PHILOSOPHY

Prepared by Raizza Corpuz

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

• MEANING• NATURE• SCOPE• GOALS• IMPORTANCE• BRANCHES• EPOCH

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? WHERE IT BEGINS?

REMEMBER

• In studying PHILOSOPHY one should KNOW the :

1.Contextualize/ation2.Basis

In this way one can distinguish both VALIDITY and TRUTH, GENUINE and ESSENTIAL ideals.

FROM WONDER TO WANDER

“Wasn’t it extraordinary to be in the world right now, wandering

around in a wonderful adventure!”

― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World

Wonder• To be filled with curiosity or doubt• An event inexplicable by the laws of nature; a

miracle.• A feeling of puzzlement or doubt.

Source: Thesaurus Dictionary

Wander: Verb

• Walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way.

• An act or instance of wandering.verb. roam - ramble - rove -

straynoun. wandering - stroll - saunter - ramble

Source: Thesaurus Dictionary

• Philosophers’ definition-arises out of wonder, out of curiosity, out of desire to learn, and to understand things.

• According to the Philosopher, Philosophy is a process of analysis, criticism, interpretation and speculation

• Analysis-if we know how to synthesis and antithesis.• Synthesis- put idea together or event of the same

characteristic.• Antithesis- remove from or put it out, removing ideas• Criticism- is a process of commenting or giving a

judgment, even if its positive or negative.• Interpretation-demonstration of ideas.• Speculation-being satisfied.

Etymology- or etymological definition of Philosophy-derived for Greek words etimos and logos

Etimos-root, origin, cause, basis, historyLogos-studyEtymology-study of the history of the word

Philosophy comes from the Geek Words Philia and Sofia.Sofia-wisdomPhilia-love, desire for, interest inPhilia and Sofia join by Pythagoras-600 B.C.

Episteme-means knowledgeWisdom-defining deeply, wise, according to etymology

-is an awareness of something which is basic.-knowledge of the basic principle.

Knowledge-is only a million formation-simple data that comes from the outside that pass to our

senses.

EtymologyA. Meaning of Philosophy

What is Philosophy as a What is Philosophy as a TERM/WORD?TERM/WORD?

The term “philosophy” comes from the Greek language. It consists of two words :

• philos, (love, or philia )– friendship, affection• sophos (learned scholar, sage, or • sophia - wisdom, knowledge, talent)

““philo” - lovephilo” - love““sophia” - wisdomsophia” - wisdom

THUS:THUS:1.1. Philosophy is the love of wisdomPhilosophy is the love of wisdom2.2. Philosophy attempts to answer life's Big Philosophy attempts to answer life's Big

QuestionsQuestions3.3. Philosophy is about QuestionsPhilosophy is about Questions4.4. Philosophers ask Questions about what people Philosophers ask Questions about what people

Believe Believe 5.5. Philosophy is about Examining Ourselves & Our Philosophy is about Examining Ourselves & Our

BeliefsBeliefs

THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS but there are SOME BIG QUESTION

WhatWhat??

WhyWhy??

HOWHOW

What are theWhat are the REASONSREASONS for a for a particular belief?particular belief?

Have you ever looked in the mirror Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked: and asked:

The Unexamined The Unexamined Life is not worth Life is not worth living.living.” ” (Socrates)(Socrates)

Who am I?Who am I?Why am I here? Why am I here? What should I do with my What should I do with my life?life?

Have you ever looked in the mirror Have you ever looked in the mirror and asked: and asked: OR???

Examining Our BeliefsExamining Our BeliefsBehavior

I talk to my friend

Beliefs and Values

I believe that my friend is real

World-ViewI Exist. Other People Exist.

What is ‘Philosophy’?

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

Branches of PhilosophyBranches of Philosophy

Ethics

PoliticsPolitics

Religion

Metaphysics

Logic

Epistemology

Aesthetics

Science

Philosophy

Branches of Philosophy

EthicsQuestions: How should we live?What is good and evil? What is the best way to live?What is Justice? Is right and wrong the same everywhere or different everywhere?

