Logic and Argument: the Methodology of Philosophy

Marianne answers questions from the audience about the four talks in this series.

Marianne answers questions from the audience about the four talks in this series.

In the fourth and final lecture, we examine the notion of ‘objective fact’ on which scientific theories are built; what sort of fact is such that we can build a scientific theory on it?

In the third lecture we examine first the so-called “Gettier Problems” for the traditional account of knowledge, the arguments for saying that possible worlds exist and finally we ask whether there really are unactualised possibles.

In the second lecture we examine first the famous ‘Wilt Chamberlain’ thought experiment that demonstrates a retention between freedom and equality, then arguments for and against two famous moral theories; deontology and utilitarianism.

In this first lecture, using Descartes famous argument for the claim “I think therefore I am’, we examine how to identify and evaluate arguments.