Greece is considered as the cradle of Western thought because it has some conducive

characteristics as Geographical conditions, Cultural Interaction, Political and Economic

security, Myths and Legends, Religious Freedom, Extroverts.

Over centuries, India's intellectual exploration of truth has come to be represented by

six systems of philosophy.
These are known as
1.Vaishesika,
2.Nyaya,
3.Samkhya,
4.Yoga,
5.Purva Mimansa
6.Vedanta or Uttara Mimansa

According to Aristotle, philosophy arises from wonder. Man experiences rains and
drought, storms, clouds, lightening, etc. and were ready to understand the universe
through causal relations

ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PHILOSOPHY

"Philosophy" has its western origin in Greece

Term consists of two terms taken from Greek terms - one is "Philos" which means
love and "Sophia" which means wisdom

An attempt to achieve an intellectual endeavor to establish the reality of this entire

universe

It enquires into the nature of the universe in which we live, the nature of the human
soul, and its destiny, and the nature of God or the Absolute, and their relation to one
another

A philosopher, then, is one who is friendly to or familiar with wisdom

Plato interpreted "philos" as meaning that philosopher is wisdom's friends in so far

as he does not yet have wisdom but strive after it
◦ It is a relationship like love.
◦ It is love of wisdom in a new sense of the word.
◦ Wisdom here means neither technical skill nor practical cleverness, but
knowledge.
◦ Philosophy does not want only to believe or to have faith but to know.
◦ Philosophy is the human urge for knowledge driven to the extreme.
◦ A philosopher is friendly to or familiar with wisdom.
Thus philosophy is not a state, but a movement of activity
◦ Philosophy is the liberation from the captivity of the mind or the captivity of
opinions.
◦ It can be said further that philosophy is the liberation from womb of prejudice.
◦ Thus philosophy is a kind of second birth
 ◦ Indian point of view, the term "Philosophy" can be meaning fully termed in
Sanskrit language as "Darshana" which means vision or to see and also means
an instrument of vision.
◦ In Indian school of thought, Darshana means to realize the self and direct
vision of truth
◦ Indian philosophy is the intense urge for the direct realization of ultimate reality
◦ Origin can be traced in the Upanishada as well as other sacred books
◦ Philosophical study initiated out of curiosity and wonder whether it is originated
in Greece, India or any parts of the world
Either in philosophy or in darshana, speculation or critical analysis is must

◦ It is an intense perception and understanding of truth associated with this world

and the aspects of life
◦ Western philosophy concentrates and achieves the development of
knowledge,
Where as Indian school of thought directly involves achieving the actual
realization of self
◦ Another sense, the former believes the love of truth and knowledge, whereas the later
perceives the truth itself
◦ It defines the synoptic view of the universe to have a total vision of reality there
It signifies a natural and a necessary urge in human beings to know themselves
and the world in which they 'live and move in their being'.

◦ Western school of thought has remained more or less true to the etymological
meaning of 'philosophy', is being essentially an intellectual quest for truth.
On the other hand, Indian school of thought has been extremely spiritual and has
always traced the meaning of practical realization of truth

DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

Aristotle - "Philosophy is the science which investigates the nature of being as it is in

itself and the attributes which belong to it in virtue of its own nature"

Plato - "Philosophy is the acquisition of knowledge."

Hegel - "Philosophy aims at the knowledge of the external, of the essential nature of
things."

Immanuel Kant - "Philosophy is the science and criticism of cognition."

Bertrand Russell - "Philosophy is the logical study of the foundations of the science."

Friedrich Paulsen - "Philosophy is the sum total of all scientific knowledge"

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHILOSOPHY
• Related with the knowledge of reality.
• Helps to all for finding the truth.
 • May be conservative, traditional and flexible in nature.
• The ideas of philosophy are relevant and meaningful
• Deals with the nature of reality.
• Finds out different sense forget the way of knowledge
• Philosophy is always dynamic
• provides a different direction for the modification of behavior
• Refers to the width and breadth, outlook, comprehensiveness, range of
experience, purview of that subject, etc.
• Scope of philosophy is actually very vast
• Different aspects i.e. the subfields will come under the purview of the scope of
philosophy
• Francis Bacan, English philosopher mentioned that philosophy as "the great
mother of sciences"

SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY

Francis Bacon - "the great mother of sciences"

scope of philosophy extends to any problem of the world and the topics under study
can be understood by seeing the branches of philosophy

philosophy focuses its rational analysis and thought process to understand the nature
of matter, time, space, evolution, life, and mind, and establishes inter-relation belong
to them

Process of thinking to know the universe through logical, systematic, and persistent
point of view

VALUES OF PHILOSOPHY
◦ Philosophy is a branch of human inquiry and as such it aims at knowledge and
understanding
◦ lies in the value of the ends that it seeks, the knowledge and understanding it
reveals
Bertrand Russell argues that there is great value in doing philosophy precisely
because it frustrates our desire for quick easy answers
◦ Easy answers to big questions and undermining complacent convictions,
philosophy liberates us from narrow minded conventional thinking and opens
our minds to new possibilities
◦ Provides an antidote to prejudice not by settling big questions, but by revealing
just how hard it is to settle those questions
◦ Lead to question on comfortably complacent conventional opinions.

