Introducing Philosophy

Chapter One Introducing Philosophy

  • Logic is a field of study and an instrument.
    • As a field of study: Branch of philosophy studying arguments and right reasoning.
    • As an instrument: Used to formulate rational arguments and evaluate others’ arguments.
    • Before logic was a field, philosophers used it to investigate reality, knowledge, and value.
  • Philosophy: Study of general and fundamental problems concerning existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice, validity, mind, and language.
    • Rational and critical enterprise answering questions through reason, analysis, comparison, and evaluation.
    • Involves reason, rational criticism, examination, and analysis.
  • Chapter covers fundamental nature, concepts, features, and areas of philosophy, and its importance.
  • Chapter Objectives:
    • Understand the meaning, nature, and features of philosophy.
    • Recognize the major fields of philosophy.
    • Understand why it is important to learn logic and philosophy.

Lesson 1: Meaning and Nature of Philosophy

  • Philosophy is hard to define due to its universal nature.

    • Etymologically: "love of wisdom".
    • Pursuit of wisdom: development of critical habits, continuous search for truth, and questioning the apparent.

  • Defining Philosophy

    • Defining philosophy is difficult because it doesn't have a specific subject matter.
      • Deals with universal issues rather than specific subject matters.
    • To understand philosophy:
      • Read different philosophers' thoughts.
      • Consciously see its salient features.
      • Participate in it and do it.

  • Philosophy is not elusive or remote from our problems.

    • Best way to learn: philosophize
      • Confront philosophical questions.
      • Use philosophical language.
      • Become acquainted with differing positions.
      • Read philosophers themselves.
      • Grapple with issues.

  • Socrates: “Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder”.

    • Most people lack clear knowledge of philosophy's history, nature, language, and issues.
    • Everyone thinks and reflects on important issues.
    • All are touched by wonder, from which philosophy derives.

  • All participate in philosophical issues, but thinking alone doesn't make one a philosopher.

  • Etymology of Philosophy

    • Comes from Greek words "philo" (love) and "sophia" (wisdom).
    • Literal definition: "love of wisdom".

  • Pythagoras used "philosopher" for those curious about experiences.

    • Raising questions about God, reality, knowledge, and value shows concern for wisdom about world and human experiences.
    • Seeking wisdom is an essence of philosophy from its etymological definition.

  • Wisdom Philosophers Seek

    • Not expertise or technical skills.
    • Wisdom is critical habit and eternal vigilance about all things and reverence for truth (Socrates).
    • Philosophy as pursuit of wisdom: development of critical habits, continuous search for truth, and questioning the apparent.

  • Interrogating the Obvious

    • Means dealing creatively with the phenomenal world, going beyond common understanding, and speculating about things others accept without doubt.
    • Questioning/criticism is not the final end, but raising the right question is the beginning, direction, and essence.
    • Raising the right question includes ability to foresee what isn't obvious and imagine alternatives.

  • Philosophical Enterprise

    • Moves from phenomenal facts to profound speculation.
    • Vincent Barry: “an active imaginative process of formulating proper questions and resolving them by rigorous, persistent analysis”.
    • Philosophy: rational and critical enterprise answering fundamental questions through reason, analysis, comparison, and evaluation.
    • Has a dual nature:
      • Constructive: formulates rationally defensible answers.
      • Critical: rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation of answers.

  • Philosophy as an Activity

    • Philosophy is an activity, not something easily mastered.
    • A philosopher is great not because he mastered philosophy but because he did it.
    • It's not the theory but the extraordinary ability to critically think, conceptualize, analyze, compare, evaluate, and understand.
    • The product of philosophizing is philosophy as a product.
    • Someone is made into a great philosopher not by the philosophy produced, but his/her outstanding ability to philosophize.

