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INTRO___________________________  West – no religions but many advancements in

philosophy, science, and technology, view of
Etymology philosophy is more dynamic
 “philia” - love  East – many religions, falling behind in science,
 “sophia” - wisdom philosophy, and technology, view of philosophy is
 Philosophy – love of wisdom static (because of religion)
 Pythagoras was responsible for coining the term  Why the disparity?
 Philosopher – lover of wisdom  In the East, tradition of asking questions is not
strong
Love of Wisdom  East – focus on religion – In religion, ultimate
 Two types of love knowledge (how to get yourself to heaven) is
a) Well-wishing love – unselfish, detached form of already known, and so there is no need to know
love anything else about the world
b) Desiring love – possessive love (ex. Love of
wisdom) Filipino Philosophy
 Wisdom vs Knowledge  Mabini – political philosophy
a) Knowledge – requirement for wisdom  Rizal – philosophical thinking can be seen through
b) Wisdom Pilosopo Tasyo
- profound knowledge  Filipino view of philosophy – Western
- holistic view of things
* make connections Philosophy (more academic definition)
* world-view/ world outlook  The attempt to find reasoned answers to questions
- overall view of things which are not addressed by the other fields of
- result of exposure to a lot of experience inquiry because they are
- evaluative knowledge  Too general
* what is more vs. less valuable  Too fundamental
- knowledge together with the ability,  Normative
inclination, steady, purpose of putting  About the universe as a whole
knowledge to good use
Branches of Philosophy
2 Character roles of a Philosopher in Western trad. a) Metaphysics (Ontology)
a) Wise man  The study of being as such
 Sage * being vs. becoming
 Have written voluminous writing  The study of the first principles of being
 Papers written have integral wholeness 1. Nothing can come from nothing. Something can
b) Gadfly only come from something.
 Combination of extreme critical thinker, smart 2. Everything has a cause.
reasoner, and pesky inquirer 3. The effect never precedes its cause.
 Obnoxious/objectionable  The branch of philosophy concerned about the
 Challenge thought system of your day nature of the ultimate being
* theology/ religion – ultimate being: God
Character Role of Eastern Philosopher  The branch of philosophy concerned about the
a) Wise man (only) ultimate nature of being
 Philosophy is connected with religion * Democritus – introduced concept of atoms
 Students don’t challenge master * 20th century – atoms can still be subdivided
 Knowledge is transmitted from past to future  The branch of philosophy concerned about the
 Final truth has been said by ancient master most fundamental sorts of things in the universe
* Monism – belief that there is one and only one
East vs. West fundamental sort
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* Materialism (preferred by science) –  What is right/wrong?
fundamental sort: matter  What is goodness/badness/evil?
* Idealism (rival of materialism) – fundamental  What makes us moral beings?
sort: ideas/mind; religious position; creation – a) Concerned w/ answering the question “What is
ideas of God good/bad?”
* Dualism (preferred by Christianity) *amoral – not concerned
- 2 fundamental sorts: matter & mind b) Has a measure of what is good/bad, right/wrong
- one can exist independently w/o the other c) Once you know the good, you do; Once you
- Humans are body (matter) and soul/spirit know the bad, you don’t do
(psyche) (immaterial aspect – “cogito”) *immoral – you know the bad but you still do it
- existence of the soul – to explain the “out of  Problem: Moral relativism
body” experiences What is said to be good in one religion/culture is
* Materialism vs. Dualism (Human Immortality) said to be bad in another
- Materialism – no human immortality  2 institutions that are basis of morality
- Dualism – body dies, soul remains conscious; a) religion – provides moral precepts
soul is immortal *Moral Intuition – not subject to being
b) Epistemology scientifically investigated
 Theory of knowledge b) culture – almost all cultures have moral
 The branch of philosophy that investigates the commandments
origin, structure, methods, and validity of e) Aesthetics
knowledge  Theory of art
 Philosophical science of the nature of knowledge  The branch of philosophy dealing with beauty or
and truth the beautiful, especially in art, and with taste and
 What is knowledge? Justified true belief – with standards of value in judging art
sufficient evidence  Who are beautiful?
 How do we know? – process of knowing  What is beauty? – more difficult because you have
 What is the origin of knowledge? to discern what is common among those who are
 What is the structure of knowledge? beautiful
 What are the methods of knowing?
