Introduction to

Philosophy
Chapter-1
Shaira Matin
 Philosophy
 A. The derivation of the word is from the Greek roots:
 1. philo—love of, affinity for, liking of
 As in the words ...
philander—to engage in love affairs frivolously
philanthropy—love mankind in general
philately—to collect postage stamps
-phile—one having a love for, e.g. anglophile
philology—having a liking for words
 2. sophia—wisdom
 As in the words ...
sophist—one who loves knowledge
sophomore—one who thinks he knows everything
sophisticated—one who is knowledgeable
 Philosophy

Philosophy is critical thinking about presuppositions. A

presupposition is a claim we take for granted and usually don’t
analyze. For philosophy, presuppositions are controversial.
“Philosophy does not answer questions; it questions answers.”
 Philosophy ≈ “an area of inquiry that raises questions about
knowledge, nature, and norms… and tries to give reasoned
answers to them” (p. 3).

 So, philosophy has a characteristic subject matter and a

method.
 What is Philosophy?
Philosophy examines things we take for granted, and
critically examines them
 Philosophy also looks at the assumptions that lie
behind our beliefs
So from the above, can we form a good definition
philosophy -

Philosophy is the study of our conscious and

unconscious beliefs, the assumptions that lie behind
them, and whether those beliefs are rationally
justifiable.
 Misconceptions of Philosophy
Philosophy deals only with abstractions; it is not
concrete or practical
Philosophy is just a game arguing about words
Philosophy is only an expression of personal opinions
Philosophy is a barren pursuit having no relation to
science nor any value in our regular life.
It is a secret design to undermine traditions and to
demolish our faith in God.
A philosopher is a veritable who asks puzzling
questions which neither he nor anybody else can
possibly answer.
 Philosophy: the Pursuit of
Wisdom
•Born of wonder:
• Why are we here? Does God
exist? Why is there evil? Do
plants have feelings? What is
happiness?
• Aim: to clarify ideas and
evaluate the reasons given to
justify beliefs:
• What do you mean? How do
you know?
Why Do Philosophy?
Bertrand Russell felt that one of the reasons we should
study philosophy is to 'escape dogmatism and satisfy our
curiosity'.
Another reason Russell gives is that we should study the
questions for the sake of the questions themselves.
Russellalso felt that by studying the questions our
minds would be improved, even if we did not find the
answers.
Everyone has a worldview. Using the tools of philosophy
you can better understand why you have those beliefs
and why other people believe as they do
 Why study Philosophy?
Philosophy is one of the best ways of enriching your life, even as it
prepares you for life.
Philosophy'scritical skills offer the best defense against foolishness
and falsehoods.
It sharpens our thinking, reasoning ability & persuasive skills.
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems
concerning matters such as existence, Knowledge, truth, beauty, law,
justice, validity, mind, and language.
It enables us to organize ideas and also to bring together a range of
different ideas into one more comprehensive and coherent position.
It helps to take decision and problem solving in our regular life.
It helps to overcome prejudices.
It helps in problem-solving.
It can be applied to every disciplines.
The Sanskrit, Chinese, & Japanese
equivalents of “philosophia” are:

❖ Darshana (Sanskrit), which means “vision” (more

precisely, vision of ultimate reality)

❖ Je Shwe (Chinese, pronounced something like “juh

shway”), which means “wise study”

❖ Tetsugaku (Japanese), which means “wise learning”

The Branches of
Philosophy
 The Scope or Branches of Philosophy
❖ Metaphysics - What’s what? – Reality