Lesson 2: Basic Features of Philosophy

  • Philosophy's salient features distinguish it from other academic disciplines.
  • General features of philosophy:
    • Philosophy as a Set of Views/Beliefs:
      • Informal sense of philosophy: beliefs about life and the universe held uncritically.
      • "Having" a philosophy refers to a personal attitude.
    • Philosophy as a Process of Reflection/Criticism:
      • Formal sense: "doing" philosophy involves reflecting on and criticizing deeply held conceptions and beliefs.
      • Having a philosophy is not sufficient for doing philosophy.
      • Genuine philosophical attitude: searching, critical, open-minded, and tolerant without prejudice.
      • To philosophize includes mastering skills of argumentation, techniques of analysis, and a body of material.
      • Philosophizing means generalizing.
    • Philosophers are reflective and critical, thinking through life's problems impartially.
    • Accumulation of knowledge doesn't ensure understanding because it doesn't teach critical evaluation.
    • Critical Evaluations:
      • Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others disagree due to different points of view and assumptions.
      • Personal experiences, cultural backgrounds, and training vary widely.
      • People live in a changing universe; some are responsive and others cling to tradition.
      • Area of human experience: the evidence is not complete, and people interpret it differently.
      • Despite disagreements, philosophers probe, examine, and evaluate with the hope of consistent principles.
    • Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as a whole, seeking to combine conclusions of sciences and human experience into a consistent worldview.
      • Philosophers wish to see life with the overall view of someone cognizant of life as a totality instead of a specialized slant.
      • There are dangers in confining attention to fragments of human experience.
      • Philosophy gives a view of the whole and integrates knowledge of sciences for a consistent whole.
      • Philosophy brings results of human inquiry into meaningful interpretation, gaining knowledge and insight.
    • Philosophy is the Logical Analysis of Language:
      • Clarifies the meaning of words and concepts.
      • Most philosophers use methods of analysis and seek to clarify the meaning of terms and language.
      • Some see this as the main task, limiting knowledge to statements about observable facts and their interrelations.
      • This specialized field serves the sciences and clarifies language.
      • This outlook gained support in the 20th century, limiting knowledge to observable facts in sciences.
      • Some linguistic analysts reject non-scientific assertions but think we can have knowledge of ethical principles.
      • Narrower view: philosophy aims to expose confusion, nonsense and clarify meaning and use of terms in science and everyday affairs.
    • Philosophy is a Group of Perennial Problems:
      • Deepest problems of human existence that interest people and philosophers seek answers for.
      • Some past questions have been answered, but many remain tentative or unsolved.
      • Philosophical questions go beyond mere questions of fact.
      • Fundamental life issues: What is life, and why am I here? What is the place of life in this universe?
      • Is the universe friendly or unfriendly? Do things operate by chance or plan?
      • Is life controlled by outside forces or personal control? Why do people strive for rights and justice?
      • What are genuine values of life? Is there a distinction between right and wrong?
      • Should religion count in life? Is it valid to believe in God? Is there life after death?
    • Attempt to seek solutions to these questions has given rise to theories and systems of thought.
    • Philosophy also means theories/systems developed by great philosophers.
    • We are constantly influenced by ideas that have come down to us in the traditions of society.

Lesson 3: Metaphysics and Epistemology

  • Philosophy formulates and answers fundamental questions through reason, dealing with basic issues.
    • Content is asking right questions instead of correct answers.
    • Philosophy is the study of questions (Van Cleve Morris).
  • Primary branches:
    • Metaphysics.
    • Epistemology.
    • Axiology.
    • Logic.
  • Metaphysics: studies of ultimate reality.
  • Epistemology: studies of human knowledge.

