Western Philosophy PDF

Western Philosophy Recap… Ethics Epistemology Political Philosophy Logic Aesthetics Metaphysics Branches of Philosophy Philosophical Frames of Philosophy in the World Eastern...

Western Philosophy Recap… Ethics Epistemology Political Philosophy Logic Aesthetics Metaphysics Branches of Philosophy Philosophical Frames of Philosophy in the World Eastern Western Philosophy Philosophy Indian Greek Chinese Western Philosophical Approach ▪ Ancient Philosophy ▪ Pre Socratic ▪ Socrates ▪ Plato ▪ Aristotle ▪ Medieval Philosophy ▪ Modern Philosophy ▪ Postmodern Philosophy Guess the Philosophical Period: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy Postmodern Philosophy. 1.Where did everything come from? 2.I think therefore I am. 3. What was the best way to live? Guess the Philosophical Period: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Postmodern Philosophy. 4. The end justify the means. 5. Knowledge is determined only by experience derived from sense perception. 6. We cannot arrive at an absolute truth. Guess the Philosophical Period: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Postmodern Philosophy. 7. Is there a God? How do we know that there is a God? 8. The mind is a like a tabularasa. 9. Existence precedes essence. Guess the Philosophical Period: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Postmodern Philosophy. 10. If God is all powerful and good, why there is evil in this world? Ancient Philosophy Pre-Socratic Period (600-400BCE, Greece) ▪The world’s first Philosophers. ▪Shifted from traditional mythological explanations (rejected the gods/goddess and monsters) to natural law. ▪They started to ask questions like: Where did everything come from? How can nature be described mathematically?  Pre-Socratic Philosophers ▪ Thales of Miletus: Everything is composed of WATER. ▪ Democritus: Universe was formed out of chaos through the joining of atoms ▪ Pythagoras: Every could be explain through mathematical theories and formula. ▪ Heraclitus: Everything is constantly changing.  Focus of their Philosophy: What was the best way to live??? “The unexamined life is not worth living” Socrates (470 BCE to 399 BCE) ❑ Considered the foremost philosopher of ancient times. Founder of western philosophy. Left no writing. SOCRATIC METHOD Means of examining a topic by devising a series of questions that let the learners examine and analyze his knowledge and views regarding the topic. Sample of Socratic Method Question: How Covid 19 pandemic affected your family? Response: My parent had lost their job resulting to our financial challenges. We have no income at all. Question: Why there is an unemployment in the Philippines? Response: Lack of good governance and poor economic planning. Question: How can we resolve the issue of unemployment? Ultimate Goal of Socrates’ Philosophy: Attainment of Good Life Good life simply means being wise and virtuous through acquisition of knowledge, wisdom and virtue. Ultimate Goal of Socrates’ Philosophy: ▪ For Socrates, to be a happy, a person has to live a virtuous life – Know and do what is right based on good reasons. ▪ Virtue is not something to be taught or acquired through education, but rather it is merely awakening of the seeds of good deeds that lay dormant in the mind and heart of a person. For us to attain the Good Life, we need to examine our life. Socrates believes that we are given all the faculties to explore and discover our life. “The unexamined life is not worth living”  Socrates Trial and Death ▪ Placed on trial for corrupting the minds of the youth. ▪ Was executed in 399 BCE– drank poison hemlock. ▪ For Socrates, the true wise person has the capacity to admit that he really knows nothing at all. Plato (427 BCE to 347 BCE) A student of Socrates. His teachings and writings were considered the foundation of Western philosophy. Plato’s Philosophical Goal: How do we acquire knowledge??? ▪ Notable for his Theory of Forms – It proposes that everything that exists is based on an idea that can only be perceived in the mind. These non physical ideas are eternal and unchanging. Non-physical forms, or ideas, are the most accurate reality. ▪ Knowledge is intrinsically present in an individual’s spirit. Plato: Two Reality Perfect Dog Imperfect Dog Relevance of Plato’s Philosophy We are able to find mathematical truths without observation of the world. Plato (427 BCE to 347 BCE) ▪ Encourage a person to think more to attain fulfillment in life. ▪ Established a school called The Academy. At the academy he taught his subjects like astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory and philosophy. Aristotle (384 BCE to 322 BCE) ▪ A student of Plato. His philosophy is a reaction to Plato’s philosophy. For him, all ideas and views are based on perception and our reality is based on what we can sense or perceive. Relevance of Aristotle’s Philosophy Greatly influenced the study of physical sciences. We gain knowledge based on experiences. Philosophical Goal of Aristotle: What makes people happy? People must live in moderation by being virtuous. Deficiency Mean Excess Cowardice Courage Rashness Infidelity Loyalty Fanaticism Virtue is attained as a result of habit. We can obtain the virtue of courage by maintaining it within the boundary of the mean while avoiding rashness and cowardice. What are your take aways in the philosophy of three most notable figures of Ancient Philosophy? Medieval Philosophy 400AD – 14th century Let’s Ponder… ▪ Is there a God? How do we know that there is a God? ▪ Do you believe that the use of artificial contraceptives such as condoms, birth control pills and the like are immoral because they are engaging in sexual acts without procreation in mind?  