LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
EXTENSION SECTION I
Course Code: 1011
BY:
1. Abiy Paulos Rike ID: 98973/13
2. Aschalew Shibru ID: 47072/13
3. Birhan Mengiste ID: 22626/13
4. Nasse Solomon ID: 85985/13
5. Seblewongel Alemu ID: 98353/20
6. Yordanos Kassahun ID: 76688/14
April, 2023
1. It is said that ‘‘seeking wisdom” is one of the various essences of philosophy.
Explain the wisdom that philosophers seek.
Philosophers seek wisdom in many fields, but the pursuit of wisdom in philosophy is
essentially about gaining a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts and
issues surrounding human experience. Some of the questions that philosophers seek
answers to are:
What is the nature of reality?
What is the meaning and purpose of life?
What Is the Nature of Knowledge and Truth? Number
What is the nature of morality and ethical behavior?
What is the role of art and beauty in human life?
What is the best form of government and society?
Philosophers strive to provide clear and coherent answers to these questions through
careful reasoning, rigorous analysis, and a commitment to evidence-based research.
They also attempt to develop a broader view of the nature of the world and the human
condition, often through careful reflection on the historical and cultural contexts in
which these questions arise. Ultimately, the pursuit of wisdom in philosophy is the
pursuit of a deeper understanding of ourselves, our place in the world, and the nature
of reality itself.
Seeking Wisdom in Plato and Aristotle
While Plato and Aristotle have differing views about major philosophical issues, their
core philosophies about the good, especially as it applies to the purpose of human life
are extremely similar. Both Plato and Aristotle feel that seeking wisdom is the
ultimate good in human life. Plato expresses his version of “seeking the good” in the
Allegory of the Cave: men think that their existence consists of watching a
shadow-play, an existence in which men enjoy but do not understand, is marvelous.
When one of the men, who we can interpret to be Plato himself, breaks free from his
shackles and sees the grandeur of the outside world, he suddenly realizes how hollow
his previous existence was; he has found true wisdom and all of the aspects of his
previous existence in the cave have no meaning because now he has understanding.
When he goes back into the cave to explain what he has found, he is ridiculed because
the others cannot grasp the higher good of which he speaks, that is, seeking wisdom
and understanding instead of just entertainment. For Plato, the purpose of human life
is to break free of our chains, step out into the light of wisdom and seek higher truth,
the truth that lies in the philosophy of forms. Doing so shows us the grandeur of the
universe and makes us happy. In other words, Plato thinks that we should be good
because it will enrich our existence, lead to enlightenment, and allow us to try and
help others catch the same vision. Much like Plato, Aristotle sees seeking a higher
truth as the purpose of human existence. In the Ethics, he explains that men’s purpose
in life is to seek happiness through finding and developing virtue as defined by the
Golden Mean. Aristotle’s philosophy is based on functionality, and he argues that
when a thing fulfills its intended purpose, it reaches its maximum utility and
accomplishes the ultimate “good” for itself. Aristotle says that man’s purpose in life
is to be happy, and then clarifies that happiness is not pleasure but rather comes as a
person lives a virtuous life. For Aristotle, the ultimate wisdom that can be found in life
is by developing virtues within one’s self. He then defines what virtue is by explaining
the concept of the “golden mean”. Aristotle explains that virtue is not about going to
zealous extremes, but is rather to be found in balance between the two extremes. I will
use the virtue of courage as an example: Aristotle says that the virtue of courage is a
balance between boldness and cowardice. A warrior who truly possesses virtue must
be bold to the point that he will stand and fight in the face of fear, but not so bold that
he decides to kill innocents or fight dishonorably. He must also know when to retreat
while not going too far toward the extreme of letting fear control him. Virtue is found
in balancing both extremes, and the ultimate “good man” is one who has found that
balance. In short, Aristotle’s philosophy argues that man should be “good” and seek
for virtue because that is what will make him truly happy.
