Metaphilosophy: How the Philosophical Concept Works

Philosophy is a most peculiar and yet indispensable discipline. To be truthful to the matter, the best available concepts of philosophy have a startling nature: both essentially revealing and yet simultaneously deficient. This is also reflected in philosophy's rank among other branches of intellectual, religious and artistic activities.

Plato, a foundational figure of philosophy, expressed this in the myth; for Plato, philosophy is a daughter of prosperity and poverty. The course will discuss several aspects of philosophy as human conceptual investigation, a thinking activity directed at itself. I will draw on material from the history of philosophy as well as theoretical discussions of today (from both analytic and continental traditions).

Contrary to the common misconception, philosophy is neither useless nor abstract but neatly intertwined with every aspect of our lives. The course begins with abstract angles such as semantics, linguistics and metaphysics, to theoretical plurality and social and political issues concerning philosophy. The course will culminate in the philosophy of action and life. What once was born through the ideas of philosophers now constitutes the (social) reality we live in.