ethics

• Philosophy


  The love of wisdom
• Love (for the Greeks)


  • A desire to possess or have something which you do not have
• Being wise or a lover of wisdom


  Knowing the correct application of knowledge
• Philosophy (Chinese translation)


  Zhéxué - study of wisdom
• Philosophy (Hindu)

  Darsana - the "seeing of not only through the eyes but through the whole person"
• Philosophy (definition)


  A science that studies beings in or and their ultimate causes, reason, and principles through the aid of human reason alone
• Philosophy (Karl Jaspers)


  A discipline in which questions are more important than answers because answers themselves will in turn become questions
• Basic questions in philosophy

  • What is the origin of the world and of everything that exists?
  • Why do these things exist rather than not exist at all?
  • Is there a god? If so, how can we justify the goodness of God in the face of evil?
  • What is the meaning and purpose of life?
  • Why do we have to suffer?
  • Is it morally right to end someone's life?
• Metaphysics


  The branch of philosophy that studies things beyond the physical realm
• Metaphysics


  • Comes from the Greek words: meta (which means "beyond" or "after") and physika (which loosely translates to either "physical" or "nature")
  • Studies concepts that you know but cannot experience (God, soul, love)
  • Often called the first philosophy
• General Metaphysics: Ontology

  The study of being
• Ontology (questions)


  • Is there nothing?
  • What is being?
  • Why do beings exist?
  • What is the meaning and nature of reality?
• Psychology


  The study of what and who man is
• Psychology (questions)


  • What is the nature of the human person?
  • Is there life after death?
  • How do we account for all the sufferings in the world?
• Theodicy


  Also known as natural theology, the study of God's existence in the face of an evil world
• Theodicy (questions)

  • Is there a God?
  • What and who is God?
  • How do we prove his existence?
  • Why then is there evil in the world?
• Cosmology


  The study of the world (its origin, dynamics, and characteristics)
• Cosmology (questions)


  • What is the origin of the world?
  • Is the universe infinite?
  • How do things arise?
  • What is the principle of order of the world?
• Epistemology


  The study of knowledge, its origins, scope and its nature
• Epistemology (questions)


  • What is knowledge?
  • What do we know?
  • How do we know?
  • How do we know we know?
  • What is the structures and limits of knowledge?
• Logic


  The science of correct thinking and/or the study of the principles and criteria of a valid argument
• Logic (questions)


  • What is correct reasoning?
  • What distinguishes a good argument from a bad one?
  • How can we detect a fallacy?
  • What are the criteria in determining the validity of an argument?
  • What are the types of logic?
• Ethics


  The study of the morality of human actions, concerned with how human persons ought to act as well as search for the definition of a right conduct and the good life
• Ethics (questions)


  • What is a right conduct as that which causes the realization of the greatest good?
  • How do we determine right conduct?
  • What is a good life and can we attain it?
  • What do people think is right?