They diverge from one another when they talk about the basis for making moral
judgments. Plato feels, as he explains in the republic, that the layman does not have
the ability to make wise, moral judgments. Instead, Plato prescribes a society in which
a philosopher is king and makes wise, moral decisions for the entire populous. For
Plato, the philosopher-king is an absolute dictator because normal men cannot be
trusted enough to make their own decisions. In Plato’s system, “we” cannot make
moral decisions, only the philosophers can. On the other hand, Aristotle believes that
men can be taught to be good, or at least influenced by philosophers and politicians to
do good. In Aristotle’s system, a group of wise men rule and persuade others to agree
with them as they make wise decisions for the populous. Aristotle’s system is not
quite so “radical” as to be democratic, but it does provide people with more ability to
choose, argue for what they think is best, and learn as they listen to the wiser
philosophers and politicians. Thus, in Aristotle’s system, people will make decisions
based on who they feel is more persuasive in their use of logic and rhetoric.
2. Discuss the views of Skepticism
Skepticism is the rejection of knowledge that is not well supported by evidence. In its
extreme form, this can include the denial that knowledge exists at all based on a
questioning of reality itself. The following are common types of skepticism.
Philosophical Skepticism
A broad range of theories and traditions that question the nature of knowledge. This
can take the form of a refusal to be dogmatic about anything with the recognition that
evidence always involves some level of uncertainty and possibility of
misinterpretation. Some forms of philosophical skepticism amount to a complete
rejection of the very idea that anything can be known.
Rational Skepticism
The use of skepticism to seek knowledge that is reasonably likely to be true. This can
be described as an open-minded process of using skepticism to validate ideas. For
example, a student who is unafraid to challenge the foundational assumptions of a
domain but who often finds that professors and other students are able to convince
them of such ideas with debate.
Professional Skepticism
The purposeful adoption of a skeptical viewpoint in order to achieve a task. For
example, a financial auditor who tries to remain skeptical in order to perform required
due diligence.
Scientific Skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the questioning of claims that can not be demonstrated with
empirical evidence using formal methods, particularly the scientific method.
Biased Skepticism
A tendency to be biased in your skepticism such that you may be irrationally skeptical
about one thing but easily accept other things. For example, an individual who easily
accepts anything they perceive as hard science as true and strongly rejects ideas from
domains they perceive as unscientific such as social sciences. Both cases can occur
without reviewing any actual evidence.
Motivated Skepticism
Using skepticism as an excuse to reject ideas you find inconvenient, unappealing or
unintuitive. This can include rejection of ideas that are well accepted and supported by
evidence with improbable theories or arguments borrowed from philosophical
skepticism.
Strategic Skepticism
Using skeptical arguments to generate fear, uncertainty and doubt in order to achieve
some goal. For example, a young politician who asks an older opponent to prove that
they are healthy in order to sow doubts around the candidate's health and create fears
they may have health issues in office.
Pessimism
The view that positive hopes, predictions and expectations are mostly irrational
thoughts driven by motivated thinking. This may be based on the disposition that life
is fundamentally risky, disappointing or absurd such that plans for the future are
likely to fail. As such, pessimism can be described as skepticism of future plans with a
bias towards overestimating risk and underestimating potential.
Cynicism
Cynicism is a tendency to believe the worst about people, things and plans unless you
receive hard evidence that this is not the case. This may be described as skepticism of
the fundamental decency and goodness of things. For example, assuming that a new
television show will be terrible by default until you receive strong evidence to change
your mind.
3. Discuss briefly the major branches of Ethics
There are four branches of Ethics:
1. Descriptive Ethics
Descriptive Ethics is the study of people’s beliefs about morality. It involves empirical
investigation. It gives us a general pattern or a way of life of people in different types
of communities. Descriptive Ethics studies the history and evolution of Ethics. It gives
a record of certain taboos, customs or conventions. For example, it states the history
of various institutions like family or marriage. Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral
consciousness is an example of Descriptive Ethics.
Descriptive Ethics investigates people’s ethical ideals or what actions are condemned
in a society. It aims to find out people’s beliefs about values, which actions are right
and wrong and which characteristics of a moral agent are virtuous. Descriptive Ethics
seeks the explanation of actual choices made by moral agents in practice. It tries to
examine the ethical codes applied by various groups. Descriptive Ethics is a value-free
approach to ethics. It is an empirical investigation of people’s moral beliefs.
