What is Philosophy? And can there be just one answer?

1. J e a n n a N i k o l o v - R a m i r e z . M E i : C o g S c i 2 0 1 5
S u p e r v i s o r : A . B a t t h y a n y. A p r i l 2 0 1 5
What Is PhilosopHy?
Paul Sietsema, Chinese philosophy painting, 2012. © Paul
Sietsema. Photo: Ron Amstutz, courtesy of the artist and Matthew
Marks Gallery, New York.

2. I know that I don’t know
what Philosophy is.
2

3. 3

4. http://www.artnau.com/2015/03/ei-kaneko/
Doesn’t mean I can’t Try.
An Approach
4

5. IT’s
5

6. Negotiating our (common) world?
• philein - to love
• sophia - wisdom
• It is “thinking about the world and making sense of it”
• It is Search for “Erkenntnis” – knowledge and enlightenment –
recognizing the essence and being of things.
• It starts with asking questions and inquiring about terms used,
precision of own and other’s thoughts.
6

7. • Philosophy means, to search and establish general opinions by
defining and analyzing terms of general concepts and using logic.
• “..mit Hilfe der Begriffsanalyse nach der Bedeutungvon
allgemeinen Begriffen und mit Hilfe der Logik nach der
Begründung von allgemeinen Meinungen zu suchen.
Pfister, J. (2006). Philosophie. Ein Lehrbuch, Stuttgart.
7
Systematic Search for
General opinions and concepts?

8. It’s probably also..
• ..what you do when you have eaten, drank, have slept and have had
sex.
(Federico Marroni, 2015,
contemporary philosopher misquoting Aristotle)
8

9. C.-D. Friedrich, The Wanderer above the Mists
The Nantucket School of Philosophy 1887
9
What does Philosophy look like?
Edward Hopper,
Excursion into
philosophy
Rodin, The Thinker
Brueghel, Tower of Babel
Raphael, School of Athens
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates

10. Which one is true: one or the other?
The
Death
of
Socrates,
Jacque
Louis
David’
Is there one Answer?
http://vi.sualize.us/not_the_one_by_jen_mann_picture_LqRC.html
10
Are there two?
Which one is true:
one or the other?
Tertium non datur

11. hAp://www.artnau.com/2015/03/mike-­‐dargas/
11

12. Why not one AND the other?
hAp://www.artnau.com/2015/03/mike-­‐dargas/
12

13. Why not one AND the other?
hAp://www.artnau.com/2015/03/mike-­‐dargas/
13
Anti-Realism

14. 14
Why not A Blissful Acceptance Of and
Coexistence with AMBIGUITY and Contradiction?

15. 15
THANK YOU!
Questions?
Found on thejealouscurator.com, amy joy watson
Jeanna.nikolov@gmail.com