PHILOSOPHY comes from the Greek word, philo (loving) and sophia, (knowledge, wisdom).

This mean that philosophy is the love of knowledge, the pursuit of wisdom. Hence, a philosopher is a
lover of wisdom.
PHILOSOPHY is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like
existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language.

PROCESS OF PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY

1. QUESTIONING
- Identifying fundamental questions
2. CRITICAL THINKING
- analyzing and evaluating arguments.
3. DISCUSSION
- Engaging in dialogue with others to explore different perspectives.
4. REFLECTION
- Considering personal beliefs and how they are justified.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
• METAPHYSICS: The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being, and
the world.
Example Questions:
• What is the nature of reality?
• Do we have free will?
• What is the nature of time and space?
• EPISTEMOLOGY: The study of knowledge and justified belief.
Example Questions:
• What is knowledge?
• How do we know what we know?
• Can we have certain knowledge?
• ETHICS: The branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right and wrong.
Example Questions:
• What is the right thing to do?
• What are our moral obligations?
• How should we live?
• LOGIC: The study of reasoning and argument.
Example Questions:
• What makes an argument valid?
• How do we distinguish good reasoning from bad?
• What are logical fallacies?
• AESTHETICS: The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty and artistic taste.
Example Questions:
• What is beauty?
• How do we judge art?
• Is beauty subjective or objective?

The following are the most known Ancient Greek Philosophers:

The Milesians. They are called the Milesians because they were based out in the city of Miletus.
They were also called pre-Socratic philosophers because they were born
before Socrates.
 Thales (620-546 B.C.E.). The first philosopher to deal with the fundamental element of the
universe or what is called the “causes and principles” of the physical world. He believed that the
primordial element of the universe is “Water.” He believed that everything comes from water and ends
up in water. All things vaporize (including solid materials) and turns back into water.
 Anaximander (610-546 B.C.E). He believed that the origin of the physical world is
“Boundless” because “birth and decay” is an everlasting cyclic process. “Boundless” sustains the
continuation of the process.
 Anaximenes (528 B.C.E.) He believed that all things come from “Air” because heavenly
bodies (e.g. the sun and the moon floats in the air). He used various natural phenomena to prove his
claim. Lightning and thunder are caused by the wind which breaks out the clouds. Rainbows is the
result of the rays of the sun that hit the clouds. Earthquakes is cracking of the earth surface as
moistened by rain dries out.

Parmenides (late 6th – Mid 5th B.C.E.) His approach to the origin of the world is by answering the
biggest question of all: Is it or is it not? He states that which is “something” must have always been
existed. Any thing that is “nothing” must have to come from nothing itself. The statement turns out to
be a contradiction since it is impossible to think of what “is not” and the same time it is also
impossible to think of something that cannot be thought of.

Anaxagoras (500-428 B.C.E.) He postulated that the origin of the world is Nous or Mind. The Mind is
responsible for changes of the fundamental element. An addition, the mind causes the rotation and
movement and setting things in order as well as having the ultimate power and knowledge.

Empedocles (490-430 B.C.E.) The physical world came out by two opposing forces – the Love that
is responsible for the unification of all matters, and the Conflict that causes the separation.

Pythagoras (570-495 B.C.E) He is more known to be a mathematician than a philosopher. He is

known for the geometrical theory which is named after him – the Pythagorean theory. His
cosmological views were an influenced of three Milesian philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, and
Anaximenes. He was concerned on the practical application of philosophy as he talked about
common issues like rules of living. He viewed the world as the perfect harmony based on his teaching
on living a harmonious life.

The Socratic Era. This is the time where the philosophical inquiry shifted away from the quest to
answer the fundamental element of the world which is responsible for its existence. Philosophers at
this period paid attention to the Human Person rather than on the world around him/her.

Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.). He ventured into new ways of obtaining practical results by applying
philosophical thoughts in our day to day lives. That is something not found in the philosophical
treatment of pre-Socratic thinkers. He deviated away from the persistent physical speculations that
occupied the previous philosophers and developed moral system based on critical reasoning rather
than on hotly contested religious assumptions.

He is known for his knowledge inquiry, the Socratic Dialogue which is named after his name. Socratic
dialogue is a series of arguments using question-and-answer which is used to look for the worth and
truth of individuals’ opinion. Unlike debate, brainstorming, focus group discussion sessions, Socratic
dialogue is a systematic investigation that engages participants in common cause. Few typical
questions are: What is life? Is there life after Death? What is beauty? What is happiness? What is
Truth?

Plato (427-347 B.C.E.). He was as student of Socrates and his philosophical thoughts are relatively
influenced by his predecessors. However, unlike his teacher Socrates who paid attention to human
reasoning, Plato put together the two major approaches to Pre-Socratic metaphysics and natural
theology with Socratic ethical theology.
His philosophical framework is threefold: dialectical, ethics, physics and central to that unison is the
theory of forms. The highest Form is the “good”—the cause of being and knowledge. Concerning
Physics, he agreed with many Pythagorean views. He worked intensively in putting his political
philosophy and metaphysics into meaningful and practical applications.

Aristotle (348-322) He was a the most influential student of Plato. His knowledge and understanding
of things are based on facts and people’s learned experience. Such approach is the exact opposite to
his teacher Plato who believed that human beings are born with knowledge. At the period where
knowledge was too generalized, he divided knowledge into distinct categories such as ethics, biology,
mathematics, and physics – whose classification pattern is still used today. Truly, Aristotle is the most
influential philosopher whose thoughts went far beyond the ancient Greece.

WHY WE PHILOSOPHIZE
1. SENSE OF WONDER
2. DOUBT
3. EXPERIENCE
4. LOVE OF WISDOM

What philosophical approach to life situations are we going to use? Is it holistic

or partial approach? What is the difference between the two approaches?

Holistic perspective is a perspective that studies sizable number of patterns in systems. Oftentimes
it is described as “think big” to be able to visualize what you can achieve without limits of your
thinking. It is all about being open-minded, optimistic, innovative, and seeing opportunities in a big
picture. Whereas, Partial point of view sees only the specific part of the situation. However, such
approach to solving problem is an essential element of critical thinking as you closely pay attention to
specific part of the problem to understand it.
Although partial thinking is practically useful, philosophy mostly use holistic
approach in making meaningful solutions to human problems.