Philosophy

• Comes from two Greek words: philos which means love and Sophia which means wisdom
• Pythagoras

  • He established a community of learners who were devoted to study religion and philosophy.
• Heraclitus

  • He proposed that everything exists is based on a higher order or plan called logos.
  • For him, change is the only permanent aspect of the human condition as he was credited with the saying, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.”
• Socrates

  • He was considered the foremost philosopher of the ancient times.
• Socrates

  • He did not claim to be “wise” and considered himself a midwife that helped inquiring minds achieve wisdom.
• Socratic Method – a means of examining a topic by devising a series of questions that let the learner examine his knowledge.
• Socrates

  • “The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing.”
• Democritus

  • He devoted himself to the study of the causes of natural phenomena.
• Democritus

  • He was the first to propose that mater is composed of tiny particles called atom.
• Plato

  • A students of Socrates, he is known for his Dialectic – a method of inquiry where two opposing ideas are discussed to arrive at a new knowledge.
• Plato

  • He founded the Academy – an institution of higher learning which was the first in the western world.
• Plato - His most significant idea included his Theory of Forms.
• Aristotle

  • He attended the Academy, was a prominent student of Plato. However, he disagreed with the theory of forms and took a different stance in interpreting reality.
• Aristotle

  • His ideas and views are based on the perception and our reality is based on what we can sense.
• Aristotle - He gave rise to deductive reasoning.
• Diogenes of Sinope - He was an advocate of living a simple and virtuous life.
• Diogenes of Sinope - For him, one should not only talk of virtue but should show it in words and actions.
• Diogenes of Sinope - believed in self-control, the importance of personal excellence in one's behavior, and the rejection of all which was considered unnecessary in life such as personal possessions and social status.
• Diogenes of Sinope - “A reasonable life is one lived in accordance with nature and with one's natural inclinations.”
• Diogenes of Sinope - One guiding principle is that if an act is not shameful in private, that same act is not made shameful by being performed in public.
• Diogenes of Sinope - His teachings were later developed by his followers and influenced stoicism and cynicism.
• Epicurus - He believed that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness.
• Epicurus - He gave rise to Epicureanism – a school of philosophy which believes that wisdom and simple living will result in a life free of fear and pain.
• 15th century French philosopher Rene Descartes traced this to doubt.
• Rene Descartes

  • He was famous for rejecting or questioning established ideas, and he even went as far as doubting his own ideas.
  • His method of examining ideas and perspectives became the basis of critical thinking and analysis in the sciences.
• 20th century Swiss-German philosopher Karl Jaspers saw the need to philosophize because of experience and limit situations.
• Karl Jaspers

  • Philosophy provides us a means to understand adverse or challenging conditions, and to rise above them and gain new knowledge and perspectives.
• Socrates - The unexamined life is not worth living
• The need to philosophize is driven by the love for wisdom. To love wisdom is to have an insatiable desire for truth.
• A philosopher seeks to continue to question, to probe, and to discuss in order to get to the bottom of things.
• PHILOSOPHY IS A SCIENCE

  • It is called as such because it is systematic and follows certain steps or procedures. In short, it is an organized body of knowledge same as any other sciences.
• IT EMPLOYS NATURAL LIGHT OF REASON

  • This means that philosophical investigation does not use any laboratory instrument, investigative tools nor supernatural approach. Philosophers use their natural thinking capacity or use the so-called unaided reason.
• PHILOSOPHY HAS AN INCLINATION TO STUDY ALL THINGS

  • The reason is that philosophy is not one dimensional or partial. In short, a philosopher does not limit himself to a particular object of inquiry. He questions almost anything, if not everything. It is multidimensional or holistic.
• PHILOSOPHY EMPLOYS FIRST CAUSE OR HIGHEST PRINCIPLE

  • It is composed of the following: a. Principle of Identity b. Principle of Non-Contradiction c. Principle of Excluded Middle d. Principle of Sufficient Reason
• PRINCIPLE OF IDENTITY

  • this principle means “everything is what it is”. What is not is not and what is is.
• PRINCIPLE OF NON-CONTRADICTION

  • This principle states that it is an impossibility for a particular thing to be and not to be at the same time and at the same respect.
• PRINCIPLE OF EXCULDED MIDDLE

  • This principle explains that everything must be “either be or not be” or “either is or is not”. There is no middle ground thus the term “excluded middle”.
• PRINCIPLE OF SUFFICIENT REASON

  • This principle states that there is sufficient reason for the being and existence of everything. Conversely, nothing exists without any reason at all.
• PHILOSOPHY AS A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

  • It provides methodologies and insights on how societal questions, such as moral dilemmas of euthanasia or same sex marriage, can be answered.
• PHILOSOPHY AS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY

  • It is an analytic procedure of addressing individual thought process such as resolving conflict and confusion, testing positions, and analyzing beliefs.