PHL 3305 Lecture 6

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The Revival of Philosophy - Why?

G. K. Chesterton

Difference between Humans and Animals:

• We can perceive and pursue the truth
• "Reflective" existence
• Either you'll have a well-thought-out philosophy, or a bad philosophy cobbled from random peolpe

...

We measure everything in light of something... Have we measured that something?

Approach to Thomism

G. K. Chesterton

Properly functioning human beings will encounter intelligible things and other rational human beings. This is common sense.

• Human knowledge is perspectival (relative)
• All relative positions should make reference to each other to get a fuller sense of reality
  • Modern notions of relativism deny such linkages between perspectives

Obstacle

• Language (e.g., translating the Latin word ens)
• Method
  • Induction vs Deduction... What?