Philosophy: The Socratic Method

Origin

Socrates is a legendary philosopher born during the Ancient Greek’s golden era over 2 millennia ago. He is regarded as one of the most intellectual philosophers in recorded history. The strange thing about this wiseman is that he never wrote any of his actual thoughts down. All that we know about him and his beliefs were inscribed by his disciples.

The most notable one being Plato. Socrates was known for his advanced critical thinking skills and often used several method to find such truth. One his wisest methods of obtaining truth values became known as the socratic method.

What is the Socratic Method?

Socrates method of obtaining truth was questioning his students endlessly. With constant questioning he searched for fallacious contradictions to eventually arrive at the foundations of various beliefs. Thus any arguments that contained fallacies were re-examined and any arguments that did not contain fallacies were accepted as truth.

Critical Thinking

The socratic method is not aimed at disproving or intimidating new pupils. Rather it seeks to promote their critical thinking skills. As such the socratic method should be used assertively not aggressively; lest one shies away the respect of his opponent.

Types of Socratic Questions

Could you put that another way?
Can you give me an example?
How do you know?
What would change your mind?
What are you implying by that?
What effect would that have?
What is an alternative?

Who uses the Socratic Method?

Several law schools have took to using the socratic method in their legal lectures. It really does bring out good discussion and habituates these future lawyers into asking questions. The socratic method is also thought to have influenced the early scientific method. The only thing about the socratic method is that it actively seeks to falsify rather than prove any justifications. Almost like a negative hypothesis. In any case I would definitely suggest that my readers apply the socratic method to every aspect of your life. It’s a good way to expand your horizon beyond simply just gathering information.

References

SOCRATIC QUESTIONS Enhancing Your Critical Thinking Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/questions_socratic.html

The Socratic Method. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://www.law.uchicago.edu/prospectives/lifeofthemind/socraticmethod

Socratic Teaching. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/socratic-teaching/606

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The Wondrous Tree of Life

The concept of the tree of life is one that is present in biology, most forms of religion, and even philosophy. It symbolizes interconnection and in evolutionary context; common descent. It is truly amazing how several bodies of knowledge can come up with the same concept even through separation. It does give a lot of credence to the concept itself.


Biology

The tree of life in modern biology is known as the phylogenetic tree. It is used metaphorically to describe the relationship between all modern organisms and strongly implies a term known as common descent. Common descent meaning that all organisms can be traced back to single ancestor. Phylogenetic trees are based on genetic information and there are a few slight limitations. The main problem being that organisms can occur through hybridization which would result in the tree branches, converging into branches. But perhaps the most interesting thing about the phylogenetic tree is it never stops growing.

Organisms who have gone extinct can read dead ends at the end of their branches. However those organisms who survive can continuously grow new branches as long as their lineages survive. If the tree were to ever stop branching off and growing, it would most likely mean either the end of life or the end of evolution. Although both scenarios are unlikely to happen. If you want to see the ongoing diagram of the tree of life you can visit the official website

Theology

The tree of live has existed in many different religious cultures in doctrines. A few prime examples being Christianity, Ancient Egyptian Culture, Ancient Persian Culture, Armenian Culture, Kaballah, Mayan Culture, Mesoamerican Culture, and at least 25 other cultures that we have identified. It should be noted that in all these cultures the tree seems to have very similar properties

1. The tree connects the heavens and the earth
2. One could gain immortality by eating the blessed fruit of the tree
3. One could become fertile by eating the trees fruit
4. Life and Death are enclosed within the tree. 
5. Fruit of the tree has healing properties

For example, in Ancient Egyptian mythology, the first couple known as Isis and Osiris emerged from an acacia tree. This tree was known as the tree of life and was especially known for the fourth property stated above. Another example would be the christian tree of life which was described as bountiful and filled with all manners of fruit. The fruit of the tree was also known to have healing properties and grant the user immortality. Adam and Eve the first humans according to the bible were cast out of the garden before they ate the fruit and thus never gained immortality. 

Or even Norse Mythology which named their tree of life Yggdrasil. Ygdrasil is known as the world tree and its branches reaches to the heavens where the gods reside. And its roots connect the "nine realms." I could go on about countless other stories which seem to have the tree of life concept. It really does make you wonder how much truth there is to this concept.

Conclusion

As you can see there are parallels between the tree of life in biology and theology. Both trees have come to represent life metaphorically. Both are "Immortal" in its own sense. Both are based relate to the interconnection of the world/universe. The best thing that we can learn from this is that truth is not easily attainable by one body of knowledge. Only when we have expanded ourselves to look from multiple perspectives can we actually see the true form of truth. 

