South 고등학교 2학년 Humans and Philosophy
Chapters: 4
1. My life and doing philosophy
A philosophical life · Philosophical thinking · Mind and body · Limit situations
- What Is Philosophy? Questions, Branches and Reasoning – Philosophy means "love of wisdom". It asks big questions (what is real, how we know, what is right, what is beautiful) and answers them with clear reasons. It has branches like metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and aesthetics, and it shapes our world view.
- Philosophy of Mind: How Are Mind and Body Linked? – Philosophy of mind asks what the mind is and how it links to the body. Dualism (Descartes) says mind and body are two different things, which raises the problem of how they interact. Physicalism says the mind is what the brain does. Consciousness is our inner experience, like a torch that lights what we attend to. The unconscious (Freud) holds wishes, memories and habits we are not aware of. Related questions: what makes me the same self over time, how emotions join body and mind, and whether machines could ever think.
- Existentialism: You Are What You Choose – Existentialism is a 19th–20th century way of thinking about human life. Its main idea: for a person, existence comes before essence. A tool is designed for a purpose first; a human is born first and then makes a self through choices. So we are free, and with freedom comes anxiety and full responsibility. Jaspers showed that limit situations (death, suffering, struggle, guilt) wake us up to ask what matters. Hiding behind the crowd or fate is bad faith; owning one's choices is authenticity. Key thinkers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus; in Spanish thought Unamuno and Ortega y Gasset.
2. Community and philosophy
Individual and community · Ownership and sharing · Legitimate power · History and the future
- Political Philosophy: The State, Power and Justice – Political philosophy asks big questions about living together: Why do we need a state? What makes power rightful (legitimate)? What is justice? How much freedom and equality should people have? Social contract thinkers (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) explain the state as an agreement. Plato and Aristotle described the ideal state and the forms of government; Cicero saw the republic as the people's shared property under law. Rawls, Mill and thinkers from many traditions (Confucius, Kautilya, Ubuntu) help us weigh liberty, equality, property and community.
- Philosophy of History – Philosophy of history asks big questions about the past: Why do we remember some events and forget others? Does history move in circles or climb forward as progress? Can one event be told in different true ways? And what does the past teach us about the future? There are no single answers, but clear reasons matter.
3. Ecosystems and philosophy
Conditions of knowledge · Worlds by ways of knowing · Value of nature · Digital ecosystems
- Epistemology: What Is Knowledge? – Epistemology is the part of philosophy that asks what knowledge is, how we get it and how sure we can be. A classic answer: knowledge is a belief that is true and well justified (justified true belief), although lucky cases (Gettier cases) show this may not be enough. Knowledge comes from reason (rationalism) and from experience through the senses (empiricism); Kant argued we need both. Theories of truth include correspondence (matches the facts), coherence (fits with other beliefs) and pragmatic (works in practice). Scepticism reminds us that senses and reasoning can mislead, so we test, check sources and stay open to correction.
- Environmental Ethics: Who Deserves Our Care? – Environmental ethics asks what we owe to nature, animals and future people. Picture a circle of moral concern. Anthropocentrism keeps only humans inside; nature has instrumental value (useful to us). Sentientism (Singer, Bentham) adds animals that feel pain: animal welfare says reduce suffering, animal rights (Regan) says animals must not be used as mere tools. Biocentrism (Schweitzer, Taylor) gives every living thing value. Ecocentrism (Leopold's land ethic, deep ecology) values whole ecosystems. Many Eastern and Indigenous traditions see humans as part of nature. Intergenerational justice and sustainability add future people. Real cases (dams, forests, animal testing, climate) often bring these views into conflict.
- Philosophy of Technology: What Tools Do to Us – Technology is how humans make tools to change the world. Philosophers ask: do tools only extend our power, or do they also change how we see nature and ourselves? Is technical progress always real progress? Do we control our machines, or do they shape us? And where is the line between human and machine?
4. Creativity and philosophy
Language and creativity · Standards of beauty · Beauty and goodness · Creation in popular culture
- Philosophy of Art: What Is Art, and Why Does It Matter? – The philosophy of art (part of aesthetics) asks: what is art, what is beauty, is taste only personal, what makes a creator, and can art show truth? Answers have changed from "art copies nature" to "art expresses feeling" to "the idea is the art".