Philosophy 101: Metaphilosophy

Contents:

Introduction
Section 1: Primary divisions of philosophy
Section 2: Basic philosophical values and disvalues
Section 3: Basic philosophical methods
Section 4: The basic structure of philosophy
Appendix: The Three Groups in metaphilosophy

Introduction

This is the second in a series of articles on philosophy. It is about the main issues in metaphilosophy, the part of philosophy which is about philosophy itself. In the first article, metaphilosophy was introduced as one of the three primary divisions of philosophy. For completeness, the present article notes those divisions again. Then the other main topics in metaphilosophy are briefly discussed.

In what follows, my use of G1, G2 and G3 refers to my thesis that philosophical concepts (not only those of metaphilosophy but of the whole of philosophy) fall into three groups.

Section 1: Pimary divisions of philosophy

G1: Metaphilosophy (subject matter: philosophy itself)

G2: Pure philosophy (subject matters: language meaning, reasoning, knowing, the real, the true, the effective, mind, value, ethics, life meaning)

G3: Applied philosophy (subject matters: religion, science, politics, art, natural environment, etc.).

Section 2: Basic philosophical values and disvalues

The three basic philosophical values are identity, harmony, and precision. They each have an internal aspect and an external aspect. These values are are pursued as ideals to be optimized, not as goals to be reached. (See also the subsequent article, 'Philosophy and Perfection'). The disvalues, the negatives, of these values are confusion, conflict, and imprecision.

G1. Identity (of concepts).

Concepts are thoughts. To have a concept of X is to be able to include X or Xs in your thinking.

Identity is the absence of confusion. The two aspects of identity are clarity (the internal aspect) and distinctness (the external aspect). A concept is clear (free of internal confusion) to the extent that it is, or its components together are, graspable as a unit. And a concept is distinct (free of external confusion) to the extent that it is recognizable as different from other concepts.

G2. Harmony (of propositions).

Harmony is the absence of conflict. A proposition (as philosophers use the word) is whatever might be either true or false.

A simple proposition (e.g., 'the cat is on the mat'), being grammatically well-formed, is in harmony with itself.

A compound proposition (e.g., 'the sheep's in the meadow and the cow's in corn') is in harmony with itself if its component propositions are compatible (can be true together).

A set of propositions is in harmony with itself if it is coherent. Coherence has three aspects: univocality, compatibility, and relevance.

Univocality ( a G1 concept) requires that if a word is used in two or more ways in a set of propositions (that is, to express two or more meanings) those different meanings be apparent.

Compatibility (a G2 concept) requires that it be possible for all the members of a set of propositions to be true together.

Relevance (a G3 concept) requires that, in a set of propositions, all propositions from which a conclusion is drawn be relevant to (logically connected with) the point at issue.

(See also my article on reasoning.)

G3. Precision (of world view).

Your world view is how you 'see' the world. Basically, it's your beliefs and pre-suppositions about the world. In one sense of the word 'philosophy', your world view is your philosophy. It will overlap, to some degree, with the world view of any other person.

Precision is the absence of imprecision. The two aspects of precision are completeness (the internal aspect) and parsimony (the external aspect). A world view is complete to the degree that it includes accounts of all that is or is alleged to be, and it is parsimonious to the degree that it excludes what doesn't contribute to that account.

Section 3: Basic philosophical methods

G1. Analysis.

Philosophical analysis is the 'taking to pieces' of concepts to make them clear in themselves and distinct from other concepts. Thus the aim of philosophical analysis is to achieve conceptual identity, to remove conceptual confusion. Examples of analysis can be found in most of the subsequent articles in this series.

Analysis is a kind of conceptual reduction in that it reduces concepts to their ingredient parts. But the tendency of analysis is towards stability in the number of basic concepts.

G2. Synthesis

Synthesis is the joining together of concepts in order to ask questions and answer them, to criticise questions and answers, and to revise questions and answers, all in a way that maintains coherence and compatibility. Thus the aim of philosophical synthesis is to achieve harmony, to remove conflict.

Harmony is an ideal of philosophy, even though the path towards harmony is through conflict and criticism. Philosophical criticism is, of course, based upon philosophical disvalues.(However, a particular philosopher's incomplete world-view is unlikely to be seen as a serious problem. These days, attempts by individuals to produce complete philosophical world-views are considered to be naïve, if not grossly arrogant. In the past, attempts to be “a be all and an end all” have sooner or later collapsed spectacularly under the weight of criticism.)

The process of philosophical question, answer, criticism and revision is sometimes called 'dialectic'.

The tendency of synthesis is towards the proliferation of concepts and propositions.

G3. Synopsis

A synopsis of a piece of writing is an overview of it that aims at completeness (inclusion of its essentials) and parsimony (exclusion of non-essentials). Thus the aim of a synopsis is to achieve precision.

Synopsis as a philosophical method particularly emphasizes the exclusion of concepts found to be misconceived or unnecessary. Like analysis, synopsis is a kind of reduction (it is also known as the 'method of reduction'). So, unlike analysis, synopsis does seek to eliminate unnecessary concepts.

Section 4: The basic structure of philosophy

This section is very brief because it is expanded upon in subsequent articles. Indeed, this whole series of articles expands upon the thesis, already introduced , that philosophical concepts come in sets of three and thus fall into what I call The Three Groups (and label G1, G2, and G3).

The Three Groups include not only concepts but also philosophical theories and doctrines, because those theories and doctrines are each ultimately based upon a single concept which falls into one or other of the Groups. As distinct from theories or doctrines in pure or applied philosophy, the doctrine of the Three Groups - which is a metaphilosophical doctrine - is of course based upon three concepts, which are: singularity (G1), plurality (G2), and totality (G3).

Appendix: The Three Groups in this article

Primary divisions of philosophy:
G1. Metaphilosophy
G2. Pure Philosophy
G3. Applied Philosophy

Philosophical values or ideals:
G1. Identity (clarity and distinctness)
G2. Harmony (coherence and compatibility)
G3. Precision (completeness and parsimony)

Philosophical disvalues:
G1. Confusion (unclarity and indistinctness)
G2. Conflict (incoherence and incompatibility)
G3. Imprecision (incompleteness and lack of parsimony)

Philosophical methods:
G1. Analysis
G2. Synthesis
G3. Synopsis

The basic structural concepts of philosophy:
G1. Singularity
G2. Plurality
G3. Totality.