Korbel Foundation College, Inc.

Purok Spring, Brgy. Morales, City of Koronadal

Tel Number 877-2051/0228-1996

BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL
CONCEPTS
BusPhilo1
Business Logic

Prepared by:
Franky A. Sumayo, LPT.
 Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson
you will be able to:
• Understand definition and its different
classification
• Know the development of the Term
Philosophy and Philosophical Causes

• Know the Framework of Philosophical Causes in

the Business Context and Framework of
Philosophical Abstraction
• Differentiate Philosophy and Art and explain
the question of philosophy
•Explain the Sourcing Philosophical
Principle and the Ultimate Causes of
Business
 Introduction
Content
Any philosophical inquiry whether into philosophy per se or into with
philosophical perspectives of another disciplines must be made with a
view to looking into its nature and causes. This implies two things.
First, that every discipline has its nature and causes. This implies two
things. First, that every discipline has its nature and its causes which
explain its reason for being; second, that every discipline can be
subject of a philosophical inquiry. The process is a little overwhelming
specially to be the uninitiated but it is necessary and convenient to
identify where philosophy stands in relation to man, to science and its
ultimate causes.
The Meaning of PhilosophyContent
The starting point of a philosophical inquiry, as in all process of inquiry, is the definition
of terms and concepts, without which, no medium or common direction can be established
to ensure the stability of a philosophical foundation.

What Is a Definition
A definition is a statement which explains the meaning of a word or word group. It
explains what a thing is by answering the question “What is….x?” They may be done
according to the three basic approaches to the classification of definition, namely, nominal
and real, intrinsic and extrinsic, and essential and descriptive.
•Nominal and real definitions
Content
A definition is nominal when it explains in an indeterminate way what is that which is signified by
the name of the term defined. It is a connotation; an identification of concepts. On the other hand, a
definition is real when it explains the thing defined in a determinate way.

• Intrinsic and Extrinsic definition

An intrinsic definitions is one which explains a thing by principles which are inherent in the thing
itself. On the other hand extrinsic definition is one that explains a thing by principles which are not
inherent in the thing defined but are attributed to ordain towards the concept of that thing. The
concepts “created by God” “in His (God’s) image,” and eternal happiness are not inherent or parts of
the concept man, but are ordained towards man in terms of his creative origin, his exemplary origin,
and his purpose. They are attributions which cannot be made of other beings, except of man but not
as part of his nature or essence.

`
•Descriptive and essential definition
Content
A descriptive definition is one which explains a thing using principles other than what
constitute the concept of the thing defined. There are two type Proper descriptive and
Accidental descriptive.

•Essential definitions
Is one which explains a thing by assigning to it the principles which constitute the thing
itself. In other words, by the essence of the thing defined. This is done by presenting the thing
in its genus and its species within that genus.

In addition to the types of definition given, there is another one- the etymological definition
which explains the origin of a term, a word or a name. For example, scalar came from the Latin
scala meaning stairs.
 The DevelopmentContent
of the Term Philosophy
According to tradition, the early Greek thinkers referred to themselves as “ wise men”. Out
of humility however, Pythagoras preferred to be called simply as “a lover of wisdom” or
philosopher.” By etymology, “philosopher” comes from the Greek “philos” meaning lover and
“sophos” meaning wisdom. That was how Pythagoras referred to himself. That was the term
philosopher which, from, then on, replaced the term “wise men,” and philosophy replaced that
of wisdom. As a lover of wisdom, the philosopher seeks knowledge or truth for its own sake.
For one who seeks wisdom for its own sake, and not for any other motive, love of wisdom.

As a lover of wisdom, the philosopher seeks to knowledge or truth for its own sake. For
one who seeks wisdom for its own sake, and not for any other motive, loves wisdom. He is a
lover of wisdom. But one who seeks knowledge for some other motive loves the ,motive and
not knowledge. Pythagoras loved knowledge for its own sake, and truly deserved the title “
philosopher,” a lover of wisdom.
 The Philosophical
Content Causes
The essential definition of philosophy just given means that
the nature of a thing, anything, can be understood only terms of
its ultimate causes, of which there are four namely, the formal
cause, the material cause (intrinsic causes), efficient cause and
final cause ( extrinsic causes). They show the what, who/
whom, where, when, how and why a thing or of an act or of an
event. This doctrine of the four causes was first expounded by
Aristotle and later adopted by the Scholastics.
 NATURE OF THING
Content
In their

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC
CAUSE CAUSES

FORMAL CAUSE MATERIAL CAUSE EFFICIENT CAUSE FINAL CAUSE

• By whom
•What is • By what • For whom
•What is about
• Where • For what
• When • why
• How

Framework of Philosophical Causes in the Business Context

 Philosophy and Science
Content

There are similarities and there are differences between philosophy and science. In the
first place, science is the genus, philosophy is a species under it. Philosophy is aptly said to be
the science of dealing with ultimate causes of things; and science refers to the certain sure
knowledge acquired through demonstration or proof. Philosophy and science are both fields in
inquiry and investigation, asking questions and seeking answer to those questions. They are
both processes and structures. As processes, they are both a body of acquired knowledge.
And as a structures, they are both of acquired and systematically ordered towards the
acquisition of further knowledge.

