What is Philosophy?

> Philosophy could also be a

reconstructed belief or a value system
Philosophy- attributed to Pythagoras which shows a universal and
as he is said to be first to use it when he comprehensive character as a result of
differentiated the three classes of reflection and analysis in a more
people who attend the ancient Olympic comprehensive and systematic manner.
Games as:
Philosophy- study of subjects that can
(1) Lovers of gain be understood as how they are talked
(2) Lovers of honor about.
(3) Lovers of knowledge or wisdom  Philosophical understanding is not
making some discovery about the
-Third class of people are the best world but deciding on how to talk.
since they go to the games as
spectators who seek the truth. - Talking about subjects means:
(Pythagoras)
-They neither seek profit (1st class of (1) Investigating the meaning of
people who sell their wares for money) concepts or proposals of new
nor compete in the games for honor (2nd terms in order to advance some
class of people). area of philosophical inquiry.
-Pythagoras call this class of people
Philosophers. (2) Critiquing the use of these
terms
Philosophy = Etymology (meaning from
the dictionary) (3) A combination of both

Philosophy is derived from Differences between Philosophical and

“philosophia” (combination of the Greek Nonphilosophical subjects:
terms philos (love) and sophia 1. Fundamental importance of
(wisdom). philosophical subjects to a reflective
Philosophy - “love of wisdom” person.
2. Lack of general agreement on how
the subjects of concern may be defined.
The Subject Matter of Philosophy
The difference between philosophy and
In the book Three Concepts of nonphilosophy subjects is the manner of
Philosophy, Armando Bonifacio how the subject matter is thought about.
explained that characterizing philosophy
can begin with the common conceptions
about it.
Major Branches of Philosophy
>People, though unconsciously, have
philosophy in life: “The fundamental Philosophy covers a wide range of
values or some basic assumptions subjects.
about things, persons, institutions, and
others which form presuppositions that Ethics
influence one’s beliefs, decisions, and -derived from the Greek term ethos
actions.” meaning “custom”
-about human conduct.
>The activity of reflecting on and -deals with norms or standards of right
analyzing one’s beliefs or reasons for and wrong applicable to human
actions or decisions could be a kind of behavior.
philosophy as well. -considered as prescriptive as it
prescribes what people ought to do
rather than describes what people do.
-Philosopher engaged in ethics is -logic incorporates the analysis of the
concerned in finding out what norms or methods of deduction and induction
standards of human behavior lead to to provide the rules on how people
ends or goals that are desirable or ought to think logically.
undesirable. -rules of logic gives a person the
-systematic reflections in ethics ---> techniques to create sound arguments
understanding of the concept of right and avoid fallacious reasoning.
and wrong and of conceptions about -it increases one’s ability to reason
morality. correctly and distinguish irrational
-ethics helps people prioritize their reasoning.
values.
Metaphysics
Aesthetics -literally means “after physics”
-comes from Greek word aisthetikos -Early Greek philosophers claimed that
meaning “sensitive” or “perceptive” it is the study of the nature of reality.
-philosopher is concerned with the -this branch of philosophy analyzes
analysis of aesthetic experience and the whether everything is material, and if
idea of what is beautiful. life, energy, and mind are their different
-analysis is directed toward the nature manifestations.
of aesthetic judgement, standards of -Metaphysicians reflect on the subject of
beauty, and the objectivity of these appearances (how something looks by
standards in response to the questions how it appears) and reality (that which
raised about the meaning of aesthetic actually is).
experience. -some of the specific questions that
-philosophers analyze whether beauty is metaphysicians reflect upon:
based on utility, experience, form,  What is the meaning of life?
pleasure, or expression.  What is the purpose of life?
 Does God exist?
Epistemology
-comes from the Greek word episteme
meaning “knowledge” Brief History of Philosophy
-deals with various problems concerning
knowledge. Pre-philosophical Period
-major concerns: -people had already attempted to
 empricism (given by explain the origin of things and events
experience) or rationalism or occurrences in nature.
(given by the mind prior to
experience) -such attempts are evident in folklores,
 verification or confirmation of myths, and legends that the ancient
knowledge peoples - the ancient Babylonians,
-other specialized problems in this Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, and the
branch of philosophy: Greeks most notably - believed in.
 distinction between belief and
knowledge -stories are characterized by religious
 the nature of truth elements or supernatural powers and
 the problems of perception not by natural or rational explanations.
 the external world
 meaning and other minds Pre-Socratic Period
-epistemology can be helpful in making
judgments such as in the courts of law. Miletians
-Western philosophy is said to
Logic have begun in the Ionic colonies of Asia
-branch of philosophy that looks into Minor around 6th century BC through
whether there are rules or principles that Thales of Miletus (Turner 1903;
govern reasoning. Russel, 1945).
 Xenophanes
Thales <FIRST GREEK -claimed that there is a single
PHILOSOPHER> <FATHER OF God.
PHILOSOPHY> -did not subscribe to the idea of
-first to engage in the inquiry of an anthropomorphic god, whom many
searching for causes and principles of people believe in his time.
the natural world and various -he suggested that if gods are
phenomena without relying on “human-like,” then horses, oxen, and
supernatural explanations and divine lions would have equine, bovine, and
components. leonine gods respectively as well.
-he believed that the Earth floats
on water, which was considered as the
first or ultimate substance. Pythagoras and Pythagoreans

