UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS
[2016]
Offices: GW 301 (1) 3rd floor
George Nyongesa - 0720451235

FUNDAMENTALS OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Introduction
We want to understand philosophy as both a concept and discipline.
I know you are familiar with Religious Studies, History, Geography, Chemistry and Biology
among others. You can briefly describe what they study and probably how they do it. In like
manner, we shall try to understand what philosophy is, what philosophers’ study and how
they go about their business.
Fundamental Questions in Philosophy
Big questions: What can we know? How should we live our lives?
These questions in turn gave rise to others: Can we ever have absolutely certain knowledge?
What constitutes a good reason for believing something?
Must we always have evidence in order to know? Are there things about the world that are in
principle impossible to know? Are mind and body distinct? Are people ever really free? Is
there a God? Do numbers exist? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Why should we obey
the law? Under what conditions is it right to restrict a person’s liberty? Is capital punishment
immoral? Do trees have rights? How can moral disagreements be rationally settled? Which
takes precedence over the other, the Right or the Good? What is truth? Is the sentence “This
sentence is false” true or false?
Why study philosophy?
Transferable skills and personal characteristics include:
- reasoning skills: logic; analysis and synthesis; handling of concepts; critical ability;
identifying and questioning assumptions; arguing a case; problem solving and decision
making
- handling symbolism: formal systems; statistical arguments; computer literacy
- communication skills: clarity, relevance, and succinctness in written and oral
presentations
- comprehension: mastery of difficult and complex texts; listening to what others say, and
appreciating different points of view; coping with a high level of uncertainty

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 depth and breadth of view: seeing beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries; identifying
first principles and practical applications; tracing connections; objectivity
- reflexivity: handling of second-order questions; awareness of one's own thinking and use
of language; ability to assess one's own strengths and weaknesses, and those of others
- originality: independence of thought; flexibility of approach; adaptability to a changing
environment; inventiveness in producing examples and counter-examples

Who is a philosopher?
- We want to begin by defining the activity that a philosopher engages in.
- Who is a philosopher?
- Alternatively, what does a philosopher do?
a) An individual who holds deep-seated, powerful or convincing ideas about humanity,
nature and God.
b) An individual who has a demonstrated understanding of the laws of the universe,
society and nature.
c) An individual who has discovered or articulated idea(s) that have proved useful in the
history of science and society.
Definition of philosophy
a) Importance of reason:
- Greeks started the history of being concerned with “life questions”
- They sought to answer questions using reason = power to think clearly
- Logic/rational is a step by step method of thinking through a problem or question
b) Philosophy may simply be defined as ‘love of Wisdom’
But, it is also,
c) A ‘set of beliefs and attitudes that are held towards life and the universe.’
d) A process of reflecting upon and criticizing our deeply held beliefs and attitudes
e) A method of explaining and understanding human knowledge and activities
f) The conceptual analysis of language - when you speak, I listen to what you say and if
not clear I challenge to be clearer…

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Fundamental Questions in Philosophy
Human beings are in many situations seen as superior to other classes of animals in the
universe. This is because human beings seek knowledge in a specific way. They know what
they want to know, how and why. These are questions that you must always ask
deliberately… So, we say that human beings are rational beings. They want to explain
reality. Do you know what reality is? They want to explore the extent and limits to what
they can know and how they can know it. This leads particular individuals into discovering
laws in nature/universe that others are or have been unable to even come close to grapple
with. Naturally every human being thinks they know so much but that is far from reality.
All you need to do is engage them on what they claim to know and you will half baked
ideas, stupidity or nonsense redefined. The discovery REALITY can be attributed to the
fact that their human beings/individuals who ask and seek answers to questions which
many of us have taken for granted. Here is a shocker: These people think for you, society
and humanity. But do you know they do? Other questions about REALITY provide a
puzzle for the human mind. Some human beings love to explore to the horizons of what can
be known and not known. Others they are fine with what they have always been told by
parents, pastors, Imams, Professors, etc. For instance, most of you believe that you have a
soul? Why? Can you rational and convincingly demonstrate that you have a soul? Does
God exist? How do we know? Is your method of knowing God’s existence or non-
existence indisputable?
The point of all these questions is to remind you to be HUMBLE because there is so much
you take for granted that you know but you really don’t know. Upside of this, if you are
interested in knowing and you are patient to ask and seek rational/logical answers then it is
possible to move from ignorance to swim in the sea of knowledge…welcome!

Philosophy seeks to address questions that are of ultimate, relevant, profound and
fundamental to humanity, nature and God. These questions are basic such that they have to
be dealt with and sorted out before all other related issues can be meaningfully resolved.
From these questions we shall generate the basic disciplines in philosophy. We want to
categorize these as follows:
 Epistemological question;

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 -is it possible to have knowledge at all?
-does reason provide us with knowledge of the world independently of the experience?
- does your knowledge represent reality as it really is?
-what is knowledge?
-what makes a belief reasonable/justifiable/rational?
-what is the pathway to knowledge?
 Metaphysical/Ontological question
-what exists?
-what does it mean to exist?
-what is reality?
-are people basically good or bad?
-what is the nature of the world in which we live in?
-what is the nature of being and of reality (ontology)?
-what is the origin and structure of the universe (cosmology)?
-what or who is God? What are the relations among God and humankind, and the
universe (theology)?
 Ethical/Moral question,
-is there absolute moral truths?
-what makes an act right or wrong?
-is war ever right?
-where do we get our morals?
-is there a time its ok to steal?
 Logical question;
-how can we reason correctly?
-how does the truth of argument’s premise affect the truth of its conclusion?
-what do the words we use mean?
-how can we say things especially in a way that it has only one meaning?

Elements/Branches of Philosophy
1. Epistemology
What is epistemology?

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Epistemology (from Greek episteme, “knowledge”; logos, “theory”)
Epistemological questions
Epistemology is mainly concerned with study of human knowledge it’s sources, nature
and validity.
What qualifies to be knowledge? How do we know?
What does not qualify to be knowledge? How do we know?

2. Metaphysical/Ontological
As a human being, you think about reality in a way that goes beyond what you can see,
smell, feel and touch. Philosophers and human beings in general think about possibilities
of existence of realities other than what is available to immediate sense perception. This
is the realm of metaphysics.
What is Metaphysics?
We ask questions whose answers are not immediately available within the existing
environment. Questions that arouse metaphysical interest include, but are not limited to:
o Is the nature of reality including inquiry into the basic element in the universe?
o What is meaning and nature of time and space?
o What is the origin, nature and purpose of the universe?
o Is there beginning and possibility of the end of the physical universe?
o Is there possibility if any of the existence of any other universe other than the one
we know?
From the metaphysical question, we derive he branch of philosophy called metaphysics.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of ultimate reality.
3. Morality/Ethics
It is mainly concerned with moral values and the fundamental principles that define
human conduct and relationships.
It is about appraising human character. Remember you thank your friends for behaving
well, and condemn others for their awful behavior.
Fathers who neglect their families are bad. They are neglecting their duty, or what they
ought to have done.
What we are engaged in here is making judgments about how others behave in given
situations.

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 Some questions that one may be interested in would include among others;
g) What principles would justify telling a lie?
h) What principles would justify stealing and taking away human life?

4. Logic
The logical question in philosophy is concerned with justification of the claims we make
about reality. The logical question seeks to establish the correct procedure in thinking
and reasoning.

It involves an inquiry into the process as well as functions of reasoning, pointing out
correct from incorrect, legitimate from flawed reasoning.
What is Logic?
Logic is the science that deals with the principles of valid reasoning and argument.
Logic formulates principles and rules that guide our reasoning procedure.