What methods are used in Traditional Philosophy?

Jay April 29, 2017 at 08:13 2375 views 2 comments

I came across this article discussing the the importance of formal methods, i.e., higher-order logic and mathematics, in solving certain philosophical questions. The author argued, however, that while such methods are in increasingly becoming popular, they cannot replace the traditional philosophical methods used in answering the "what-is" type of questions. In his own words:

"It is one thing to have a logic of justification or of epistemic possibility but just what does knowledge or justification itself consist in? In response to such ‘what is ... ?’ questions, my feeling is that the response of the formal philosopher should be modest. In formal epistemology, for example, we should not expect a logic to reveal the nature of knowledge of justification itself."

If higher-order logic and mathematics are the methods used in formal philosophy, what are the methods used in traditional philosophy? Is conceptual analysis among them?

Comments (2)

quine April 29, 2017 at 10:35 #68310 0 likes

Conceptual analysis is usually done with formal logic. For example:
x is a occurrent belief iff x is a belief & x is activated.
x is a dispositional belief iff x is a belief & it is not the case that x is activated.

Iconic Moron May 23, 2017 at 14:42 #71750 0 likes

Basic fundamental 1st principles like the law of identity, excluded middle, and non-contradiction are the foundations of all reasonable thought. Without them, all rational thought collapses into nonsense. Any person with a decent understanding of 1st principles and skilled in their use can deconstruct any higher-order argument.