 How do we validate knowledge claims? Fields of Philosophy
 What are the functions of knowledge? a) Philosophy of Language
c) Logic  Meaning – not possessed by any linguistic
 The formed science of the principles governing construct
correct reasoning  Not all things said by humans have meaning
 The science & art of correct reasoning b) Philosophy of Science
 The study of correct & incorrect reasoning  Appeals more strongly to intellect
 What is correct & incorrect reasoning?  Clarity of meaning
 Why study correct reasoning? To reason correctly  Scientific language – conveys large amount of
 Why study incorrect Reasoning? To recognize if information in small amounts of linguistic
an argument is incorrect, point it out, and refute it expression
d) Ethics c) Philosophy of Religion
 Moral Philosophy  Appeals to emotion
 Theory of morality  Many differences between religious and scientific
 Study of discipline which concerns itself with language (ex. Angel, soul)
judgments of approval & disapproval, d) Philosophy of Mind
rightness/wrongness, goodness/badness,  One of the most hi-tech fields of philosophy
virtue/vice, desirability/undesirability,  Philosophers deal with artificial intelligence
wisdom/folly, of actions, dispositions, purposes,  Can machines think/have minds?
and conditions Mind – characterized by will; software of brain
 What is good/bad?
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Traditions of Western Philosophy  Analytic Philosophy
a) Scholastic Tradition  Strongest influence: Great Britain
 Heavenwards looking tradition  Originally British philosophy
 Age of belief  Strong influence in Canada, Australia, New
 Catholic-dominated countries Zealand, Philippines
 Spain, France, Rome, Italy  Most philosophical writings are in English
 Philosophy – the handmaiden of theology  Gained attention during the 1900s
Essence of philosophy is to serve theology  Founding Fathers
Philosophy has no meaning on its own a) Bertrand Russell
 Intertwined philosophy w/ religion b) G. E. Moore
 St. Augustine – “The City of God” c) Gottlob Frege
 St. Thomas Aquinas – “Five Arguments for the d) Ludwig Wittgenstein
Existence of God” e) The Logical Positivist
 St. Anselm – “Ontological Argument for the  Analytic vs. Non-analytic philosophy
Existence of God” Anal – straightforward language/scientific
 Scholars call themselves divine Non-anal – flowery language
 Decline: rise of early modern science  Characteristics of Analytic Philosophy
Galileo – open debater a) Passion for clear thinking and clear meaning
Copernicus – more careful; sun-centered universe b) Keen interest in logic and other formal
b) Continental Tradition structures (especially those of language)
 Earthwards-looking tradition c) General disdain if not outright rejection of
 Continent = Europe traditional metaphysics
 2 Central Countries – France & Germany  Clear thinking -> linguistic constructs have clear
 Focuses on ideological issues/debates meaning
 Focus: The human condition – agonies of life  Unclear ling. constructs -> source of philosophical
- full of anxiety errors
- full of dread  Go straight to the point; figures of speech lead to
- full of anguish (angst) ambiguity
- full of forlornness  Virtue of logic – when you can express yourself in
- full of alienation logical language that you are clearest and most
 Paradise – on this earth not heaven precise
 Humane human society  Ordinary language is not too innocent in
 Ideological Conflicts During 20th Century generating philosophical errors
- WWII (Allies vs Axis) – democracy vs Nazism a) The golden mountain erupts.
(Germany), Fascism (Italy), Asia for Asians b) The golden mountain does not erupt.
(Japan) c) The golden mountain erupts.
- Cold War (USA vs USSR + China) – capitalism d) The golden mountain erupts.
vs communism/socialism e) The golden mountain erupts. – denies existence
- Feminism vs. Male stream Philosophy – gender of subject, paradoxical; no subject – not
equality meaningful
c) Pragmatic Tradition *Meinong’s sol: subj.:” the possible golden
mountain”
 Pragmatic Philosophy
*Russell said ^sol loses sense of reality in
 Strongest Influence: Mainland USA
philosophy
 Closest to Analytic Philosophy but not identical
*According to Russell, logical sentence is “There
 Difference between pragmatic and analytic is no golden mountain.”