Anaximander <Miletian Philosopher> Pythagoreans

-who wondered about the -believe that the cosmos is a
beginning of the universe and where it structured system ordered by numbers.
came from. -things become knowable
-more systematic than Thales, because they are structured the way
Anaximander claimed that the universe they are; the structure can apparently
was formed from the boundless be expressed in a numerical ratio.
(apeiron) which is both the first principle -they believe that nature can be
(arche) and the substance (stoicheion) quantified.
of the universe
The pre-Socratics and their points of
Anaximenes <Miletian> view expressed a tendency toward
-argued that air was the observation and analysis.
fundamental element. -since these points are devoid of
-through the process of any mythical notions, they are already
rarefaction and compression, the air somewhat “scientific”.
surrounds Earth in a more or less -their main concern is the nature
compressed state. of phenomena or what constitutes the
cosmos, testimonia (reports from
ancient authors about the thinkers’ life
Heraclitus and Ephesus and and thoughts) and fragments (passages
Xenophanes of Colophon taken to be direct quotations), reveal
that they are also concerned with
Heraclitus and Xenophanes religious, and ethical thought, the nature
-continued the Miletian claim of a of understanding, mathematics and
single, proper substance. other areas of concern.
-offered a cosmological account, -their philosophies influenced
but they expanded their focus on the later philosophers and are said to
human subject and investigated the extend to the whole of Western
nature of inquiry itself in the physical philosophy.
explanations they provided.

Heraclitus Socrates and the Socratic Schools

-claimed the “unity of opposites”
in characterizing the cosmos and went The second period in the history of
further to express that to understand Greek philosophy is comparatively
these characterizations is to inquire of short, but it is considered the most
the logos (an objective law-like flourishing.
principle) and be able to speak the -this period was dominated by
language of the logos three famous philosophers:
 Socrates
  Plato things of their experiences appear
 Aristotle puzzling.
(They are considered as three of the -his method focuses on analyzing
greatest philosophers in history.) phenomena or experience and providing
-the philosophers mainly had to credible opinions about these
answer the problem of how to save the experiences to arrive at adequate proof.
intellectual and moral life of the nation, -he believed that the aim of philosophy
which was threatened by materialism is truth
and skepticism. -like Plato, Aristotle’s philosophy is also
extensive in its topics of concern such
SOCRATES as human anatomy, biology, physics,
-left no writings at all knowledge, and ethics.
-has greatly influenced Western
philosophical tradition through Plato’s SOCRATES, PLATO, and ARISTOTLE
Dialogues -three of the greatest
-best known for the elenchus or the philosophers in the history of Western
Socratic Method. philosophic thought.
-the one who urged self-examination -their concerns are more
and claimed that “the unexamined life is concentrated on inquiring what is man
not worth living.” and what he or she can become.
 Socratic Method- a method of -through Socratic and Aristotle’s
question and answer that aims method of inquiry (more like a modern
to provoke the one being asked scientist), you will realize that any and
to think for oneself and to clarify every perspective they have about the
one’s conceptions about what is world is a result of reflection and
asked. analysis.
-Platonic style- based on
PLATO physical or material evidence brought
-his philosophy is a completion and about by experience or redirecting the
extension of the philosophy of Socrates. inquiry toward the real forms
-for Plato, philosophy is the science of
the idea, or, as we should say, of the
unconditioned basis of phenomena. Medieval Period: Scholasticism
-his philosophical ideas are found in his
Dialogues Medieval Period- described as
-Republic- one of Plato’s most famous confluence of faith and reason.
works, discusses his social and political -Philosophers in this period used
philosophy and his belief that for the philosophy as a handmaid of theology.
Greek city-states to flourish, they must -concerned with providing God’s
be led by philosopher kings, and that existence and understanding what is
justice is best manifested if persons will man in relation with God.
do what is suited to each of his or her Scholasticism- directed its inquiry on
soul. how reason can be used to provide
-his works encourage humanity to seek proofs that God exists.
what is good, what is true, and what is Scholastics- attempted to reconcile
beautiful in the intellectual realm beyond Greek philosophy and Christian
the appearances because the senses theology.
are often deceitful.
Main philosophers in this period:
ARISTOTLE >St. Anselm (known for his
-often described as an opposition to the ontological argument for the existence
Platonic philosophical tradition. of God in Proslogion
-for Aristotle, human beings >St. Augustine (known to
philosophize because they wonder promote “the argument by analogy”
about the world, and as they do, more against solipsism
 >St. Thomas Aquinas (famous because of our senses, knowledge is
for his influential work Summa impossible.
Theologica, which explains his views on
the creation and government of the Immanuel Kant and Synthetic a Priori
universe, the origin and nature of man, Knowledge
and human destiny, among others,
through Catholic theology.) Immanuel Kant
-an 18th century German
 The medieval philosophers’ philosopher.
attempt to reconcile faith and -known to be one of the greatest
reason reveals that reflection thinkers in the history of Western
and analysis may be used to philosophy for various reasons.
clarify thought or provide pieces -contributes to the development
of evidence as proofs for a topic of modern philosophy, most especially
important to human like religious epistemology.
beliefs. -introduced the idea of synthetic
a priori knowledge.
Modern Period: Rationalism, -according to him, this form of
Empiricism, and Kant’s Philosophy knowledge is a product of both reason
and experience.
 Modern tradition in the history of -to make sense of our
philosophy [concerned about experience of something, we need
problems or issues on concepts to describe it while experience
knowledge] supplies the contents of our concepts
 Reflections and analyses are necessary in forming judgements about
directed toward answering the our experiences.
questions on the nature of -he denied the main claim of
knowledge. rationalism and empiricism.
-he insisted that not only through
Rationalism and by reason nor experience alone that
-philosophical view states that the chief can acquire knowledge, but rather one
source of our knowledge is reason needs both.
rather than experience.
-this philosophical view developed by  Modern Period also produced
Plato began to emerge and became political theories espousing the
highly influential during the time of Rene nature of a social contract
Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and necessary for achieving a
Gottfried Leibniz <they are considered harmonious society based on
leading rationalists of modern period the very nature of man.
(17th-18th century)>

