Reading 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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 philosopher want to know what they are; but the philosopher's wish to knowthis is stronger than the practical man's, and is more troubled by knowledge as to the difficulties of answering the question."

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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?

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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