Philosophical Approach:
Seeing the true through the false
Philosophy investigates the fundamental nature of existence, knowledge, and goodness. As such, philosophy even investigates itself. What methods might lead us towards the true? Do our tools (language, concepts, our senses and brains) set limits on our success?
When we approach a philosophical text, we attempt to learn from it two times. First, we ask why it seems natural for the author to interpret reality that way. We learn from the way in which the theory explains reality. Then, we ask how reality resists being interpreted that way. We learn from the gap between the theory and the reality.
Dr Anderson thinks of himself as like a cover band for philosophical ideas. The purpose of philosophical inquiry is not to arrive at truth but to progress in wisdom. The better we get at navigating these ideas, the more power we have over our own lives.
(View the lecture for an application of this approach to ethical theory and for an account of the ethical theory that resonates deepest with Dr Anderson)