Introduction to Philosophy

• This handout serves as a guide for students to understand, reflect on, and analyze philosophical ideas related to anthropological issues and their application to real life.

Doing Philosophy

• Involves asking the right questions, examining previous philosophers' work, understanding their reasoning, and expanding or testing their methodologies.
• Skills include critical, logical, analytical thinking, observation, and communication.
• Philosophical exercises include essay writing, debates or Socratic dialogues, delivering speeches, and discussing dilemmas creatively through movies, songs, and literature.

What is Philosophy?

• Derived from the Greek words 'Philos' (love) and 'Sophia' (wisdom), meaning "love of wisdom."
• It's an activity in pursuit of wisdom.
• Pythagoras was the first to call himself a philosopher viewing philosophers as spectators seeking truth, not gain or honor.
• Plato defined philosophy as "The love of wisdom that can face the test of critical discussions".
• Willim James saw it as "The collective name for questions that have not been answered to the satisfaction of all that have asked them".
• Rudolf Carnap defined it as "A theory of the scientific use of language".
• Herodutos defined philosophy as “The love of exercising one's curiosity and intelligence".
• Philosophy lacks a precise definition, but various definitions offer insights into its nature as a special field of inquiry.

Nature of Philosophy

• A set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, often held uncritically in an informal sense.
• A process of reflecting on and criticizing deeply held conceptions and beliefs, using reason.
• A rational attempt to look at the world as a whole, combining sciences and human experience into a consistent worldview.
• Philosophers aim for an overall view of life, not a specialized one.
• Adopts a holistic view, enabling one to view problems objectively and appreciate experiences as vital components.
• A group of perennial problems (recurring questions) that interest people and for which philosophers have always sought answers.
• Philosophical questions delve into the deepest problems of human existence.

Philosophical Questions

• These do not have definite or ready answers.
• Inquiring about a specific question always leads to a bigger problem, engaging in philosophical reflection.
• A philosophical question implies developing a sense of perspective that connects to something bigger.
• Non-philosophical questions are specific and have ready/exact answers, often answered through experiment.

How Do We Philosophize?

• "Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in Wonder"
• Philosophy involves thinking and insight which is a kind of seeing with the mind.
• To philosophize is to look at life from a holistic perspective.
• Asking philosophical questions is a holistic point of view of philosophizing.

Holistic from Partial Point of View

• Partial Point of View: Looking at only a limited number of aspects focusing on specific concerns/details, conclusions are based on considering some but not all sides of the problem or situations.
• Holistic Point of View: Looking at all aspects of the given problem or situation, all aspects are given importance when making conclusions and are tied in together to form a general overview of the problem or situation.

Human Activities Emanated from Deliberate Reflections

• Philosophy examines a wide range of problems and issues that are fundamental to understanding the nature of things, human actions, human reasoning, and reality
• Genuine sympathy and understanding of diverse points of view are essential for anyone seeking "wisdom"

Major Branches of Philosophy:

• Ethics: Study of human conduct, morality, and norms of right/wrong applicable to human behavior considered prescriptive and tells what we ought to do. Goal is to understand the concepts of right and wrong and how morality affects actions toward others.
• Aesthetics: Analysis of aesthetic judgment and standards of beauty. Goal is to analyze beauty based on utility, experience, form, pleasure, or expression.
• Epistemology: Study of knowledge, distinction between belief and knowledge, and problems of perception. Aims to determine the origin of knowledge, verify knowledge, and investigate the bases of certainty helping make judgments.
• Logic: Rules for thinking, systematic principles for rational thinking. Incorporates methods of deduction and induction. Goal is to create sound arguments and avoid fallacious reasoning and distinguish irrational reasoning.
  • Deductive Reasoning: Based on accepted facts/premises. If premises are true, the conclusion must be true Use mainly in logical problems.
  • Inductive Reasoning: Based on observation and more general than the premises. If the premises are true, the conclusion is probably true. Used in everyday life.
• Metaphysics: Study of existence/nature of reality. Analyzes if everything is material and if life, energy, and mind are their manifestations. Goal is to reflect on appearances and reality.

Domains of Truth

• Objective Domain/Scientific: Truths tested against empirical evidence.
• Social Domain: Truths tested against their acceptability to a particular group and can change through critical examination and deliberation.
• Personal Domain: Truths tested against the consistency and authenticity of the person who claims it.