Empiricism Contemporary Period: The Analytic

-Empiricists believe that aside from and the Continental Tradition
reason, experience is also a source of -the most difficult period to characterize
knowledge. is the philosophical tradition that
-Five senses connected to the world can dominated Western thought in the 20th
be used to determine what can be century.
known. -because of various conceptions and
-Aristotle first developed the idea that concerns, historians of philosophy
senses which are significant in forming would often distinguish between the
concepts and knowledge. analytic and the continental tradition in
-John Locke- leading figure of their broadest sense.
Empiricism argued that without
experience, which is only possible Analytic Tradition
 -school of thought, which -movements focus on the
dominated English-speaking countries, centrality of human action as a
is concentrated on logical analysis of constitutive part
language to solve the problems which -any analysis under the
beset philosophy. continental tradition is directed toward
-philosophers espouse a method metaphilosophy to seek a reconstruction
of verification that only accepts those of what philosophy is and its role in
that can be investigated by science as understanding knowledge, experience,
meaningful and true. and reality.
-philosophers who propose
analysis in philosophy: Holistic Perspective and Partial Point of
View
Bertrand Russel -you will have an effective
George Edward Moore understanding only if you can make
Ludwig Wittgenstein sense of the different perspectives, can
distinguish them from a partial point of
-their conceptions differ from one view, and can develop a holistic
another perspective to see the whole or bigger
o Russel- analysis of picture. (This manner will give you the
meaningfulness of descriptions value of philosophizing)
as opposed to names that -the experience will give a
designate or denote a subject. perspective of what philosophy is based
o Moore- analysis is decomposing on, how it is done by the philosophers,
complex concepts into their and the common notions or
simple constituents. characterizations of it.
o Wittgenstein- carefully analyze -discussion on each philosopher
ordinary language use, known and the specific concerns each one
as linguistic analysis. inquired about gave you partial points of
views in the nature of philosophy.
Continental Tradition -The etymology of philosophy
-this philosophical tradition gives us clue on how to philosophize.
dominated the non-English-speaking
countries outside the analytic tradition
during the 19th and the later 20th In summary:
centuries. -Philosophizing is a reflective analysis
-some of the movements within and criticism of beliefs and values of
this tradition are: human beings.
 German idealism -Engaging in philosophy means being
 Phenomenology aware of the self and of the world and
 Existentialism making sense of or understanding what
 Hermeneutics is from what is not.
 Structuralism -Philosophy is rational, methodical, and
 Post-Structuralism systematic.
 French feminism -Clear thoughts, values, and beliefs lead
-the common among these movements to sound judgements.
is their belief that the scientific method
is insufficient to provide an explanation
of the world.
-continental tradition takes into
account the conceptions of the past and
the views that any analysis is
contextualized in history.