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Introduction to Philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy (University of Edinburgh). Instructors: Dr. Dave Ward, Prof. Duncan Pritchard, Dr. Suilin Lavelle, Dr. Matthew Chrisman, Dr. Allan Hazlett, Dr. Michela Massimi, and Dr. Alasdair Richmond. This course introduces some of the main areas of research in contemporary philosophy. Different philosophers talks about some of the most important questions and issues in their area of expertise. It begins by trying to understand what philosophy is - what are its characteristic aims and methods, and how does it differ from other subjects? Then the rest of the course gives an introductory overview of several different areas of philosophy. Topics covered in this course include: What is Philosophy? (Dr. Dave Ward); What do you know? (Prof. Duncan Pritchard); Minds, Brains and Computers (Dr. Suilin Lavelle); Morality: Objective, Subjective or Relative? (Dr. Matthew Chrisman); Should you believe what you hear? (Dr. Allan Hazlett); Are scientific theories true? (Dr. Michela Massimi); and Time Travel and Philosophy (Dr. Alasdair Richmond).

Lecture 6.6 - Realist Rejoinders: Inference to the Best Explanation


Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

What is Philosophy? (Dr. Dave Ward)
Lecture 1.1 - What is Philosophy?
Lecture 1.2 - Philosophy: Difficult, Important and Everywhere
Lecture 1.3 - Philosophy: How do We Do It?
Lecture 1.4 - Is There a 'Right Way' to Think about Things?
What do You Know? (Prof. Duncan Pritchard)
Lecture 2.1 - The Basic Constituents of Knowledge
Lecture 2.2 - The Classical Account of Knowledge and the Gettier Problem
Lecture 2.3 - Do We Have Any Knowledge?
Minds, Brains and Computers (Dr. Suilin Lavelle)
Lecture 3.1 - Descartes Substance Dualism Theory of the Mind
Lecture 3.2 - Physicalism Identity Theory and Functionalism
Lecture 3.3 - Functionalism and What Mental States Do
Lecture 3.4 - Functionalism and Functional Complexity
Lecture 3.5 - Minds vs. Machines: The Turing Test and the Chinese Room
Lecture 3.6 - Minds vs. Machines: Problems for the Computational View of the Mind
Morality: Objective, Subjective or Relative? (Dr. Matthew Chrisman)
Lecture 4.1 - The Status of Morality
Lecture 4.2 - Objectivism, Relativism and Emotivism
Lecture 4.3 - Objections to Objectivism, Relativism and Emotivism
Should you believe what you hear? (Dr. Allan Hazlett)
Lecture 5.1 - Introduction: Hume on Testimony and Miracles
Lecture 5.2 - Reid's Challenge to Hume
Lecture 5.3 - Reid's Argument
Lecture 5.4 - Kant: The Enlightenment and Intellectual Autonomy
Lecture 5.5 - The Value of Intellectual Autonomy
Are Scientific Theories True? (Dr. Michela Massimi)
Lecture 6.1 - The Aim of Science: Saving the Phenomena vs. Truth
Lecture 6.2 - Saving the Phenomena: Ptolemaic Astronomy
Lecture 6.3 - Truth?: Galileo and Copernican Astronomy
Lecture 6.4 - Scientific Realism and the No Miracles Argument
Lecture 6.5 - Scientific Anti-Realism and Constructive Empiricism
Lecture 6.6 - Realist Rejoinders: Inference to the Best Explanation
Lecture 6.7 - Concluding Summary
Time Travel and Philosophy (Dr. Alasdair Richmond)
Lecture 7.1 - What might Time Travel Be Anyway?
Lecture 7.2 - Grandfather Paradoxes
Lecture 7.3 - Two Senses of Change
Lecture 7.4 - Causal Loops
Lecture 7.5 - Where Next?