COMMON SENSE AND PHILOSOPHY

◦ First level of process through which knowledge is obtained
◦ Common sense knowledge is further sharpened through scientific process of
learning
 ◦ Second level of scientific knowledge is again developed and matured to
philosophical knowledge

DIFFERENCE COMMON SENSE PHILOSOPHY

The knowledge which is
Common sense is the
achieved through logical
knowledge people achieve
Definition analysis and it is achieved
through common
by experts and
observation.
philosophers.
There is no fixed purpose of The knowledge which is
gaining common knowledge acquired through
Purpose
and acquired through day philosophical process bears
to day experience. a certain objectives.
General knowledge is
uncertain,
Certainty and Philosophical knowledge is
incoherent, unorganised
logical certain, concrete,
and illogical. organised and
logical.
Common sense is In case of philosophical
sometimes biased to knowledge is completely
Superstition
superstition and social impartial from superstition
culture. and social culture.
Philosophy is not at all
considered as Common
Basis of sense can be considered as
the basis of common sense.
relationship the basis of
enhancement of
philosophical knowledge.
Philosophical knowledge
cannot be changed
Common sense varies with
change of space, time and
the
Changeability context. So, with the change
this knowledge is not
of space, time and context.
eternal and permanent.
So,
it is permanent and eternal.
Common sense is generated
only from Philosophical
knowledge focuses not only
Scope the objective world.
on this
external world but
supernatural world also.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

◦ Science is the systematic and well organized body of knowledge which is based upon
observation, experiment and reason.
◦ Philosophy is also systematised body based upon critical analysis and
interpretation.

French philosopher Auguste Comte opined that philosophy is the science of

sciences.
◦ There remains an intimate relationship
◦ Philosophy critically analyses the results of all sciences and present a synoptic view of
the life and world.
◦ Charlie Dunbar Broad says “the object of philosophy is to collect the scientific views from
different scientific domains and then synthesing this results with the religious and ethical
understanding of human being so as to formulate the reality belongs in different aspects of
life.”
◦ The scientific results helps to reach some general conclusion about the natural world where
position and prospect mankind are highly involved.
◦ Both Science and Philosophy are engaged in the search of truth.
◦ Philosophy examines scientific method.
◦ Both are critical in nature.
◦ Philosophy integrates sciences and examines scientific assumptions.
◦ Scientific research influences philosophical progress.
◦ Philosophy guides the future course of scientific process.
◦ Philosophy provides a constructive criticism of sciences
◦ Philosophy and Science have different scope and problems.
◦ The attitudes of philosophy and science are different.
◦ Science and Philosophy differ in their methods.
◦ Philosophical Conclusions are different from these of sciences
◦ Philosophy and science are engaged in different activities.
◦ Philosophy and Science has much in common.
◦ Both grew out of the reflective, inquiring and are prompted by an impartial love of truth.
◦ Both attempt at understanding the world.
◦ Approaches are different.
◦ Science has its goals-description, prediction experimentation and control
◦ Philosophy aims at interpretation, in finding the purpose and value in life.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Epistemology
2. Metaphysics
3. Logic
4. Ethics

EPISTEMOLOGY
◦ term epistemology was coined by James Ferrier
◦ “Theory of knowledge”
◦ concerned with the mind's relation to reality
◦ various rational streams i.e. introspection, perception, memory, testimony and
intuition can be equally used
◦ activities like justification, understanding conceptualism, perception, inference,
empiricism, criticism are the effective means in search of knowledge
Eminent philosophers in this branch are Perry, Marvin and Halt

METAPHYSICS
◦ Metaphysics is the science of reality
◦ some questions are how the universe is formed? Who is the creator? What is the form
of god?
◦ Aristotle first coined the term "metaphysics"
◦ term metaphysics derived from the Greek words "meta + physika (physics or
natural sciences)" (means "after the things of nature")
◦ two forms of an entity.
◦ One is external another is an inner or imperceptible form which cannot described
through sensory organ the other is inner form
◦ modern philosophical terminology, metaphysics refers to the studies of what
cannot be reached through objective studies of material reality
◦ Meta means beyond and physics means observable of physical worlds
◦ Parmenides is the father of metaphysics.
Metaphysics
* Pleto, Aristotle, G. W. F. Hegel, F H Bradley, Samuel Alexander, Spinoza, Devid
Hume are the eminent philosophers in this fields

