[Lecture Twelve] Founders of Western Philosophy: Thales to Hume
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Course summary: Presented as two complementary twelve-lecture courses—Founders of Western Philosophy: Thales to Hume and Modern Philosophy: Kant to the Present—The History of Philosophy covers the whole of western philosophy from its discovery in Ancient Greece to the twentieth century, including Objectivism. Dr. Peikoff argues that philosophy is the means by which we can understand any human culture and, more broadly, the history and changing course of a civilization. Read more »
In this lecture: This lecture explores the Objectivist answers to three of the main issues raised by the philosophers from Thales to Hume. First, the question of the validity of the evidence of senses is answered. Second, Dr. Peikoff explains how Objectivist epistemology solves the so-called problem of the borderline case introduced by nominalism. Finally, he explains the error of the Cartesian method of doubt.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download below a PDF study guide for the entire course.
| What is the connection between the question of sensory evidence and the question of consciousness? |
| How does the law of identity apply to consciousness? |
| Does the form of perception matter to the objectivity of sense perception? |
| How do varying sense modalities provide the basis of higher conceptual knowledge? |
| How does the Objectivist view differ from naive realism, critical realism, and subjective idealism? |
| Where, metaphysically, does sensory information exist? |
| What role do similarities and differences play in the classification of borderline cases? |
| Explain the role of function in concept formation. |
| When does optionality play a role in conceptual classification? |
| What is the fallacy of the stolen concept? |
| Why does fallibility not necessitate doubt? |
| What role does validation play in overcoming fallibility? |
| Explain the onus of proof principle and its implications. |
| What is an arbitrary assertion? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 2:16:30 | Given your brief statement of meaning, would you regard the concept of God as meaningful or meaningless? |
| 2:17:57 | What is the answer to Berkeley’s argument that it is meaningless to say your experience of something resembles or is just like the real thing? |
| 2:19:11 | Could you explain the relation of the concept “causal primary” to the Objectivist theory of the law of cause and effect? What are causal primaries causes of? |
| 2:20:35 | How is the law of non-contradiction grasped, and what is its relation to the axiomatic concept of identity? |
| 2:22:32 | What is the Objectivist view of the nature of mind? Is it a faculty, an entity, or a process? |
| 2:23:13 | Do clairvoyants and mind-reading exist? |
| 2:32:30 | Is it philosophically necessary for causal primaries to exist? |
| 2:32:53 | What is the Objectivist view on symbolic logic? |
| 2:34:39 | When a person says “it is possible this plane will crash,” can I validly use the onus of proof principle, since it is metaphysically possible that planes crash? How do I answer? |
| 2:39:22 | Can you be certain of a conclusion if you know that knowledge relevant to it exists which you have not examined? |
| 2:40:48 | Is the ultimate standard for new concept formation versus inclusion in a group usefulness to further conceptualization? |
| 2:42:41 | Is there any difference between the statement “this is x’s apparent shape” and “this is x’s shape as it appears to me”? |
| 2:42:58 | If differences in forms of perception are attributed to different quantities of information available to the perceiver, isn’t your assertion that all perceptions are equally valid contradicted? |
| 2:44:40 | On the question of certainty, in a hypothetical case where an actor successfully pulls off an impersonation, can it be said the deceived had knowledge that was contextually certain? |
| 2:47:02 | In what context and in reference to what actions or attributes of specifically human entities can the term subjective be validly used? |
| 2:50:09 | You mentioned that you’re planning two different courses. What are they and approximately when will they be taught? |