philosophy

• Philosophy comes from the Greek words "Philos" meaning "love" and "Sophia" meaning "wisdom"
• Philosophy means the love of wisdom
• A philosopher is a lover of wisdom who looks at the world with awe and wonder
• Knowledge is everything acquired and learned inside and outside the classroom, it can be passed on through generations
• Wisdom is an attitude or critical habit, it is accumulated experience beyond theoretical knowledge
• Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge resulting in better judgment and to discern deeper insights
• Philosophy is the art and science of searching for the ultimate cause/s of beings acquired through human intellect
• Philosophy adheres to certain procedures, systems, or methods in drawing out sound conclusions and aims at arriving at the validity of every argument
• Philosophy is viewed in relation to the Greek word "techne" which means skills, ability, or craft
• There are two types of beings: material beings with physical existence and non-material beings like ideas and concepts
• Humans are rational beings and the highest form of beings
• Wisdom begins in wonder according to Socrates
• Plato was a student of Socrates and a rationalist
• Aristotle was a student of Plato and an empiricist
• Wonder in philosophy is characterized by puzzlement and perplexity
• There are different types of questions in philosophy: common sense, scientific, and philosophical
• Questioning is a crucial characteristic in philosophizing, starting with wonder, leading to questions, and seeking possible truths
• Philosophy is distinct from other disciplines because it resists being limited and recognizes the reality of experience as immensely varied and abundant
• Philosophy has two major divisions: theoretical and practical
• Theoretical branches of philosophy include epistemology, metaphysics, and cosmology
• Practical branches of philosophy include logic, ethics, and aesthetics
• Philosophy is a holistic enterprise that considers the parts as inseparable from the whole
• Insights in philosophy involve seeing with the mind and considering what to do with the insight, which can involve conceptual analysis, metaphor, and abstraction
• Conceptual analysis is called analysis by abstraction
• Prescinding means concentrating on one aspect of a thing while ignoring its other aspects
• Primary reflection is objective and in a scientific manner
• Secondary reflection involves deeper analysis and takes time
• Reflection is the act of contemplating the meaning and purpose of life
• Gabriel Marcel emphasized that reflection is rooted in daily life experiences
• Primary reflection:

  • Breaks the unity of experience into categories
  • Derives clear concepts from abstraction
  • Considers only what is available to the senses
  • Looks at a person as fragments of scattered events or moments
  • Perceives objective qualities of things
  • Is the foundation of scientific knowledge
  • Provides a limited perspective
• Secondary reflection:

  • Recuperates the unity of original meaning and experience
  • Does not go against primary reflection but refuses to accept it as final
  • Gathers fragments of experiences to see the big picture
  • Goes beyond the physical
  • Is introspective
  • Recognizes interconnectedness of everything
• Opinion characteristics:

  • Belief instead of reality
  • Tends to be false
  • Abstract rather than concrete
  • Subjective rather than objective
  • Controversial
  • Not well supported by evidence or reasons
• Theories of Truth:

  • Correspondence Theory: Truth can be verified through physical and material evidence
  • Coherence Theory: Truth is contextualized under a universally claimed system
  • Pragmatic Theory: Truth is based on the practical consequences of an idea
• The Theory of Forms:

  • World of Forms (Ideal World) refers to non-material, unchanging essences
  • World of Appearances (Physical World) is sensible, imperfect, and changing
  • The Allegory of the Cave by Plato symbolizes the search for truth
• Symbolism in the Allegory of the Cave:

  • The cave represents the world of senses
  • Prisoners symbolize people who believe in second-hand knowledge
  • Images on the wall represent illusions
  • Fire symbolizes senses/perception
  • Freed prisoner represents a philosopher
  • Objects outside the cave represent the Forms
  • Reflections of objects symbolize thinking
  • Object itself represents intelligence
  • Sun symbolizes the Idea of the Good
• Methods of Philosophizing:

  • Phenomenology focuses on the study of human experiences and consciousness
  • Husserl's Subdivided System includes Epoche, Eide Ec Reduction, and Transcendental Reduction