26th March 2019: Philosophy and Truth by Tina Röck

Come along to the Safari Lounge (21 Cadzow Pl, Edinburgh EH7 5SN) at 6pm to join the discussion about Philosophy and Truth..

Title of the series of meetings: Philosophy and Truth

philosophy

What do philosophers think truth is?

https://www.philosophynews.com/post/2015/01/29/What-is-Truth.aspx

 

Bullet points of what you would like to talk about:

We are all aware that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction in our fast-paced information society. This has led some to announce the end of truth, or to consider ours a post-truth society. I would like to be a little more careful. Instead of simply proclaiming the death of truth, it seems to be more appropriate to claim that we are living in a time of crisis – a crisis of truth.

 

What we believe to be true still guides our actions, therefore in a practical sense, there can be no doubt that truth matters. It is simply not the case that modern western societies in general do not care at all about truth anymore (though there might be individuals that do not care), the core problem seems to be that it has become impossibly hard to find the truth.

 

In this talk series I want to discover with all of you what you think truth is and give you some philosophical tools to think about truth.
 

A few paragraphs on your subject:

Philosophy is the habit of questioning things, to ask for reasons when none are apparent, to be critical about things most people take for granted. Sometimes this critical outlook makes people feel intimidated by philosophers and their love for tediously detailed argumentation. And it is true that we philosophers do love to discuss things, but not because we want to win or because we want to be right, but because we care – we care about the truth, about learning and growing.

 

Only if the status quo is questioned, only if we question our beliefs can we learn and grow. So, philosophy is for everyone, since every person sometimes thinks about their place in life. All of us, as human beings, sometimes worry about the future and the direction of society; we all question what we are told sometimes. And that is way I think philosophy is for everyone.

 

A few paragraphs about you:

I am a lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Dundee. I am very passionate about philosophy and love to share this love for wisdom, argumentation and intellectual engagement with as many people as possible. Before coming to Dundee I philosophised and taught at the University of Kassel (Germany) and the University of Innsbruck (Austria).

 

What free internet knowledge resources would you recommend to others if they wish to explore your chosen theme further?

Books:

  • Joosten Gaarder, Sophie’s world
  • Thomas Nagel, What does it all mean?

Online:

  • Any free online university philosophy course (for example on ItunesU)
  • The Great Courses have some really interesting Philosophy series

 

What are your weblinks?

Website – https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/persons/tina-röck
Twitter – @TinaRck2

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