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    Lecture in Philosophy

    Philosophyfrom the two Greek words: Philo (Love) and Sophia (Wisdom)It means love of wisdom. Thus a philosopher is a lover of wisdom

    Wisdomis knowledge applied to practical life.. It is knowledge intended for a noble purpose.

    Thus, wisdom is the height of knowledge

    Real Meaning of Philosophyit is a science of all things studied from their view point of their

    ultimate causes, reasons or principles, by the light of human reason alone.-It is a science which verifies all things in one world view

    Subject matter of philosophy - All things( in their ultimate causes, reasons and principles)

    Tools Usedhuman reason, reflection, process, insight etc.

    Philosophy is a parent scienceit has given birth to natural and social sciences. Thesedisciplines provide philosophy with problems, questions and issues that need to be answered

    Philosophy is an independent discipline and embedded there in is the foundations and an on-

    going activities of these disciplines.Nature of Philosophyman search for the meaning of life, the meaning of himself and his

    world.When does it start? The moment starts wondering about the things around him

    In short philosophy simply means a search for meaning. The term search is just more than

    seeking or looking. It is a critical examination to explore thoroughly in order to findsomething of great importance.

    According to Aristotle; Philosophy is a science of beings in their ultimate reasons , causes and

    principles, acquired through the aid of reason alone.

    Beingsrefer to all things reachable by human mind. The philosopher seeks for the fundamentalor essential explanation of being based solely on his reasoning power.

    Philosophy is the study of the ultimate, abstract, and very general problems which are concerned

    with the nature of existence, knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose. To the earlyGreeks, Philosophy was a superstar of a subject. They looked with favor on a total world picture

    in the unity of all truthswhether they were scientific, ethical, religious or aesthetics.Philosophy indeed is the Matrix of All Knowledge.

    Three elements of Philosophical Search

    1. Object of the search is of real value to the subject.Objectrefers to a thing under study

    Subjectrefers to the person philosophizing

    2. It consumes the whole person, his attention, concentration, interest and effort.3. It is continued without a let up, until:

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    a) the answer is found b) the answer is not yet found but the convictionis reached

    Major Fields of Philosophy

    1. Epistemologytheory of knowledgedeals with the origin, structure, methods, nature, limit

    and truth of human knowledge.Epistemknowledge LogosstudyType of knowledge

    ApplicationFormulation and expression

    Acquisition

    2. Logicthe science of correct thinking and reasoning deals with syllogisms, fallacies, truth,argument etc.

    3. Ethicsthe science of morality of human acts

    4. Metaphysicsthe theory of reality (its nature, meaning, and existence)this is the foundationsubject of philosophy. It is also concern with the nature of mind as well as religion.

    Metabeyond physicalPhysikon nature from which it was derived, Physics - the science that deals with matter,

    energy, force, natural laws and processes, immortality of the soul, nature and reality of theuniverse as well as time, space, cause and chance.

    5. Phenomenologycritical investigation of phenomenon or experiences.

    6. Axiologythe study of valuesIt includes values on human conduct, the nature and

    justification of social structures, political system, and the nature of art and its meaning in humanexperience.

    Other Branches:

    Cosmologythe study of the universePhilosophical Psychologyphilosophical study of God.

    Social Philosophythe study of man in relation to society and social institutionsPhilosophy of Manan inquiry into man and his dimensions

    Difference Between Philosophy and ScienceCriteria Science Philosophy

    1. Scope and Nature Deals particularly with restricted

    field, e.g. chemistry, biology, etc.

    Deals with all aspect of human

    experience2. Interest The interest of science is limited to

    the physical world e.g. tangible,

    empirical or concrete things

    Concerns with issues on justice,reasons, conscience, soul and

    God. (metaphysical andabstract)

    3. Approach Uses experiments and hypothesis,science tends to eliminate personal

    factor and values in its quest for

    Uses reflection, abstraction andanalysis. Philosophy is

    encompassing it is interested in

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    objectivity personal values, human

    experiences and purposes.

    4. Objective/Goal Science works on the pursuits of

    truth and stops there, It isinterested with the nature of things

    as they are.

