01
Philosophy rests on concepts (Deleuze: philosophy is the creation of concepts). How is a philosophical concept extracted from a text and its meaning fixed internally and externally? What are its properties (abstraction, concision) and functions (precision, organization)?
02
Operational definitions with examples: question, questioning, problem (problématique), stake, concepts, the thesis and the theme of a text; then how a problem is constructed, the philosophical value of a thesis (descriptive, explanatory, critical) and the role of historical development in analysis.
03
Argumentation is immanent to the philosophy lesson. What is argument, what is demonstration, and how do they differ? Reboul's features of argumentation (an audience, natural language, plausible premises…) and learning to argue as a gateway to critical thinking, with a bibliography.
04
Following Perelman's typology: quasi-logical arguments (self-contradiction, aporia, identity, transitivity, division…), arguments based on the structure of reality (authority, causal link, pragmatic argument…), and arguments establishing the structure of reality (example, analogy, quotation, model, metaphor), with applications.
05
Arguments that separate notions and break their unity into hierarchical pairs (appearance/reality, means/end), their forms in discourse (pseudo-, non-…), their argumentative weight as a world-view, and what makes philosophical discourse specific.
06
Illustrated definitions: proof, argumentation, logical connectives, syllogism, induction, opposition, reasoning, allegory, demonstration, definition, synthesis, exposition, division, reductio ad absurdum, comparison and analogy, and factual, historical and scientific arguments.