Another piece on philosophy. Ben, can’t you ever give it a break? How many people do you expect to benefit from philosophy, much less what you might write about it? Perhaps you’re having these thoughts. I don’t blame you if you do. I wouldn’t say that I had a hostile, antagonistic attitude towards philosophy several years ago, but I don’t think I was the type of person who processed life in that way.
Philosophy, besides the Lord Jesus Christ, is my life and it think can be very helpful for any undergraduate student who is considering or already pursuing a certain major. I want to take it a step further and try to set forth questions that are major-specific and generally applicable to anyone who has thought deeply about life. This will be the first of a series of pieces that will explore this relationship.
Before I begin, I want to clarify a few things. One, I don’t claim to provide an exhaustive list of questions someone might ask about whatever area I am discussing. And second, I don’t pretend that everything I say will be easy to understand or digest. Third, I won’t mention every subfield under a specific discipline. For example, I might not mention chemistry under the field of science because there aren’t any general/specific philosophical questions that come to my mind for that area. However, you might come up with questions of your own and that’s perfectly legitimate.
Lastly, some questions might easily intersect with another field of study as opposed to being contained within its own specific field. For example, one central belief that plays a role in the debate over abortion, embryonic stem cell research and even euthanasia is the view that it is wrong to kill human persons.
Well, what is a human person and who qualifies as one? This question is part of the field of medicine because it involves relating to the developing human being in the womb as well as a field of philosophy called metaphysics which – in this context – is wrestling with the question, “Is simply being a human being enough to qualify as a human person? Or is there more needed?” So here it goes!
- Science: (1) Is science alone the only source of knowledge or is it the most reliable source of knowledge? (2) What specifically counts as a science and what does not?
- Biology: (1) What are the biological origins of human beings? (2) Did human beings evolve from lower animals or were they specially created by God?
- Neuroscience: (1) Do advances in studies of the brain undermine the belief that human beings have free will and souls? (2) Is consciousness primarily a physical byproduct of the brain or the human soul?
- Medicine: (1) Is the developing human being in the womb a human person? (2) Can a biological male make himself a female through gender reassignment surgery?
Humanities
- Anthropology: (1) Is the difference between human beings and lower animals a difference in kind or degree? (2) Are human beings completely physical or do they have a soul?
- Archaeology: How much evidence does archaeology provide for certain claims in the Bible?
- History: (1) How can we tell the difference between accurate and false reports of the past? (2)How do we tell whether a report is relatively close enough to the events that it describes?
- Law and Politics: (1) What is the basis for legislating a certain moral point of view? (2) Is there a connection between law and ethics?
- Linguistics: Do lower animals possess a language?
- Literature: (1) Is textual meaning purely subjective or is it objective in some way? (2) Is the authors intent relevant to properly interpreting a text?
- Philosophy: (1) How can we know right from wrong? (2) What is the difference between believing something and knowing something? (3) Do we cease to exist when we die? (4) Are we justified in believing certain things that we cannot give an argument for?
- Religion: (1) How should we evaluate religious truth claims? (2) Can any religion claim to be exclusively right about a central issue? (3) Do widespread religious beliefs about some transcendence in the world provide evidence for God?
- Theology: (1) Is it rational to believe things on faith and evidence? (2) What is the relationship between God and morality? (3) Is God completely beyond our understanding? (4) Is it possible to know that God exists without revelation?
Personal for Christians
- Ethical dilemmas involving conscience and issues of Christian liberty: Is someone sinning by drinking alcohol if it goes against my conscience to drink it?
- Conflicting beliefs about Scripture and Science: How should we interpret Genesis in light of modern science?
- Signs of salvation in a believer in the quest for certainty: Must a Christian be absolutely certain that he or she is saved in order to know that they are born again?
- Standards and Principles: How do we sort out this tension? Must one avoid watching R-rated movies in order to uphold the principle of purity?
- Depression, anxiety and sexual addiction: Where do we turn to for answers? Do depression and anxiety have a biological connection to the brain or is it mainly a matter of sin? Is sexual addiction overcome instantly through prayer alone or through prayer and practicing virtues?
I know this is a lot to take in but I hope you can see but there is a lot of territory to explore here. These are some questions that I hope that you will consider as you navigate through some of these different disciplines. I also hope that you will walk away with the impression that for Christians these questions are pretty natural to raise because they are part of our journeys through life.