    Philosophy works not only in

    the pursuit of truth, but of worthand meaning. It does not stop at

    the discovery of truth.5. Aim Aims to observe nature and control

    processes.

    Criticizes, evaluates and

    integrates the variousdimensions of human

    experience.

    Relationship between the two: Philosophy as a Science

    1.Deals with the study of processes governing thought and conduct.2.Carefully examines and criticizes the premises and conclusion of all

    sciences.

    3.Synthesizes and compares the assumptions and conclusion of thedifferent findings of the science when they appear to be

    contradictory.

    4.Investigates principles and laws that regulate the universe and thosethat underlie all knowledge.

    5.Applies interpretation and analysis to worldly phenomenon.6.Harmonizes and brings the sciences together to complement and

    support one another.

    Different Approaches to Philosophy

    1.The Analytic Approachdefines and separates the variouselements as part of complete questions. It also considers all the

    different possible interpretations of abstract concepts and answers

    to the questions which can be asked about them.2.The Continental Approachconstruct the very general and

    completely self-consistent theories which can explain the abstract

    ideas.

    Philosophical Inquiry and its Nature

    Philosophical Inquiry refers to mans effort to integrate all of his

    experiences as a responsible agent. The term experience signifies the

    interactive process by which the human self is in dynamic relation with

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    other persons. As a responsible agent, he, as the responder, is objectively

    aware of the presence of others which comprises the characteristics ofman.

    As defined by John Dewey, philosophical inquiry is a method ofexperimental intelligence. It is a matter of controlled thinking which is

    concern with problem solving

    Purpose or Goal of an Inquiry

    1.To transform the indeterminate or a problematic situation into adeterminate situation where the problem is solved.

    2.To lead from the indeterminate situation to the solved determinedsituation.

    The Need for Philosophical Inquiry

    Contemporary man is essentially the same as in the past,

    noteworthy is the difference in how each man of each era tried to copewith the problems of the times. He stands and interacts with his

    environment while he acts and interprets what is going on and what will

    be its result. He is affected not only by present situations but also faces

    the uncertain future.

    Today, man is at the cross roads as his life becomes chaotic and

    confusing than his life in the past. Faced with the vastness of these

    problems, he is tasked in seeking for its solution. This discord state calls

    for philosophical inquiry. Philosophy is used as a method of inquiry and

    as an instrument for the solution of global problems.It is philosophy which probe deepest into the root cause of mans

    problems and as such it is depended upon to discover the true solutionsand remedies of these human ills. Once a solution is reached, tensions

    and conflict are eliminated and harmony and order are restored. Butthese harmonious states are not permanent since new conflicts arise fromtime to time so, there will be a need for further inquiry. Human inquiry

    is not limited to mere discovery of means for pre-established ends.

    Inquiry itself relates the actual life of man.

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    The Matrix of Philosophical Inquiry

    1.Human experience is a shared experience. There is cooperativeactivity, the cooperative self exist and functions only in a

    community of selves.2.The share experience has a double purpose:

    a)The importance of its role in the creation of the community.b)The shared tradition of the group members makes and keeps

    the community and its members human.

    3.The use of Common SenseCommon Sense is that generallyaccepted body of regulative meanings and procedures applied to

    particular circumstances, to what we called here and now. It makes

    a person aware of the problem but cannot do much about it.4.The need for Philosophical InquiryPhilosophy cannot divorceitself from the on going course of human life and the accrual

    concerns of men. Because it bears the quality of life itself, it mustbegin there and end there. The purpose of philosophy therefore is

    not to explain life but to constitute it, by making man aware of the

    implications of his actions, of the range and scope of his life, it liftsthat life to a level that cannot be otherwise reached.

    Three Steps or Modes in Philosophical Inquiry1.LogicTheoretical coherence is the first condition for an adequate

    philosophy. Man as a responsible agent emerges to self awareness

    through his participation with others in their common ways of

    understanding the environment. With his capacity of self-direction,

    he is in position to judge them critically as the whole community

    cannot be exempted from critical scrutiny.

    2.PhenomenologyA philosopher can become engrossed with histheoretical corrections that he forgets the real world. The agentsexperience lacks coherence as long as he cannot think of his life, so

    is also coherence lacking when he cannot live his thoughts.

