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ĒLogic and Critical

Thinking
Freshman Course

Ē Chapter 1: Introducing Philosophy

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What is Logic ?П
• As field of study ˀ => Logic is a branch of philosophy that deals with study
of arguments and the principles and methods of right reasoning .
• As an instrumentʇ=> Logic 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.
 Lesson 1 - Meaning and Nature of
Philosophy
ĒBecause of its universal nature, it is difficult to define philosophy in terms of a specific subject matter.

Philosophy

Philo (Love) Sophia(Wisdom)

Philosophy = '' Love of Wisdom''

ĒPhilosophy => Pursuit of Wisdom ĒPhilosophy =>No specific subject matter to primarily deal with
=>Development of Critical habit =>Deals primarily with issues which are universal in Nature
=>The Continuous Search for truth => It is not incomprehensible
=> Questioning of the apparent. => It is not as elusive as it is often thought to be.
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 su cient by itself to understand philosophy, for not all
wisdoms are philosophy.
Socrates once stated that :
“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder”.
ĒThe wisdom that philosophers seek is not the wisdom of the expertise or technical
skills of professionals.
According to Socrates, Wisdom consists of :
Ȳ Critical habit
ȲEternal Vigiliance about all things
Ȳ Reverence for truth
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The philosophical enterprise, as Vincent Barry stated, is
“an active imaginative process of formulating proper questions and resolving them by rigorous,
persistent analysis”.

Philosophy has :
1. Constructive side =>

For it attempts 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.

1. Critical side =>

manifested when it deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and
evaluation of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological
questions.
 Ē ''Philosophy is an Activity ''
Ȳ Not something that can be easily mastered or learned in schools

ȲPhilosopher is a great philosopher, not because he mastered

philosophy.
Of course, the product of philosophizing is philosophy as a product.
However, what makes someone a great philosopher is not the produced
philosophy, but his/her outstanding ability to philosophize.

'' e Best Way to learn & Understand Philosophy is to Philosophize''

Ēto philosophize is - extraordinary ability to critically think, to

conceptualize, to analyze, to compare, to evaluate, and to understand
Ē Thinking alone can't make us a Philosophers
 Lesson 2: Basic Features of Philosophy
• philosophy has its own salient features that distinguishes it from other academic
disciplines
• 1. Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which are often
held uncritically.
• It is 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.
• It is formal sense of philosophy or ''Doing Philosophy''
• Note : Two senses of philosophy ''Having'' & '' Doing''
• Ē Cannot be treated entirely independent of each other.
• Ē if we did not have a philosophy in the formal, personal sense, then we could not do a
philosophy in the critical, reflective sense.
BUT having a philosophy is not su cient for doing philosophy.

Ē.A genuine philosophical attitude is :

Ȳ searching and critical

Ȳopen-minded and tolerant
Ȳ willing to look at all sides of an issue without prejudice To philosophize is not
merely to read and know philosophy.

ĒTo philosophize is not merely to read and know philosophy

ĒTo philosophize also means to generalize
ȲPhilosophers are reflective and critical, They take a second look at the material
presented by common sense
Ȳaccumulation 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.
ĒPhilosophers, theologians, scientists, and others disagree, because
Ȳ they view things from di erent points of view and with di erent assumptions
Ȳ they live in a changing universe

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 ȲSome people are responsive and sensitive to change; others cling to tradition
and the status quo.
Ȳthey deal with an area of human experience in which the evidence is not complete.
ȲDespite 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

Ē Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and human
experience into some kind of consistent worldview.
Although there are di culties and dangers in setting forth any worldview, there also
are dangers in confining attention to fragments of human experience.

Ē Philosophy attempts to bring the results of human inquiry 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
ĒAll 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 claims this is
the only legitimate function of philosophy
 Ē Consider philosophy a specialized field serving the sciences and aiding in the
clarification of language.
This outlook has gain support during the twentieth century
ȲNot all linguistic analysts, however, define knowledge so narrowly
many of them think that we can have knowledge of ethical principles and the
like, although this knowledge is also experientially derived
ȲFrom 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
a airs.

5. Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people and for which
philosophers always have sought answers
Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of human existence
The following some questions are all philosophical or have philosophical importance
ȲWhat is “truth?” and What is the distinction between right and wrong?
ȲFundamental life issues: What is life and why am I here? Why is there anything at
all?
Ȳ Is there really a fundamental distinction between right and wrong, or is it just a
matter of one’s own opinions? What is beauty?
ȲWhere does knowledge come from, and can we have any assurances that i true?
ȲIs there a possibility of a life after death?

