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Chapter Overview

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY
Logic is often treated simultaneously as a field of study and as an
instrument. As a field of study, it is a branch of philosophy that
deals with the study of arguments and the principles and methods
of right reasoning. As an instrument, it is something, which we can
use to formulate our own rational arguments and critically evaluate
the soundness of others' arguments. Before logic itself has become
a field of study, philosophers have been using it as a basic tool to
investigate issues that won their philosophical attention, such as,
reality, knowledge, value, etc. Philosophy is the study of general and
fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence,
knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice, validity, mind, and language.
It is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to answer
fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason-
an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It
involves reason, rational criticism, examination, and analysis. In this
chapter, we will learn the fundamental nature, concepts, features
and areas of philosophy. Furthermore, we will discuss why it is so
important to learn philosophy.

Chapter Objectives:
Dear learners, after the successful completion of this chapter, you
will be able to:

 Understand the meaning, nature and features of philosophy;

 Recognize the major fields of philosophy; and
 Understand why it is so important to learn logic and philosophy.

Lesson 1: Meaning and Nature of Philosophy

Lesson Overview
Because of its universal nature, it is difficult to define philosophy in
terms of a specific subject matter. However, we can define it
etymologically as ‗love of wisdom‘. Thus, as a pursuit of wisdom,
philosophy refers to the development of critical habits, the
continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent. In
this lesson, students will be introduced with the fundamental
meaning, nature, and concepts of philosophy
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Lesson Objectives:

After the accomplishment of this lesson, you will be able to: 

 Recognize the basic concepts of philosophy. 

 Understand the meaning and nature of philosophy.

Dear learners, it is important to note first that giving a clear-cut

definition of philosophy is difficult. It may be easy to define other
disciplines, such as, chemistry, physics, geography, etc in terms of a
subject matter, for they have their own specific subject matters to
primarily deal with. However, it is difficult to do the same with
philosophy, because philosophy has no a specific subject matter to
primarily deal with. Philosophy deals primarily with issues. What
contents philosophy has are not the specific subject matters, but
issues, which are universal in nature. However, this should not lead
us into thinking that philosophy is incomprehensible. It is only to say
that whenever you want to understand philosophy, it is better to
read different thoughts of philosophers, consciously see its salient
features by yourself, participate in it, and do it.

Philosophy is not as elusive as it is often thought to be. Nor is it

remote from our various problems. It is unanimously agreed that the
best way to learn and understand philosophy is to philosophize; i.e.,
to be confronted with philosophical questions, to use philosophical
language, to become acquainted with differing philosophical
positions and maneuvers, to read the philosophers themselves, and
to grapple with the issues for oneself. Socrates once stated that
“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy
begins in wonder”. It is true that most of us may not have a clear
knowledge about the history, nature, language, and issues of
philosophy. But, we all think and reflect in our own way about issues
that matter us most. We all have touched and moved by the
feelings of wonder from which all philosophy derives. Thus, we all
participate, more or less, in philosophical issues, even though
thinking alone cannot make us philosophers.
If, however, you still want to find its clear-cut definition, it is better
to refer to the etymology of the word itself, instead of trying to
associate it with a certain specific subject matter.
Etymologically, the word ―philosophy‖ comes from two Greek
words: ―philo‖ and ―sophia‖, which mean ―love‖ and ―wisdom‖,
respectively. Thus, the literal definition of philosophy is “love of
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wisdom”. The ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras was the first to use
the word ―philosopher‖ to call a person who clearly shows a
marked curiosity in the things he experiences. Anyone who raises
questions, such as Does God exists? What is reality? What is the
ultimate source of Being?

What is knowledge? What does it mean to know? How do we come

to know? What is value? and the like, is really showing a curiosity
that can be described as a vital concern for becoming wise about
the phenomena of the world and the human experiences. Therefore,
seeking wisdom is among the various essences of philosophy that it
has got from its etymological definition. Nevertheless, this is not
sufficient by itself to understand philosophy, for not all wisdoms are
philosophy.
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Lesson 2: Basic Features of

Philosophy
Lesson Overview

As an academic discipline, philosophy has its own salient

features that distinguishes it from other academic disciplines, be it
natural, social and humanistic disciplines. In this lesson, students
will be introduced with the generally fundamental features of
philosophy.