3.1 Metaphysics

  • Metaphysics studies ultimate nature of reality or existence, including reality, God, freedom, soul/immortality, mind-body problem, form and substance, and cause and effect.
  • Metaphysicians look for irreducible foundations of reality or 'first principles' for absolute knowledge or truth.
  • Term from Greek: "meta" (beyond, upon, after) and "physika" (physics).
    • Aristotle's writings on 'first philosophy' came after his physics treatise, named metaphysics by Andronicus of Rhodes.
  • Metaphysical questions include:
    • What is reality?
    • What is ultimately real?
    • What is the nature of the ultimate reality?
    • Is it one thing or many?
    • Can reality be grasped by senses or is it transcendent?
    • What makes reality different from appearance?
    • What is mind, and how does it relate to the body?
    • Is there a cause and effect relationship between reality and appearance?
    • Does God exist, and can we prove it?
    • Are human actions free or predetermined?
    • What is a human being?
    • What is time?
    • What is the meaning of life?
  • Reality Question
    • Nature of the floor question.
  • Reality not simplistic as it appears. Humankind searches for ultimate reality of universe.
  • Metaphysical questions are the most basic, providing foundation for inquiry.
  • Cosmological Aspect:
    • Deals with the study of theories about the origin, nature, and development of the universe.
    • Questions: How did the universe originate and develop? Did it come about by accident or design? Does its existence have any purpose?
  • Theological Aspect:
    • Deals with conceptions of and about God.
    • Questions: Is there a God? If so, is there one or more than one? What are the attributes of God? If God is both all good and all powerful, why does evil exist? If God exists, what is His relationship to human beings and the real world of everyday life?
  • Anthropological Aspect:
    • Deals with the study of human beings.
    • Questions: What is the relation between mind and body? Is mind more fundamental than body, with body depending on mind, or vice versa? What is humanity’s moral status? To what extent are individuals free? Does each person have a soul? If so, what is it?
    • Positions on these questions influence political, social, religious, and educational ideals and practices.
  • Ontological Aspect:
    • Study of the nature of existence.
    • Questions: Is basic reality found in matter or physical energy (the world we can sense), or is it found in spirit or spiritual energy? Is it composed of one element, two, or many? Is reality orderly and lawful in itself, or is it merely orderable by the human mind? Is it fixed and stable, or is change its central feature? Is this reality friendly, unfriendly, or neutral toward humanity?

3.2 Epistemology

  • Epistemology studies nature, scope, meaning, and possibility of knowledge, including knowledge, opinion, truth, falsity, reason, experience, and faith.
  • Referred to as "theory of knowledge".
  • Etymology from Greek: episteme (knowledge, understanding) and logos (study of).
    • Study of the nature, source, and validity of knowledge.
  • Basic questions: What is true? How do we know?
  • Covers content of thought and thought itself.
  • Deals with dependability of knowledge and validity of information sources.
  • Epistemological questions/issues:
    • What is knowledge?
    • What does it mean to know?
    • What is the source of knowledge? Experience? Reason? Or both?
    • How can we be sure that what we perceive through our senses is correct?
    • What makes knowledge different from belief or opinion?
    • What is truth, and how can we know a statement is true?
    • Can reason really help us to know phenomenal things without being informed by sense experiences?
    • Can our sense experience really help us to know things beyond our perception without the assistance of our reasoning ability?
    • What is the relationship and difference between faith and reason?
  • Issues examined include:
    • Whether reality may be known.
    • Skepticism is claiming that people cannot acquire reliable knowledge and any search for truth is in vain.
    • Agnosticism is a profession of ignorance in reference to the existence or nonexistence of God.
    • Whether all truth is relative, or whether some truths are absolute.
    • Whether knowledge is subjective or objective, and whether there is truth that is independent of human experience.
  • Sources of Knowledge (Empiricism):
    • Empiricism is knowledge obtained through the senses.
    • Sensory knowing is immediate and universal but can be incomplete and undependable.
    • Fatigue, frustration, and illness distort and limit sensory perception.
    • Scientific instruments extend range, but dependability is uncertain due to mind's role.
    • Sensory knowledge built on assumptions accepted by faith in human sensory mechanisms.
    • Advantage: sensory experiences and experiments are open to replication and public examination.
  • Sources of Knowledge (Rationalism):
    • Rationalism is reasoning, thought, or logic is the central factor in knowledge.
    • Senses alone cannot provide universal, valid judgments.
    • Sensations are raw material organized by the mind.
    • Rationalism claims power to know truths senses alone can't give.
    • Rationalism claims humans can arrive at irrefutable knowledge independently of sensory experience.
    • Formal logic is a tool; systems of logic have internal consistency but risk disconnection from external world.
    • Systems of thought are only as valid as their premises.
    • Formal logic is a tool used by rationalists.
  • Sources of Knowledge (Intuition):
    • Intuition is direct apprehension of knowledge not derived from reasoning or sense perception.
    • Involves immediate feeling of certainty beneath consciousness as a sudden insight.
    • Initiates scientific breakthroughs confirmed by experimentation.
    • Drawn from varying circumstances as a source of both religious and secular knowledge.
    • Danger: Not safe method alone, may lead to absurd claims.
    • Has distinct advantage in bypassing limitations of human experience.
  • Sources of Knowledge (Revelation):
    • Revelation is transcendent supernatural reality breaking into the natural order.
    • Christians believe it's God's communication concerning the divine will.
    • Has advantage of omniscient, uncontaminated information but can be distorted by human interpretation.
    • Must be accepted by faith; cannot be proved or disproved empirically.
  • Sources of Knowledge (Authority):
    • Authority is accepted as true because it comes from experts or has been sanctified over time as tradition.
    • Has advantages and dangers.
    • Civilization stagnates if people refuse to accept any statement unless verified firsthand.
    • If authoritative knowledge is built upon incorrect assumptions, then, such knowledge will surely be distorted.
  • It’s important to see sources as complementary rather than antagonistic.
  • People choose one source as basic, using it to test others. Empirical knowledge is most basic and reliable.

