Discussion 1 PHILOSOPHY 101

  • Discuss the relationship between philosophical questioning, imagination, and human freedom. Do you agree with Mirandola that human beings have no fixed human nature, and that human beings can both sink to the level of brutes or rise to the level of divinity? Why or why not? Be specific as to your reasoning here.
  • When Russell introduces the notion of sense data, what is he trying to do with it? If sense-data are the contents of our sensations, how do we ever bridge the gap between our sense-data and the physical objects such data are supposed to represent? What tools might we possibly use to explore the similarities and differences between the contents of our sensations and the physical objects that supposedly exist independently of them?