Lesson Objectives:
After the accomplishment of this lesson, you will be able to:
 Recognize and understand the fundamental features of
philosophy that makes it a unique academic discipline.

Dear learners, the general features of philosophy can be

summarized as follows:
1) Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe,
which areoften held uncritically.

We refer to this meaning as the informal sense of philosophy or

"having" a philosophy. Usually when a person says "my philosophy
is," he or she is referring to an informal personal attitude to
whatever topic is being discussed.

2) Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most

deeply held conceptions and beliefs.
This is the formal sense of "doing" philosophy. These two senses of
philosophy-"having" and "doing"- cannot be treated entirely
independent of each other, if we did not have a philosophy in the
formal, personal sense, then we could not do a philosophy in the
critical, reflective sense. However, having a philosophy is not
sufficient for doing philosophy. A genuine philosophical attitude is
searching and critical; it is open-minded and tolerant- willing to look
at all sides of an issue without prejudice.
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To philosophize is not merely to read and know philosophy; there

are skills of argumentation to be mastered, techniques of analysis to
be employed, and a body of material to be appropriated such that
we become able to think philosophically.
To philosophize also means to generalize. Philosophers are
reflective and critical. They take a second look at the material
presented by common sense. They attempt to think through a
variety of life's problems and to face all the facts involved
impartially. The accumulation of knowledge does not by itself lead
to understanding, because it does not necessarily teach the mind to
make a critical evaluation of facts that entail consistent and
coherent judgment. Critical evaluations often differ. Philosophers,
theologians, scientists, and others disagree, first because they view
things from different points of view and with different assumptions.
Their personal experiences, cultural backgrounds, and training may
vary widely. This is especially true of people living at different times
and in different places. A second reason philosophers disagree is
that they live in a changing universe. People change, society
changes, and nature changes. Some people are responsive and
sensitive to change; others cling to tradition and the status quo, to
systems that were formulated some time ago and that were
declared to be authoritative and final. A third reason philosophers
disagree is that they deal with an area of human experience in
which the evidence is not complete. Different people may interpret
the evidence we do have in various ways. Despite these
disagreements, however, philosophers continue to probe, examine,
and evaluate the material with the hope of presenting consistent
principles by which we can live.

3) Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as a whole.

Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various

sciences and human experience into some kind of consistent
worldview. Philosophers wish to see life, not with the specialized
slant of the scientist or the businessperson or the artist, but with the
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overall view of someone cognizant of life as a totality. Although

there are difficulties and dangers in setting forth any worldview,
there also are dangers in confining attention to fragments of human
experience. Philosophy's task is to give a view of the whole, a life
and a worldview, and to integrate the knowledge of the sciences
with that of other disciplines to achieve a consistent whole.
Philosophy, according to this view, attempts to bring the results of
human inquiry- religious, historical, and scientific into some
meaningful interpretation that provides knowledge and insight for
our lives.

4) Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification

of the meaning of words and concepts.

Certainly, this is one function of philosophy. In fact, nearly all

philosophers have used methods of analysis and have sought to
clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language. Some
philosophers see this as the main task of philosophy, and a few
claim this is the only legitimate function of philosophy. Such persons
consider philosophy a specialized field serving the sciences and
aiding in the clarification of language rather than a broad field
reflecting on all of life's experiences. This outlook has gained
considerable support during the twentieth century. It would limit
what we call knowledge to statements about observable facts and
their interrelations i.e., to the business of the various sciences. Not
all linguistic analysts, however, define knowledge so narrowly.
Although they do reject and try to "clean up" many non-scientific
assertions, many of them think that we can have knowledge of
ethical principles and the like, although this knowledge is also
experientially derived. Those who take the narrower view neglect,
when they do not deny, all generalized worldviews and life views, as
well as traditional moral philosophy and theology. From this
narrower point of view, the aim of philosophy is to expose confusion
and nonsense and to clarify the meaning and use of terms in
science and everyday affairs.

5) Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people

and for which philosophers always have sought answers.
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Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of

human existence. Some of the philosophical questions raised in the
past have been answered in a manner satisfactory to the majority of
philosophers. Many questions, however, have been answered only
tentatively, and many problems remain unsolved. What are
philosophical questions? The question "Did Ram make a false
statement on his income tax return?" is merely a question of fact.
However, the questions "What is truth?" and "What is the distinction
between right and wrong?" have philosophical importance.
Sometimes we think seriously about fundamental life issues: What is
life and why am I here? Why is there anything at all? What is the
place of life in this great
universe? Is the universe friendly or unfriendly? Do things operate
by chance or through sheer mechanism, or is there some plan,
purpose, or intelligence at the heart of things? Is my life controlled
by outside forces, or do I have a determining or even a partial
degree of control? Why do people struggle and strive for their rights,
for justice, for better things in the future? What do concepts like
"right" and "justice" means, and what are the marks of a good
society? Often men and women have been asked to sacrifice their
lives, if need be, for certain values and ideals.

What are the genuine values of life and how can it attained? Is
there really a fundamental distinction between right and wrong, or
is it just a matter of one's own opinions? What is beauty? Should
religion count in a person's life? Is it intellectually valid to believe in
God? Is there a possibility of a "life after death?" Is there any way
we can get an answer to these and many related questions? Where
does knowledge come from, and can we have any assurances that
anything is true?

The above questions are all philosophical. The attempt to seek

answers or solutions to them has given rise to theories and systems
of thought, such as idealism, realism, pragmatism, analytic
philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, and process philosophy.
Philosophy also means the various theories or systems of thought
developed by the great philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley,
Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Royce, James, Dewey, Whitehead, and
others. Without these people and their thoughts, philosophy would
not have the rich content it has today. Even though we may be
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unconscious of the fact, we are constantly influenced by ideas that

have come down to us in the traditions of society.

Core Fields of Philosophy

Lesson 3: Metaphysics and
Epistemology
Lesson Overview
Dear learners, we have said earlier that philosophy is a
rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer
fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason-
an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It
deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. The
content of philosophy is better seen as asking the right questions
rather than providing the correct answers. It even can be said that
philosophy is the study of questions. Van Cleve Morris has noted
that the crux of the matter is asking the "right" questions. By “right”
he meant questions that are meaningful and relevant- the kind of
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questions people really want answered and that will make a

difference in how they live and work. Philosophy has different
primary and secondary branches. This course deals only with the
primary ones, namely Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, and
Logic. Metaphysics is the most important fields of philosophy that
deal with the studies of ultimate reality and human knowledge,
respectively.

In this lesson, we will discuss the first two major fields,

Metaphysics and Epistemology, and we will deal with the remaining
two fields, Axiology and Logic, in the next lesson (Lesson 4).

Lesson Objectives:

After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able

to:
 Understand the fundamental concern and issues that
metaphysics and epistemology primarily deal with.
Identify the major subsets or aspects of metaphysical questions.
 Recognize the fundamental philosophical, i.e., epistemological,
debates concerning the sources of human knowledge.

3.1 Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate

nature of reality or existence. It deal with issues of reality, God,
freedom, soul/immortality, the mind-body problem, form and
substance relationship, cause and effect relationship, and other
related issues. Metaphysicians seek an irreducible foundation of
reality or 'first principles from which absolute knowledge or truth can
be induced and deduced. The term metaphysics is derived from the
Greek words "meta" means ("beyond", "upon" or "after") and
physika, means ("physics"). Literally, it refers those things after the
physics. Aristotle's writings on 'first philosophy" came after his
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treatise on physics, therefore, Aristotle's editor, Andronicus of

Rhodes, named them metaphysics.
Here are some of the questions that Metaphysics primarily deals
with:
 What is reality?
 What is the ultimately real?
 What is the nature of the ultimate reality?
 Is it one thing or is it many different things?
 Can reality be grasped by the senses, or it is transcendent?
 What makes reality different from a mere appearance?
 What is mind, and what is its relation to the body?
 Is there a cause and effect relationship between reality and
appearance?
 Does God exist, and if so, can we prove it?
 Are human actions free, or predetermined by a supernatural
force?
 What is human being? A thinking mind? A perishable body? Or a
combination of both?
 What is time?
 What is the meaning of life?

At first, questions like, 'What is real?' seem too simple to

bother asking. But consider George Knight's example about the
existence of a floor and one will see that the question has far
reaching implications: What is exactly the nature of the floor upon
which you stand? It may seem to have a rather straightforward
existence. It is obviously flat, solid, and smooth; it has a particular
color; it is composed of an identifiable material, such as wood or
concrete; and it supports your weight. Suppose, however, that a
physicist enters the room and questioned about the reality of the
floor. She will reply that the floor is made of molecules; that
molecules consist of atoms, electrons, protons, and neutrons; and
these, finally, of electric energy alone.

