PA

• The etymology (origin of the word) of the term 'humanities' is humanitas in Latin
• In the 15th century, the term 'studia humanitas' was used by Italian humanists to denote the study of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, philosophy, ancient Greek and Latin
• Humanities

  A field of study within university settings, a group of "subjects" scholars study, discuss and debate including history, music, art, languages, philosophy, religion, and literature
• Humanities

  Learning concerned with human culture, especially literature, history, art, music and philosophy
• Humanities

  The study of how people process and document the human experience
• The term philosophy comes from the Greek word "Φιλοσοφία" (philo-sophia) which means love of wisdom
• A philosopher is somebody who seeks the truth
• Philosophy developed as a result of an attempt toward a rational investigation of the world and of human life as opposed to the explanations derived from myths, superstition and beliefs coming from corrupted forms of ancient religions
• Philosophy


  Rational investigation of the ultimate (root) causes and first principles of reality
• Branches of philosophy


  • Metaphysics
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Aesthetics
  • Logic
  • Axiology
• Metaphysics

  The subdivision of philosophy that studies the nature of ultimate reality. It entails speculation about the nature of existence (What is real? What makes things real?)
• Epistemology

  The subdivision of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing
• Ethics

  The subdivision of philosophy that studies the morality of human actions
• Aesthetics

  The subdivision of philosophy that studies questions of beauty
• Logic

  Branch of philosophy that studies correct thinking
• Axiology

  The subdivision of philosophy that studies ethical and aesthetic values
• The philosophical attitude is fundamental in life. Man cannot live an authentic human existence if he does not know himself in his innermost reality
• Throughout history, men have sought to answer certain basic fundamental questions about the world and about themselves: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?
• Self-knowledge

  An unexamined life is not worth living (Socrates)
• Philosophical attitude


  Presupposes a capacity or a sense of wonder awakened by the contemplation of reality
• Without wonder, men would lapse into routine and cease to be capable of a life which is genuinely personal: "It is because of awe that men begin to philosophize" (Aristotle, Metaphysics I.)
• The term "Philosophical anthropology" comes from the Greek: anthropos (man) and logos (treatise or science) = the (philosophical) study of man
• Philosophical reflection on man began with the Greek philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
• Questions raised in philosophical anthropology

  • What is man?
  • What makes him different from other life forms?
  • How do we know objects outside our mind?
  • Do ideas exist only in the mind or do they exist independent of the mind?
  • What is truth?
  • What is the true good of man?
  • Is man immortal?
  • Is there life after death?
  • What is justice?
• Anthropology

  In a wide sense, means a treatise or a study about man
• Forms of anthropology in the social sciences

  • Cultural anthropology
  • Social anthropology
  • Ethnological anthropology
• Philosophical anthropology

  Studies man from a holistic perspective, viewing the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole
• Philosophical anthropology

  Reflects upon man to understand him in his entirety, grasping the fundamental principles of his existence in the world and his behavior
• Questions raised in philosophical anthropology vs social sciences

  • Philosophical anthropology: What is human nature? What is the essence of being human? What makes us different from animals? What is death? Is there life after death?
  • Social sciences: How was division of labor practiced among this particular tribe? How were the children educated in this community? What rites were practiced during birth, marriage, death in these communities? How was illness and death viewed in this community?
• Whereas science investigates how the human individual manifests himself toward his environment and his fellow men, philosophy asks about the why of human being, about the ultimate principles of their existence and activity
• What is the definition of wisdom according to the author?

  It is a cultivation of learning in general. It is the study of things in their deepest and most general aspects.
• A philosopher is described as a “lover of wisdom”. In the text, the author made a distinction between “a wise man” and “a lover of wisdom”. What is the difference between these two terms?

  A lover of wisdom is someone who endlessly searches for wisdom while a wise man is someone who has assumed they have attained all wisdom.
• What is the difference between: a) science and philosophy b) Philosophy and religion

  
  

  a)Science tends to generalise and reduce multitudes of particular facts to singular laws while philosophy seeks to view the entire universe in the light of the fewest principles.

  
  

  b) Religion is based on the truthfulness of a god who reveals whereas philosophy rests on a purely rational foundation.
• On the purpose of philosophy, the author states that “men philosophize not for purely practical ends but simply because it brings them pleasure”. Explain the meaning of this statement (e.g. what does ‘practical’ mean? What does ‘pleasure’ mean)


  Men philosophize not because philosophy has an applicable use but because of the joy that it brings them.
• In the section, all men philosophize, the author makes a distinction between doing philosophy and having a philosophy. Explain the difference between these two activities.


  Having a philosophy is some implied way of life embodied in works of art, paintings, music, and social customs whereas doing philosophy is freeing our minds by becoming critically conscious of what we hold unconsciously and uncritically.
• Animate


  Living or enlivening or stimulating
• Inanimate or lifeless beings

  • Distinguished from animate things by the following 5 characteristics:
• Self movement


  • Anything that is alive has an in-built principle of its own movement
  • Living things exhibit "self-movement": they move "of their own accord"
  • Inert (lifeless) beings do not move spontaneously
  • Movement in inert beings is due to external factors
  • Living things have the capacity to move on their own
• Unity


  • Living things have a harmonious way of acting and moving about
  • All the parts of a living thing act in unison, with a common purpose
  • Living things cease to exist when there is a definitive disorganization of the parts
  • Living beings possess a specific form of cohesion among its component parts, which renders it physically stable
  • The living organism is not disjointed but is a totality of conjoined parts
  • All living beings maintain their unity through their own operations and unity is so fundamental that death or the end of life occurs when it is lost
• Immanence


  • Immanent actions are those whose effects remain in the individual
  • Living things "receive their own actions"