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, process philosophy
Ē Philosophy also means the various theories or systems of thought
developed by the great philosophers
ȲWithout these people and their thoughts, philosophy would not have the rich
content it has today.
ȲWe 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
• Ē Metaphysics
• The term Metaphysics is derived from the Greek words
• “Meta” means “beyond”, “upon” or “after” and
• “Physika” means (“physics”)
• ȲLiterally, it refers “those things after the physics”
• ȲIt is a Branch of Philosophy which studies the ultimate nature of reality or
existence
• Deal with issues of :
• Reality, God, freedom, soul/immortality, the mind-body problem, form and
• substance relationship, cause and e ect relationship, and other related issues
some of the questions that Metaphysics primarily deals
with:
ȲWhat is realityα? What is the ultimately realͽ?
ȲCan reality be grasped by the senses΂, or it is transcendent?
ȲWhat is mindҚ, and what is its relation to the body?
ȲIs there a cause-and-e ect relationship between reality and
appearance?
ȲDoes God existΠ, and if so, can we prove itП?
ȲWhat is time ? What is the meaning of life?

It is evident that the question of reality is not as simplistic as it appears

Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask because they provide the
foundation upon which all subsequent inquiry is based.
ĒMetaphysicians seek an irreducible foundation of reality or “first
principles” from which absolute knowledge or truth can be induced and
deduced.
Metaphysical questions may be divided into four subsets or aspects
ĒCosmological Aspect
Ȳstudy of theories about the origin, nature, and development of the
universe as an orderly system.
Question like: How did the universe originate and develop? Did it come
about by accident or design?
ĒTheological Aspect
ȲTheology is that part of religious theory that deals with conceptions
of and about God.
Question like: Is there a God? If so, is there one or more than one? What
are the attributes of God?

Ē Anthropological Aspect
ȲAnthropology deals with the study of human beings
Question likely: What is the relation between mind and body? What is
humanity’s moral status?
Ē Ontological Aspect :
Ȳ The study of the nature of existence, or what it means for anything to
exist
Question like: Is basic reality found in matter or physical energy (the world
we
can sense)? Is it fixed and stable?

Epistemology
derived from the Greek words
Episteme, meaning “knowledge, understanding”, and
Logos, meaning “study of”
Epistemology
Ȳ studies about the nature, scope, meaning, and possibility of knowledge
Ȳdeals with issues of knowledge, opinion, truth, falsity, reason, experience,
and faith referred to as “theory of knowledge”

Ēepistemology covers two areas: the content of thought and thought

itself.
Questions/issues with which Epistemology deals:
ȲWhat is knowledge? What does it mean to know? What are the sources
ȲWhat is truth, and how can we know a statement is true?
ȲWhat is the relationship and di erence between faith and reason?
Epistemology seeks answers to a number of fundamental issues. One is whether
reality can even be known?
Skepticism: the position claiming that people cannot acquire reliable knowledge
and that any search for truth is in vain
Ȳexpressed by Gorgias: asserted that nothing exists, and that if it did, we could
not know it
Agnosticism: profession of ignorance in reference to the existence or nonexistence
of God
other issues foundational to epistemology
Ȳ Whether all truth is relative, or whether some truths are absolute.
ȲThe questions of whether knowledge is subjective or objective, and whether
there is truth that is independent of human experience.

ĒSources of human knowledge

1. Empiricism
Ȳknowledge obtained through the senses
Ȳappears to be built into the very nature of human experience
 ȲSensory knowing for humans is immediate and universal, and in many ways
forms
he basis of much of human knowledge
ȲThe existence of sensory data cannot be denied. Most people accept it
uncritically as representing “reality”
Ȳdanger of naively embracing this approach is that data obtained from the
human senses have been demonstrated to be both incomplete and undependable
Example: 1. seeing a stick that looks bent when partially submerged in water
2.Fatigue, frustration, and illness also distort and limit sensory perception
ŒAdvantage of empirical knowledge is that many sensory experiences and
experiments are open to both replication and public examination.

2. Rationalism :
ȲView that reasoning, thought, or logic is the central factor in knowledge
emphasizing humanity’s power of thought and the mind’s contributions to
knowledge.
ȲClaim that the senses alone cannot provide universal, valid judgments that are
consistent with one another.

ΠRationalism in a less extreme form: people have the power to know with certainty
various truths about the universe that the senses alone cannot give.
Rationalism in its extreme form: Humans are capable of arriving at irrefutable
knowledge independently of sensory experience.
ĒFormal logic is a tool used by rationalists
ȲAdvantage of possessing internal consistency
ȲRisk being disconnected from the external world.
ĒSystems of thought based upon logic are only as valid as the premises upon which
they are built.

3. Intuition :
Ȳ is direct apprehension of knowledge that is not derived from conscious reasoning or
immediate sense perception
Ȳ “Immediate feeling of certainty”
ȲOccurs beneath the threshold of consciousness and is often experienced as a
sudden flash of insight

e weakness or danger of intuition

£ 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

Ȳdistinct advantage of being able to bypass the limitations of human experience

4. Revelation :
ȲDi ers from all other sources of knowledge because It presupposes a transcendent
supernatural reality that breaks into the natural order.
Ȳhas been of prime importance in the field of religion.
Believers 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
Disadvantage of revealed knowledge is that It must be accepted by faith and cannot
be proved or disproved empirically.

5. Authority (it is not a philosophical position)

Ȳ Knowledge is accepted as true because it comes from experts or has been sanctified
over time as tradition.