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Politics: Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action continues to be a large topic of debate. There have been several court debates on whether it is even constitutional. For those of you who don't know what affirmative action is I have provided an operational definition below

Affirmative Action is the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of certain groups of people because these groups have faced socio-historical discrimination.

In countries like the U.K. it is known as 'positive discrimination', and is generally used in a positive connotation. In the U.S. however affirmative action has a much larger negative reputation. One of the reasons being that in the U.S. it's a legal requirement for certain employers. It's purpose is to prevent discrimination against employees or applicants based on race, sex, national origin, religion, and several other qualities. There are several myths regarding affirmative action

Myth: Affirmative Action Denies Jobs to the Most Qualified

    This is one of the biggest myths I have come across. This simply isn't how the process works. Affirmative action does not require companies to hire people just because they are black or women. Instead the companies look at Qualified minority individuals just as well as they look at qualified majority individuals. If they don't meet a certain quota then companies can just try again next year, and next year, and next year.

    The court only steps in if the jobs are denying jobs to QUALIFIED individuals. In other words the company is not required to choose an unqualified black female over a qualified white male. Furthermore companies are not required to seek out minorities, or even state publicly that is has an affirmative action plan

Myth: Affirmative Action Gives Away Jobs to the Minority

    I've kinda already explained this but I want this to be clear. COMPANIES ARE NOT REQUIRED TO SEEK OUT MINORITIES. It is their responsibility to apply for the job, and they must meet said requirements for the job. They must be qualified.

Myth: Companies Can't Fire Minorities

 
    Another myth that is often perpetuated. This is just completely untrue. This probably stems from misunderstanding of one of the policies of affirmative action. "This means that a company cannot refuse to hire and cannot fire someone based on their race, gender, sexual orientation...." This simply means that a company can't fire someone based SOLELY on the above qualities. It does not imply that people minorities aren't allowed to be fired.


Conclusion

In my opinion affirmative action is still needed. It is just a fact that white males have  much higher socioeconomic advantages based on socio-historical events.. Affirmative Action needs to be redefined b and framework to block out any misinformation. It provides equal opportunities it does not disadvantage anyone.

References 

http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/employment-law-and-human-resources/are-employers-required-to-have-affirmative-action-plans.html#sthash.68nhpsOB.dpuf

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Philosophy: Uncaused Cause/Cosmological argument

One of Thomas Aquinas' five ways. The argument is officially known as the cosmological argument; However in Ancient Greece both Plato and Aristotle were the first to posit them as the Uncaused Cause argument. Like its name, they determined that the universe was created by an "uncaused cause" or "immovable mover." This argument has been subject to debate for centuries by philosophers and even non-philosophers. Perhaps it is the power of this argument which attracts so much attention.

Basic premises

Premise 1 - Everything that exists has a preceding cause

Premise 2 - A chain of events can not be infinite in nature, So eventually you arrive at an original cause

Premise 3 - This cause itself is uncaused

Premise 4 -  Nothing can exist without a cause but God

Conclusion - God must be the first cause

Of course every argument is subject to scrutiny. Even though the basic premises do in essence seem to be logical. They operate on several assumptions. An in depth analysis of each premise can easily reveal how these

Premise 1 - Everything that exists has a preceding cause.

If there is one thing that science, philosophy, and theology can agree upon its this. In fact it is called the Law of Causality/Causation. Everything in the natural world and material universe has a preceding cause. Not many can or even will dispute this.

Premise 2 -  A chain of events can not be infinite in nature. So eventually you arrive at an original cause.

    

Infinity is defined as a number having no limit or end and can't be assigned a quantity. There is no actual proof that infinity exists in reality. Infinity is just a concept we use to give a quantity to something which is too large to visualize. Could you imagine the number 1 followed by 839 zero's? Since infinity does not exist in real life indeed a chain of events can't be infinite, and because it isn't infinite we arrive at the first cause.

Premise 3 - The cause itself is uncaused.

This would seem to be true but it does raise a question. Some would argue: What makes this first cause so special that it is exempt? However this question defeats itself by asking what caused an uncaused cause.

Premise 4 - Nothing can exist without a cause but God.

This is where the argument gets tricky for some critics. One would argue that why is it that a god would have no cause? The common argument in, "Who created god." Well let's look at the properties of God.