Ethics

EpistemologyKnowledge ScienceExplores the nature and limitations of knowledge

Definition of knowledgeInvestigates how knowledge

is obtainedExplores the relationship

between belief, truth and knowledge

Epistemology

Questions: What is knowledge?How is knowledge acquired?How do we know what we know?

What is Epistemology?

Epistemological Questions

Metaphysics

Knowledge ScienceExplores the fundamental nature of reality and being

Ontology Existence Objects PropertiesSpace and TimeCause and Effect

Metaphysics

Questions: What is real? What is reality? What is reality like?

Metaphysics

PoliticsPolitical PhilosophyExplores the relationship between citizens and governments

LibertyLegal JusticeProperty OwnershipCitizen's RightsSystem of Law

PoliticsPoliticsQuestions: Questions: How should government be How should government be organized?organized?What makes a government What makes a government legitimate? legitimate? Who decides who the Who decides who the leaders should be?leaders should be?What laws are good and What laws are good and necessary? necessary? How should law be How should law be enforced?enforced?

AestheticsSensori-Emotional ValuesExplores the nature of beauty, art, and taste with the creation and appreciation of beauty

AestheticsQuestionsWhat is beauty? What is art? What is the value of beauty and art? Who should judge what is beautiful or artistic? How should art and beauty be judged?

AestheticsDiscussion: On the left is Marcel Duchamp's ready-made “sculpture” called “Fountain”. It's a factory-made urinal on a stand.

Is this “Art”? Why / Why not? Is it beautiful? Offensive?Why?

LogicRules for ThinkingThe systematic principles (or rules) for thinking rationally.

Inferences are made by construction of Arguments

Rules of Logic determine which arguments are VALID and which are FALACIES

Logic

ReligionPhilosophy of ReligionBranch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion

Nature & Existence of GodTheologyExamination of Religious

ExperienceAnalysis of Religious language

and textsRelationship between Religion

and Science

ReligionQuestionsDoes God exist? What is God? What is the nature of the relationship between God and humans?Is God active in the world? How? Is there life after death?What is the relationship between Religion and Ethics? ...Religion and Science?

ReligionPantheism What is God?

God is the Universe and the Universe is God.

There is no distinction between God and the universe (nature). Some forms of Buddhism are examples of pantheism.

ReligionPanentheism What is God?

God is in the Universe and the Universe is in God

God is more than the Universe.

God and the Universe are connected but not identical.

Philosophy of ScienceScienceConcerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science.

Empirical VerificationInductive Logic Objectivity of the Observer

Philosophy of ScienceQuestions What is the natural world?How should we study nature? What methods are useful in the study of nature? Can science establish Natural Laws which are absolute (true everywhere and for everyone)?What are the limits of scientific knowledge?

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY

What are the origins of philosophy?

The Ancient Greek World

Socrates (c.469-399BCE)

called philosophy down from the skies.’ (Cicero)

Teacher of Plato

The Death of Socrates(Jacques-Louis David, 1787)

• Socrates most important contribution to Western thought is his dialogical method of enquiry, known as the Socratic method where one finds truth by eliminating what one knows to be false by following a line of enquiry to a contridiction.

• Socrates believed that his wisdom sprung from an awareness of his own ignorance. He knew that he knew nothing, and that all error came out of ignorance.

• Socrates believed that the best way for people to live was to focus not on accumulating possessions, but on self-development. Socrates believed that “ideals belong in a world that only the wise man can understand” making the philosopher the only type of person suitable to govern others.

• Socrates views angered the leaders of Athens and he was accused of being anti-democratic and corrupting the youth of the country. Though neither charge demanded the death sentence the number of jurors who voted to condemn him to death was actually larger than the number who voted to convict him in the first place. In other words even jurors who believed he was innocent condemned him to death. If he was not anti-democratic before, this most certainly convinced him, and others of the flaws in a democratic system.

• Though Socrates left no writings of his own his exploits have been chronicled by a number of ancient writers, formost among them Plato whose works are based on the teachings of Socrates.