Nature of Truth

• Correspondence Theory of Truth: Truth is the relation between propositions and the world.
• Coherence Theory of Truth: Truth conditions of a proposition are based on other propositions.
• Pragmatic Theory of Truth: Proposition is true if it is useful to believe it. Utility is the essential mark of truth/based on beliefs that lead to payoff

Problems and Value of Philosophy

• Metaphysics: Increase self-awareness, encourages reflection and analysis, and helps understand philosophy's value.

  • Questions the certainty of existence and appearance vs. reality.

• Knowledge: Raises questions on the nature of knowledge.

  • Concerns if the knowledge is always true, if false knowledge exists, what makes a claim certain, and if truth varied?

• Ethics: Explores ethical truths and raises questions about the objectivity in the rightness/wrongness of actions.

• A true lover of wisdom continues to ask, analyse, reflect, and form more verifiable claims and less errors in thinking.

• Philosophizing motivates deeper exploration to seek whether personal beliefs are based on something substantial, engages contemplation, suspends prior beliefs, and embraces new possibilities.

• Philosophical inquiry as a way to pursue an examined life, gain perspective, and contemplate issues/problems.

Holistic and Partial Perspective

• It's essential to consider all interconnected parts to understand a complex issue.

Human Person as an Embodied Spirit

• Philosophy is the love of wisdom, bringing openness and wonder and about dwelling on questions.
• Philosophical questions have no ready-made answers demanding patience, courage, and hope.
• Philosophers see the human as defined by body and spirit union with the body and spirit not only united however integrated.
• Embodied spirit is the driving force of thought, action, and speech
• Embodiment is precondition for subjectivity, emotion, language, thought, and social interaction.
• The body enables us to love is an embodiment allowing us to experience love.
• The body and spirit are interconnected rather than separate.
• The oxford dictionary defines human being as a man with superior development, power of articulated speech, and upright stance
• Some philosophers say that humans beings are also spiritual, ethical, and existential beings.

Metaphysical Approach

• What the human person is (nature and relations of being); Focuses what unique makes a human person. Focuses on kinds of substance.

Existential Approach

• Who (being in the world), Focuses on mode of existence unique.

Aspects of Human Nature

• These are inseparable: Somatic (body), Behavioral, and Attitudinal.

Theories on Human Nature

• Plato: Human is an immortal soul that's the source of movement.
• Aristotle: Human is a composite of body/soul.
• Descartes: Is the "Thinking Thing" asserts mind/body distinction

Five Possibilities of Embodied Spirit

• Subjectivity: person's possibility as a subject
• Incarnated: being embodied as a person can be open
• Realizes itself: person is always in the making
• Help of the world: striving for excellence
• Intersubjectivity: existence with others

Transcendence

• Transcendence comes from "to climb", rising above limitations
• One must acknowledge a connection to the larger society
• The goal of self transcendence is the ability to change and being dynamic.
• Self transcendence comes from realizing you are a part of the greater part.

Limitations

• A bound beyond which one may not do Ex. I cannot help everyone
• Possbilities: Something that happens
• We are able to transcend limitations/ physical and mental

Limitations of the Human Person as an Embodied Spirit

• Refers to the things in our life that are already given Ex.gender race
• Temporal Beings: finitude is a limitation
• Limited by spatial as well.

The Body as Intermediary

• Serves as Intermediary between us the world.

Addressing our Limitations

• We should not use facticity as an excude.
• we are challenged to explore/ Make lives meanings.

The Body as Intermediary

• Challenges to convey what we said as it appears that we have a body that conceals feelings/ serves to solace.

Approaches To Understanding Human Relationships With The Environment

• Anthropocentrism: Humans are the most important Species considering the environment - Earth and natural resources are looked to explore and make benefit
• Biocentrism: Value and protect biodiversity - Paul taylor Ethics of Respect.
• Ecocentrism: Mankind is for something.

Environmentalism and sustainability: comprises of many issues.

This quiz explores fundamental philosophical questions across metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, and ethics. It tests understanding of key philosophical concepts and their application. It covers topics like the nature of reality, knowledge acquisition, logical consistency, beauty, morality, and types of statements.