Properties

- Supernatural/Immaterial

- Self-Sustaining

- Immortal

- All Powerful

All these properties would suggest that god does not need a cause. If we were to say “who created god.” then it would be logical to assume that God’s god would be god. And his god would be god and so on and so forth. However, this is impossible. How does a being create an omnipotent, immaterial, omniscient being while still being greater than such being. Is this being super-omnipotent? or Super-omniscient? Essentially God is God simply because he has no creator.

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What is Science?

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When we hear the word science, we think of those who are in their laboratories discovering the cure for cancer, or trying to build flying cars. While both of these assumptions are correct, science is much much more than that. Science is a large body of knowledge that observes the natural phenomena of the universe and organizes it into explanations and predictions about the universe.

Science has large ties with philosophy in the fact that both of them rely on rational evidence. However, while philosophy is concerned with questions unanswerable by observation, science intends to use observation to acquire its knowledge. There are four main features about science that everyone should know.

Science is Empirical

     Science operate using what's known as empirical evidence. Which means that all it's evidence is derived through observation and experimentation. 

Science is Largely Inductive

     Induction is the reasoning in which the premises(base of argument) provide evidence for a conclusion, but is not absolute proof. While science uses both inductive and deductive logic, most of it's information is based on induction, and unlike deductive arguments, inductive arguments can have false conclusions. 

Science is Systematic

     Everyone should know about the scientific method. The process by which scientists discover and test existing and previous knowledge. 

Science is Objective

     Objectivity of science is ensured by empirical evidence and observations. 

Indeed science is one of mankind's greatest tools in acquiring new knowledge. The various branches of science has provided us with medicine, technology, chemistry, digital entertainment, among others. Perhaps the greatest thing about science, is that anyone can partake in it, if they pay close enough attention. Science encourages us to ask questions and come up with testable answers. It also teaches us that nothing is absolute and to admit when we are wrong. 

Scientific Method

The scientific method is the backbone of science itself. It is the body of techniques that they use for investigation of natural phenomena. The scientific method validates old and new knowledge based using empirical evidence. It is based on several elements

Question
    You can't really start anything without a purpose. What is the question you are trying to answer?

Observation
    The process by which scientist acquire information through the senses and measurements. Visual and auditory observation as well as measurements of height, volume, mass, weight, size, color and many other forms of gathering info.

Hypothesis
    A proposed explanation for how things work. A hypothesis must be supported by evidence for it to graduate into a scientific theory. Hypotheses without evidence are discarded or reformulated

Prediction
    Logical inferences based on the hypothesis.

Experimentation
    The process by which scientists test out their hypotheses and gather information.

Evaluation
    The results of the data gathered. Does the data support or reject the hypothesis? Peer review by other scientists is a large part of this process. The purpose of peer review being to eliminate any bias.

Scientific Misconceptions

     Myth: Science Proves/Disproves the Existence of God

    Science is the study of the natural world. It does not attempt to prove/disprove the existence of a supernatural deity. Often times you will hear people say that, "The big bang theory disproves God" or "Evolution disproves god." Both are blatantly false. Evolution does not attempt to discern the origins of life, only the diversification of life. That its to say, evolution concerns itself with how life changes to suit it's environment. likewise The big bang theory attempts to explain how the universe came to be, it doesn't disprove the idea of a god or creator. 

Myth: Science Absolutely Proves Ideas

     Science is based on the principle that any idea or explanation it has provided can be easily overturned tomorrow if the evidence warranted it. This is the known as the problem of induction. This is an especially large problem for the scientific branch of physics.

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What is Philosophy?

Image Credit to Dakine Kane from Flickr

A large percentage of population unfortunately doesn't know the true meaning of philosophy. The other day one of my friends asked me to define philosophy because sometimes he got quite confused. Well I'm here to tell you not only the true meaning of philosophy but also its importance.

Philosophy is a field of study that concerns existence and reality. In essence, philosophy can be applied to almost any body of knowledge. Examples being, the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mathematics, and even the philosophy of logic. What makes philosophy so important is it's systematic approach of how it goes about solving a problem. It's premises are founded in rational arguments and relies on logical concepts. Philosophy can be further divided into sub fields, ones which intellectuals use to study the nature of the universe. The sub fields are as followed.

Metaphysics - Is there a god?

    
Metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality. They seek to understand what exists in the world. What are the laws that govern it. Concepts such as existence, time, mind-body problem; all exist within metaphysics.

Logic - What is reason?

