Reading Philosophy

Russell asks if we can always justify all our beliefs. What happens when we hit our most fundamental beliefs, which may be unjustifiable? What is the nature of self-evident intuitive beliefs? How does it relate to perception, memory and logic? Can self-evident beliefs go wrong? You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

Russell delves deeper into how we can know abstract general principles, and how these universals are related to the rest of our knowledge. Finally, he gives a brief overview of his entire epistemology. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

We use talk and think about abstract general principles, like whiteness or justice, all the time. Russell draws on Plato's Theory of Forms to investigate the metaphysical nature of these abstract called 'universals'. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

We appear to know some general principles, like induction, logic and pure maths, without needing empirical evidence. But how is a priori knowledge possible? Russell critically examines Kant's epistemology, including the synthetic a priori . You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

We all general principles of reasoning, like induction and the law of the excluded middle. But how should we think about those principles, and how do we justify their use? You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

We all believe that the sun will rise tomorrow. But what reason can we give? How can scientists find general laws from the results of particular experiments? This is the problem of induction. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

How can we gain knowledge of things in the mind-external world? Russell lays out his epistemology, distinguishing between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

Idealism is the view that everything that exists is in some sense mental (mind, thought or ideas). Russell argues against idealism, the prevailing metaphysics of his youth. He examines and rejects Berkeley's metaphysics and other arguments for idealism. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/philosophy

If we believe there is a mind-independent external world, what can we say about its nature? How can we move from the private space of our immediate experiences to the public space of science? And what are the limits of that public space? Russell argues that science can help us study relations between things, not the underlying intrinsic natures. You can join future live sessions at ⁠⁠https://disco...

If we can only experience our own sensations, how can we be know that the world contains anything else? In other words, is there matter which is independent of our minds? Or do we live in a dream world? Is our mind actually all alone? Russell argues that philosophy can help us make sense of these questions and suggest a possible way out. You can join future live sessions at ⁠https://discord.gg/phi...

Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy: Appearance and Reality. Brief introduction to Russell's life and work, then chapter one. Do we experience the world as it is? Or is there a difference between how the world appears to us and how it actually is? And why might we think that there is no matter? "The painter wants to know what things seem to be, the practical man and the phil...

Introduction to Descartes' view on the nature of the passions (read: emotions), and their role on morality. Why do we have the emotions we have? How we should we live our lives? You can join live sessions of this and other readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

Introduction to Descartes' view on the nature of body (read: matter) and the physical sciences. If there is an mind-external world, what it is like? What do we know of the fundamental properties of matter? How we should we pursue physical science? You can join live sessions of these readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

Introduction to Descartes' view on the real distinction between mind and body, and his answer to the Interaction Problem. If mind and body are two distinct substances, with fundamentally different properties, how can they interact? How can my will move my arm? How can an injury cause me pain? You can join live sessions of these readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

Overview of Descartes' conception of Mind, proofs of God and the epistemological foundations of his project. How can we got from knowing we exist to knowing anything else? The Maker's Mark and the Causal Adequacy Principle. How does the existence of God help is with knowledge? How can we avoid making mistakes? You can join live sessions of these readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

Overview of Descartes' project and method, as well as his views on mind. What is Descartes' overarching goal? The tree diagram. How does he propose to get there? The Cogito as foundation. What does Descartes think he is? You can join live sessions of these readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

René Descartes - Episode 1 Overview of Descartes' life, works and his criticism of scholasticism. Why is it bad to get up before 10 am? And why does it matter if stones can think? You can join live sessions of these readings on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 10 Do our lives have meaning? If so, what is it? And where does it come from? If not, is that a problem? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . You can join future sessions live on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 9 What is death and how should we think about death? Is it good, bad, or neutral? Does it depend on what happens afterwards, or on our current situation? Should we be scared? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . You can join future sessions live on Disco...

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 8 What is justice? How does it relate to inequality? What kind of inequality is bad? And, what, if anything, should we do about it? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠⁠⁠ . You can join future sessions live on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 7 What does it mean to say that some action is wrong or right? Who gets to decide what is right or wrong? Or morals universal and/or objective? If so, why? If not, why not? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠⁠ . You can join future live sessions on Discord: ht...

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 6 What is Free Will, and do we have it? And what are the consequences if we have it or not? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠ . You can join future live sessions on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 5 How can words, phrases or sentences mean something? Where do sounds or scribbles get their meaning from? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠ . You can join future live sessions on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 4 How should we think of the relation between our bodies and our minds? Are they fundamentally the same, or different? And what does that mean for the kind of universe we live in? From Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge, with commentary. The ⁠full text is available online⁠ . You can join future live sessions on Discord:...

What Does It All Mean? - Episode 3 Thomas Nagel's great introduction to philosophy that requires no prior knowledge. 'Are There Other Minds?' The book was originally published in 1987. The ⁠⁠full text is available online⁠⁠ . This recording contains commentary and discussion. You can join future live sessions on Discord: https://discord.gg/philosophy