    3.Meta-PragmaticsPhilosophy must self-consciously place itself inthe context and service of human life as it functions, control its own

    conduct of inquiry and measure the adequacy of its results.

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    Philosophy must formulate ideal human wholeness which is the

    reflection of coherence that man inherently aspires. It also means awork of continuous criticisms, not only of common sense, beliefs,

    and practices but also of the shape and results of the philosophical

    efforts as well.

    In the process of inquiry, man has to think, however there are two

    limits of thinking units:1.Pre-reflectivethe first situationone which sets the problems to

    be solved and out of it grows the question that reflection has to

    answer.2.Post-reflectivethe final situation when the doubt has been

    dispelled, there results a direct experience of mastery, satisfactionand enjoyment.

    All knowledge that is the outcome of the process of inquiry belongs

    to the continuum of inquiry. But inquiry is an on-going process oraffair with no single final or supreme end.

    Philosophical Methods of InvestigationA method is usually a means or procedure followed in achieving

    an end. It is a systematic procedure, technique and mode of investigation

    use to study a phenomenon. The key element in a scientific method is a

    deliberate thinking and planning.

    Steps in Philosophical Investigation:

    1.Sensing the problem2.Assembling the data3.Organizing and evaluating data4.Proposing hypothesis5.Testing the hypothesis6.Discovering the truth7.Applying the principles to specific uses.

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    Common Methods

    1. InductionA method of drawing conclusion from particular orindividual experience, a process of estimating the validity of observation

    of a part of a class of facts for a proposition of the whole class.

    2. Deductionrefers to the process whereby our minds, by way ofreasoning, proceeds from general to specific terms.

    3. Dialecticreferred to as the process refers of arriving at knowledge,

    through the question and answer technique. It describes a procedurewhereby a thought (thesis), necessarily leads to or changes into its

    opposite or contradictory idea (anti-thesis), and henceforth a new

    synthesis is achieved.4. AnalyticThis is a concept which consist of theories that are

    developed by inductive procedures and begins with imaginativequestions for the world to see if they can be falsified or refuted. It is notinterested in speculating on matters that cannot be proven to be true.

    This is particularly useful in the study of mathematics, chemistry and

    physics.5. Romanticthis is described as the tendency to base a world view on

    feelings and instinct. Under this method the immediate sensation and

    feelings brought about by nature and events in the environment are

    valued over reason.

    6. Synopticthis method according to Plato is the grasping of anything

    in one comprehensive view. He argued that I order to have complete

    knowledge and education, it is a must that we should bring into synopsis

    all the sciences our minds are capable of disregarding.

    Importance of Philosophy

    1.Philosophy as a body of knowledge together with English,Literature, and History, are aimed to make man a full-man, cultured,

    refined and well-rounded.2.The role of philosophy in liberal education is to provide the students

    the ability to synthesize, criticize, systematize, assimilate and

    evaluate a variety of and huge mass of knowledge. It is an important

    part of the students total development that will provide

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    opportunities for him to live a life worthy of human dignity as an

    individual and as a member of society.3.The philosophies of the various thinkers exposed the students to the

    different philosophical thoughts and help them developed his

    personal philosophies.4.Philosophy will provide an individual a strong foundation in

    meeting the demand of his profession and in coping with the

    problems brought about by multifarious activities of man.5.Philosophy will guide us in coming up with the right decision from a

    broader perspective because philosophy provides an individual with

    the wholistic view that will undoubtedly be an integral part ofhuman development.

    6.The study of philosophy therefore serves as a bulwark againstmental servitude and provides a framework within which we canthink and act intelligently.

    7.From J. A. Nicholson, There is no other knowledge that so widensour intellectual horizons and that deepens thereby both ourunderstanding and sympathies.

    8.Undoubtedly the study of philosophy will always be an importantfeature of human experience and its importance in the development

    of the complete social being, ready to take up his responsibility in

    this rapidly changing world, cannot be overemphasized.

    9.Philosophy makes man think about basic foundations of his outlookin life, his knowledge and his beliefs. It makes an individual inquire

    into the reason for what he accepts and does and into the importance

    of his ideas and ideals, in the hope that his final convictions will

    change as a result of this examination.