❖ Axiology - What’s good? – Value

❖ Epistemology - What do we know? - Knowledge

(Or what’s true?) (& Truth)
 What do those fancy words mean?
❖Axiology, axiologia
 axios, axion = value
❖Metaphysics, metaphusika (Gr.)  logia = the study, theory or
science of something
 meta = above, beyond, after
 phusika = the scientific study of the world
(phusis = nature) ❖Epistemology, epistemologia
 episteme = knowledge
 logia
Some brief M

definitions: A E

➢ Metaphysics is the philosophical investigation of

the nature of reality, being, or existence.
➢ Axiology is the philosophical investigation of the
nature of value(s) & of the foundations of value
judgments.
➢ Epistemology is the philosophical investigation of
the nature of knowledge & truth & of the
differences between knowledge & opinion &
between truth & falsity.
Metaphysics
(Theory of Being)
❖ Ontology - being (ontos) in general(the study
of being and existence, including the definition
and classification of entities, physical or mental,
the nature of their properties, and the nature
of change)
❖ Philosophical Cosmology - the cosmos

❖ Philosophical Theology - God & the gods (Theos

& theoi)
❖ Philosophical Anthropology - human nature and
human existence (anthropos)
Epistemology
(Theory of Knowledge)

What is Knowledge? (Knowledge vs.

Opinion)
Can we Know?
How can we Know?
 Axiology
(Theory of Value)

The Beautiful
 Aesthetics (philosophy of art)

The Good
 Ethics (moral philosophy)

 Social & Political Philosophy

The Just
 Axiology

 a. Ethics: the study of values in human behavior; the study of moral

problems which seeks to discover how one ought to act, not how one
does in fact act or how one thinks one should act.
 b. Aesthetics: the study of value in the arts--the study of the
beauty, sublimity, and principles of taste, harmony, order, and
pattern.
So philosophy as an intellectual discipline has
the following structure (or subject matter):

❖Metaphysics
Ontology (being in general)
Philosophical Cosmology (the cosmos or universe)

Philosophical Theology (God & the gods)

Philosophical Anthropology (human nature & existence)
❖Axiology
Aesthetics (art & aesthetic experience)
Ethics (morality)
Social & Political Philosophy (society & politics)
❖Epistemology
 Logic is also
important in
philosophy.
 Logic

 the philosophical study of Arguments

 What is an argument?
 What makes an argument work?
 What makes an argument bad?
 Origin of
Philosophy
 Wonder

 The need of adjustment

 Doubt

 Deficiencies of other world views

The Nature/Characteristics of Philosophy

 Philosophy is partly positive and partly normative.

 Philosophy is a no-man’s land.
 Philosophy is qualitative in Nature.
 Philosophy give a comprehensive world-view.
 Again it is both critical and constructive.
 A philosopher is catholic in outlook and speculative in
temper.
 Thus Philosophical knowledge is the knowledge of the
highest order.
Hist. of Phil.

 Ancients:
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc.

 Medievals:
Augustine, Aquinas, Anselm, etc.

 Moderns:
Descartes, Leibniz, Locke, Hume, Kant, Martin
Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche etc.

 20th Century:
Frege, Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein, Michel foucault,
Quine, etc.
Historical Background

Plato – (427-347)
 Plato was interested in
moral philosophy and
despised natural philosophy
(that is, science) as an
inferior and unworthy sort
of knowledge.
 Believed we are born with
complete knowledge within
our soul.
 Learning – a process of inner
reflection to discover the
knowledge within us.
History

Aristotle – (384-322)
 Knowledge acquired
through experience.
History

Descartes- (1596-1650)
 Mind body dualism
 Behaviorcontrolled
by the mind or will.
 Objectives of Philosophy
Theoretic: Its aim is to satisfy our
curiosity and escape from the
uncomfortable state of ignorance
through acquisition of pure
knowledge and a critical
examination of our beliefs and
doubts.

Practical: Its aim is to discover the

best way of life. It is not possible to
develop the basic principles of life
without proper knowledge about
the reality or world.
 Two Major Functions of Philosophy

Critical: It brings under a critical examination all the concepts

like time, space, matter, beauty etc. which are usually vague.
There are many things which are uncritically accepted by science
such as every event must have a cause. But Philosophy is trying
to bring everything under its critical examination/ analysis.

Constructive: It is synthetic both in consolidating all experience

and all interests into a comprehensive view of the world and in
bringing all aspects of the world under the view so constructed.
All knowledge on the one hand and all reality on the other is the
field of its synthetic operation.