Write a research paper outlining the five primary tenets of philosophy.

Write a research paper outlining the five primary tenets of philosophy.Submit a reflection (numbered/lettered, 1-2 sentences per prompt, in PDF format) on the following:
1a. Give 3 examples of when someone should remain constant in their beliefs in the face of change and challenge.
ex. 1a. A child at a daycare should continue to believe that their trustworthy caregiver will pick them up even if they are late.
1b. Give 3 examples of when when someone should change their beliefs in the face of change and challenge:
ex. 2a. A child at a daycare should become skeptical that their caregiver will pick them up if they are perpetually late.
1c. Which is the better use of philosophy? Explain why in detail.
a. Developing better/stronger reasons for one’s existing convictions in order to remain the same (i.e. constant in the face of change and challenge).
b. Critiquing the reasons behind one’s existing convictions in order to change (i.e. adapting and growing beyond the same comfortable beliefs of one’s past.
2. Write a sentence describing something – the color of your shirt, the weather, a news headline, whatever. Below this, write five lines: 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e. Then select one of the following question prompts and answer it in a full sentence as #2a. Then apply that same question to your #2a answer, and write this in #2b. Continue applying the same question to the previous question until you have 5 responses. Your final response (#2e) will be much more philosophical in nature than your first response (#1).
Metaphysics: What is this really?
Epistemology: How do I know if this is true?
Axiology: Why should (or shouldn’t) I value this?
Example: Youth soccer season begins today.
a. (How do I know if that is true?) The coach said so in an email from their official account.
b. (How do I know if that [#2a] is true?) The coach was correct about these kinds of details last season.
c. (How do I know if that [#2b] is true?) People who have been correct in the past will likely be correct in the future.
d. (How do I know if that [#2c] is true?) I’ve noticed that general pattern throughout my past experience with people.
e. (How do I know if that [#2d] is true?) My memory (of my past observations) is accurate.

A Passion for Wisdom: A Very Brief History of Philosophy

Robert C. Solomon & Kathleen M. Higgins

New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1997
pp. 4-8

Philosophy has no single beginning, but it would be similarly naïve to assume that philosophical thinking miraculously erupted spontaneously in various spots around the world. There were caravans across Asia and extensive trade around the Mediterranean, up and down the Nile, and throughout what we now called the Middle East. The early Hebrews were nomads. India was a crossroads for many different cultures, and Egypt was the source of ideas that later became the basis for Greek philosophy. There were great civilizations South of the Mediterranean as well, not only in Egypt, but in Nubia (now Ethiopia), and further up the Nile. These cultures had sophisticated systems of astronomy, advanced mathematics, complex and thoughtful views of the nature of the soul, and obsession with the question of life after death. Many of the leading ideas of Greek philosophy, including the interest in geometry and the concept of the soul, were imported more or less directly from elsewhere. Indeed, it might be accurate to see the great miracle of ancient Greece not as a remarkable beginning, but as a culmination, the climax of a long story – the beginnings of which we no longer remember.

[Hinduism]

Perhaps the oldest recorded philosophy comes from India. What we call Hinduism dates back thousands of years. Hinduism not only has a fabulous pantheon of gods and goddesses, but a rich legacy of sages, speculation, and deep insights into the way of the world. The ancient text called the Vedas date back to 1400 BCE, and the Upanishads, which followed up upon and commented on the Vedas (and are called Vedanta or commentary) date from 800 BCE… For several centuries, Indian philosophers had defended a conception of absolute reality, or Brahman, which some insisted was utterly independent of and unknown to ordinary human experience.

[Confucianism]

In the sixth century BCE, China was already a highly advanced political culture. But it was also a society in turmoil. Accordingly, Confucius (Kong Fuzi, 600-500 BCE) developed a philosophy that was concerned almost entirely with social and political issues. He talked about harmonious relationships, leadership and statesmanship, getting along with and inspiring others, self-examination and self-transformation, and cultivating personal virtue and avoiding vice. The central aim of Confucianism was to define and cultivate the Way (Tao) to a harmonious society. It is no coincidence that Confucius should have adopted such an ambition during a period of political appeal in China, which is still viewed in Chinese history as the darkest of times. Unlike his contemporary the Buddha, Confucius had no intention of founding a religion, nor did he aim to overwhelm his countrymen with abstract philosophical brilliance or prophecy. After his death, however, he was admired, and even deified by whole societies and Confucianism – often along with Buddhism – is now the religion of one third of the world.

[Taoism]

It was also in sixth century China, that a second sage (or possibly a number of sages) called Lao Tzu developed a very different version of the Way (Tao) to peace and enlightenment. (The Greek word dike, often translated as “justice,” originally meant “the way” as well). Unlike his contemporary Confucius, Lao Tzu attributed great importance to nature and correspondingly less to human society. Confucius thought certain passions [were] unnatural, for example, which essentially meant that they should play no part in the proper life of a gentleman. Lao Tzu, by contrast, had much more faith in nature, and much more tolerance for the passions of uneducated, uncultivated men. For Confucius, the way to the good life is to follow the traditions of honor and respect set down by one’s ancestors. For Lao Tzu, the Way is more mysterious. It cannot be spoken. It cannot be spelled out. It cannot be explained in a recipe or guidebook or a philosophy. According to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, “The Tao that can be followed is not the true Bao; the name that can be named is not the true name.” But that does not mean that one cannot find and try to live according to it, and Taoist teachings are intended to guide us on our way.

Between them, Confucius and Lao Tzu defined Chinese philosophy. They agreed on their overall emphasis on harmony as the ideal state of both society and the individual, and they insisted on an all encompassing or holistic conception of human life that emphasizes a person’s place in a larger context. For both Confucianism and Taoism, the development of personal character is the main goal in life, but the personal is not to be defined in individualistic terms. For the Confucian, the personal is the social. For the Taoist, the personal is the relation to nature. Whatever their disagreements about the relative importance of nature and society, Chinese thinkers were in considerable agreement on the necessity of harmony in human life, and a larger sense of the “person” than the mere individual.

It is worth noting that China also had a technological tradition that goes back further than western technology. The Chinese invented gunpowder noodles and eyeglasses, for example, centuries before the West did. China has always taken a pragmatic, practical view of science, as opposed to the quest for scientific knowledge for its own sake. Confucian philosophy, in particular, esteems scientific theory far less than social harmony. The remarkable history of technology and Asia has little to do with a much idealized “search for truth.” For all of its emphasis on nature, Taoism has virtually nothing to do with science, and Buddhism sees not only science, but the very idea of progress in the knowledge of nature as just another aspect of humanity’s great illusion. These views are worth keeping in mind as we move, finally, to the philosophy of the ancient Greeks.

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