beyond the surface level of everyday life.
What is the significance of 'what is' questions in philosophy?
-Questions starting with 'what is' are significant in philosophy as they aim to define and understand the essence of abstract concepts such as knowledge, justice, and time.
How do parents' attempts to answer children's questions lead to philosophical directions?
-When parents provide explanations and are then asked 'why' about those explanations, they are driven towards more abstract thinking, which is characteristic of philosophical inquiry.
What is the difference between a philosophical question and a scientific one?
-Philosophical questions tend to be abstract and general, such as 'what is justice?', whereas scientific questions, like 'what is electricity?', seek specific, empirical explanations.
Why is it important for philosophers to attempt answering their questions?
-Attempting to answer philosophical questions is crucial as it helps philosophers explore potential answers, develop methods of testing those answers, and gain a deeper understanding of complex issues.
What challenges do philosophers face when trying to answer their questions?
-Philosophers often face the challenge of finding a good answer, understanding what constitutes a valid answer, and developing methods to test and validate their answers.
How does the script describe the process of finding answers in philosophy?
-The script describes it as a process of gaining a grip on the questions, exploring potential answers, and then thinking of ways to test and validate those answers.
What is the role of abstraction in philosophical discussions?
-Abstraction plays a key role in philosophical discussions, allowing for the exploration of general and universal concepts that go beyond specific instances or empirical data.
Why might a question about electricity be more suited for a physicist than a philosopher?
-A question about electricity is more suited for a physicist because it requires specific, empirical knowledge and understanding of physical phenomena, which is the domain of physics rather than philosophy.
Outlines
🤔 The Nature of Philosophical Inquiry
This paragraph delves into the essence of philosophical questioning, comparing it to the innate curiosity of children who frequently ask 'why'. It highlights how answering these questions can lead to a philosophical direction, as parents are compelled to provide deeper and more abstract explanations. The paragraph also touches on the traditional 'what is' questions that philosophers have been asking for centuries, such as 'what is knowledge?' or 'what is justice?', emphasizing the abstract and general nature of these inquiries. The importance of attempting to answer these questions is underscored, with the paragraph suggesting that philosophy is as much about finding ways to approach and test potential answers as it is about asking the questions themselves.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Philosophers
💡Why Questions
💡Abstraction
💡Explanation
💡Philosophical Direction
💡What Is Questions
💡Knowledge
💡Suffering
💡Time
💡Justice
💡Potential Answers
Highlights
Philosophers engage in diverse activities, including asking questions, similar to children's inquisitive nature.
Children often go through a phase of asking 'why' questions, which can be philosophical in nature if pursued seriously.
Philosophy involves asking 'why' questions that lead to abstract and general explanations.
Parents attempting to answer children's 'why' questions can be driven towards philosophical directions.
The process of explaining explanations can lead to philosophical inquiry.
Philosophers traditionally ask 'what is' questions, such as 'what is knowledge' or 'what is justice'.
Not all 'what is' questions are philosophical; some are better suited for scientific disciplines.
The importance of attempting to answer philosophical questions is emphasized.
Philosophy involves finding ways to approach and answer complex and abstract questions.
Questions like 'what is knowledge' can be challenging to answer without context or background.
Philosophy is about gaining a grip on difficult questions and exploring potential answers.
Philosophers seek methods to test and validate the answers to their questions.
The transcript discusses the nature of philosophical inquiry and its distinction from scientific inquiry.
Philosophy is characterized by its pursuit of understanding through abstract questioning.
The transcript highlights the iterative process of questioning and explaining in philosophy.
Philosophers are distinguished by their persistence in asking 'why' beyond the typical childhood phase.
The transcript suggests that philosophical questions often lack clear answers and require exploration.
Philosophy involves a continuous search for understanding and meaning through questioning.
Transcripts
philosophers do a lot of different
things one of them is asking questions
the way the children often go through a
phase of asking why questions about
everything when driving their parents to
distraction if they make a serious
effort to answer them and that most
children grow out of that phase sooner
or later but somebody once said that the
the ones who don't other philosophers
that's so asking why questions is it
that's part of philosophy although again
of course not every why question is is a
philosophical one but one thing that's
really notable even with the kind of
conversations that you get between
children and parents that we really
young children and in this phase of
asking why is that if the parents have
make any serious attempt to answer the
questions they're kind of driven in what
you might call a philosophical direction
because the child asks why about some
very ordinary thing and then the parent
gives some kind of explanation but then
the the child straightaway asks why
about the explanation itself and so the
that parent if they're going to go along
with this has to find an explanation for
the explanation and very often that that
drives you in the direction of of
something that is really quite
philosophical because the parents are
trying to find more abstract and in
general things to say in response to
this request for an explanation of an
explanation so that's that's a way in
which quite ordinary lines of
questioning when they're just pressed a
bit further take you into something that
philosophical and another kind of
question that philosophers have
traditionally asked and still do ask
what is questions like you know what is
knowledge what is suffering what is time
these these kind of questions what is
justice and and these are also have this
very abstract and general kind of
character and again I mean not all
questions of of this kind would now be
regarded as philosophical questions mean
for example you know if you if you ask
what is electricity that that's a
question that you should ask out of a
physicist not of a philosopher but a lot
of the ones that I mentioned a questions
which have been asked by by philosophers
for for well over 2,000 yes of course I
mean there's not much point in asking
questions if if you're not going to make
some attempt to answer them so another
thing that philosophers do and Institute
is to try to find ways of answering
these questions because I mean many of
the questions are ones where when you
first hear them you really have no idea
what a good answer would be what it
would look like how you'd find one how
you would test an answer and a question
like what is knowledge is one which I
think would leave most of us just
flummoxed the first time you heard it
with no kind of background and and so a
lot of what philosophy is concerned with
is finding ways of of getting some sort
of grip on these questions finding out
you know what kind of potential answers
we might give and then thinking of ways
in which we can test those answers
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