PromptForger • Retrieve

The Track

Run first. Then meet the Trainer.

Answer the Focus Questions from memory before AI enters. Your first attempt gives the Trainer evidence of what you can actually retrieve, explain, and apply independently.

HUMAN FIRST → AI SECOND → HUMAN AGAIN

How the Track works

Recognition can feel like understanding. Retrieval is a tougher test. Here, you first try to explain the lesson without notes, the glossary, the video, or AI. Then the Trainer uses your answers and confidence ratings to probe your understanding.

1. RunAnswer every Focus Question from memory. Make a real attempt even when unsure.
2. ReviewThe Trainer tests your answers and looks for gaps between confidence and performance.
3. RerunYou revise weak answers from memory after feedback and demonstrate improvement.

1. Your First Run

Close your notes before beginning. Do not look up answers. If you are unsure, write your best explanation anyway. An incomplete attempt gives the Trainer more useful evidence than a copied answer.

2. Course Reference

The Trainer receives the lesson glossary so its feedback stays consistent with the course. You should not use this glossary while completing your First Run. It is included here so you can see the standard the Trainer will use.

View the authoritative glossary

The Nature of the Field

Philosophy (φιλοσοφία): Literally "love of wisdom"; often defined as the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.

Plurality of Meaning: The definition of philosophy has shifted across eras:

  • Ancient Greece: Lifestyle schools (like Stoics) focused on how to live.
  • Middle Ages: Often viewed as a partner to theology (the "two truths" doctrine).
  • Modern Era: Seen as an autonomous field for discovering fundamental truths (Descartes/Kant).
  • 20th Century: Some, like the Vienna Circle, saw it as a tool for logic/science, while others saw it as a "theoretical wing" of natural science.

The Philosopher's Tools: Arguments & Logic

Argument: Not a "fight," but a set of sentences given in support of a conclusion.

Premise: A specific sentence or claim that provides support for the final point.

Conclusion: The main sentence or claim being argued for.

Example: (1) All men are mortal. (2) Socrates is a man. (3) Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Logical Consistency: Two or more statements are consistent if it is possible for them all to be true at the same time.

  • Note: Consistency ≠ Truth. Two false statements can still be consistent.
  • Implication: If a theory contains an inconsistency, it cannot be true.

Errors in Reasoning: Fallacies & Biases

Fallacy: An error in reasoning.

  • Formal Fallacies: Structural errors in the argument.
  • Informal Fallacies: Errors in the relationship between premises and conclusion.

Argumentum Ad Hominem: A fallacy where one attacks the arguer rather than the argument itself.

Confirmation Bias (aka My-Side Bias): The unconscious tendency to seek or selectively recall information that confirms our existing beliefs.

  • Insight: High knowledge can actually increase this bias, as smart people find more ways to defend their favorite positions.

Belief Bias: The tendency to judge how strong an argument is based on whether you already agree with the conclusion, rather than the logic itself.

3. Meet the Trainer

Forge a prompt containing your independent answers, confidence ratings, and the course reference material. The Trainer will not simply grade your responses or tell you all the answers. It will probe the most informative weak points one at a time, then ask you to run them again.