Seyed Masoud Hosseini · Overview · Study log · Weekly summaries · Ideas · Search · Transcript · RSS feed

General Philosophy · Lecture 1 of 33 · 5:55

1.1 An Introduction to General Philosophy

Study guide

What this lecture covers

This opening lecture introduces Oxford's General Philosophy course, which covers eight core topics in epistemology (the theory of knowledge) and metaphysics (the nature of things). Millican explains that the point of the course is not just to learn these topics but to learn how philosophy itself is done: the kinds of arguments and considerations philosophers bring to bear on a problem.

He then explains the course's historical approach. Most topics are introduced through readings from the early modern period (17th-18th century), because that is when a scientific worldview began replacing a largely religious one, and many of today's central philosophical problems first took shape. Understanding that history, he argues, is necessary to follow modern discussions that still use labels like 'Cartesian dualism', and it reveals deep interconnections between topics that get lost when they are studied in isolation.

Key ideas

Epistemology: the theory of knowledge, asking what we can know and how we can know it.
Metaphysics: the study of the nature of things.
Historical grounding: seven of the eight course topics are introduced through early modern (17th-18th century) readings.
Interconnection of topics: positions on one philosophical question often commit you to positions on others, which is easiest to see through historical debates between figures.
Avoiding present-day blinkers: looking at past debates can reveal points that are overlooked in current discussions.

Before you watch

No prior philosophy background is assumed; this is the first lecture of the course.
It helps to know that the course syllabus includes: skepticism, knowledge, perception, primary and secondary qualities, induction, free will, mind and body, and personal identity.

Check your understanding

Why does the course introduce most of its topics through 17th- and 18th-century texts rather than purely contemporary discussions?
What distinction does Millican draw between epistemology and metaphysics?
Why might understanding older philosophical debates help you evaluate modern ones?

Vocabulary

philosophy (noun): The study of basic questions about knowledge, existence and reality, using careful reasoning.
This course covers eight core topics in philosophy.
epistemology (noun): The branch of philosophy that studies what knowledge is and how we can know things.
Epistemology asks what we can know and how we can know it.
metaphysics (noun): The branch of philosophy that studies the basic nature of reality and existence.
Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things.
argument (noun): A set of reasons given to support a conclusion.
Philosophers build careful arguments to support their claims.
early modern (period) (adjective): Relating to the historical period roughly from the 1500s to the 1700s.
Most topics are introduced through early modern readings.
scientific worldview (noun): A way of understanding the world based on observation, evidence and reason rather than tradition.
A scientific worldview began replacing a religious one in the early modern period.
religious worldview (noun): A way of understanding the world based mainly on religious belief and authority.
The medieval period was dominated by a religious worldview.
Cartesian dualism (noun): The view, from Descartes, that mind and body are two completely different kinds of substance.
Modern discussions still use the label Cartesian dualism.
interconnection (noun): A close link between two or more things, so that each affects the other.
There is deep interconnection between the course's topics.
skepticism (noun): The philosophical position of doubting whether we can really know certain things.
Skepticism is one of the eight topics covered in the course.
perception (noun): The process of becoming aware of things through the senses.
Perception is one of the topics studied in this course.
primary quality (noun): A property, like shape or size, believed to exist in an object independent of any observer.
Primary and secondary qualities is one of the course topics.
induction (noun): Reasoning from specific observed cases to a general conclusion.
Induction lets us predict the future from past patterns.
free will (noun): The idea that people can choose their actions freely, not fully determined by prior causes.
Free will asks whether our choices are truly our own.
personal identity (noun): The philosophical question of what makes a person the same person over time.
Personal identity is one of the eight course topics.
blinker (noun): Something that limits a person's view or awareness, especially of alternatives.
Studying only present-day debates can create present-day blinkers.
figure (historical) (noun): An important or well-known person from a certain time period.
The course studies debates between major historical figures.
syllabus (noun): An outline of the topics covered in a course.
The syllabus lists eight main topics.
text (reading) (noun): A written work studied as source material.
The course is taught through early modern texts.
commit (to a position) (verb): To be logically bound to accept a certain view because of another view you hold.
Holding one position can commit you to another.
overlook (verb): To fail to notice or consider something.
Modern debates can overlook points raised in older texts.
modern discussion (phrase): Debate or conversation happening in the present day.
Modern discussions still use old philosophical labels.
labeled (as) (adjective): Given a specific name or category.
A position is labeled Cartesian dualism.

From the YouTube description

A series of lectures delivered by Peter Millican to first-year philosophy students at the University of Oxford. The lectures comprise the 8-week General Philosophy course and were delivered in late 2009.

Slides for all his lectures can be found here:
http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/people/peter-millican

1.2 The Birth of Modern Philosophy →