A third position is offered by a passing chemist. To him the

floor is a hotbed of hydrocarbons associated in a particular way and
subject to certain kinds of environmental influences, such as heat,
cold, wetness, dryness, and oxidation.
It is evident that the question of reality is not as simplistic as it
appears. If the reality of a common floor is confusing, what about the
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larger problems that presents themselves as humankind searches

for the ultimate reality of the universe?
Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask because they
provide the foundation upon which all subsequent inquiry is based.
Metaphysical questions may be divided into four subsets or aspects.

i. Cosmological Aspect: Cosmology consists in the study of

theories about the origin, nature, and development of the
universe as an orderly system. Questions such as these populate
the realm of cosmology: "How did the universe originate and
develop? Did it come about by accident or design? Does its
existence have any purpose?"

ii. Theological Aspect: Theology is that part of religious

theory that deals with conceptions of and about God. "Is there a
God? If so, is there one or more than one? What are the
attributes of God? If God is both all good and all powerful, why
does evil exist? If God exists, what is His relationship to human
beings and the 'real' world of everyday life?"

iii. Anthropological Aspect: Anthropology deals with the

study of human beings and asks questions like the following:
What is the relation between mind and body? Is mind more
fundamental than body, with body depending on mind, or vice
versa? What is humanity's moral status? Are people born good,
evil, or morally neutral? To what extent are individuals free? Do
they have free will, or are their thoughts and actions determined
by their environment, inheritance, or a divine being? Does each
person have a soul? If so, what is it? People have obviously
adopted different positions on these questions, and those
positions influence their political, social, religious, and
educational ideals and practices.

iv. Ontological Aspect: Ontology is the study of the nature of

existence, or what it means for
anything to exist. Several questions are central to ontology: "Is basic
reality found in matter or physical energy (the world we can sense),
or is it found in spirit or spiritual energy? Is it composed of one
element (e.g., matter or spirit), or two (e.g., matter and spirit), or
many?" "Is reality orderly and lawful in itself, or is it merely
orderable by the human mind? Is it fixed and stable, or is change its
central feature? Is this reality friendly, unfriendly, or neutral toward
humanity?"
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3.2 Epistemology
Activity #2:

Epistemology is the other field of philosophy that studies about

the nature, scope, meaning, and possibility of knowledge. It deals
with issues of knowledge, opinion, truth, falsity, reason, experience,
and faith. Epistemology is also referred to as "theory of knowledge".
Etymologically, the word epistemology has been derived from the
Greek words episteme, meaning "knowledge, understanding", and
logos, meaning "study of". In other words, we can say that
Epistemology is the study of the nature, source, and validity of
knowledge. It seeks to answer of the basic questions as "What is
true?" and "How do we know?" Thus, epistemology covers two areas:
the content of thought and thought itself. The study of epistemology
deals with issues related to the dependability of knowledge and the
validity of the sources through which we gain information.

The following are among the questions/issues with which

Epistemology deals:
 What is knowledge?
 What does it mean to know?
 What is the source of knowledge? Experience? Reason? Or
both?
 How can we be sure that what we perceive through our
senses is correct?
 What makes knowledge different from belief or opinion?
 What is truth, and how can we know a statement is true?
 Can reason really help us to know phenomenal things without
being informed by sense experiences?
 Can our sense experience really help us to know things
beyond our perception without the assistance of our
reasoning ability?
 What is the relationship and difference between faith and
reason?

Epistemology seeks answers to a number of fundamental issues.

One is whether reality can even be known. Skepticism in its narrow
sense is the position claiming that people cannot acquire reliable
knowledge and that any search for truth is in vain. That thought was
well expressed by Gorgias, the Greek Sophist who asserted that
nothing exists, and that if it did, we could not know it. A full-blown
skepticism would make intelligent action impossible. A term closely
related to skepticism is agnosticism. Agnosticism is a profession of
ignorance in reference to the existence or nonexistence of God.
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Most people claim that reality can be known. However, once

they have taken that position, they must decide through what
sources reality may be known, and must have some concept of how
to judge the validity of their knowledge. A second issue foundational
to epistemology is whether all truth is relative, or whether some
truths are absolute. Is all truth subject to change? Is it possible that
what is true today may be false tomorrow? If the answer is "Yes" to
the previous questions, such truths are relative. If, however, there is
Absolute Truth, such Truth is eternally and universally true
irrespective of time or place. Closely related to the issue of the
relativity and absoluteness of truth are the questions of whether
knowledge is subjective or objective, and whether there is truth that
is independent of human experience.

