Introduction to Philosophy

• Study notes are provided point by point below

Philosophy Overview

• Philosophy comes from the Greek words "philo" (friend or love) and "Sophia" (wisdom).
• Philosophy is the love of wisdom, seeking not only knowledge but also truth about acquired knowledge.
• There are 2 forms of definitions: nominal and real

Nominal Definition of Philosophy

• Philosophy means inquiry of our existence.

Real Definition of Philosophy

• Philosophy is the science of all that exists in their ultimate cause through the aid of human intellect.

Elements in the Definition of Philosophy

• Philosophy is a science, a systematic body of knowledge not based only on opinions, hypotheses, and theories, but on ideal knowledge.
• Philosophy studies "of beings", of all, everything that exists or may exist, of everything knowable.
• Philosophy is the highest synthesis of all sciences dealing with man, nature, and God.
• It is the mother of all sciences with a vast scope and subject matter, meaning everything can be discussed in Philosophy
• Philosophy seeks ultimate causes, answering not only facts and proximate causes but the deepest causes of everything.
• Philosophy gives answers not only to "what" but also to the more important "why".
• Philosophy uses natural reasons and not Divine Revelation, from recourse to the Bible.
• It is a product of one's own thinking and not of imagination or fantasy.

Relationship of Philosophy to Science and Art

• Philosophy and Science are alike in their interest in knowledge, both are fields of inquiry and investigation.
• Both seek to ask questions and determine answers.
• They differ in the knowledge they seek.
• Science seeks knowledge of facts, while Philosophy seeks ultimate knowledge, the greatest cause of everything.
• Philosophy is aware of the findings of Science because Science seeks to determine facts.
• Philosophy starts to work with these facts, uses them, and makes man (genuine philosopher) interested in them.
• A philosopher can help or aid an ordinary man to determine the significance of these facts.
• The method of philosophy interprets and explains the ultimate relation and meaning of facts, showing their relation to the totality of man's experience.
• Man (philosopher) comes to a conclusion from the facts of human experience, meaning, and purposes of living.

Philosophy and Arts

• Philosophy and the Arts share a common ground in seeking truth.
• They both have a common interest in interpreting, appreciating experiences, and enjoying the meaning of life.
• Artists' treatment is actual, while a Philosopher's treatment is theoretical.
• Artists enjoy and appreciate, express and create. Philosophers intellectualize artistic experience.
• Philosophers' chief task is to parallel the experience of beauty using intellectual understanding of its nature.

Value of Philosophy

• The study of Philosophy has value and effects on the lives of those who study and live with it.
• The value is to be sought largely in its uncertainty.
• It is to be studied not for finding definite answers, but for the sake of the questions themselves.
• These questions can enlarge the conception of what is possible and enrich our intellectual imagination.
• In philosophy, questioning a given answer is important, leading to thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.

Types of Philosophy

• Philosophy is divided into 2 major types: Pure Philosophy or Speculative Philosophy and Applied Philosophy or Practical Philosophy.

Pure Philosophy or Speculative Philosophy

• This is where "BEING" is CONSIDERED IN ITSELF
  • Metaphysics/Ontology (being in its most general form)
    • The study of being as being while considering that essence and existence constitute being.
    • Originally, it deals with existence, or being as such, first causes, or things that don't change.
    • Ontology studies the nature of human being's existence as an individual, in society, and in the universe.
  • Cosmology (being in the nonliving world)
    • The philosophical study of the material world with regards to its order in the universe (cosmos).
  • Theodicy (being in its highest form)
    • The philosophical study of God with consideration to its nature and existence as absolute.
  • Anthropology (being with its body and soul)
    • "Anthropos” is the Greek word for human being and “logia” is the study of.
    • Philosophical study of man with regard to the union between the body and soul.
  • Rational Psychology (being with its soul)
    • The philosophical study of the immaterial soul and its faculties with consideration to it as the life principle of every living being.

Pure Philosophy or Speculative Philosophy (Considered in Relation to Man)

• Logic (considering the procedure of man's thought)
  • The science and art of correct thinking/true.
• Epistemology (the value of our thought)
  • "Episteme" (Greek word) means knowledge/understanding and "logia" - study of.
  • the philosophical study of human knowledge with regard to certainty and truth.
• Ethics (considering man's will)
  • The philosophical study of the morality of the human act that distinguishes good from evil and right from wrong.

Applied Philosophy or Practical Philosophy

• The results of Pure or Speculative Philosophy are applied to special topics and problems in different aspects of man's life.

Branches of Applied or Practical Philosophy

• Philosophy of Man – the inquiry into man as a person.
• Social Philosophy - the study of the relationship between man and society
• Philosophy of Religion – the study of man's relationship to God
• Axiology – the study of man's values by asking what we value more in society
• Aesthetics – the study of beauty and perfection
• Oriental Philosophy – the study of Oriental ways of life and mind.
• Philosophy of Education – the philosophical approach to teaching and learning process.