Philosophy Overview Quiz

Philosophy Overview

• Derived from Greek words "Philo" (love) and "Sophia" (wisdom), signifying love for wisdom and the act of wondering.
• Encourages critical thinking and self-reflection.

Components of Philosophy

• Metaphysics: Examines the nature of reality, involving beings and existence.
• Epistemology: Investigates the validity and scope of human knowledge.
• Ethics: Studies morality and the implications of human actions.
• Cosmology: Explores the science of the universe, including concepts of space and time.
• Theodicy: Philosophical study concerning the existence of God.
• Logic:
  • Defined as the science and art of correct thinking.
  • Combines empirical science with artistic reasoning to acquire and interpret knowledge.
  • Foundation for all scientific disciplines.

Types of Logic

• Transcendental Logic: Investigates the priority of cognitive elements in human thought.
• Symbolic Logic: Utilizes mathematical methods in reasoning processes.
• Applied Logic: Focuses on the use of logic in natural sciences.
• Natural Logic (Common Sense): The innate ability to judge and reason correctly.

Origins of Logic

• Aristotle: Considered the father of logic; compiled logical works in "Organon," which means instrument.
• His treatises include categories, interpretation, prior and posterior analytics, topics, and sophistical refutation.
• Pierre de la Ramee (1515 - 1572): Critiqued Aristotelian logic; identified three activities of the mind:
  • Simple Apprehension
  • Judgment
  • Reasoning

Formation of Ideas

• Process of Intellectualization (or Ideogenesis): Refers to how ideas are formed.
• Human Cognition:
  • Sensitive Approach: Knowledge is obtained through senses, which perceive external qualities but not the essence.
  • Intellectual Approach: Understanding concepts beyond direct sensory experience; relies on intellect.

Process of Idea Formation

• Sensible Order:
  • Objective realities are perceived by external senses.
  • External qualities are gathered to form a unified understanding through common sense.
• Percept:
  • The impression of object features that exist in perception.
  • Creates a mental representation called “Phantasm” through cognitive sense, imagination, and memory.

Intellectual Order

• Agent Intellect: Individualizes phantasms by discarding non-essential features to reveal abstract concepts.
• Possible Intellect: Receives and processes the output of agent intellect to form ideas or concepts, representing the essence of known objects.

Truth

• Defined as the conformity between intellect and reality (adequate intellectus et rei) as proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Classification of Terms:
  • Univocal Terms: Same meaning across different contexts (e.g., "student").
  • Analogous Terms: Partly similar and partly different meanings (e.g., "orange" as a fruit vs. color).
  • Equivocal Terms: Different meanings in various contexts (e.g., "match" for lighting a candle vs. matching items).