A major aspect of epistemology relates to the sources of

human knowledge. If one accepts the fact that there is truth and
even Truth in the universe, how can human beings comprehend such
truths? How do they become human knowledge? Central to most
people's answer to that question is empiricism (knowledge obtained
through the senses). Empirical knowledge appears to be built into
the very nature of human experience. Thus, when individuals walk
out of doors on a spring day and see the beauty of the landscape,
hear the song of a bird, feel the warm rays of the sun, and smell the
fragrance of the blossoms, they "know" that it is spring. Sensory
knowing for humans is immediate and universal, and in many ways
forms the basis of much of human knowledge.

The existence of sensory data cannot be denied. Most people

accept it uncritically as representing "reality." The danger of naively
embracing this approach is that data obtained from the human
senses have been demonstrated to be both incomplete and
undependable. (For example, most people have been confronted
with the contradiction of seeing a stick that looks bent when partially
submerged in water but appears to be straight when examined in
the air.) Fatigue, frustration, and illness also distort and limit sensory
perception. In addition, there are sound and light waves that are
inaudible and invisible to unaided human perception.

Humans have invented scientific instruments to extend the

range of their senses, but it is impossible to ascertain the exact
dependability of these instruments since no one knows the total
effect of the human mind in recording, interpreting, and distorting
sensual perception. Confidence in these instruments is built upon
speculative metaphysical theories whose validity has been
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reinforced by experimentation in which predictions have been

verified through the use of a theoretical construct or hypothesis. In
general, sensory knowledge is built upon assumptions that must be
accepted by faith in the dependability of human sensory
mechanisms. The advantage of empirical knowledge is that many
sensory experiences and experiments are open to both replication
and public examination.

A second important source of human knowledge is reason. The

view that reasoning, thought, or logic is the central factor in
knowledge is known as rationalism. The rationalist, in emphasizing
humanity's power of thought and the mind's contributions to
knowledge, is likely to claim that the senses alone cannot provide
universal, valid judgments that are consistent with one another.
From this perspective, the sensations and experiences humans
obtain through their senses are the raw material of knowledge.
These sensations must be organized by the mind into a meaningful
system before they become knowledge. Rationalism in a less
extreme form claims that people have the power to know with
certainty various truths about the universe that the senses alone
cannot give. In its extreme form, rationalism claims that humans are
capable of arriving at irrefutable knowledge independently of
sensory experience. Formal logic is a tool used by rationalists.
Systems of logic have the advantage of possessing internal
consistency, but they risk being disconnected from the external
world. Systems of thought based upon logic are only as valid as the
premises upon which they are built.

A third source of human knowledge is intuition- the direct

apprehension of knowledge that is not derived from conscious
reasoning or immediate sense perception. In the literature dealing
with intuition, one often finds such expressions as "immediate
feeling of certainty." Intuition occurs beneath the threshold of
consciousness and is often experienced as a sudden flash of insight.
Intuition has been claimed under varying circumstances as a source
of both religious and secular knowledge. Certainly many scientific
breakthroughs have been initiated by intuitive hunches that were
confirmed by experimentation. The weakness or danger of intuition
is that it does not appear to be a safe method of obtaining
knowledge when used alone. It goes astray very easily and may lead
to absurd claims unless it is controlled by or checked against other
methods of knowing. Intuitive knowledge, however, has the distinct
advantage of being able to bypass the limitations of human
experience.
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A fourth influential source of knowledge throughout the span

of human history has been revelation. Revealed knowledge has
been of prime importance in the field of religion. It differs from all
other sources of knowledge because it presupposes a transcendent
supernatural reality that breaks into the natural order. Christians
believe that such revelation is God's communication concerning the
divine will. Believers in supernatural revelation hold that this form of
knowledge has the distinct advantage of being an omniscient source
of information that is not available through other epistemological
methods. The truth revealed through this source is believed by
Christians to be absolute and uncontaminated. On the other hand, it
is generally realized that distortion of revealed truth can occur in the
process of human interpretation. Some people assert that a major
disadvantage of revealed knowledge is that it must be accepted by
faith and cannot be proved or disproved empirically.

