Doing Philosophy

—Thinking for yourself

Think cleary. Do philosophy.

Introduction

Philosophy  empowers us to question deeply, think clearly, and live wisely—cultivating truth, justice, and meaning while guiding us toward a more authentic and humane life. This course is an invitation to do philosophy through listening, questioning, reasoning, clarifying, dialoguing, and reflecting on life’s fundamental concerns.

Objectives

The objectives of this course are to help students:

1. Frame philosophical questions clearly and precisely.
2. Recognize and construct sound arguments.
3. Identify and avoid common fallacies in reasoning.
4. Engage in respectful dialogue and philosophical discussion.
5. Apply philosophical reflection to issues of meaning, justice, freedom, and truth.
6. Connect historical and contemporary philosophical ideas to everyday life.
7. Enjoy doing philosophy.

This course is part of the Applied Wisdom curriculum and of the Clear Thinking curriculum.

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy empowers us to question deeply, think clearly, and live wisely—cultivating truth, justice, and meaning while guiding us toward a more authentic and humane life.

Philosophy is what happens when we begin to think for ourselves.

Philosophy comes alive when we do philosophy.  This course encourages us to do philosophy, think for ourselves, and dialogue with others about what really matters.

What is “Doing Philosophy?”

Doing philosophy is the active practice of listening, questioning, reasoning, clarifying, dialoguing, and reflecting on life’s most fundamental issues, with the aim of seeking truth and living wisely.

Why do philosophy?

People do philosophy because it helps us think clearly, live wisely, engage deeply with others, and shape a better world.

Philosophy matters because it helps us live more wisely and authentically. By asking deep questions, clarifying concepts, and testing reasons, we learn to separate truth from illusion and examine our own lives. It cultivates intellectual humility and moral courage, enabling us to confront life’s hardest questions—about meaning, justice, freedom, and death—without fear or evasion. Philosophy also strengthens our ability to dialogue with others and to challenge unjust systems with clarity and vision. In short, we do philosophy because it empowers us to think clearly, choose well, and become more fully human.

By doing philosophy, we gain skills in five valuable practices: questioning, reasoning, clarifying, dialoguing, and reflecting.

Assignment

Do philosophy.

Logic Forms the Foundation

Logic forms the foundation of philosophy because it establishes the standards of valid reasoning. From Aristotle’s syllogisms to modern symbolic logic, philosophers have sought ways to distinguish good arguments from bad ones, valid inferences from fallacies. A claim is not justified because it is loudly proclaimed or widely believed; it is justified because it follows from sound reasoning grounded in evidence. Logic provides the tools to test whether conclusions truly follow from premises, and thus whether beliefs are worthy of acceptance.

Assignment

• Complete the courses in the Wikiversity Clear Thinking curriculum.
• Think clearly.

Questions Keep Us Thinking

Fundamental questions of philosophy include “What ought we do?”, “Who am I?”, and “Am I worthy?”

Below are collections of other important questions to explore by doing philosophy.

• Exploring existential concerns
• Exploring Moral Issues.
• Socratic Method Prompts.
• Philosophy Seminar Questions.
• A wisdom workout.
• Unsolved Problems in Philosophy

Assignment

• Complete the Wikiversity course Practicing Dialogue.
• Practice dialogue.
• Complete the Wikiversity course Socratic Methods.
• Practice Socratic methods

Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

Philosophy has a history—and we join an ancient conversation when we do philosophy.

Because philosophy is an ancient pursuit, many questions have been explored, and many ideas have been examined and eventually dismissed, refined, or developed. Here are several starting points for exploring various knowledge bases.

• The history of philosophy
• Lists of philosophers; the great thinkers
• Lists of philosophies
• The paper What Do Philosophers Believe? surveys the beliefs of a large sample of practicing philosophers.
• The resources identified in the section below provide more information.

Contemporary Forums

You can do philosophy wherever you find someone willing to practice dialogue with you. Choose big talk over small talk and seek out one of the forums listed here:

• Widom Playgrounds
• The PhilosophyGym @ Grokkist

• World café
  • FlourishCafé™
• Braver Angels

Apply Philosophy to Life

Doing philosophy can become a fulfilling way of living. Apply philosophy to personal ethics, civic responsibility, and existential concerns.

Philosophy is never finished—it is a lifelong practice. Use skills developed by doing philosophy to engage in contemporary dialogues such as AI, climate ethics, and role of democracy.

Assignment

• Do philosophy.
• Seek real good
• Live wisely

Resources

These resources offer treatments of various philosophical issues at different levels. Studying them can help us live more wisely.

• This Beginner’s Philosophy Glossary balances clarity with depth to make it useful to novice philosophy students.
• This Philosophy Quick Reference is designed for learners who already know the basics and need a sharper tool for study, dialogue, or essay-writing
• This list of Prominent Philosophers and Their Contributions is a broad survey of prominent and influential philosophers across eras, with short descriptions of their notable ideas and contributions.
• Browse this list of philosophy textbooks to find titles that interest you.
• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users.
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers.
• 1000-Word Philosophy is an online philosophy anthology that publishes introductory 1000-word (or less) essays on philosophical topics.
• RationalWiki is an online wiki which is written from a scientific skeptic, secular, and progressive perspective. Its stated goals are to “analyze and refute pseudoscience and the anti-science movement, document crank ideas, explore conspiracy theories, authoritarianism, and fundamentalism, and analyze how these subjects are handled in the media.”
• PhilPapers is an interactive academic database of journal articles in philosophy.
• PhilPeople is an online directory of philosophers, a social network for philosophers, and a tool for keeping up with the philosophical profession.
• A philosophy curriculum is emerging on Wikiversity. You may wish to help develop those courses.

Recommended Reading

Students who are interested in learning more about doing philosophy may wish to read these books.

• Michalos, Alex C. (November 1, 1969). Principles of Logic. Prentice Hall. pp. 433. ISBN 978-0137094028. 
• Copi, Irving M.; Cohen, Carl (June 20, 2001). Introduction to Logic. Prentice Hall. pp. 647. ISBN 978-0130337351. 
• Weston, Anthony (November 14, 2008). Rulebook for Arguments. Hackett Publishing Co, Inc. pp. 104. ISBN 978-0872209541. 
• Van Cleave, Matthew J.. Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking. BCcampus OpenEd. pp. 242. 
• Formal Logic, Written by volunteers and editors at Wikibooks
• *Duke, Annie. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts. Portfolio. pp. 288. ISBN 978-0735216372. 
• Lawhead, William F. (January 1, 2018). The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach. Mc Graw Hill Education. ISBN 978-1260091571.  (Earlier editions are available on-line)
• Stewart, David; Blocker, H. (February 16, 2012). Fundamentals of Philosophy. Pearson. pp. 552. ISBN 978-0205242993. (Earlier editions are available on-line)

I have not yet read the following books, but they seem interesting and relevant. They are listed here to invite further research.

• Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault, by Pierre Hadot ISBN 978-0631180333