Lesson 4: Axiology and Logic

  • Philosophy deals with basic human issues.
  • Axiology: Philosophical study of value, including moral, aesthetic, political, and social values.
  • Logic: Study of arguments and right reasoning.

4.1 Axiology

  • Axiology is the theory or study of value.
  • Originates from Greek: "Axios" (value, worth) and "logos" (reason/theory/study of).
  • Study of value concerned with what a person or society regards as good or preferable.
  • Values Questions:
    • What is value?
    • Where do values come from?
    • How do we justify our values?
    • How do we know what is valuable?
    • What is the relationship between values and knowledge?
    • What kinds of values exist?
    • Can it be demonstrated that one value is better than another?
    • Who benefits from values?
  • Axiology deals with Ethics, Aesthetics, and Social/Political Philosophy.
  • Ethics (Moral Philosophy):
    • Science: study of moral principles, values, codes, and rules for determining good or bad, right or wrong human conduct.
    • Branches: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
    • Ethical Questions:
      • What is good/bad?
      • What is right/wrong?
      • Is it the Right Principle or the Good End that makes human action/conduct moral?
      • Is an action right because of its good end, or is it good because of its right principle?
      • Are moral principles universal, objective, and unconditional, or relative, subjective and conditional?
      • What is the ultimate foundation of moral principles? The supernatural God? Human reason? Mutual social contract? Social custom?
      • Does God exist? If so, is He Benevolent and Omnipotent?
      • If God is Benevolent, why He creates evil things? If God does not create evil things, then, there must be another creator who is responsible to creation of the evil things? But, if it is so, how can God be an Omnipotent creator?
      • Why we honor and obey moral rules? For the sake of our own individual benefits?, or for the sake of others?, or just for the sake of fulfilling our infallible duty?
    • Categories of ethical studies:
      • Normative ethics is the reasoned search for principles of human conduct.
      • Meta-ethics is a technical philosophical discipline that deals with the meaning of ethical terms.
      • Applied Ethics attempts to explain, justify, apply moral rules to specific moral problems.
  • Aesthetics:
    • Theory of beauty: studies artistic and aesthetic experiences.
    • Deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory/emotional values, perception, taste.
    • Aesthetic Questions:
      • What is art?
      • What is beauty?
      • What is the relation between art and beauty?
      • What is the connection between art, beauty, and truth?
      • Can there be any objective standard by which we may judge the beauty of artistic works, or is beauty subjective?
      • What is artistic creativity, and how does it differ from scientific creativity?
      • Why are works of art valuable?
      • Can artistic works communicate? If so, what do they communicate?
      • Does art have any moral value, and obligations or constraints?
      • Are there standards of quality in Art?
  • Social/Political Philosophy:
    • Studies value judgments operating in a civil society, including social and political values.
    • Social/Political Philosophy Questions:
      • What form of government is best?
      • What economic system is best?
      • What is justice/injustice?
      • What makes an action/judgment just/unjust?
      • What is society?
      • Does society exist? If it does, how does it come to existence?
      • How are civil society and government come to exist?
      • Are we obligated to obey all laws of the State?
      • What is the purpose of government?

