PHILOSOPHY

What is Philosophy?

• It came from the Greek word, philos which means love and Sophia that means
wisdom
• Philosophy is the mother discipline out of which the other sciences emerge.
• The science and discipline which uses human reason to investigate the ultimate
causes, reasons and principles which govern all things.
Meaning of Philosophy

• Science- it follows certain steps or its employs certain procedures.

• Natural light of Reason- uses the natural capacity to think
• Study of all things- it does not limit itself to a particular object of inquiry
• First cause or the highest principle
• Principle of identity
• Principle of non-contradiction
• Principle of excluded mind- there is no middle ground
• Principle of sufficient reason
Emptying
 Three Characteristics of Philosophical
Question

•1. Very broad or general

•2. No single Methodology
•3. Trivial and general
Philosophy vs Science
• Scientist do first-order inquiry while Philosophers
make second-order inquiry
Branches of Philosophy
• Metaphysics- seeks the fundamental nature of reality
• Ethics- explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions
• Epistemology- deals with nature, sources, limitations and validity of
knowledge
• Logic- reasoning
• Aesthetics- the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of
beauty and artistic taste.
LOVERS OF WISDOM
West vs. East
Pre-Socratic or Milesians
Thales
-The father of Western
Philosophy
-the first philosopher
assumed that the earth is flat
-Brought geometry to Greece
-A mathematician and
Astronomer
- Everything is Water
Anaximander
-A student of Thales
-Earth is cylindrical
-He attempted to draw a
map
-He introduces the
“apeiron”
Anaximenes
- Fundamental substance is
air
-That the earth is Flat and
round
- Reasons behind
earthquake, lightning and
rainbows
Pythagoras
The leader of a religious cult
called Pythagoreans.
- Philosophy is a way of life
- Philosophy and religion are
connected
- Reality are numbers
- He coined the word
Philosophy
Heraclitus
- Idea of Change
- “you cannot step twice
into the same rivers,
for fresh waters are
ever flowing in upon
you
Empedocles
- He believed to be
immortal and that he had
magical powers
- He was known to have
cured somebody who was
comatose for 24 months
- Reality is made up of four
element (air, water, fire
and earth)
- He leaped to Mt. Etna to
proved his immortality
SOCRATIC PERIOD/
TRIUMVIRATE
SOCRATES
- philosophy should achieve
practical results for the greater
well-being of society
- He pointed out that human
choice was motivated by the
desire for happiness.
- Ultimate wisdom comes from
knowing oneself.
- government worked best when
ruled by individuals who had the
greatest ability, knowledge, and
virtue and possessed a complete
understanding of themselves.
PLATO
- He was the student of
Socrates
- Theory of forms
- Founder of the
Academy
- Written different
philosophical writings
like dialogue, The
Republic and dialectic
Aristotle
• Student of Plato in the Academy
• His writings cover many subjects
– including physics, biology,
zoology, metaphysics, logic,
ethics, aesthetics, poetry,
theater, music, rhetoric,
linguistics, politics and
government
• Founded the Lyceum
• Aristotle immersed himself in
empirical studies and shifted
from Platonism to empiricism
 Philosophy and
religion is one
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
Judaism

- Belief in one God, who has a role in the ultimate destiny of

mankind; the Jewish people are God’s chosen people
- The observance of God’s commandments will result in rewards. A
deeper study and understanding of God’s laws as revealed in the
sacred scriptures will lead to wisdom
- Abraham, Moses and various Prophets
Islam

- Belief in one God (Allah); commitment to faith is shown

through the practice of Five pillars (shahada, salat, zakat,
sawm and hajj)
- Muhammad
- Quran
Christianism

- Jesus Christ is the messiah

- Jesus of Nazareth
- Bible
 Hinduism
- Belief in the pantheon of gods, with three main gods- Brahma,
Shiva and Vishnu
- Belief in a cycle of birth and rebirth, which is broken when person
achieves ultimate union with the Divine
- Emphasis on Dharma, the fulfillment of duties and behavior in
accordance with the established order in the world; individual
actions contribute to either a good or bad effect (Karma) in a
person’s Life
- The Vedas
 Buddhism

- Shares a number of main beliefs with Hinduism

- The Four noble truths describe worldly existence as imperfect
and influenced by earthly desires and suffering; to rid oneself
desire and achieve liberation from suffering, one must follow
the eight-fold path
- Siddhartha Gautama
 Confucianism

- Human relationships are based on mutual obligations;

individuals should perform their intended roles and contribute to
social order
- Self-transformation can lead to the betterment of the family and
society
- Confucius
Taoism

- Emphasis on the unity and harmony among

opposing elements (yin and yang); individuals
must seek to understand and act in accordance
with the natural order
- Lao Tzu
Point of view
a point of view is defined as a way or a method how
one sees or perceives the reality or a phenomenon.
HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
• Holism comes from the Greek word holos which literally means all, entire, totality
• This kind of system aims to determine and explain the whole or totality of a given
system by examining the behaviors and activities of certain component parts
PARTIAL POINT OF VIEW
• a perspective that is based on one of the component parts of a whole.
• a partial point of view is a perspective that looks at reality based on a single
or partial component of a system whereas the holistic perspective tries to
broaden the understanding of reality by taking considerations of other
possible causal agents or factors be it biological, theological or any other
factors that may contribute in understanding a certain phenomenon.