Philosophy Unit 1 - Module 1-4

UNIT 1: ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTS
Basic concepts and principles for critical thinking.
Module 1: Words and Concepts

words → concepts → various types of knowledge claims → arguments
Word – simplest unit of communication in natural language
– made up of letters
– can be used as a sign of a concept
Concept – made up of ideas
The ability to form concepts is an indispensable or natural part of us.
How are Concepts Formed?
John Locke – well-known British empiricist
particulars – all things that exist in the world
general terms – invented because it is impossible to name every particular
abstraction – term invented by Locke which refers to the process of having general terms
Simple and Complex Terms
term – a word or a group of words used to express a concept
simple terms: dog, cat, bat, bird
complex terms: the present king of France, the author of Waverly, the morning star
represent a single concept
logical form “The so and so” – Bertrand Russell
Concepts are building blocks of our knowledge, yet they can hardly be imagined existing
(or a better term is subsisting) in our minds. Thus, without the ability to form concepts, human
knowledge would be impossible. That is why words and concepts are the basic units of
philosophical analysis and critical thinking.
Module 2: Extension and Intension of Concepts
Every term expressing a concept is analyzable from two aspects:
1) extension: kind of things that are members of the domain of the concept
2) intension: trait, set of traits, characteristics, or even function shared by the members
Essential Property
when the intension of a concept becomes very precise and clearly defined
the possession of a single trait is the necessary and sufficient condition to qualify one to
be a member of the extension of the concept
mammals’ essential property – mammary glands
Essentialists – believe that for a concept to be meaningful, the intension of the concept
should be limited to an essential property
Games and Family Resemblance
In Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein challenged the essentialist view
What is the single trait or characteristic is common to all these games?
There is no essential property held in common by all the activities we call games.
According to Wittgenstein,
… a complicated network of similarities overlapping and crisscrossing; sometimes
overall similarities, sometimes similarities of detail.
Intension of the concept of games forms a family of traits, characteristics, and functions.
Family resemblance – complicated network
Concepts are analyzed in terms of its extension and intension. The extension of any
concepts consist of the members; in contrast, the intension of the concepts consists of either an
essential traits that all members must have or a family resemblance of traits and characteristics
that need not be distributed evenly to all the members.
Module 3: Using the Same Language
The Meaning of a Word
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-British Philosopher
“We understand people by creating pictures in our minds” (Tractatus Logico
Philosophicus)
“Languages or words acquire their meaning by its utility on the context or culture.”
(Philosophical Investigations)
How do you determine the meaning of a word?
Word’s meaning varies:
1. On the community
e.g. Takla or Crawfish in Bohol; Takla as stool in Pampanga
2. On how they are used
e.g. Bat as a mammal; Bat used in baseball
Language Game
To understand someone’s word, is to understand how it is used in a language game.
We must engage in the same language game to get the meaning of the speaker and
audience in synch.
Ambiguous and Vague
According to lexicographers, words have history.
Conventional – standard use of the words
Ambiguous – a word or a statement has more than one clear meaning
Vague – a word or a statement does not have a clear meaning
Useless Controversies
Useless Controversies - not recognizing that they are playing different language games.
Cardinal Rule
To avoid this, there is a cardinal rule stating, ‘never take part in any discussion or verbal
dispute unless you are sure that both of you are using words in the same way.’
“What can be said, can be said clearly”
Module 4: Classification of Concept
Types of Concept
Unfortunately, there are no fixed classification of concepts but there are seven readily
available categories. These are the empirical, theoretical, dispositional, analytic, evaluative,
fictitious, and metaphysical concepts.
1. Empirical Concepts - the extension is visible and tangible with your bare senses. (i.e.
chair and table)
2. Theoretical Concepts – the extension is visible only with scientific tools or devices. (i.e.
micro-organisms and galaxy)
3. Dispositional Concepts – the extension is not visible by the naked eye but can be proven
to exist if certain operations are performed. (i.e. elastic and magnetic)
4. Analytic Concepts – the extension does not exist in space but rather exists only in our
minds and is mostly scientific or mathematical. (i.e. numbers and circle)
5. Evaluative Concepts – the extension does not exist in space but rather exists only in our
minds and is mostly personal. (i.e. judgements and belief)
6. Fictitious Concepts – the extension does not exist but rather purely imaginary. (i.e.
mermaids and unicorns)
7. Metaphysical Concepts – the extension does not exist in space but is believed to be true
and existing. (i.e. God and ‘absolute’)
Note that if an object is tangible and observable by you and others (both inter and intra-
subjectivity test) then it is empirical. But if it is only observable by you (inter-subjectivity test
only) then it becomes fictitious, especially when it is not observable by everyone.
(i.e. If creatures such as manananggal and/or tikbalang can be observable to anyone, it
becomes empirical and if not, then it remains fictitious)
Empirical claims are also contingent and never certain because their truths change every
time scientists who are experts in this field discover something and make a consensus about the
existence of theoretical entities in the sciences.

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UNIT 1: ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTS

Basic concepts and principles for critical thinking.

Module 1: Words and Concepts

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