    
Logic studies arguments themselves. It aims to seek out the principles of rational though and correct reasoning. Concepts such as logical fallacies, arguments, inferences; all exist within logic.

Epistemology - What is knowledge?

    
Epistemology is the study of knowledge, it is concerned with what we know about the world. Concepts such as truth, belief, skepticism, and rationalism; all exist within epistemology

Ethics - What is moral?

 
Ethics is the study of the best ways that we should conduct ourselves. They concern themselves with what is right and wrong. Concepts such as morality, objectivity, subjectivity; all exist within ethics. 

Role of Philosophy

   
     In simplest terms, philosophy is used to solve problems and conditions that arise from fault reasoning. As such, it encompasses several fields. Such as John Locke who theorized that every man is born with natural rights, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Without his contribution, the independence movement nor any revolution that followed might never have happened.

     His papers rejected the divine right theory, and lead to several political philosophies such as liberalism. In fact, every civilization that has ever had a golden age has a sharp rise in philosophers around that time. A notable example would the Ancient Greeks and the philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Philosophy is truly a driving force, behind the evolution of knowledge.

Philosophical Branches 

• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Literature
• Philosophy of LanguagePhilosophy of History
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Science

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Science: Logical Fallacy; Correlation equals Causation

Example of a positive correlation 

Logical fallacies are rampant in today’s media and politics. How many times have you heard "Study Finds that Coffee Improves Brain Function" or "Cat Owners are Friendlier than Dog Owners." on the news? This is a blatant example of how the media tends to oversimplify things for public perception. Assuming because two things happened simultaneously is not enough evidence to suggest that one caused the other.

What is a Correlational Relationship?

A correlational relationship states that two things coincide with each other. As one increases the other tends to increases. When two variables are moving in the same direction we call it a positive correlation. When two variables are moving in opposite directions we call it a negative correlation. Correlations do not imply that one variable will cause the other.

Moreover, correlational relationships tend to have other variables at play. Such as the correlation with African Americans and the Crime Rate. There are socioeconomic factors, statistical bias factors, racial profiling factors at play that can affect this statement.

Examples

“Studies have shown that intelligent people tend to listen to classical music”

This does not translate to “listening to classic music will make you more intelligent”, and being intelligent does not mean you have to like classical music. Just that a lot of intelligent people just so happen to listen to classical music. It should be noted that a large amount of intelligent people are also born in the wealthy cultures which do tend to favor classical music. Hence we see a third variable at play.

“Rich people tend to be more educated.”

This does not imply you have to be rich to be educated. Only that rich people tend to be more educated mostly because of socioeconomic factors. They can afford several opportunities to benefit the education of their children. Not all rich people are educated, not all poor people are uneducated

“People with larger shoe sizes tend to have better reading ability”

You don’t have to be a size 14 to comprehend what you are reading. In fact you can have a large shoe size and be downright illiterate. This example just shows that there is a third variable at play which we might not know about.

What is a Causal Relationship?

A causal relationship on the hand does mean that one variable will cause the other. An important main difference from correlation relationships that one should remember is that causal relationships are usually a one way street; Because it is a cause and effect relationship.

Examples

“When water is heated high enough, it will eventually boil.”

A rather obvious one. When water is heated its molecules will move faster and its temperature will rise. Eventually with enough heat it will boil.

“School was canceled in several high schools across the state, so less kids went to school.”

Another rather obvious one. 

“As the wind speed increases, the sail boat moves faster.”

The sail boat operates on wind so if the wind speed were to increase it would move faster. This does not imply because a sailboat moves faster the wind MUST have increased speed. This is a perfect example of a causal relationship.

Logical Fallacy

Now we can easily see why correlation equals causation is a fallacy.

Fallacy

Premise 1 - A and B are both variables
Premise 2 - A occurs in correlation with B
Conclusion - Therefore A and B must be causally related

Now that we know what a causal relationship and what a correlational relationship is, we can see that the conclusion is blatantly false. Both A and B have a correlational relationship that can be easily said. But there is not enough evidence to suggest that they are causally related. Correlation can be a hint that two variables may but that’s about it.

References

Causation and Correlation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.nku.edu/~garns/165/ppt9_2.html

An Introduction to Psychology Research Methods. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro_5.htm

An Introduction to Psychology Research Methods. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro_4.htm

STATS: We Check Out the Numbers Behind the News. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.stats.org/faq_vs.htm

Types of Relationships. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/relation.php

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