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Full Idea
The traditional conception of philosophy is that it is an a priori enquiry into the most general facts about reality.
Clarification
'A priori' means done by pure thinking, rather than practical research
Gist of Idea
Traditionally philosophy is an a priori enquiry into general truths about reality
Source
Jerrold J. Katz (Realistic Rationalism [2000], Int.xi)
Book Ref
Katz,Jerrold J.: 'Realistic Rationalism' [MIT 2000], p.-24
A Reaction
I think this still defines philosophy, though it also highlights the weakness of the subject, which is over-confidence about asserting necessary truths. How could the most god-like areas of human thought be about anything else?
| 2510 | Traditionally philosophy is an a priori enquiry into general truths about reality [Katz] |
| 2513 | We don't have a clear enough sense of meaning to pronounce some sentences meaningless or just analytic [Katz] |
| 2516 | Most of philosophy begins where science leaves off [Katz] |
| 2517 | Structuralists see meaning behaviouristically, and Chomsky says nothing about it [Katz] |
| 2521 | 'Real' maths objects have no causal role, no determinate reference, and no abstract/concrete distinction [Katz] |
| 2519 | It is generally accepted that sense is defined as the determiner of reference [Katz] |
| 2520 | Sense determines meaning and synonymy, not referential properties like denotation and truth [Katz] |
| 2518 | Sentences are abstract types (like musical scores), not individual tokens [Katz] |
| 2522 | Experience cannot teach us why maths and logic are necessary [Katz] |