This particular book is an old favourite, and like many old favourites, might not stand the test of time for some!

A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell — a well-known philosopher in his own right — features a historical investigation of a number of philosophers, peppered with anecdotes and opinions, from the earliest ancient Greeks to Russell’s own contemporaries in the 20th century. He presents each person’s work in the context of its time, and how the era that the particular thinker lived in shaped their ideas. It’s an accessible work for that reason; well set out, not too dry and yet is clearly a work of passion by the author… and yet it is a book written in the 1940s.

As a gift, it’s probably going to be superseded by many of the ‘introduction’ guides to the subject that already exist out there, but I found this a useful reference text when I was first studying philosophy (Byron and Nietzsche are included, but not Freud or Tolstoy, interestingly enough) and still have a copy on my shelf.

Today’s episode is the revision of the topics on fallacies and arguments from the past week — you can support the 365DaysOfPhilosophy podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/kyliesturgess and review previous episodes at www.365daysofphilosophy.com.

If you can help the show continue, head to: https://www.patreon.com/kyliesturgess

Music from Jukedeck — create your own at http://jukedeck.com.

Answers to yesterday’s exercises can be found on the Patreon site here  — for today, here’s a useful online resource that has been applied to a speech.

Rhetological Fallacies (errors and manipulations of rhetoric and logical thinking) by David McCandless is on a site called Information is Beautiful, which uses info-graphics to break down elements of data, such as statistics and lists. While I’ve discovered some debate as to what ‘rhetological’ means (as McCandless puts it, a combination of rhetoric and logical?), what this useful infographic does demonstrate is an attractive layout of a number of logical fallacies, that can be used for revision.

In addition, the site has a breakdown of a speech and demonstrates a number of logical fallacies contained within a document, to show how they can be applied. 

Cardinal O’Brien, the President of the Bishop’s Conference of Scotland — in an article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, put down a number of objections to same sex marriage — there’s about 25 separate fallacies used to make his case. You can find that breakdown here.

For the following inductive arguments, identify whether these are strong or weak:

Welcome to episode 200! Here’s a link to the answers for yesterday’s exercise — and here’s a previous revision episode on arguments.

Today’s exercises: which of the following are valid arguments?

Remember: An argument is valid if and only if there is no logically possible situation where all the premises are true and the conclusion is false at the same time.

Answers tomorrow on patreon.com/kyliesturgess

For the following, identify if there is a fallacy being used (there may not be!) — and which one it is. Answers tomorrow on Patreon.com/kyliesturgess.

Put your answers in the comments!

Born in 1775 in Hampshire, UK, Jane Austen was not known as a popular author during her life, but after her novels — amongst them, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility — gained popularity in the late 1800s, they have continued to be admired, analysed and transformed into many different formats — drama, films and various adaptations worldwide (some even with zombies); even award-winning web-series and card games.

While not a philosopher, her work investigates and questions the role of the individual and society, ethical behaviour, self-control and self-awareness. Living life well and contributing to family and community are just some of the themes explored within her work. As A. C. Bradley wrote, “Like Johnson, [Austen is] a moralist. Her morality [is] not merely embodied in her plots, it is often openly expressed…. Her explicit statements and comments are often well worth pondering.”.

As it’s the 200th year after her death — and she’s recently appeared on a UK banknote in recognition of her work — I’ve collected a number of resources on the author and philosophy; if you find more, let me know!

You can review the earlier entries on the 365 Days of Philosophy site on this link — for the following examples:

(a) Identify the conclusion.

(b) Name the fallacy.

Answers tomorrow on Patreon.com/kyliesturgess.

Out this year, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life is not a book I thought would be particularly engaging (maybe I’m more of a hedonist!) — so it’s great to be pleasantly surprised. Stoicism comes from an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium, where its followers see virtue based on knowledge and hold an indifference to pleasure and pain. While the world is unpredictable and life is short, self-control and focusing on logic and overcoming emotional turmoil allows one to live with restraint, humility and compassion.

Massimo Pigliucci’s book is a journey with one of the famous Stoics, Epictetus, a conversation on the disciplines of desire, action and assent, working through the virtues with use of Ancient Greek and modern accounts of how the philosophical attitudes are relevant and useful. It’s a lively investigation, unpacking the early philosophers’ ideas and in many ways reminded me of the psychological locus of control notion of self-monitoring and awareness, rather than allowing oneself to be manipulated and distressed. The conclusion of the book involves exercises to help you master the Stoic virtues — Speak without Judging and Remind Yourself of the Impermanence of Things, for example.

Like some of the other books I’ve discussed this year, it is tending towards pop philosophy and certainly encourages an interest in studying further — by coincidence, there’s a free stoicism course online this week as well. 

Answers to yesterday’s exercises can be found here — support the show, join the Patreon!

Today’s episode is the revision of the topics on fallacies and arguments from the past week — you can support the 365DaysOfPhilosophy podcast by visiting www.patreon.com/kyliesturgess and review previous episodes at www.365daysofphilosophy.com.

If you can help the show continue, head to: https://www.patreon.com/kyliesturgess

Music from Jukedeck — create your own at http://jukedeck.com.