General Philosophy Lecture 8 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 8.
View Article8.4 Persons, Humans and Brains
Part 8.4. The final part of this series. Explores the distinction between mind and body and whether this makes a difference to the idea of personal identity.
View Article8.3 Problems for Locke's View of Personal Identity
Part 8.3. Criticisms of Locke's view of personal identity; if personal identity is dependent on memory then how does forgetting personal history and the concept of false memory change Locke's view of...
View Article8.2 John Locke on Personal Identity
Part 8.2. Looks at John Locke's view of personal identity; how consciousness and 'personal history' distinguish personal identity and the idea of memory as crucial for personal identity.
View Article8.1 Introduction to Personal Identity
Part 8.1. Introduces the concept of personal identity, what is it to be a person, whether someone is the same person over time and Leibniz's law of sameness.
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 7 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 7.
View Article7.4 Making Sense of Free Will and Moral Responsibility
Part 7.4. A brief explanation of Hume's argument for sentimentalism and Robert Kane's views on free will and determinism.
View Article7.3 Hume on Liberty and Necessity
Part 7.3. Looks at Hume's views on liberty and its relationship to causal necessity; that we have free will but it is causally determined.
View Article7.2 Different Concepts of Freedom
Part 7.2. Looks at Hobbes' and Hume's views of free will and the three concepts of freedom, and considers the idea of moral responsibility as dependent on free will.
View Article7.1 Free Will, Determinism and Choice
Part 7.1. Explores the problem of free will and the ideas of moral responsibility, determinism and choice; the need for a concept of freedom to allow free choice, the problems associated with this and...
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 6 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 6.
View Article6.4 Making Sense of Perception
Part 6.4. A brief overview of contemporary accounts of perception; including phenomenalism (that objects are logical constructions from sense data) and direct realism (that we perceive objects and the...
View Article6.3 Abstraction and Idealism
Part 6.3. Criticisms of the resemblance theory of perception and an introduction to idealism - that perceptions of the external world are all within the mind as ideas.
View Article6.2 Problems with Resemblance
Part 6.2. Explores Berkeley's and Locke's arguments concerning the resemblance of qualities and objects; that the perceived qualities of objects exist only in the mind or whether secondary qualities...
View Article6.1 Introduction to Primary and Secondary Qualities
Part 6.1. Introduces the problem of perception (and the distinction between the world and what we perceive), along with the concepts of primary and secondary qualities.
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 5 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 5.
View Article5.4 Scepticism, Externalism and the Ethics of Belief
Part 5.4. Looks at the role the concept of knowledge plays in life, the different levels of knowledge we require in certain contexts and the return of scepticism over knowledge.
View Article5.3 Gettier and Other Complications
Part 5.3. The difference between internalist and externalist accounts of knowledge; whether we need external factors to justify knowledge or whether internal accounts are sufficient, and the Gettier...
View Article5.2 The Traditional Analysis of Knowledge
Part 5.2. Explores the idea of conscious and unconscious knowledge (should a person know that they know something or does it not matter?) and the theory of justification of propositions and beliefs.
View Article5.1 Introduction to Knowledge
Part 5.1. Looks at the problem of knowledge; how can we know what we know, three types of knowledge and A J Ayer's two conditions for knowledge.
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 4 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 4.
View Article4.4 The Mind-Body Problem
Part 4.4. Looks at some of the modern responses to Cartesian Dualism including Gilbert Ryle's and G. Strawson's responses to the idea.
View Article4.3 Cartesian Dualism
Part 4.3. Introduces Descartes' idea of dualism, that there is a separation between the mind and the body, as well as some of the philosophical issues surrounding this idea.
View Article4.2 Possible Answers to External World Scepticism
Part 4.2. Investigates some of the possible solutions to Descartes' sceptical problem of the external world, looking at G.E Moore's response, among others, to the problem.
View Article4.1 Scepticism about the External World
Part 4.1. Introduces the problem of how do we have knowledge of the world, how do we know what we perceive is in fact what is there?
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 3 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 3.
View Article3.2 Responses to Hume's Famous Argument
Part 3.2. Responses to and justifications of Hume's argument concerning the problem of induction.
View Article3.1 Hume's Argument Concerning Induction
Part 3.1. Briefly introduces the problem of induction: that is, the problem that it is difficult to justify claims to knowledge of the world through pure reason, i.e. without experience.
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 2 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 2.
View Article2.7 Overview: Kant and Modern Science
Part 2.7. Concludes a historical survey of philosophy with Immanuel Kant, who thought Hume was wrong in his idea of human nature and how we gain knowledge of the world.
View Article2.6 David Hume
Part 2.6. Introduces 18th Century Scottish philosopher David Hume, 'The Great Infidel', including his life, works and a brief look at his philosophical thoughts.
View Article2.5 Nicolas Malebranche and George Berkeley
Part 2.5. Focuses on Malebranche, a lesser-known French Philosopher, and his ideas on idealism and the influence they had on English philosopher George Berkeley.
View Article2.4 John Locke
Part 2.4. Introduction to the philosophy of John Locke, 'England's first Empiricist', he also gives a very simplistic definition of Empiricism; we obtain knowledge through experience of the world,...
View Article2.3 Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton
Part 2.3. An introduction to Robert Boyle's theory of corpuscularianism and Isaac Newton's ideas on mathematics and the universe.
View Article2.2 Thomas Hobbes: The Monster of Malmesbury
Part 2.2. A brief introduction to Thomas Hobbes, 'The Monster of Malmsbury', his views on a mechanistic universe, his strong ideas on determinism and his pessimistic view of human nature: 'The life of...
View Article2.1 Recap of General Philosophy Lecture 1
Part 2.1. A brief recap on the first lecture describing how Aristotle's view of the universe, dominant throughout the middle ages in Europe, came to be gradually phased out by a modern, mechanistic...
View ArticleGeneral Philosophy Lecture 1 (Slides)
PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 1.
View Article1.4 From Galileo to Descartes
Part 1.4. Outlines Galileo's revolutionary theories of astronomy and mechanical science and introduces Descartes' (the father of modern philosophy) ideas of philosophical scepticism.
View Article1.3 Science from Aristotle to Galileo
Part 1.3. Describes briefly the Aristotelian view of the universe; the basis for natural science in Europe until the 15th century and its conflict Galileo's theories.
View Article1.2 The Background of Early Modern Philosophy
Part 1.2. Gives a very brief history of philosophy from the 'birth of philosophy' in Ancient Greece through the rise of Christianity in Europe in the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance, the...
View Article1.1 An Introduction to General Philosophy
Part 1.1. Outlines the General Philosophy course, the various topics that will be discussed, and also, more importantly, the philosophical method that this course introduces to students.
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