Introduction to

Philosophy
PHI1302
 MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY
 The word philosophy is derived from the Greek words philia
(love) and sophia (wisdom) and means “the love of wisdom.”
 Pythagoras was said to have been the first man to call himself
a philosopher; in fact, the world is indebted to him for the
word philosopher.
 Before that time the wise men had called themselves sages,
which was interpreted to mean those who know.
 Pythagoras was more modest. He coined the word
philosopher, which he defined as one who is attempting to find
out. According to him, men and women of the world could be
classified into 3 groups:
 1. those that love pleasure
 2. those that love activity and
 3. those that love wisdom.
Philosophy is the root of all knowledge. It is
considered as mother of all sciences.
 As already mentioned philosophy is the love of
wisdom. Man is a rational animal.
 Desire for knowledge arises from this rational
nature of man.
Philosophy is an attempt to satisfy this very
reasonable desire.
 Philosophy signifies a natural and necessary urge
in human-beings to know themselves and world in
which they live, move and have their being
 The basic problems of philosophy have been same.
 A general characteristic of these problems is that they are
concerned with general and universal questions and not
with the questions of particular nature.
 In this sense the philosophical problems are different from
scientific problems which have their origin in particular
questions.
 Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various
sciences and human experience into some kind of consistent
world view. Philosophers wish to see life, not with the
specialized slant of the scientist or the businessperson or
the artist, but with the overall view of someone cognizant of
life as a totality

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental
problems, such as those connected with
existence,
knowledge,
values,
reason,
mind, and
language.
Philosophy is the rational attempt to formulate,
understand, and answer fundamental questions.
 NATURE OF 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.
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.
Philosophers are reflective/thoughtful and
critical.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY
 The study of Philosophy enables us to think carefully and clearly
about important issues.
 In studying Philosophy, we learn to take a step back from our
everyday thinking and to explore the deeper, bigger question which
underpins our thought.
 The focus in the study of Philosophy is to learn not what to believe, but
how to think.
 Studying philosophy sharpens your analytical abilities, enabling you
to identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in any position.
 It hones your ability to construct and articulate cogent arguments
of your own.
 It prompts you to work across disciplinary boundaries and to think
flexibly and creatively about problems which do not present
immediate solutions.
 Because philosophy is an activity as much a body of knowledge, it also
develops your ability to think and work independently
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Historically, philosophical concerns have
been treated under these broad categories:
1. Logic
2. Metaphysics
3. Epistemology
4. Ethics/Moral Philosophy
5. Aesthetics
Logic

Logic is the systematic study of the rules for the

correct use of these supporting reasons, rules we
can use to distinguish good arguments from bad
ones.
Most of the great philosophers from Aristotle to
the present have been convinced that logic
permeates/spread all other branches of philosophy.
The ability to test arguments for logical
consistency, understand the logical consequences
of certain assumptions, and distinguish the kind of
evidence a philosopher is using are essential for
“doing” philosophy
 METAPHYSICS
 Another traditional branch of Philosophy traditionally known as
metaphysics.
 For Aristotle, the term metaphysics meant “first philosophy,” discussion of
the most universal principles; later the term came to mean
“comprehensive thinking about the nature of things.”
 It means, usually, the study or theory of reality.
 The question of metaphysics is:
 what is reality?
 What is real?
 Can ultimate reality be grasped by five senses, or is it supernatural or
transcendent?
 Metaphysics undoubtedly is the branch of philosophy that the modern
student finds most difficult to grasp.
 Metaphysics attempts to offer a comprehensive view of all that exists.
 It is concerned with such problems as the relation of mind to matter, the
nature of change, the meaning of “freedom,” the existence of God, and the
belief in personal immortality
 EPISTEMOLOGY
 The technical term for the theory of knowledge is epistemology,
which comes from the Greek word episteme, meaning
“knowledge.”
 In general, epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies
the sources, nature, and validity of knowledge.
 There are three central questions in this field:
 (1) What are the sources of knowledge? Where does genuine
knowledge come from or how do we know? This is the question
of origins.
 (2) What is the nature of knowledge? Is there a real world
outside the mind, and if so can we know it? This is the question
of appearance versus reality.
 (3) Is our knowledge valid?
 How do we distinguish truth from error? This is the
question of the tests of truth, of verification.
 EPISTEMOLOGY
 Traditionally, most of those who have offered answers to these
questions can be placed in one of two schools of thought—
rationalism or empiricism.
 The rationalists hold that human reason alone can discover
the basic principles of the universe.
 The empiricists claim that all knowledge is ultimately derived
from sense experience and, thus, that our knowledge is limited
to what can be experienced.
 It should be clear that there is a necessary relation between
metaphysics and epistemology.
 Our conception of reality depends on our understanding of
what can be known.
 Conversely, our theory of knowledge depends on our
understanding of ourselves in relation to the whole of reality
 Ethics/Moral Philosophy
 Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies values.
 It can be subdivided into ethics, aesthetics, and social and
political philosophy.
 In broad terms ethics concerns itself with the question of
morality.
 What is right and what is wrong in human relations?
 Within morality and ethics there are three major areas:
 Descriptive ethics,
 Normative ethics, and
 Metaethics.
 Descriptive ethics seeks to identify moral experience in a
descriptive way.
 We seek to identify, within the range of human conduct, the
motives, desires, and intentions as well as overt acts themselves
ETHICS
 Descriptive ethics consider the conduct of individuals, or personal
morality; the conduct of groups, or social morality; and the culture
patterns of national and racial groups.
 A second level of inquiry is normative ethics (what ought to be).
 Here philosophers try to work out acceptable judgments regarding what
ought to be in choice and value.
 “We ought to keep our promises” and “you ought to be honorable” are
examples of normative judgments— of the moral ought, the subject matter
of ethics. 
 Third, there is the area of critical or metaethics.
 Here interest is centered on the analysis and meaning of the terms and
language used in ethical discourse and the kind of reasoning used to
justify ethical statements.
 Metaethics does not propound any moral principle or goal (except by
implication), but rather consists entirely of philosophical analysis. What is
the meaning of “good?” and Can ethical judgments be justified? are
typical problems for metaethics.
AESTHETICS
Concerns the theory of art and beauty.
Questions of art and beauty are considered to be part of
the realm of values because many philosophical problems
in aesthetics involve critical judgments.
There are wide differences of opinion as to what objects
call forth the aesthetic response, and what beauty really is.
Our concepts of beauty may differ not because of the
nature of beauty itself, but because of varying degrees of
preparation in discerning beauty.
Therefore, if we cannot perceive beauty in objects that
others find beautiful, it may be wise to withhold judgment
until we are capable ourselves of making a competent
analysis of the aesthetic experience.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
 Social and political philosophy investigates value judgments concerning
society, the state, and the individual’s relation to these institutions.
 The following questions reflect the concerns of social and political
philosophy:
 Why should individuals live in society?
 What social ideals of liberty, rights, justice, equality and responsibility are
desirable?
 Why should anyone obey any government?
 Why should some individuals or groups have political power over others?
 What criteria are to be used in determining who should have political
power?
 What criteria are to be used in determining the scope of political power,
and what rights or freedoms should be immune from political or legal
control?
 To what positive goals should political power be directed, and what are
the criteria for determining this?