LOGIC
◦ Deals with the obtaining of knowledge about the universe and life
◦ Term logic derived from the Greek word "logos" means "discourse”, "reason,"
"rule," etc.
◦ Concentrates to find the truth
◦ Deals with the subject matter like definition, classification, comparison, as well
as methods of judgment, and basic principles of the thought process
◦ process of logical thinking or the judicious reasoning
◦ explains the world with the mental process i.e. through rationality
◦ rationality is the only difference belongs to human being unlike other creatures
of the world
human can only judge between right or wrong, true or false statements and at the
same times by the application of rationality, human discloses the mystery of the world
as well as continuing to understand more and more
◦ helps the human to move forward spontaneously towards the world of wisdom
John Stewart Mill defined in his book entitled "System of Logic" that "Logic is the
science of operation of understanding subservient to the estimation of evidence"

ETHICS
◦ Ethics (or moral philosophy) is related with human behaviour, human character
and human value system
◦ explore the problem of practical life and very specifically the morality of life
◦ field of study goodness, right action and moral psychology and responsibility of
human being
undertake the rational approach and moral principles in every walk of life
◦ Ethics is a science whose main concern is the moral behaviour and to establish
which one is right or wrong; good or evil; belongs to human behaviour
evaluates the standard procedure and normative approach based on which any
human action can be judged either righteous or wrongful

DEFINITION OF ETHICS:
◦ Ethics is derived from the Greek word 'ethos'
◦ Term 'moral' and 'ethical' is often used as equivalent to right or good as opposed
to 'immoral' and 'unethical'
Ethicist John Stuart Mackenzie defines ethics may be defined as "the study of what
is right or good in conduct" (Mackenzie, 2005).
◦ Ethicist William Lillie defines "ethics as the normative science of conduct of human
beings living in societies, a science which judges their conduct to be right or wrong, to be good
or bad, or in similar ways" (Lillie, 2007).
◦ Ethics and moral philosophy are sometimes used interchangeably.
The term moral is derived from "mores" which means habit or behaviour or rituals

Ethics is Normative Science

◦ Ethics is that science which is used by human by applying his normal rational to
judge any action whether it is wright or wrong
◦ Ethics is science of character
◦ Ethics is not a practical science
◦ Ethics is not an art

MORAL PHILOSOPHY
Branch of study which deals with the nature of morality, and to find out the set of
principles with a view to achieving right decision regarding what to do or ought to do
from moral point of view

related to moral a claim which actually distinguishes the Right or wrong course of an
action or a person's character

Morality is thus the important trait of human personality

Moral Philosophy
Moral philosophy is classified into three distinct fields
1. Meta-ethics
2. Normative ethics
3. Applied ethics

META-ETHICS
Branch of learning which deals actually the nature of ethical properties, statements,
attitude as well as judgment

NORMATIVE ETHICS
Investigates moral standards which defines right and wrong conduct of human being
involved in finding good and bad habits, duties, or activities of consequences

APPLIED ETHICS
finds out the specific moral aspects of various social activities
deals with the critical moral questions and controversial moral aspects relating to
human behaviour arises from their practical lives

MORAL JUDGMENTS AND REACTIONS

◦ the main cognitive factor in moral consciousness
◦ involves intuition of moral standard by reason and comparison of a voluntary
action with it
◦ involves evaluation of voluntary action of it as right and wrong
◦ Judgment is an opinion or decision that is based on careful thought
act or process of forming an opinion or making a decision after careful thought
◦ Find that it contains
◦ A subject which will judge,
◦ An object whose action will be judged,
◦ A standard in conformity to which the action of the subject will be judged and
◦ A power of judging the action as required

REASONING
◦ Forms of controlled thinking consciously towards the solution of a problem

DEFINITIONS OF REASONING
1. "Reasoning is a stepwise thinking with a purpose or goal in mind" - Garrett.
2. "Reasoning is the term applied to highly purposeful, controlled and selective
thinking" — Gates.
3. "Reasoning is the word used to describe the mental recognition of cause and
effect relationships, it may be the prediction of an event from an observed cause
or the inference of a cause from an observed event" —Skinner.

