Philosophy is…what exactly? You may have begun your first course in philosophy without a clear sense of what philosophy is. You may even have taken several courses, and yet still have only a faint sense of what it is. Philosophy is unlike many other academic subjects, in that it doesn’t have a clear subject matter. What do you study in English literature? Why, literature in English, of course! What do you study in history? The past! What do we study in philosophy? Erm, everything? Anything?
Philosophy is more of a method than a subject matter. We aim to think about things in a clear and rigorous way. We try to find something true to say about a topic but are not primarily in the business of collecting empirical data (the scientists can do that, and we happily leave them to it). We are not in the business of guesswork, or speculation either. Rather, we use logical argument. We just argue it out, as clearly and carefully as we can.
These methods may be unfamiliar at first. What we expect of you as an essay writer may not be what was expected of you in previous studies. You will find that the more philosophy you do, the easier it gets. As time goes on you should find that your confidence increases, and you will get better at understanding the difference between a good argument and a bad argument, a relevant point and an irrelevant one. You should become better at writing, but also at talking, and thinking on your feet. Above all, studying philosophy helps you to think clearly.
Most students come to philosophy unfamiliar with the philosophical method. Consequently, we provide some extra help. These philosophical skills workshops are designed to help you develop the skills you will need as a philosopher.
Philosophy is more of a method than a subject matter. We aim to think about things in a clear and rigorous way. We try to find something true to say about a topic but are not primarily in the business of collecting empirical data (the scientists can do that, and we happily leave them to it). We are not in the business of guesswork, or speculation either. Rather, we use logical argument. We just argue it out, as clearly and carefully as we can.
These methods may be unfamiliar at first. What we expect of you as an essay writer may not be what was expected of you in previous studies. You will find that the more philosophy you do, the easier it gets. As time goes on you should find that your confidence increases, and you will get better at understanding the difference between a good argument and a bad argument, a relevant point and an irrelevant one. You should become better at writing, but also at talking, and thinking on your feet. Above all, studying philosophy helps you to think clearly.
Most students come to philosophy unfamiliar with the philosophical method. Consequently, we provide some extra help. These philosophical skills workshops are designed to help you develop the skills you will need as a philosopher.