A fifth source of human knowledge, though not a philosophical

position, is authority. Authoritative knowledge is accepted as true
because it comes from experts or has been sanctified over time as
tradition. In the classroom, the most common source of information
is some authority, such as a textbook, teacher, or reference work.
Accepting authority as a source of knowledge has its advantages as
well as its dangers. Civilization would certainly stagnate if people
refused to accept any statement unless they personally verified it
through direct, firsthand experience. On the other hand, if
authoritative knowledge is built upon a foundation of incorrect
assumptions, then such knowledge will surely be distorted.

Dear learners, it is important to note that one source of

information alone might not be capable of supplying people with all
knowledge. It might be important to see the various sources as
complementary rather than antagonistic. However, it is true that
most people choose one source as being more basic than, or
preferable to, the others, and then use it as a benchmark for testing
other sources of knowledge. For example, in the contemporary
world, knowledge obtained empirically is generally seen as the most
basic and reliable type.

Lesson 4: Axiology and Logic

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Lesson Overview
We have said earlier that philosophy deals with the most basic
issues faced by human beings. Axiology is the philosophical study of
value, which originally meant the worth of something. It includes the
studies of moral values, aesthetic values, as well as political and
social values. Logic, on the other hand, is a philosophical study of
arguments and the methods and principles of right reasoning. In this
lesson, we will discuss Axiology and Logic as the other two major
fields of philosophy.

Lesson Objectives:
After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Understand the fundamental concern and issues that axiology

and logic primarily deal with.
 Identify the major subsets or aspects of axiological questions:
ethical, aesthetical, political and social questions.
 Recognize the fundamental philosophical debates concerning
the nature and sources of moral, political and social rules and
principles.

4.1 Axiology
Activity #1:
Axiology is the study or theory of value. The term Axiology stems
from two Greek words- "Axios", meaning "value, worth", and "logos",
meaning "reason theory/ symbol / science/study of. Hence, Axiology
is the philosophical study of value, which originally meant the worth
of something. Axiology asks the philosophical questions of values
that deal with notions of what a person or a society regards as good
or preferable, such as:
 What is a value?
 Where do values come from?
 How do we justify our values?
 How do we know what is valuable?
 What is the relationship between values and knowledge?
 What kinds of values exist?
 Can it be demonstrated that one value is beuer than another?
 Who benefus from values?
 Etc.

Axiology deals with the above and related issues of value in three
areas, namely Ethics, Aesthetics, and Social/Political Philosophy.
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i. Ethics

Ethics, which is also known as Moral Philosophy, is a science that

deals with the philosophical study of moral principles, values, codes,
and rules, which may be used as standards for determining what
kind of human conduct/action is said to be good or bad, right or
wrong. Ethics has three main branches: meta-ethics, normative
ethics, and applied ethics. Ethics raises various questions including:
 What is good/bad?
 What is right/wrong?
 Is it the Right Principle or the Good End that makes human
action/conduct moral?
 Is an action right because of its good end, or it is good
because of its right principle?
 Are moral principles universal, objective, and unconditional,
or relative, subjective and conditional?

 What is the ultimate foundation of moral principles? The

supernatural God? Human reason? Mutual social contract?
Social custom?
 Does God exist? If so, is He Benevolent and Omnipotent?
 If God is Benevolent, why He creates evil things? If God does
not create evil things,then, there must be another creator
who is responsible to creation of the evil things? But, if it is
so, how can God be an Omnipotent creator?
 Why we honor and obey moral rules? For the sake of our own
individual benefits?, or for the sake of others?, or just for the
sake of fulfilling our infallible duty?

Ethics, or ethical studies, can be grouped into three broad

categories: Normative ethics, Meta- ethics, and Applied Ethics.

Normative Ethics refers to the ethical studies that attempt to

study and determine precisely the moral rules, principles, standards
and goals by which human beings might evaluate and judge the
moral values of their conducts, actions and decisions. It is the
reasoned search for principles of human conduct, including a critical
study of the major theories about which things are good, which acts
are right, and which acts are blameworthy. Consequentialism or
Teleological Ethics, Deontological Ethics, and Virtue Ethics are the
major examples of normative ethical studies.
 18

Meta-ethics is the highly technical philosophical discipline that

deals with investigation of the meaning of ethical terms, including a
critical study of how ethical statements can be verified. It is more
concerned with the meanings of such ethical terms as good or bad
and right or wrong than with what we think is good or bad and right
or wrong. Moral Intuitionism, Moral Emotivism,

Moral Prescriptivism, Moral Nihilism, and Ethical Relativism are the

main examples of meta- ethical studies.