philosophy: Theories of truth *Traditional Metaphysics - spirits, angels - no
- “pragmatic criterion of truth” – not accepted in conclusive answer, no clear solution, banished out
anal. philosophy of philosophy
d) Analytic Tradition *Positivism
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- developed in Analytic Philosophy Concepts
- metaphysical questions are plainly and simply  Much more problematic
meaningless  Not material objects
*Late 20th c. – Positivism weighed down  Exist in the mind
- science also has metaphysics (the unobservable)  Ideas or notions we have in our mind
- Quantum mechanics – behavior of elementary  The mind is the software of the brain
particles  How do concepts come to exist in our minds?
a) Rationalist - Plato – our minds and souls were
Ages in Philosophy once in heaven, already loaded with concepts
a) Age of Belief (medieval period) b) Empiricist – When we were born, our minds were
 Age of Monastic Supremacy tabularasa (blank slate); we get concepts through
 Scholastic Tradition experience
 Dominant Influence: Church  Process of abstraction
b) Age of Reason - John Locke(empiricist)
c) Age of Enlightenment - At any point, a person is surrounded by a field of
d) Age of Ideology experience
e) Age of Analysis (present) - All things that exist are particulars
- Human beings are linguistic animals – we express
ourselves through the use of language
WORDS AND - Impossible to assign a name to every particular
- We try to discern commonalities among particulars
CONCEPTS_______________
 Term
- A word or group of words used to express a
Words
concept
 Simplest unit of communication in a natural
- No truth-value
language
 Not the most fundamental units of language THEORIES OF
 Letters of the alphabet are the most fundamental MEANING_______________
units of language
 Meaningfulness starts at the level of words, not Referential Theory of Meaning
letters  Plato & Aristotle – 1st 2 philosophers to search for
 Words are signs what meaning is
 Signs – stand for/represent something other than  Point the object and say the word
itself  What you are pointing at = meaning / referent of the
 Words are artificial word / bearer / meaning of the name
- created/constructed by people  Part of speech emphasized: nouns/names
 Words are arbitrary - imaginary  Non-genuine names - fiction – meaningless
 Words are material  Accepted theory of meaning until 19th c.
- 2 modes of existence of a word  Challenged by Gottlob Frege
* marks of a definite pattern written on a suitable The morning star is the evening star. A=B
surface -> physical material existence The morning star is the morning star. A=A
* sounds of a definite pattern *Could not be the same
- Aspects of language: graphics & phonetics *Correct by referential theory of meaning
 Words are mystical (mystifying) *Venus – proper name
- eternal *Morning star – not proper name but definite
- God: “The earth will come to pass, but my words description
will remain *Definite description – any expression of the form
- not analytic because analytic philosophy involves the so and so
scientific writing or discourse
Frege: Theory of Meaning of Proper Names
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 Tasks of proper names - 1st Level Problem
a) To express sense *There is no problem if there is a concurrent
b) To designate nominatum of referent referent
 Sense of a proper name – mode of presentation of *Concurrent – you can point to the referent
the object which is the referent of the name *If none, shift concurrent to historical referent –
 Referent of LH term = Referent of RH term we know we cannot point because it already
Sense of LH term not equal to sense of RH term happened
Shows that sentences do not mean the same - 2nd Level Problem
 Theory of sense as meaning *Not easy to resolve
Morning star – midnight – before sunrise *We have to get used to those sentences as realists
Evening star – after sunset - midnight despite their absurdity because not letting go of the
 Any object is self-identical – principle of logic referential theory of meaning would lead to
 Meaning can be sense and referent ignorance as to what the difference between
fiction and reality is
John Stewart Mill – Proper Names  If Wittgenstein demolished the referential theory of
 Proper names denote a referent, no meaning, there is a vacuum
sense/connotation  Wittgenstein’s replacement was the Use Theory of
 Denotation – referent Meaning
- Complicated
 Connotation – sense
- The meaning of a word is its use in language
 Common names – denote and connote; have
- The meaning of a word or linguistic expression is
multiple referents
its use in a language game
 Connotation counts as meaning -> proper names –
meaningless

Russell EXTENSION AND

 Proper names denote but have meaning INTENSION___________
 Restored referential theory of meaning
 Sense: secondary level Extension
 Referent: primary level  Denotation
Ludwig Wittgenstein  Referent
 Demolished the referential theory of meaning  Set of objects
 Proposed two counterexamples  Ex. All the chairs in the world
“Excalibur is broken into pieces.”
