How to think like a philosopher

In this video we learn about one of the fundamental tools of philosophical thinking: the method of reflective equilibrium. It was famously used by John Rawls in his highly influential A Theory of Justice, but it can be extremely useful for any other philosophical problem, as well as in everyday life.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• John Rawls
• reflective equilibrium
• philosophy
• critical thinking

[MassimoPigliucci]

Do a google search for my blog under "rationally speaking."

[MassimoPigliucci]

Yes, but that requires reflection and critical assessment of one's beliefs.

[MassimoPigliucci]

Not quite that simple. The idea is that you adjust your belief web in a way that maximizes coherence among beliefs and between them and whatever data you have about the real world. And you keep doing that dynamically.

[MassimoPigliucci]

Thanks, as you can see, I'm bowing to popular demand. Even though I actually have more fun with the Xtranormal stuff, not to mention that the production of a regular video takes quite a bit longer. Oh well...

[MassimoPigliucci]

transcripts are available on my blog, Rationally Speaking.

[FitnessReality]

in order to think like a philosopher you must first open your mind.

[RobertWGreaves]

Of course there is also the possibility that the "literal" reading is not the original intended meaning of an unfamiliar linguistic element and has been translated in a manner that creates a false conundrum. We are not necessarily faced with the need to adjust a set of colliding beliefs with a misperceived lack of equilibrium. This is especially true when reading anything from an ancient text originating from a radically different culture.

[TheCarrionKing]

@MassimoPigliucci You shouldn't abandon the Xtranormal stuff just because of popular demand; you could use it to model a discourse between two robots that hold differing opinions, and have them argue for said views. It would be a lot more engaging then just having Robot Hypatia tell us about them. It still would not need a definite conclusion, and you would be doing something you enjoy.

[Jaydawg195]

ummmm where can i find your blog because i have taken a recent i guess obsession on philosophy and i love to find and read other peoples opinions and works

[gerguna]

great video!!! thanks a lot

[2bsirius]

I was subbed to this channel for a long time, and noticed the videos stopped appearing in my inbox when I read Massimo Pigliucci's reference to this video on his blog, Rationally Speaking.

The viewing numbers for this excellent video may reflect that it's not appearing in the sub box of others as well.

I've resubbed of course.

[dbearTO]

Excellent video, Massimo. I can't believe I have missed on subscribing to your channel for so long. You should mention it more often on your podcast.

[nontheistdavid]

Most religious people are not concerned about their religious beliefs!