Philosophical Reflection
N.B. in Lecture 6+7 group presentations took place, therefore they are not included
Contents
Lecture 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................1
Lecture 2 Plato........................................................................................................................................3
Lecture 3 Descartes (Communication in the modern age).....................................................................5
Lecture 4 John Locke (Communication in the modern age)...................................................................5
Lecture 5 The modern standard model of communication – Wilhelm Dilthey´ s hermeneutics.............8
Lecture 8+9 Nietzsche and the Will to Power.........................................................................................9
Lecture 10 Gadamer and Dialogue.......................................................................................................12
Lecture 11 + 12 Heidegger, Arendt and the communication of who we are........................................14
Lecture 1 Introduction
Communication = sharing information via spoken language, written language or another medium
Sometimes the recipient interprets the message wrong because we do not share the same ´´language
´´ →miscommunication
Language is not simply an instrument of expression, sometimes it works like a mirror because it
shows us how we (tried to) communicate about our thoughts
Ancient Philosophy
- Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. belong to the very first Philosophers. Before that, ancient
Greek myths and gods were used to explain how our world works. Philosophers were not
satisfied with these explanations and tried to use rationalism instead. Thus, one of the
biggest opponents of philosophers were the Poets (e.g. Homer).
- Socrates →Plato→ Aristotle→ Alexander the Great (order of who taught who)
Philosophical communication vs. Poetic communication
- Communicates insight - Communication as a (divine) power
- Addresses our reason - Addresses our emotions
The Republic
- Book by Plato where he describes his ideal state
- The head of state is a philosopher king because he knows what is best for society
- He says that poets are dangerous, and we have to get rid of them because they do not
appeal to our reason (logos) but to our emotions and bodily needs (see below). They play
with them and change our rationale which leads to us taking unethical decisions.
, Logos
- We (and animals) have emotions and a body that is marked by drives, lust, longing, and
survival. What differentiates the human from the animal is that humans have logos (reason/
animal rationale). Our emotions and bodily needs should be regulated by logos, so that they
don´t enslave is.
Sophists
- Another opponent of ancient philosophers
- Sophists are the ones who were travelling around from city to city as teachers. They taught
people rhetorics (Art of persuasion, how to speak well and convince the audience) (Sophia =
wisdom). They claim that they can convince everybody on any topic (omniscient). Unlike
sophists, Plato believed that philosophers are the ones who long for wisdom, because they
realise that there is a lack of wisdom (philo-sophia=long for wisdom). For him it was bad that
sophists taught rhetoric and claim that it works on everyone because it might not be the
truth (misguide people) and no one knows everything.
- Plato thinks that Rhetoric should only be used to persuade the audience of the truth.
However, the problem is to find out whether it is the truth or a lie.
Why are language and communication a philosophical problem?
- Language is not always trustworthy because it can distort the truth which disorientates us.
→Problem of being and appearing: While the philosopher participates in dialogues (being),
the poet participates in debates (appearing). People who participate in a dialogue seek for
knowledge and will have a better understanding of the topic because they listen to each
other´s arguments. People who participate in a debate seek for persuasion and will not have
a better understanding because they just want to convince the other person of something
(that does not even have to be the debaters´ point of view).
Plato´s Allegory of the cave (from Republic)
What is life?
Allegory: a group of prisoners are
chained in a cave since birth facing the
wall and unable to ever turn their head.
Behind them is a fire that projects
shadows of the people and things that
pass by the cave. The prisoners start
naming the things they see because
they believe that what they see is the
reality. Suddenly, one prisoner is freed
and brought outside but when he was
told that the shadows were only
reflections of the things that are real he cannot believe it first. He gradually starts adjusting to
everything and then returns to the cave to share his experiences with the others. Since he is no
longer used to the darkness, he has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall and the other
prisoners believe that he has become blind and crazy. Thus, they resist any attempt to get free.
N.B. in Lecture 6+7 group presentations took place, therefore they are not included
Contents
Lecture 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................1
Lecture 2 Plato........................................................................................................................................3
Lecture 3 Descartes (Communication in the modern age).....................................................................5
Lecture 4 John Locke (Communication in the modern age)...................................................................5
Lecture 5 The modern standard model of communication – Wilhelm Dilthey´ s hermeneutics.............8
Lecture 8+9 Nietzsche and the Will to Power.........................................................................................9
Lecture 10 Gadamer and Dialogue.......................................................................................................12
Lecture 11 + 12 Heidegger, Arendt and the communication of who we are........................................14
Lecture 1 Introduction
Communication = sharing information via spoken language, written language or another medium
Sometimes the recipient interprets the message wrong because we do not share the same ´´language
´´ →miscommunication
Language is not simply an instrument of expression, sometimes it works like a mirror because it
shows us how we (tried to) communicate about our thoughts
Ancient Philosophy
- Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. belong to the very first Philosophers. Before that, ancient
Greek myths and gods were used to explain how our world works. Philosophers were not
satisfied with these explanations and tried to use rationalism instead. Thus, one of the
biggest opponents of philosophers were the Poets (e.g. Homer).
- Socrates →Plato→ Aristotle→ Alexander the Great (order of who taught who)
Philosophical communication vs. Poetic communication
- Communicates insight - Communication as a (divine) power
- Addresses our reason - Addresses our emotions
The Republic
- Book by Plato where he describes his ideal state
- The head of state is a philosopher king because he knows what is best for society
- He says that poets are dangerous, and we have to get rid of them because they do not
appeal to our reason (logos) but to our emotions and bodily needs (see below). They play
with them and change our rationale which leads to us taking unethical decisions.
, Logos
- We (and animals) have emotions and a body that is marked by drives, lust, longing, and
survival. What differentiates the human from the animal is that humans have logos (reason/
animal rationale). Our emotions and bodily needs should be regulated by logos, so that they
don´t enslave is.
Sophists
- Another opponent of ancient philosophers
- Sophists are the ones who were travelling around from city to city as teachers. They taught
people rhetorics (Art of persuasion, how to speak well and convince the audience) (Sophia =
wisdom). They claim that they can convince everybody on any topic (omniscient). Unlike
sophists, Plato believed that philosophers are the ones who long for wisdom, because they
realise that there is a lack of wisdom (philo-sophia=long for wisdom). For him it was bad that
sophists taught rhetoric and claim that it works on everyone because it might not be the
truth (misguide people) and no one knows everything.
- Plato thinks that Rhetoric should only be used to persuade the audience of the truth.
However, the problem is to find out whether it is the truth or a lie.
Why are language and communication a philosophical problem?
- Language is not always trustworthy because it can distort the truth which disorientates us.
→Problem of being and appearing: While the philosopher participates in dialogues (being),
the poet participates in debates (appearing). People who participate in a dialogue seek for
knowledge and will have a better understanding of the topic because they listen to each
other´s arguments. People who participate in a debate seek for persuasion and will not have
a better understanding because they just want to convince the other person of something
(that does not even have to be the debaters´ point of view).
Plato´s Allegory of the cave (from Republic)
What is life?
Allegory: a group of prisoners are
chained in a cave since birth facing the
wall and unable to ever turn their head.
Behind them is a fire that projects
shadows of the people and things that
pass by the cave. The prisoners start
naming the things they see because
they believe that what they see is the
reality. Suddenly, one prisoner is freed
and brought outside but when he was
told that the shadows were only
reflections of the things that are real he cannot believe it first. He gradually starts adjusting to
everything and then returns to the cave to share his experiences with the others. Since he is no
longer used to the darkness, he has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall and the other
prisoners believe that he has become blind and crazy. Thus, they resist any attempt to get free.