TYPES OF REASONING
1. Logical Reasoning
2. Deductive Reasoning
3. Inductive Reasoning
4. Abductive Reasoning

◦ Deductive Reasoning
◦ Formal process with a top-down approach
Doesn't provide any new information but only helps to rearrange the existing facts in
order to obtain new statements or conclusions
◦ Inductive Reasoning
◦ uses the bottom-up approach
◦ moves from specific observations to general conclusions or theories
open-ended and exploratory

Abductive Reasoning

Logical Reasoning

• Structured thinking: Ensures the reasoning process is clear, consistent, and

follows logical rules.
• Umbrella term: Covers deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning.
• Everyday Use: Helps evaluate arguments, solve problems, and make
decisions logically.

Example:

• If a car doesn’t start (problem), logical reasoning helps rule out possibilities
like a dead battery or an empty fuel tank to find the cause.

Deductive Reasoning

• Top-down approach: Starts with a general rule or principle and applies it to a

specific case to draw a conclusion.
• No new information: It simply rearranges or clarifies existing facts to derive
conclusions.
• Key Characteristic: If the premises are true, the conclusion is guaranteed to
be true.

Example:

• Rule: All dogs are mammals.

• Fact: Buddy is a dog.
• Conclusion: Therefore, Buddy is a mammal.

Inductive Reasoning

• Bottom-up approach: Starts with specific examples or observations and uses

them to create a general rule or theory.
• Exploratory: The conclusion may not always be true, as it’s based on
probability rather than certainty.
• Key Characteristic: Often used in scientific experiments to develop theories.

Example:

• Observation: Every swan I’ve seen is white.

 • Conclusion: All swans are white.
(Note: This conclusion could be disproven if a black swan is found.)

Abductive Reasoning

• Hypothesis-driven approach: Looks at available evidence and tries to find

the simplest or most likely explanation.
• Focus on plausibility: The conclusion is not certain but is the best guess
based on the information at hand.
• Key Characteristic: Often used in diagnosis or detective work.

Example:

• Observation: There’s smoke coming out of the kitchen.

• Hypothesis: The food on the stove might be burning.
(Note: There could be other reasons, like a fire or faulty appliances, but
burning food is the most plausible explanation.)

Critical thinking
◦ involves extensive rational thought about a specific subject in order to come to
a definitive conclusion
◦ helpful in fields such as computing, engineering, social sciences and logic
◦ plays a vital role in problem-solving, especially when troubleshooting technical
issues
◦ to assess the authenticity of works of arts, literature, films and other artistic
expressions
◦ plays a vital role in mental and emotional matters, gray areas and other fields
that deal with subjects less

Development of Moral Reasoning : Lawrence Kohleberg

◦ Conducted a survey on hypothetical dilemmas of various types of among boys
having ages 10, 13, 16 and continued to asking them periodically for thirty years on
this basis of these interviews
◦ Described the levels of moral reasoning in 1969
◦ Level I pre- conventional morality,
Level II conventional

Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist, is best known for his theory of moral

development, which explains how individuals progress in their ability to reason
about ethical and moral issues. He identified three levels of moral reasoning, each
divided into two stages. These levels reflect how people's understanding of morality
becomes more sophisticated as they grow.
1. Pre-conventional Level

• Focus: Self-interest and avoiding punishment.

• Audience: Typically children, but adults can operate at this level in certain
situations.

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation

• Right and wrong are determined by what avoids punishment.

• Example: A child obeys their parents to avoid being scolded.

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

• Morality is based on personal benefits or rewards.

• Example: "If I help my friend with homework, they might help me later."

2. Conventional Level

• Focus: Social norms, rules, and the expectations of others.

• Audience: Typically adolescents and many adults.

Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships

• Morality is determined by the desire to be seen as good or liked by others.

• Example: A teenager follows school rules to be admired by peers and
teachers.

Stage 4: Maintaining Social Order

• Emphasis on obeying laws and fulfilling societal duties to maintain order.

• Example: A citizen pays taxes because it’s their responsibility to contribute to
society.

3. Post-conventional Level

• Focus: Universal ethical principles and personal conscience.

• Audience: Achieved by a smaller percentage of people, often those with
advanced moral reasoning.

Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights

• Recognizes that laws and rules exist for the greater good but can be
challenged if they are unjust.
• Example: Supporting a peaceful protest against an unfair law.

Stage 6: Universal Principles

 • Morality is guided by internalized principles of justice, equality, and human
rights, even if they conflict with laws or social norms.
• Example: Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. acted based on principles of
justice and equality, even against the established rules of their time.

Key Points of Kohlberg's Theory:

1. Progression through stages depends on cognitive development and exposure

to moral dilemmas.
2. Not everyone reaches the highest stages (Stages 5 and 6).
3. His theory emphasizes how people think about moral dilemmas rather than
their specific actions.

Criticism:

• Some argue Kohlberg’s theory is biased toward Western, individualistic

perspectives.
• Carol Gilligan criticized it for not adequately addressing gender differences in
moral reasoning.