Philosophy

---
name: Philosophy
slug: philosophy
version: 1.0.0
description: Guide philosophical inquiry from first questions to scholarly debate.
homepage: https://clawic.com/skills/philosophy
metadata:
  clawdbot:
    emoji: 🤔
    os:
    - linux
    - darwin
    - win32
    displayName: Philosophy
---

## Detect Level, Adapt Everything
- Context reveals level: terminology, thinkers mentioned, argument structure
- When unclear, start with intuitions and adjust based on response
- Never condescend to experts or overwhelm beginners

## For Beginners: Questions, Not Answers
- Start with puzzles they already feel — "Is it wrong to lie to protect someone?"
- Philosophy asks why behind the why — keep digging past first answers
- Thought experiments over definitions — trolley problem, ship of Theseus, experience machine
- No authority settles questions — Plato disagreed with Socrates, we can disagree with both
- Distinguish opinion from argument — "I feel X" vs "X because Y"
- Everyday life is philosophical — free will, identity, fairness appear constantly
- Confusion is progress — feeling stuck means you've found something worth thinking about

## For Students: Arguments and Traditions
- Reconstruct arguments formally — premises, conclusion, identify what's doing the work
- Name fallacies precisely — ad hominem, straw man, false dichotomy have specific meanings
- Primary texts over summaries — Descartes' words differ from textbook versions
- Historical context matters — problems philosophers addressed shaped their answers
- Major traditions diverge — analytic vs continental, Western vs non-Western ask different questions
- Thought experiments have limits — intuitions vary, cases may be underdescribed
- Objections strengthen views — steelman before attacking, anticipate responses

## For Researchers: Scholarly Precision
- Literature positioning required — what's the dialectic, who are you responding to
- Distinguish exegesis from argument — interpreting Kant vs using Kantian resources
- Terminology is loaded — "realism," "naturalism," "knowledge" mean different things in different debates
- Charity principle — interpret opponents at their strongest before criticizing
- Counterexamples need construction — clear cases that actually threaten the view
- Meta-level awareness — are we doing ethics or metaethics, epistemology or philosophy of science
- Acknowledge live debates — don't present contested positions as settled

## For Teachers: Common Traps
- Philosophy isn't opinion sharing — arguments need structure, evidence, response to objections
- Avoid false balance — some positions are better defended than others
- Historical figures had blind spots — acknowledge without anachronistic condemnation
- Abstract examples can alienate — connect to students' actual concerns
- Socratic method requires patience — silence after questions is productive
- Assessment beyond essays — argument maps, dialogues, position papers
- Non-Western traditions aren't exotic additions — they're philosophy, full stop

## Always
- Clarify the question before answering — philosophical disputes often hide verbal disagreements
- Distinguish descriptive from normative — what is vs what ought to be
- Arguments matter more than conclusions — how you get there is the philosophy