Applied Ethics is a normative ethics that attempts to explain,

justify, apply moral rules, principles, standards, and positions to
specific moral problems, such as capital punishment, euthanasia,
abortion, adultery, animal right, and so on. This area of normative
ethics is termed applied because the ethicist applies or uses general
ethical princes in an attempt to resolve specific moral problems.

ii. Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the theory of beauty. It studies about the particular

value of our artistic and aesthetic experiences. It deals with beauty,
art, enjoyment, sensory/emotional values, perception, and matters
of taste and sentiment.

The following are typical Aesthetic questions:

 What is art?→ What is beauty?
 What is the relation between art and beauty?
 What is the connection between art, beauty, and truth?
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 Can there be any objective standard by which we may judge

the beauty of artistic works,or beauty is subjective?
 What is artistic creativity and how does it differ from scientific
creativity?
 Why works of art are valuable?
 Can artistic works communicate? If so, what do they
communicate?
 Does art have any moral value, and obligations or
constraints?
 Are there standards of quality in Art?

III. Social/Political Philosophy

Social/Political Philosophy studies about of the value judgments

operating in a civil society, be it social or political.

The following questions are some of the major Social/Political

Philosophy primarily deal with:
 What form of government is best?
 What economic system is best?
 What is justice/injustice?
 What makes an action/judgment just/unjust?
 What is society?
 Does society exist? If it does, how does it come to
existence?
 How are civil society and government come to exist?
 Are we obligated to obey all laws of the State?
 What is the purpose of government?
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4.2 Logic
Logic is the study or theory of principles of right reasoning. It deals
with formulating the right principles of reasoning; and developing
scientific methods of evaluating the validity and soundness of
arguments. The following are among the various questions raised by
Logic:
 What is an argument; What does it mean to argue?
 What makes an argument valid or invalid
 What is a sound argument?
 What relation do premise and conclusion have in argument?
 How can we formulate and evaluate an argument?
 What is a fallacy?; What makes an argument fallacious?

Lesson 5: Importance of Learning Philosophy

Lesson Overview
Dear learners, we have seen in our first lesson that philosophy is a
rational and critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer
fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason-
an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation-,
and deals with the
most basic issues faced by human beings. In this lesson, we will
discuss the fundamental benefits of learning philosophy.

Lesson Objectives:
After a successful completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

 Understand the fundamental benefits philosophy could provide

to humanity.

Dear learners, if you ask any philosophy student ‗what is the

necessity of studying philosophy‘, he/she may give you the
following famous philosophical statement: ―The unexamined life is
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not worth living”. The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, once

said that “I tell you that to let no day pass without discussing
goodness and all the other subjects about which you hear me
talking and examining both myself and others is really the best
thing that a man can do, and that life without this sort of
examination is not worth living.…” Thus, among the various
benefits of learning philosophy is that philosophy provides students
with the tools they need to critically examine their own lives as well
as the world in which they live. Let us clarify it more.

Some modern psychologists point out that human beings

have both maintenanceand actualizing needs. The former refer to
the physical and psychological needs that we must satisfy in order
to maintain ourselves as human beings: food, shelter, security,
social interaction, and the like. The later appear to be associated
with self-fulfillment, creativity, self-expression, realization of one‘s
potential, and being everything one can be. Although philosophy
may not necessarily lead to this sort of self-actualization, it can
assist us to actualize ourselves by promoting the ideal of self-
actualization. There are many characteristics of self-actualization
to whose achievement studying philosophy has a primordial
contribution. Here below are some of them.