2. Normative Ethics
Normative Ethics is also called prescriptive ethics. It is the study of ethical theories
that prescribe how people ought to act. It examines standards for the rightness and
wrongness of actions. Normative Ethics suggests punishment when a person deviates
from the path of ideals. It provides justification for punishing a person who disturbs
social and moral order. It tries to establish certain theories on the guidelines of some
norms. Normative Ethics offer the moral principles to use to resolve difficult moral
decisions.
Aristotle’s virtue ethics, Kant’s deontological ethics, Mill’s Consequentialism
(Utilitarianism) and the Bhagwad Gita’s Nishkam Karmayoga are the theories in
Normative Ethics.
3. Meta Ethics
Meta Ethics is the study of what ethical terms and theories actually refer to. It
determines the validity of theories advanced in Normative Ethics. We use certain
moral concepts such as right, wrong, good or bad to evaluate human actions. These
moral concepts are used as tools in passing moral judgments. Meta – Ethics analyzes
ethical concepts. It studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of
moral facts. Meta-Ethics seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties and
evaluations.
Meta Ethics deals with the questions such as ‘What is the meaning o f moral terms or
judgments?’, ‘What is the nature of moral judgments?’, ‘How may moral judgments
be supported or defended?’
4. Applied Ethics
In recent years the branch of Applied Ethics has developed. It deals with the problems
confronted in our life. It attempts to apply ethical theory to real life situations. It helps
to use knowledge of moral principles to present dilemmas. There are certain issues
which arise due to the newly adopted lifestyle. Applied Ethics deals with questions
such as, “Is getting an abortion immoral?” “Is euthanasia immoral?” “Is affirmative
action right or wrong?” “What are human rights, and how do we determine them?”
“Do animals have rights as well?” and “Do individuals have the right of self-
determination?”
Applied Ethics guides the individuals facing conflicting situations. Some critical moral
issues arise due to the insensible and irresponsible attitude of human beings without
any concern to other children of Mother Nature. Applied Ethics provides guidance in
determining public policy and laws. Applied Ethics develops into Environmental
Ethics, Media Ethics, Business Ethics, Ethics of Legal Profession and Ethics of Care.
The ethical questions never have answers in ‘yes’/ ‘no’ or ‘right’/’wrong’ format.
Ethical issues are multifaceted. Their satisfactory solutions are possible through
consideration of different areas of life.
4. Discuss at least three importance of studying Philosophy
Why Study Philosophy?
“It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.” - Rene Descartes
Here’s what some of our students have said about why they study philosophy:
● “It’s important to learn about genetics, but it is more important to learn to
think. Philosophy makes me think!”
● “Philosophy courses give you more than just knowledge of the world; they give
you a deep understanding of how the world works, even how it should work.”
● “Majoring in philosophy makes me a better thinker and a more well-rounded
person.”
● “My philosophy senior thesis was not only the best part of my Lehigh
experience, but it has helped me tremendously throughout law school and my
life.”
● “Studying philosophy, I learned to analyze closely and critically, to question
thoroughly, and to write and think rigorously. My philosophy skills have made
me more valuable to prospective employers and graduate schools.”
Top Five Reasons to Study Philosophy
1. Fascinating subject matter
2. Wide variety of interesting classes taught by outstanding professors
3. Skill development
4. Great preparation for any career or graduate study
5. Personal development
1. Fascinating subject matter
Philosophy seeks not simply knowledge, but deep understanding and wisdom.
Philosophy is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand themselves,
the world they live in, and the relations to the world and each other. Those who study
philosophy are engaged in asking, answering, evaluating, and reasoning about some
of life’s most basic, meaningful, and difficult questions, such as:
● What is it to be a human?
● What is the human mind?
● Are we responsible for what we do, or are we just helpless victims of our genes,
environment, and upbringing?
● Is there a God?
● What is the best sort of life to live?
● What is happiness? Can we hope to attain it? Is it what matters most in life? Can
bad people be truly happy?
