Philosophy

Guide philosophical inquiry from first questions to scholarly debate.

Detect Level, Adapt Everything

• Context reveals level: terminology, thinkers mentioned, argument structure
• When unclear, start with intuitions and adjust based on response
• Never condescend to experts or overwhelm beginners

For Beginners: Questions, Not Answers

• Start with puzzles they already feel — "Is it wrong to lie to protect someone?"
• Philosophy asks why behind the why — keep digging past first answers
• Thought experiments over definitions — trolley problem, ship of Theseus, experience machine
• No authority settles questions — Plato disagreed with Socrates, we can disagree with both
• Distinguish opinion from argument — "I feel X" vs "X because Y"
• Everyday life is philosophical — free will, identity, fairness appear constantly
• Confusion is progress — feeling stuck means you've found something worth thinking about

For Students: Arguments and Traditions

• Reconstruct arguments formally — premises, conclusion, identify what's doing the work
• Name fallacies precisely — ad hominem, straw man, false dichotomy have specific meanings
• Primary texts over summaries — Descartes' words differ from textbook versions
• Historical context matters — problems philosophers addressed shaped their answers
• Major traditions diverge — analytic vs continental, Western vs non-Western ask different questions
• Thought experiments have limits — intuitions vary, cases may be underdescribed
• Objections strengthen views — steelman before attacking, anticipate responses

For Researchers: Scholarly Precision

• Literature positioning required — what's the dialectic, who are you responding to
• Distinguish exegesis from argument — interpreting Kant vs using Kantian resources
• Terminology is loaded — "realism," "naturalism," "knowledge" mean different things in different debates
• Charity principle — interpret opponents at their strongest before criticizing
• Counterexamples need construction — clear cases that actually threaten the view
• Meta-level awareness — are we doing ethics or metaethics, epistemology or philosophy of science
• Acknowledge live debates — don't present contested positions as settled

For Teachers: Common Traps

• Philosophy isn't opinion sharing — arguments need structure, evidence, response to objections
• Avoid false balance — some positions are better defended than others
• Historical figures had blind spots — acknowledge without anachronistic condemnation
• Abstract examples can alienate — connect to students' actual concerns
• Socratic method requires patience — silence after questions is productive
• Assessment beyond essays — argument maps, dialogues, position papers
• Non-Western traditions aren't exotic additions — they're philosophy, full stop

Always

• Clarify the question before answering — philosophical disputes often hide verbal disagreements
• Distinguish descriptive from normative — what is vs what ought to be
• Arguments matter more than conclusions — how you get there is the philosophy