The Death of Socrates

Methods of Philosophy04/10/23

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Philosophy an Introduction

Hi(s)tory of Philosophy04/10/23

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Philosophy an Introduction

Medieval Philosophy – 600 ~ 1600 04/10/23

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Philosophy an Introduction

Contemporary – 1900 ~ present

Ancient Greek Philosophers

School of Athens - Raphael Sanzio

“The unexamined life is not worth living. ... Wisdom begins in wonder. ... There is only

one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.”

(Socrates, 469 - 399 B.C.)

“The philosopher is in love with truth, that is, not with the changing world of sensation, which is the object of opinion, but with the unchanging

reality which is the object of knowledge.” (Plato, 429 - 347 B.C.)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not

an act, but a habit. ... At his best, man is the noblest

of all animals; separated from law and justice he is

the worst.”

(Aristotle, 384 - 322 B.C.)

• Philosophy- love of wisdom• Greek Philosophers– Pythagoras- universe followed the same laws that

govern music & numbers• Pythagorean Theorem- determine the length of the

sides of a triangle

• Sophists- professional teachers– Taught students how to win

arguments– Rejected the idea of an Absolute Right

& Wrong

• Socrates- criticized Sophists– left no writings behind– Believed in absolute

truth – Socratic Method- asked

pointed questions to force pupils to discover their own knowledge

– Sentenced to death for his teachings

• Plato- Socrates student– Republic book that

explained ideas about gov’t

– Philosopher King –ruled using logic & wisdom, 2nd group-warriors, 3rd rest of ppl

– Women’s rights- believed men & women should have access at an education

– Academy- Plato’s school

• Aristotle- student of Plato– Lyceum- Plato’s school – “golden mean”- do nothing in excess– Politics- in book he compares governments– Mixture of oligarchy & democracy – he felt would

be the best gov’t

excavation of the Lyceum

• Greek Historians

– History is the study of human past– Herodotus wrote the history of the Persian Wars• Tried to separate fact from fiction but still used

mythology to explained some events • “father of history”

– Thucydides wrote History of the Peloponnesian War • Stressed the importance of having accurate facts• Primary Source- fought in the war

THREE TRIUMVIRATE IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Philosophers• Socrates, 469-399– Believed that one arrives at the truth by questioning

the assumptions on which all things are based• Plato, 428-347– Student of Socrates

• Aristotle, 384-322– Student of Plato– “THE” philosopher by Medievalists

Greek Philosophy & Its Origins

• Philosophy = love of wisdom• Mesopotamians and Egyptians

contemplated how the natural world around them worked

• Early Greeks (time of Homer, c.800 BCE) used mythological stories to explain the natural world

• 7th Century BCE – Greeks looked for new, more practical explanations

Socratic Philosophers

So Many Questions…

• What should we do? (i.e. how should we behave)

• What is the meaning of life?• What is the meaning of happiness?• Is perfection possible?• What constitutes the good or just life?• What is virtue?• How should a man best conduct his life?

Socrates (469-399 BCE)• What little we know comes from his students, Plato

and Xenophon, and his enemy, Aristophanes• Humble birth• Wrote nothing down• Founded no formal school – taught in the agora• Believed material things would not bring happiness• Died for his principles

Exercise

• For each statement ask as many follow up questions as you can with a partner. Record questions that were brainstormed

• Statement #1 – Only people over the age of 19 should be allowed to drink

• Statement #2 – Canada should abolish the sale of firearms to the public

Socratic Method• Method of elenchus (i.e. rigorous questioning

technique)• Designed to “sting” people into realizing their own

ignorance– Provoke genuine intellectual curiosity

• True knowledge gained only by constantly questioning assumptions that underly all we do– To achieve truth is to engage in a permanent state of critical

thinking

Socrates’ End• Alcibiades, Socrates’ pupil, betrayed fellow

Athenians by defecting to Sparta in Peloponnesian War

• Socrates scapegoated by Alcibiades’ actions, accused of “not believing in the gods” and “corrupting the youth”

• Tried and sentenced to death• Refused to plead for lesser punishment• Drank poison hemlock

Legacy• Socrates used the claim of wisdom as his moral

basis• Chief goodness consists in the caring of the soul

concerned with moral truth and understanding• “Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness

brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the state”

• “Life without examination (dialogue) is not worth living”

• He would want you to evaluate society and your own life regularly!