It has both advantage and disadvantage

ȲCivilization would certainly stagnate if people refused to accept any statement

unless they personally verified it through direct, first-hand experience
Ȳif authoritative knowledge is built upon a foundation of incorrect assumptions,
then such knowledge will surely be distorted
Note that
ȲOne source of information alone might not be capable of supplying
people with all knowledge
ȲIt might be important to see the various sources as complementary
rather than antagonistic.
ȲMost people choose one source as being more basic than, or preferable
to: use it as a benchmark for testing other sources.
ȲIn the contemporary world, knowledge obtained empirically is generally
seen as in the most basic and reliable type.

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Lesson 4: Axiology and Logic
• ĒAxiology ( eory of value)
• Term Axiology stems from two Greek words

• “Axios”, meaning - value, worth, and

• “logos”, meaning - Reason/ Theory/ Symbol / Science/ Study
• Axiology: philosophical study of value (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?
• How do we justify our values?
• What kinds of values exist?
Axiology deals with three areas:

1. Ethics:
Ȳ Ethics is also known as Moral Philosophy.
ȲIt is 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.
Raises various questions including:
ȲWhat is good/bad?
ȲWhat is right/wrong?
ȲIs it the Right Principle or the Good End that makes human action/conduct
moral?
ȲWhat is the ultimate foundation of moral principles?
ȲWhy we honour and obey moral rules?
Ethics can be grouped into three broad categories

Ethics

Normative Ethics Meta- Ethics Applied Ethics

Normative Ethics
ȲStudy 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
ȲExamples of normative ethical studies: Consequentialism or Teleological Ethics,
Deontological Ethics, and Virtue Ethics are the major.

Meta-ethics
Ȳdeals with investigation of the meaning of ethical terms, including a critical
study of how ethical statements can be verified
Ȳconcerned with the meanings of such ethical terms as good or bad and right
or wrong
ȲExamples of meta ethical studies: Moral Prescriptivism, Moral Nihilism, and
Ethical Relativism Moral Intuitionism, Moral Emotivism.

Applied Ethics
Ȳa normative ethics that attempts to explain, justify, apply moral rules, principles, standards,
and positions to specific moral problems, such as
capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion
2. Aesthetics
ĒIt is the theory of beauty
ȲStudies about the particular value of our artistic and aesthetic experience.
ȲDeals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory/emotional values, perception, and
matters of taste and sentiment
typical Aesthetic questions:
What is art? What is beauty?
What is the connection between art, beauty, and truth?
Why works of art are valuable?
Does art have any moral value, and obligations or constraints?

3. Social/Political Philosophy
ĒStudies the value judgments operating in a civil society, be it social or political

Questions Social/Political Philosophy primarily deal with:

What form of government is best?
What is justice/injustice?
What is society? Does society exist?
Are we obligated to obey all laws of the State?
What is the purpose of government?
Logic :
ĒStudy or theory of principles of right reasoning

Logic deals with

Ȳformulating the right principles of reasoning
Ȳdeveloping scientific methods of evaluating the validity and soundness of
arguments

Questions raised by Logic:

What is an argument; What does it mean to argue?
What makes an argument valid or invalid? sound argument
How can we formulate and evaluate an argument? What is a fallacy?

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Lesson 5: Importance of Learning Philosophy
ȲRelated with the necessity of studying philosophy there is a famous philosophical
statement -
“The unexamined life is not worth living”

ȲPhilosophy provides students with the tools they need to critically examine their
own lives as well as the world in which they live.
psychologists point out that human beings have both maintenance and actualizing
needs.

Maintenance needs
ȲRefer to the physical and psychological needs that we must satisfy in order to
maintain ourselves as human beings.
Example: food, shelter, security, social interaction

Actualizing needs
associated with self-fulfilment, creativity, self-expression, realization of one’s potential,
and being everything, one can be.
Philosophy 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 Intellectual and Behavioural Independence

ȲThe ability to develop one’s own opinion and beliefs
ȲHelps us not only to know the alternative world views but also to know how
philosophers have ordered the universe for themselves.
We can learn how to develop and integrate our experiences, thoughts,
feelings, and actions for ourselves.

ĒReflective Self-Awareness
Ȳ A clear knowledge of oneself and the world in which one lives help us to intensify our
self-awareness by inviting us to critically examine the essential intellectual grounds of our
live.
ĒFlexibility, Tolerance, and Open-Mindedness
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.
 ȲWe become more tolerant, open-minded, more receptive, and more sympathetic to
views that contend or clash with ours.

Ē Creative and Critical Thinking

ȲAbility to develop original philosophical perspective on issues, problems, and
events; and to engage them on a deeper level.

Ȳ We can learn how to refine our powers of analysis, our abilities to think critically, to
reason, to evaluate, to theorize, and to justify
ĒConceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in morality, art, politics, and
the like
Ȳstudying philosophy provides us with an opportunity to formulate feasible evaluations
of value; and thereby to find meaning in our lives.
ȲPhilosophy helps us to deal with the uncertainty of living. It helps us to realize the
absence of an absolutely ascertained knowledge.
ȲPhilosophy, 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.

The End
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