How ever, philosophy and science differ in the kinds of knowledge they seek and by the
approach to the search for knowledge. Science seeks immediate knowledge of facts.
Philosophy seeks ultimate knowledge. Science seeks immediate causes of things, philosophy
seeks ultimate causes.
 Science as Object
Contentof the Intellect

More specifically, philosophy looks into the objects of man’s faculties- his
intellect in search of truth or knowledge and his will probing into the good or the
desirable. This search for knowledge and the good brings us to the various
disciplines of man’s learning. These may classified on the basis of the degree
of mental abstraction according to which the various disciplines are
categorized: first degree of abstraction, that is, abstracting from individuality
and arriving at common corporeal qualities; second degree of abstraction,
that is abstracting from corporeal properties and arriving at quantity; and third
degree of abstraction, that is abstracting from quantity and arriving at the
concept of being.
 SCIENCE
Content

Objects of the intellect

Objects of the will

From the First Degree From the Second From the Third
of Abstraction Degree of Abstraction Degree of Abstraction
Ethics
Cosmology Logic
Mathematics
Other
Behavioral /
Other Ontology Social Sciences
Other Physical
Quantitative
Sciences Other
Science
Metaphysical
Science
 Science asContent
Object of the Will
The object of the will is good or goodness, in the same way that the object
of the intellect is true or truth. So that when we say the every agent ( person)
tends towards an end, that end is good. But since the good in every act is both
objective good (the goodness of the object of the act itself), and subjective
good (the goodness in the consequence as perceived by the individual), there
are arises a question of choice on the part of the person. A person’s act
pertaining to his choice constitute his moral behavior. The study that moral
behavior on the specific aspect of the quality of human acts, that is, the
morality of human acts, is Ethics.
 Philosophy and Art
Content

As there are similarities and differences between philosophy and

science, and between science and art, there are also similarities and
difference between philosophy and art. Both of them, philosophy and art,
look at reality and experience. In fact, both of them look at everything as
realities. They both interpret, appreciate and enjoy realities and
experience. However, they differ in this, that philosophy looks at reality
as reality in its various aspect, as being or as entities, either as pure
beings, quantitative entities or corporal substances. Art on the other hand,
looks at realities in their aesthetic perspective.
 Pure and Applied
Content Philosophy

The division of philosophy into logical philosophy, natural philosophy and

moral philosophy was first introduced by Plato, adopted by Aristotle and became
commonly accepted by other philosopher. Recent philosophers then divided
philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy [ Gonzalez].

From the various degrees of abstraction, we can readily see that philosophy
may deal with ideas either purely in the mind or abstracted by the mind from
reality. This is pure philosophy whose objective is to perfect the mind. It includes
logic, ontology, epistemology and the like.
 The Question of Philosophy
Content
Briefly, the philosophical questions could be stated as follows:

1.What is real? Where does it exist, how does it exist, and what is the nature
or mode of its existence? Or what is the reality of the universe we live in?

2. How does the mind know what is real? That is, how objective in man’s
knowledge of reality?

3. How do realities provide norms for human behavior? That is how should
people relate the realities and draw from them a value system for society?
 Sourcing Philosophical
Content Principles
There are two methods of drawing philosophical
principles, namely, (1) a priori, or deductively, that is
invoking a general or universal principle and applying it to
particular or specific cases; and (2) a posteriori, or
inductively, that is, studying particular cases observing
what is common among them, and obtaining a general
conclusion or principle about them.
 Conceptualizing the Philosophy of Business
Content

Business is a science and an art in its own right. As a structure it has

its body of principles and theories scientifically ordered. In that sense,
business is a science. It is governed by principles both in its study and its
practice. As a process, business hay its policies, strategies, practices and
artefacts which require both intellectual and manipulative skills to put
them in their proper perspective. In this sense, business is an art.

Being a science and an art, business has its own philosophy.

Business is a philosophy. It looks for the ultimate causes of the
immediate objects of the business act.
 The Ultimate Causes
Content of Business
With the definition of philosophy as the framework, Philosophy of
Business ,may be viewed descriptively as the totality of the concepts
developed by business thinkers; and, essentially as the study of the nature
of business in its ultimate causes. The consequences of these concepts will
lead to an exposition of the four causes of business which this work will
show as constituted by the following:

Formal cause
Material cause
Efficient cause
Final cause
 Highlight Summary

•The starting point of a philosophical inquiry, as in all process of inquiry, is the definition of terms and concepts,
without which, no medium or common direction can be established to ensure the stability of a philosophical
foundation.
•A definition is a statement which explains the meaning of a word or word group.
•A definition is nominal when it explains in an indeterminate way what is that which is signified by the name of
the term defined.

•The essential definition of philosophy just given means that the nature of a thing, anything, can be understood
only terms of its ultimate causes, of which there are four namely, the formal cause, the material cause
(intrinsic causes), efficient cause and final cause ( extrinsic causes).

•The division of philosophy into logical philosophy, natural philosophy and moral philosophy was first
introduced by Plato, adopted by Aristotle and became commonly accepted by other philosopher.

•Philosophy of Business ,may be viewed descriptively as the totality of the concepts developed by business
thinkers; and, essentially as the study of the nature of business in its ultimate causes.