Plato (429-347 BCE)• The “idealist” or “utopian” or “dreamer”• Born into a wealthy family in the second year of the

Peloponnesian War• Name means “high forehead”• Student of Socrates• Left Athens when Socrates died but

returned to open a school called the Academy in 385 BCE

• Wrote 20 books, many in the dialectic style (a story which attempts to teach a specific concept) with Socrates as the main character

Plato’s Ideas

• Idealist, believes in order and harmony, morality and self-denial

• Immortality of the soul• Virtue as knowledge• Theory of Forms – the highest function of the

human soul is to achieve the vision of the form of the good

Anti-Democratic Plato• Most perfect form of government: “Philosopher

Kings” (i.e. very smartest) rule over an essentially communistic society

• Why Philosopher Kings?– Plato believed they alone possess the intellectual

capacity to achieve the highest form of human contemplation• Such penetrating powers of insight necessary to distinguish

between truth (i.e. that which is eternal and unchanging and therefore is “really real”) from that which is untrue (changeable stimuli received by our faulty instruments of perception that serve to trick us into thinking that something is in fact “real”)

Plato’s Impact• Plato’s thinking on the immortality of the soul,

Plato’s conception of a world beyond the sensory and his god-like form of good have very much shaped Christian thinking on God, the soul, and an afterlife

• Nietsche called Christianity “Plato for the people”

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)• The “real” or “encyclopedist” or “inspired

common sense” or “the prince of those who know”

• Studied under Plato at the Academy• Son of a Macedonian doctor, returned home to

become the teacher of Alexander of Macedon for three years, beginning in 343 BCE

• Later returned to Athens to open school called the Lyceum in 335 BCE

Mark Steel Lectures: Aristotle

1. Why were there so many philosophers during Aristotle’s time?

2. What does Plato mean by the perfect form?3. What are some examples of what Aristotle

researched?4. What is his ‘4 Essence’ theory?5. What did Politics address concerning nature?6. Why did he feel the rich AND poor were unfit to

rule?7. How was he before his time?

Aristotle, continued• Believed in the Golden Mean – i.e. all things follow the middle course; by avoiding

extremes, one will enjoy a maximum of happiness and a minimum of pain

• Called the “encycolpedist” as he had a profound love of order

• Numerous fields of scientific study he either invented or contributed to:– Logic, biology, zoology, botany, psychology,

chemistry, astronomy, cosmology, metaphysics, ethics, political theory, constitutional history, history of sport

Aristotle, continued• Founder of scientific method– A valid and reliable process by which all scientific

analyses of a given phenomenon could take place• Led to explosive advances in the Greek

scientists’ capacity to conduct scientific research

• Middle Ages’ scholars felt Aristotle knew almost as much as God, therefore called him “The Philosopher”

Elements of the Art of Rhetoric• Ethos = Ethics

– Appeal based on the trustworthiness/character of the speaker– Relies on the reputation of the author

• Logos = Logic– Appeal based on logic or reason– Found primarily in scholarly articles and corporate financial reports

• Pathos = Pathetic, sympathy, empathy– Appeal based on emotion– Found in advertisements– The more people react without full consideration for the “why,” the

more effective an argument can be– Although it can be manipulative, it is the cornerstone of moving

people to action

Legacy of Greek Philosophers• Taught us how to think• Provided a great deal of insight into the natural

world• Provided many of the most profound and

meaningful answers to the great philosophical questions that have befuddled humans since the dawn of civilization

• Provided a comprehensive, valid, and reliable method by which we could test whether or not a given idea is true

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

ARISTOTLE• Aristotle is a towering

figure in ancient Greek philosopher, making contribution to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theater.