Situation during Medieval Age After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the Church.  Situation during Medieval Age No scientific accomplishments had been made, no great art produced, no great leaders born.  Medieval Philosophy ▪ Focuses on religion ▪ Consolidates the philosophy of Ancient Greeks: Aristotle and Plato ▪ A tension between faith and reason arises: What is the precise relationship between the two? How one is to live a life of faith, not betraying it but rather enriching it with Greek reason.  Scholasticism (11th-15th Century) ▪ Philosophic and theological movement that attempted the use of natural human reason, in particular the philosophy and science of Aristotle to understand the supernatural content of Christian revelation. ▪ The ultimate ideal of the movement was to integrate into an ordered system both the natural wisdom of Greece and Rome and the religious wisdom of Christianity. Thomas Aquinas (1225- 1274) ▪ Italian philosopher and theologian, whose works have made him the most important figure in Scholastic philosophy and one of the leading Roman Catholic theologians. ▪ Major Work: “Summa Theologica”  5 Ways of Proving God Thomas Aquinas 1.Motion 2.Causation Cosmological Argument – 3.Contingency Deals with Nature 4.Goodness/Perfection Teleological 5.The Way of the Design Argument – Goal-Oriented or Purposeful  5 Ways of Proving God Thomas Aquinas 1.Motion: Things move and change. Things are put into motion by something else. There cannot be an infinite regress, therefore there must have been an initial unmoved mover. This we call God. 2. Causation: All things have an immediate or efficient cause. The efficient cause cannot go back infinitely, so there must be a first, uncaused cause. This we call God.  5 Ways of Proving God Thomas Aquinas 3. Contingency: It is not necessary for any particular thing to exist, they are rather, contingent things. All possible things at one point did not exist. If all things are merely contingent, then at one time things did not exist. There must be a necessary essence that caused all contingent things to be. This we call God. (a being such that if it exists, it could have not-existed)  5 Ways of Proving God Thomas Aquinas 4. Goodness/Perfection: Things have degrees of perfection – larger or smaller, heavier or lighter, warmer or colder. Degrees imply the existence of a maximum perfection. This maximum perfection we call God. 5. The Way of Design: Things in this world are ordered to particular ends. Even unintelligent things are predisposed to this and not that. This order inherent in event inanimate things necessitates an intelligence to direct it. This intelligence we call God. Thomas Aquinas Natural Law ▪ Underlying principles of moral practice ▪ Good should be pursued and done while evil should be avoided. Modern Philosophy Renaissance and Age of Reason 15th – 19th century From Darkness to Light Humanism Promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe, and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science. Modern Philosophy ▪ The rise of Rationalism mostly in France and Germany, argued all knowledge must begin from certain “innate ideas” in the mind. Modern Philosophers Rationalists Empiricists ▪ Descartes ▪ Machiavelli ▪ Kant ▪ Locke ▪ Leibniz ▪ Hobbes ▪ Bacon ▪ Marx Rationalism Rene Descartes (1596- 1650) ▪ Rationalist fixated on figuring out how to know the truth. ▪ Doubt everything that can be doubted ▪ Expand from that point to find what is knowable and true. ▪ This is a rational exercise – the senses cannot be exercise. Empiricism John Locke (1632 – 1704) ▪ Locke’s theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self. ▪ His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. ▪ Knowledge is determined only by experience derived from sense perception. Empiricism: Political Philosophy (1469 – 1527) “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than be loved”  Niccolo Machiavelli ▪ Considered as the Father of Modern Political Science ▪ He formulated his own theory of effective government in a treatise known as "The Prince," and he based his ideal "Prince" on Cesare Borgia's life. ▪ He famously asserted that good rulers sometimes have to learn "not to be good," they have to be willing to set aside ethical concerns of justice, honesty, and kindness in order to maintain the stability of the state Niccolo Machiavelli His View about Governance “It is better to be feared than be loved.” “He makes the generalization that men are, "...ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well they are yours." The end justifies the means. Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince: Analyzing Power ▪ Only by means of the proper application of power, Machiavelli believes, can individuals be brought to obey and will the ruler be able to maintain the state in safety and security. ▪ If your subjects fear you, they will follow you. Love does not bind people to follow the law, rather it is fear of punishment that impedes them from breaking laws. Existentialism (mid 19th -20th century) ▪ A complex philosophy emphasizing the absurdity of reality and the human responsibility to make choices and accept consequences. ▪ It was during the World War II when Europe found itself in a crisis faced with death and destruction, that the existential movement began to flourish. Popularized in France in the 1940’s. Existentialism “Existence precedes Essence” ▪ Emphasize the existence of the human being, the lack of meaning and purpose in life and the solitude of human existence. Some Famous Existentialists ▪ Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) ▪ Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1844 – 1900) ▪ Jean Paul Sartre ( 1905 – 1980) ▪ Albert Camus (1913-1960) Albert Camus ▪ For him “Life is Absurd” ▪ Acknowledged man’s lonely condition in the universe. ▪ Man creates himself through the choices he makes. There are no guides for these choices, but he has to make them anyway, which renders life absurd. Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1844 – 1900) The Will to Power ▪ The will to power explains the fundamental changing aspect of reality. According to Nietzsche, everything is in flux and there is no such thing as fixed being. Matter is always moving and changing. Same goes with knowledge, ideas, truth and everything else. ▪ The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans – achievement, ambition, and the striving to reach the highest possible position in life. These are all manifestations of the will to power. Friedrich Nietzsche on Morality ▪ The laws that a society invents and then upholds become internalized and create a conscience by which people intuitively judge between good and evil. This creates fear of punishment. Thus, the morality of traditional religions encourages conformity, suffering, and sickness. Friedrich Nietzsche on Morality ▪ Human beings, according to Nietzsche, are fundamentally a part of nature. This means that he rejects all accounts of morality that are grounded in a conception of human activity as answerable to a supernatural or otherworldly source of value. The idea of morality as grounded in the commands of God is thus rejected. Nietzsche's Ubermensch or Superman ▪ It is a person who has transcended or gone beyond good and evil by perfecting oneself by going through the loving one’s fate and destiny with a will strong enough to embrace everything one encounters in life, including suffering pain and sorrow. ▪ It is a creative individual who does not merely follow or obey the laws of others, even the laws of God. The Ubermensch's meaning, then, is a meaning of creation, both the creation of self and of the world. It is a symbol of “strength.” Nietzsche's Ubermensch or Superman ▪ He is human-become-god. Rather than look externally, the Übermensch is his own determiner of value. Postmodernism Philosophy 19th century Postmodernism Philosophy ▪ Postmodernism rejects concepts of rationality, objectivity, and universal truth. Instead, it emphasizes the diversity of human experience and multiplicity of perspectives. ▪ Uncertainty ▪ Lack of Absolutes ▪ Progress is unlikely ▪ You don’t have direct knowledge of anything, even of yourself. Notable Postmodernism Philosopher ▪ Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) (Deconstruction) ▪ Michel Foucault (1926 -1984) (Power) Notable Postmodernism Philosopher ▪ Michel Foucault (Power) Power is hidden into laws, rules, regulations and policies that undermines the freedom of people. But people do not realize this. They allow the state/others to control them. People follow the law because that is the rule. They do not question the rule. They follow because it is what they are told. Foucault said that it undermines human reason. It destroys human freedom. Panopticon - allows a watchman to observe occupants without the occupants knowing whether or not they are being watched. Create a graphic organizer about the development of Western Philosophy based on you own understanding.  Rubric: Criteria Description Points Required Elements The graphic organizer shows the 30% development of western philosophy and were clearly conveyed Graphic Relevance Important concepts such as Ancient, 40% Medieval, Modern and Postmodernism Philosophy were highlighted and easier to understand. Presentation The graphic organizers are exceptionally 30% attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness. Total = 100%