*1st level problem: Excalibur does not exist = no
referent Intension
*2nd level problem: The meaning of the proper name  Connotation
Excalibur is broken into pieces  Sense
“Mr. N. N. is dead.”  Certain defining or qualifying characteristics
*No more referent common to them and at the same time exclusive to
*The meaning of the proper name Mr. N. N. is dead them
*absurd sentence construct, not normal English  Ex. Characteristics possessed by all chairs and at the
sentence same time exclusive to all chairs
 Wittgenstein’s examples = weak
*no actual referent (fictional) Two contrasting notions of intension
*proper examples: historical proper names a) Aristotelian (essentialist, scientific)
Rizal was shot at Luneta on Dec 30, 1896  Science – precise intension
1st level problem: no referent b) Wittgensteinian (non-essentialist, ordinary language)
2nd level problem: The meaning of the proper name  In ordinary language, words don’t have precise
“Rizal” was shot at Luneta on Dec 30, 1896 intension
 Resolving the Issue
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 Members of extension of ordinary language  Members of the extension – unobservable without
possess family resemblance the use of sensory extending devices (ex.
Microscope)
Inverse relation between the extension and intension  Ex. Virus, germs, blackholes, electrons
of comparable terms f) Dispositional
 As extension increases, intension decreases  Members of the extension – phenomena that only
 As intension increases, extension decreases become observable after certain operations are
 Ex. UP student vs. Student performed
UP student – more extension, less intension  Science
Student – less intension, more extension  Well defined intension
 Ex. Elastic, magnetic, temperature,
electromagnetism, solubility of salt in water
CONCEPTS_________________________ g) Evaluative
_  Moral judgment
 Ex. Good, bad, right, wrong, legal, illegal
Types of Concepts
a) Empirical 2 Tests for How Concepts are Accepted in Science
 Observable in the external world  Intra – when you can identify members of the
 Intension (characteristics) is also observable extension
 Least problematic  Inter – evidence is open to everyone
 Ex. Tables, stones
b) Analytic/Abstract
 Most problematic DEFINITIONS______________________
 Entities which cannot be found in the world __
 Neither tangible nor visible
 Formal sciences – arithmetic, calculus, logic Elements of a Definition
 Exist in our minds a) definiendum – word before the dash
 Has precise intension *the term being defined
 Ex. Line segment – you can only draw a b) denotata – all words after the dash
representation; Point – you can only draw a dot
because a point is abstract) Types of Definition
c) Fictitious a) Stipulative – expand vocabulary
 Members of extension are purely imaginary (non-  Stipulates (circular definition)
existent); null set  When a person is introducing a new term, word, or
 Has precise intension (why they are true to the symbol in a language
imagination)  Ex: selfie, n*m=the sum of n m’s
 Ex. Ghosts, tikbalang, werewolves, vampires, etc. b) Lexical/Reportive – eliminate ambiguity
 Lexicon: a large authoritative dictionary
d) Metaphysical  Presents many uses of a word, term, or symbol
 Fictitious  Eliminates ambiguity – word w/ many intensions
 Religious concepts  Ex. Table (periodic, multiplication), Fence
 Members of extension exist only in time but not in (barricade, fencing, anti-fencing)
space c) Precising – reduce vagueness
 Lack of proof; unobservable  Used to reduce vagueness of the word, term, or
 Lacks clear intension symbol
 Ex. Soul, angel, spirit, mind, matter  Ex. Legally living vs legally dead, clinically living
e) Theoretical vs clinically dead
d) Theoretical
 Science
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 Definition of a word, term, or symbol in the
context of a theory
 Ex. atom
e) Persuasive
 Encountered in ideological and political debates
 Ex. Capitalism is the ideology of greedy people

Purposes of Definition
a) to expand vocabulary
b) to eliminate ambiguity
c) to reduce vagueness
d) to explain theoretically
e) to influence attitudes

Techniques of definition
a) Extensional (denotative)
 Ostensive definition
 Definition by example
 Definition by subclasses
b) Intensional (connotative)
 Definition by synonym
 Definition by genus & differentia

Analytic Definition
 Combination of extensional & intensional
 Denotata – examples of the extension of the term