• He was a student of Plato who in turn studied under Socrates. He was more empirically-minded than Plato or Socrates and is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of forms.

• As a prolific writer and polymath, Aristotle radically transformed most, if not all, areas of knowledge he touched. It is no wonder that Aquinas referred to him simply as “The Philosopher.” In his lifetime, Aristotle wrote as many as 200 treatises, of which only 31 survive.

Saint Thomas AquinasSaint Thomas Aquinas

“The Philosopher”

Socrates

• Aristotle was the first to classify areas of human knowledge into distinct disciplines such as mathematics, biology, and ethics. Some of these classifications are still used today.

• As the father of the field of logic, he was the first to develop a formalized system for reasoning. Aristotle observed that the validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content. A classic example of a valid argument is his syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.

MathematicsBiology Ethics

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S LIFE• Aristotle was born in 384

BCE at Stagirus, a now extinct Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace. His father Nichomachus was court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia, and from this began Aristotle’s long association with the Macedonian Court, which considerably influenced his life.

• While he was still a boy his father died. At age 17 his guardian, Proxenus, sent him to Athens, the intellectual center of the world, to complete his education. He joined the Academy and studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years.

ARISTOTLE’S LIFE

Aristotle’s

• It is reported that Aristotle’s writings were held by his student Theophrastus, who had succeeded Aristotle in leadership of the Peripatetic School.

ARISTOTLE’S WRITINGS

The works of Aristotle fall under three headings:

• Among his writings of a popular nature the only one which we possess of any consequence is the interesting tract On the Polity of the Athenians.

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S LOGIC

• Aristotle’s writings on the general subject of logic were grouped by the later Peripatetics under the name Organon, or instrument. From their perspective, logic and reasoning was the chief preparatory instrument of scientific investigation. Aristotle himself, however, uses the term “logic” as equivalent to verbal reasoning.

“Organon”Peripatetics

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S METAPHYSICS• Aristotle’s editors gave the name

“Metaphysics” to his works on first philosophy, either because they went beyond or followed after his physical investigations. Aristotle begins by sketching the history of philosophy. For Aristotle, philosophy arose historically after basic necessities were secured. It grew out of a feeling of curiosity and wonder, to which religious myth gave only provisional satisfaction.

Aristotle’s

• Aristotle sees the universe as a scale lying between the two extremes: form without matter is on one end, and matter without form is on the other end. The passage of matter into form must be shown in its various stages in the world of nature. To do this is the object of Aristotle’s physics, or philosophy of nature. It is important to keep in mind that the passage from form to matter within nature is a movementtowards ends or purposes.Everything in nature has itsend and function, and nothingis without its purpose. Everywherewe find evidences of design and rational plan.

ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S THE SOUL AND PSYCHOLOGY

• Soul is defined by Aristotle as the perfect expression or realization of a natural body. From this definition it follows that there is a close connection between psychological states, and physiological processes. Body and soul are unified in the same way that wax and an impression stamped on it are unified.

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS• Ethics, as viewed by Aristotle, is an

attempt to find out our chief end or highest good: an end which he maintains is really final. Though many ends of life are only means to further ends, our aspirations and desires must have some final object or pursuit. Such a chief end is universally called happiness. But people mean such different things by the expression that he finds it necessary to discuss the nature of it for himself.

Aristotle’s

• Aristotle does not regard politics as a separate science from ethics, but as the completion, and almost a verification of it. The moral ideal in political administration is only a different aspect of that which also applies to individual happiness. Humans are by nature social beings, and the possession of rational speech (logos) in itself leads us to social union.

ARISTOTLE’S POLITICS

Aristotle’s

ARISTOTLE’S ART AND POETICS

• Art is defined by Aristotle as the realization in external form of a true idea, and is traced back to that natural love of imitation which characterizes humans, and to the pleasure which we feel in recognizing likenesses. Art however is not limited to mere copying. It idealizes nature and completes its deficiencies: it seeks to grasp the universal type in the individual phenomenon.