● How should we balance our own desires, needs, and rights against those of
others individuals? against those of future generations? animals?
● What kind of person is it good to be?
● What sorts of political institutions are best?
● What do we know and how do we know it?
● What is the truth? Is anything true? How can we tell?
● What is art? What is beauty? Does art have to be beautiful to be good?
● Can we justify our judgments about the merits of a film, a book, a painting, a
poem?
● What is it for one thing to cause another thing to happen?
● Is there a scientific method?
● How do words come to have meaning?
● Do mathematical objects exist?
● What is time? Is time really real?
In studying philosophy, you’ll have a chance to grapple with these questions yourself
and to think about what others—some of the greatest philosophers of the past and
present, as well as your fellow students—think about them.
2. A wide variety of interesting courses taught by outstanding professors.
There are philosophy courses that address moral issues, others that focus on the
nature of science and technology, many that explore some of the most important
philosophical works written across the history of Western civilization and others that
introduce great thinkers of Eastern philosophy, courses for those who are interested
in mathematics and logic or politics and societies or religion or knowledge or the
human mind or the nature of reality.
Some of the courses are broad survey courses, others are in-depth studies of
particular issues, texts, or philosophers. Most philosophy classes above the 0-level
are small and involve lots of discussion and writing.
Philosophy professors are dedicated teachers who are experts in their fields and who
are genuinely interested in helping students to develop their understanding and skills.
Our professors have won teaching awards and consistently earn high ratings on
student evaluations.
3. Skill development
Far from being an abstract and useless field, philosophy is among the most practical
courses of study. Taking philosophy courses imparts skills that will be useful not only
in any career but also in your personal life. The study of philosophy will enable you to
think carefully, critically, and with clarity, take a logical approach to addressing
challenging questions and examining hard issues, reason well and evaluate the
reasoning of others, discuss sensibly, and write effectively.
In philosophy courses you can expect to
● enhance your problem-solving capacities, your ability to organize ideas and
issues, and your ability to distinguish what is essential from what is not;
● become better able to look at things from a variety of perspectives, to
understand different viewpoints, and to discover common ground among
them;
● learn how to critically examine your own views as well as those of others;
● develop your ability to understand and explain difficult material;
● learn how to distinguish good reasoning from attempts to manipulate
opinions, to construct sound complex arguments, and to evaluate others’
reasoning;
● develop good interpretive, comparative, argumentative, analytical, and
descriptive writing skills that will allow you to communicate your ideas in a
clear and powerful way.
Philosophy develops intellectual abilities important for life as a whole, beyond the
knowledge and skills required for any particular profession…It enhances analytical,
critical, and interpretive capacities that are applicable to any subject matter and in any
human context”
4. Great preparation for any career or graduate study
Most students of philosophy don’t go on to become philosophy professors. But they do
go on to get good jobs in a wide range of fields, including law, medicine, business,
education, journalism, public policy, government, religion, communication fields,
public relations, retail management, social service, and many more.
5. Personal development
Careers and jobs are only one part of the rest of your life. The study of philosophy not
only affects how you think but also your development as a person. The study of
philosophy can be truly enriching and highly gratifying, and it is excellent preparation
for lifelong learning and enhanced intellectual, political, and social existence. It can
help you to live better by helping you to understand yourself as a thinking, acting
being. Socrates famously said that “the unexamined life is not worth living;” and
philosophy is the tool he recommended for examining both one’s own life and the
various possibilities open to you throughout your life. What beliefs are important to
you now and how reasonable are they? What principles guide you in deciding what to
do and do they stand up to scrutiny? Which paths will provide a more fulfilling life for
you and which popular paths will eventually leave you feeling hollow? Both the
content and the skills you gain from the study of philosophy will enable you to think
better about such things and so to make good choices.
Philosophy’s critical skills also provide the best defense against popular foolishness
and falsehoods, allows you to see through cultural and intellectual fads, protects you
from the empty posturing of politicians and the inane prattling of media pundits and
commentators, defends you from the slippery claims of advertisers and salespeople,
and enables you to see right through silly opinions and everyday nonsense.
