Theme 1: Theory of knowledge and theory of science (Post seminar)
For this seminar I red the two texts
written by Plato and Kant. The texts were very complex and hard to
grasp at first. I used a Youtube audio book version to casually
listen to the Theaetetus dialogue before reading the whole thing. One
thing I got better on for sure this week was my reading
comprehension. I also learnt a lot on how philosophers think and how
they argue about a concept. In addition to the texts I listen to this
video about some of the concepts that Plato discussed.1
What was most interesting for me this week was the fact that you can
discuss something so thoroughly and still do not come to a complete
conclusion. This made me realise that there are a lot of things about
the world that I don't really understand, even if I at first believe
myself to understand them. I realize most things can be criticized
and nothing can really be taken for granted.
For the seminar I prepared by
reflecting on the two texts (see previous blog posts). I tried to
reflect about some of the most important concepts and have my own
thoughts on the concepts and put them into some easy to understand
perspective. I also prepared a question for the seminar, a little bit
outside of the context of the two text. The texts displayed a very
characteristic way of thinking and reasoning, and I was wondering if
this philosophical way of thinking was useful for solving any “real
world” problem like, how can this way of thinking help me make a
better smartphone, or a faster computer? Unfortunately there was no
answer to be found at the time.
On the seminar it was mostly the
seminar leader discussing interesting concepts like if infants can
feel hunger and what color is to someone who has no previous
experience with colors (colorblind).
1(Theaetetus
on knowledge, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uzLRA9NFDM)
Hi Martin! After the first week, I started to think about how I can use more philosophical thinking to get a broader understanding of things in my everyday life just like you did. Have you found an "answer" to your question yet, or have any new thoughts about it arisen after you wrote this reflection?
SvaraRaderaHello Anna and thank you for the comment!
SvaraRaderaWell i sometimes think about different philosophical topics, the question was if philosophy can actually help me solve any real world problems. I do not believe that you can actually use philosophy straight up to solve a real scientific or technological problem.
However i do believe that philosophy can help you to formulate opinions and ways of thinking. For example the philosophy on what is right, what is wrong, what is just, unfair, sexistic, racistic etc can help you get an honest and knowledgable opinion about different matters. Having a good understanding on these kinds of philosophies might shape the way we think and therefore indirectly shape the things we do (and in what way we interpret and solve problems).