Philosophy

IN LOGIC, the statement that relates two classes or “categories” is called a categorical proposition. The classes in question are denoted respectively by the subject term and the predicate term. In effect, this type of proposition gives a direct assertion of agreement or disagreement between the two terms. The proposition asserts that either all or part of the class denoted by the subject term is included in or excluded from the classes denoted by the predicate term. Here are some examples of categorical statement.

 

1. All dogs are mammals.

2. No acids are bases.                                                                                 

3. Some philosophers are mathematicians.

4. Some Americans are not cheaters.

                                               

         The first example asserts that the whole class of dogs are included in the class of mammals; the second declares that the entire class of acids are excluded from the class of bases; the third states that a part of philosophers are included in the class of mathematicians; and the last one claims that a part of the class of Americans are excluded from the class of cheaters ...

 

 

IN LOGIC, term represents idea or concept. Ideas are the raw materials of knowledge but they cannot be said to be true or false in themselves. Only after we compare or contrast two or more ideas, or express relations, or an agreement or disagreement between them that we can speak of truth or falsity. The mental operation involved here is called judgment.

          Judgment is an act in which the mind pronounces the agreement or disagreement of ideas among themselves. It is an act in which the intellect affirms or denies one idea of another. For instance, our intellect may relate the ideas this dog and Dalmatian and affirm, This dog is a Dalmatian. This is an example of a judgment expressed in a proposition. The proposition therefore is the oral or written expression of the judgment. Often used interchangeably with statement, it as a verbal expression proclaiming a truth or falsity ...

 

DEFINITION IS A STATEMENT that gives the meaning of a term or explains what a term means. As it clarifies the limits by which a word or term should be used and understood, definition helps eliminate confusion and ambiguity in the use of terms, thereby minimizing, if not totally eradicating, misunderstanding and misconception in communication.

          Definition comprises two elements: the definiendum or the term to be defined; and the definiens or the defining term. In the definition, “Mathematics is the study of the relationships among numbers, shapes, and quantities,” Mathematics is the definiendum and the study of the relationships among numbers, shapes, and quantities is the definiens ...

 

 

BASICALLY, THE SUBJECT MATTER in studying Logic is argument. Argument comprises statements or propositions and propositions necessarily contain terms. Hence, studying Logic formally starts with the study of term.

 

One of our basic mental operations is simple apprehension. Our intellect apprehends or abstracts the nature or essential qualities (essence) of the things we perceive. The product of this mental function is called concept. Hence, we have a concept of a dog, for instance, which refers to our intellectual image or grasp of an animal called dog.

            Though some logicians and epistemologists regard concept and idea as synonymous, the two have distinct meanings in the sense that concept is made up of ideas.

            A word is the simplest unit of written or spoken language. It is the fundamental medium of communication. Without words, sentences and statements cannot be constructed. When employed to express an idea or group of ideas (concept), a word or group of words (phrases) is called term. A term is the oral or written representation of an idea or group of ideas (concept). It is also the basic component of a statement ...

 

WEEK 1

I. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

 

II. TOPICS/SUBJECT MATTER:

LESSON 1: ETHICS: AN INTRODUCTION

 

III. READING/S:

          Internet article: “Ethics 101: A primer”

          site: www.OurHappySchool.com (the article can be found by searching its title through the site’s own search engine)

          And (Optional): Professor’s introductory lecture

 

IV. ACTIVITIES: (Professor’s discretion)

V. EVALUATION: (Professor’s discretion) ...

 

          “There was nothing for it but for the government to admit its guilt, some critics say. The government officials accordingly are nothing if not culpable. Nevertheless, some are alarmed, for it’s positively not for nothing that the President, with all of these hubbubs, is apparently doing nothing ...

 

 

EMOTIVISM IS THE THEORY IN ETHICS that states that moral judgments do not state any fact at all but are mere expressions of one’s attitude used to influence people’s attitudes and conduct.

          Nonetheless, ethicist James Rachels in his bookThe Elements of Moral Philosophy (USA:McGraw-Hill College, 3^rd ed., 1999) proved very well that a moral judgment or any kind of value judgment must be supported by good reasons ...

 

... 5. Emotivism differentiates reporting an attitude (e.g. “I like Hitler”) and expressing the same attitude (“Hurrah for Hitler!”).  The former is either true or false unlike the former which just expresses an attitude, but does not even report that someone has it.

6. According to Emotivism, moral language “is notfact-stating language; it is not typically used to convey information.”

7. “Moral language is used, first, as a means of influencing people’s behavior. “You ought not to do that” is treated like a command “Don’t do that!” ...

8. Second, moral language is used “to express (not report) one’s attitude.” Saying “Gautama was a good man” is not like saying “I approve of Gautama,” but it is like saying “Hurrah for Gautama!” ...

 

THE SIMPLEST VERSION of the theory in Ethics named Subjectivism states that when a person says that something is morally good, this means that he approves of that thing, and nothing more. Philosophy professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham James Rachels (1941-2003) simplified the theory this way:

            “X is morally acceptable”   

            “X is right”                                  

            “X is good”                                  

            “X ought to be done”

            These all mean: “I (the speaker)approve of X.” ...

 

 

... 6.  “There is no such thing as objective right or wrong.” (It is a fact that some people are homosexual and some are heterosexual; but it is not a fact that one is good and the other bad.)

 

7. “When someone says that a thing (e.g. homosexuality) is immoral, he is not stating a fact about it but merely saying something about his feelings toward it.”

 

8. “In expressing that an action is evil (e.g. Hitler’s extermination of millions of innocent people), we are not stating a fact about that action; rather we are saying that we have negative feelings toward it.” ...