1) Intellectual and Behavioral Independence:- This is the ability to

develop one‘s own opinion and beliefs. Among the primary
goals of philosophy, one is the integration of experiences into a
unified, coherent, and systematic world views. Studying
philosophy helps us not only to know the alternative world
views but also to know how philosophers have ordered the
universe for themselves. As a result, we can learn how to
develop and integrate our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and
actions for ourselves, and thus how to be intellectually and
behaviorally independent.
2) Reflective Self-Awareness:- self-actualization cannot be realized
without a clear knowledge of oneself and the world in which one
lives. Philosophy helps us to intensify our self- awareness by
inviting us to critically examine the essential intellectual
grounds of our lives.
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3) Flexibility, Tolerance, and Open-Mindedness:- by studying

different philosophical perspectives we can understand the
evolutionary nature of intellectual achievement and the
ongoing development of human thought. As we confront with
the thoughts of various philosophers we can easily realize that
no viewpoint is necessarily true or false- that the value of any
attitude is contextual. Finally, we become more tolerant, open-
minded, more receptive, and more sympathetic to views that
contend or clash with ours.
4) Creative and Critical Thinking: - this is the ability to develop
original philosophical perspective on issues, problems, and
events; and to engage them on a deeper level. From the study
of philosophy, we can learn how to refine our powers of
analysis, our abilities to think critically, to reason, to evaluate,
to theorize, and to justify.
5) Conceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in morality,
art, politics, and the like: since philosophy directly deals with
morality, art, politics, and other related value theories, studying
philosophy provides us with an opportunity to formulate
feasible evaluations of value; and thereby to find meaning in
our lives.

The other benefit of studying philosophy that should not be

missed is that it helps us to deal with
the uncertainty of living. Philosophy helps us to realize the absence
of an absolutely ascertained knowledge. But, what is the
advantage of uncertainty? What Bertrand Russell stated in his
book, The Problem of Philosophy, can be a sufficient answer for this
question.

The value of philosophy is, in part, to be sought largely in its very

uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes
through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common
sense, from the habitual benefits of his age or his nation, and from
convictions which have grown up in his mind without the
cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the
world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects
rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously
rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we
 23

find… that even the most everyday things lead to problems to

which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy,
though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to
the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities
which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of
custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what
things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may
be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who
have never traveled into theregion of liberating doubt, and it keeps
alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in an
unfamiliar aspect (Bertrand, 1912, P; 158).

Chapter Summary
Logic, as a field of study, is a branch of philosophy that deals
with the study of arguments and the principles and methods of
right reasoning. Etymologically, the term philosophy‘ can be
defined as “love of wisdom”, being wisdom a critical habit and
eternal vigilance about all things and a reverence for truth,
whatever its form, and wherever its place. Therefore, philosophy,
as a pursuit of wisdom, is the development of critical habits, the
continuous search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent. It
is, however, important to note that questioning the apparent‘ does
not mean denying the obviously real. It simply refers to the
extraordinary ability and curiosity to deal creatively with the
phenomenal world, to go beyond the common understanding, and
to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt.
Philosophy, as a rational and critical enterprise that tries to
formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive
application of reason, is a dual-sided universal discipline: critical
and constructive sides. While, as a critical discipline, it deals with
giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation of
answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and
axiological questions, it attempts, as a constructive discipline, to
formulate rationally defensible answers to certain fundamental
questions concerning the nature of reality, the nature of value, and
the nature of knowledge and truth.
 24

Philosophy, as an academic discipline, has its own salient

features that distinguish it from other academic disciplines. Its
systematic, logical and flexible approach to the ultimate reality of
the universe, human life, knowledge experience, truth and values
and its holistic and evolutionary nature are some the fundamental
features of philosophy. Philosophy uses its major branches to deal
with the most important issues human beings face, namely
Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, and Logic. Metaphysics deals
with the studies of ultimate reality and existence. Epistemology
deals with the study of the meaning, nature, source, scope and
possibility of human knowledge. Axiology deals with the
philosophical studies of human values, such as moral values,
aesthetic values, as well as political and social values. Logic, on the
other hand, is a philosophical study of arguments and the methods
and principles of right reasoning.

Philosophy provides various fundamental benefits to learners.

It provides students with the tools they need to critically examine
their own lives as well as the world in which they live, it assist them
to actualize themselves by promoting the ideals of self-
actualization. That is, studying philosophy helps to achieve the
most important characteristic of self-actualization: Intellectual and
Behavioral Independence, Reflective Self-Awareness, Flexibility,
Tolerance, and Open- Mindedness, Creative and Critical Thinking,
and Conceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in
morality, art, politics, and the like. Moreover, studying philosophy
helps us to deal with the uncertainty of living, meaning it helps us
to realize the absence of an absolutely ascertained knowledge, and
hence prepare ourselves to the ever growing human knowledge.