4.2 Logic

  • Study of principles of right reasoning.
  • Deals with formulating the right principles of reasoning and developing scientific methods of evaluating validity/soundness of arguments.
  • Raised by Logic Questions:
    • What is an argument; What does it mean to argue?
    • What makes an argument valid or invalid?
    • What is a sound argument?
    • What relation do premise and conclusion have in argument?
    • How can we formulate and evaluate an argument?
    • What is a fallacy?; What makes an argument fallacious?

Lesson 5: Importance of Learning Philosophy

  • Philosophy provides tools to critically examine lives and the world.

  • Philosophy assists in self-actualization by promoting the ideal of self-actualization.

  • Self-Actualization Characteristics:

    • Intellectual and Behavioral Independence:
      • Ability to develop own opinions and beliefs.
      • Goal is to integrate experiences into unified, coherent worldviews.
      • Studying philosophy helps to know alternative worldviews and learn how philosophers have ordered the universe.
    • Reflective Self-Awareness:
      • Knowledge of oneself and the world.
      • Philosophy intensifies self-awareness by examining intellectual grounds of our lives.
    • Flexibility, Tolerance, and Open-Mindedness:
      • Understanding the evolutionary nature of intellectual achievement.
      • No viewpoint is necessarily true or false; value is contextual.
      • Become more tolerant, open-minded, receptive, and sympathetic to contending views.
    • Creative/Critical Thinking:
      • Ability to develop original philosophical perspectives and engage on a deeper level.
      • Learn how to refine powers of analysis, critical thinking, reasoning, evaluation, theorizing, and justification.
    • Conceptualized, well-thought-out value systems: form evaluations of value.

  • Philosophy helps us deal with the uncertainty of living and realize the absence of absolutely ascertained knowledge (Bertrand Russell).

  • Value of philosophy is partly in its uncertainty; someone without philosophy is imprisoned in prejudices.

  • As we philosophize, we enlarge our thoughts, free them from custom, and increase knowledge of what things may be.

Chapter Summary

  • Logic is a branch of philosophy that studies arguments and right reasoning.
  • Philosophy etymologically is “love of wisdom”, being wisdom a critical habit and eternal vigilance.
  • Philosophy is the development of critical habits, continuous search for truth, and questioning the apparent.
  • Philosophy deals creatively with the phenomenal world; to go beyond the common understanding, and to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt.
  • Philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through a dual nature: critical and constructive.
    • Distinguishes itself from other academic disciplines through its systematic, logical approach to ultimate reality, human life, knowledge, truth, and values.
    • Philosophy uses major branches:
      • Metaphysics: studies of ultimate reality and existence.
      • Epistemology: study of the meaning, nature, characteristics, scope and possibility of human knowledge.
      • Axiology: philosophical studies of human values.
      • Logic: philosophical study of arguments and right reasoning.
  • Philosophy empowers students to critically examine their lives and the world by promoting self-actualization and helping to achieve essential characteristics.
  • Studying philosophy helps us deal with uncertainty and prepare ourselves for the ever-growing human knowledge.