Chapter 3

Phenomenology

A philosophical approach that attempts to give a direct description of our experience as it is in itself, without taking into account its psychological origins or casual explanations.

Socrates

Ancient Greek philosopher often called "the father of Western philosophy". Socrates created the conceptual framework and methods of inquiry for much of Western thought. His teachings are known to us primarily through the writing of his student, Plato.

The chariot analogy

Plato says, "We will liken the soul to the composite nature of a pair of winged gorses and a charioteer". One horse represents Passion, the other Appetite, and the charioteer who tries to control them is Reason.

David Hume

Scottish philosopher whose skeptical examinations of religion, ethics, and history were to make him a controversial eighteenth century figure. A prolific writer, some of his works were held for publication after his death.

Eliminative materialism

The radical claim that our ordinary, commonsense understanding of the mind is deeply wrong and that some or all of the mental states posited by common-sense do not actually exist.

Materialism

The view that all aspects of the universe are composed of matter and energy and can be explained by physical laws.

Empiricism

The view that sense experience is the primary source of all knowledge and that only a careful attention to sense experience can enable us to understand the world and achieve accurate conclusions.

Dualistic

Twofold. Related to dualism, the view that material substance (physical body) and immaterial substance (mind or soul) are two separate aspects of the self.

Marcel Proust

French intelectual and writer. Satirical and introspective in his work, Proust's central theme involved the affirmation of life. His most ambitious work runs over 3000 pages and includes more than two thousand characters. It is a classic of modern literature.

René Descartes

French philosopher considered the founder of modern philosophy. A mathematician and scientist as well, Descartes was a leader in the seventeenth century scientific revolution. In his major work, Meditations on First Philosophy, he rigorously analyzed the established knowledge of the time.