Philosophy- the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
the discipline concerned with questions of how one
should live(ethics); what sorts of things exist and what are their essential
natures (metaphysics); what counts as genuine knowledge (epistemology); and
what are the correct principles of reasoning (logic)
investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of
reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical
methods (American Heritage Dictionary)
the study of
the ultimate nature of existence, reality, knowledge and goodness, as
discoverable by human reasoning
the rational investigation of questions about
existence and knowledge and ethics
the search for knowledge and truth, especially about
the nature of man and his behavior and beliefs the rational and critical
inquiry into basic principles(Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia)
The study of
the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which
we think: mind, matter, reason, proof, truth, etc.
careful
thought about the fundamental nature of the world, the grounds for human
knowledge, and the evaluation of human conduct
Six Branches of Philosophy - Epistemology, Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics,
Aesthetics, Political Philosophy. These branches originate from basic
questions. What do I know? How do I know it? Where do we come from? What is
good? What is beautiful? How do we act?
Epistemology- the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature
and scope (including limitations) of knowledge. It addresses four main
questions. 1) What is knowledge? 2) How is knowledge acquired? 3) What do
people know? 4) How do we know what we know?
Logic– is the study of reasoning. Logic is often divided into two parts,
inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. The first is drawing general
conclusions from specific examples, the second is drawing logical conclusions
from definitions and axioms.
Metaphysics – is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature
of being and the world. Cosmology and ontology are the two traditional branches
of metaphysics. Cosmology seeks to understand the origin, evolution, structure,
and ultimate fate of the universe at large, as well as the natural laws that
keep it in order. Ontology is the investigation into what type of things there
are in the world and what relations these things bear to one another. Ontology
deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist,
and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and
subdivided according to similarities and differences. Before the development of
modern science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics
known as "natural philosophy." The scientific method, however, made
natural philosophy an empirical and experimental activity unlike the rest of
philosophy, and by the end of the eighteenth century it had begun to be called "science"
in order to distinguish it from philosophy. Thereafter, metaphysics became the
philosophical enquiry of a non-empirical character into the nature of
existence.
Ethics– also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy which seeks
to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts like good and bad,
right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc.
Aesthetics – is the branch of philosophy dealing with the nature
of beauty, art, taste, and the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more
scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensory-emotional values,
sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste.
Political Philosophy – is
the study of concepts such as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the
enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they
are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it
should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and
what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be
legitimately overthrown, if ever. Three central concerns of political
philosophy have been the political economy by which property rights are defined
and access to capital is regulated, the demands of justice in distribution and
punishment, and the rules of truth and evidence that determine judgments in the
law.
A priori - knowledge or justification independent of experience For example, All
bachelors are unmarried.‖ By contrast, a posteriori knowledge or justification
is dependent on experience or empirical evidence. For example, ―Some bachelors are very happy.
Deontological Ethics- is the ethical position that judges the morality of
an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. It is sometimes
described as "duty" or "obligation" or "rule"
based ethics, because rules bind you to your duty. Deontological ethics is
commonly contrasted with consequentialist ethical theories, according to which
the rightness of an action is determined by its consequences. Deontological
ethics is also contrasted from pragmatic ethics.
Determinism - is a philosophy stating that for everything that
happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen.
Determinism is often taken to mean simply causal determinism: an idea known in
physics as cause-and-effect. Determinism is also often contrasted with free
will.
Empiricism- is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge
comes only or primarily via sensory experience. Empiricism emphasizes evidence,
especially as discovered in experiments. It is a fundamental part of the
scientific method that all hypotheses and theories must be tested against
observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on a priori
reasoning, intuition, or revelation.
Existentialism - is a school of 20th-century philosophers who shared
the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject - not
merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living, human individual.
In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has
been called "the existential attitude," or a sense of disorientation
and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. A
central proposition of existentialism is that existence precedes essence, which
means that the actual life of the individual is what constitutes what could be
called his or her "essence" instead of there being a predetermined
essence that defines what it is to be a human. Thus, the human beings - through
their own consciousness - create their own values and determine a meaning to
their life.
Free Will - is the ability of
agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. Historically,
the constraint of dominant concern has been the metaphysical constraint of
determinism. Two prominent opposing positions within that debate are
metaphysical libertarianism, the claim that determinism is false and thus that
free will exists(or is at least possible); and hard determinism, the claim that
determinism is true and thus that free will does not exist. These positions are
described as incompatibles - the position that free will and determinism are
logically incompatible, and that the major question regarding whether or not
people have free will is thus whether or not their actions are determined.
Compatibilists maintain that determinism is compatible with free will. It may,
however, be more accurate to say that compatibilists define free will in a way
that allows it to co- exist with determinism. Compatibilists believe freedom
can be present or absent in a situation for reasons that have nothing to do
with metaphysics. Compatibilists define free will as freedom to act according
to one's determined motives without hindrance from other individuals.
Compatibilists argue that determinism does not matter; what matters is that
individuals' wills are the result of their own desires and are not overridden
by some external force.
Humanism – is an approach in
philosophy that focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance
to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanism is a perspective
that affirms some notion of human nature. Secular humanism is a secular ideology
that espouses reason, ethics, and justice, while specifically rejecting
supernatural and religious dogma as a basis of morality and decision-making.
Secular humanism contrasts with religious humanism, which is an integration of
humanist ethical philosophy with religious rituals and beliefs that center on
human needs, interests, and abilities.
Idealism–is the family of views that asserts reality, or reality as we can know
it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial.
Idealism maintains that the ultimate nature of reality is based on the mind or
ideas. Epistemological idealists might insist the only things that can be
directly known for certain are ideas.
Is-Ought Problem- as articulated by Scottish philosopher David Hume,
is that many writers make claims about what ought to be on the basis of
statements about what is. However, Hume found that there seems to be a
significant difference between descriptive statements (about what is) and
prescriptive or normative statements (about what ought to be), and it is not
obvious how we can get from making descriptive statements to prescriptive.
Materialism- the theory that the only thing that exists is matter
or energy; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including
consciousness) are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter
is the only substance, and reality is identical with the actually occurring
states of energy and matter. Too many philosophers, materialism is synonymous
with physicalism. However, materialists have historically held that everything
is made of matter, but physics has shown that gravity, for example, is not made
of matter in the traditional sense so physicalism is used to emphasize a
connection to physics and the physical sciences.
Mind-Body Problem -
arises because mental phenomena arguably differ, qualitatively or
substantially, from the physical body on which they apparently depend. There
are a few major theories on the resolution of the problem. Dualism is the
theory that the mind and body are two distinct substances, and monism is the
theory that they are, in reality, just one substance. Monist
materialists/physicalists take the view that they are both matter, and monist idealists
take the view that they are both in the mind. The absence of an empirically identifiable
meeting point between the non-physical mind and its physical extension has
proven problematic to dualism and many modern philosophers maintain that the
mind is not something separate from the body.
Moral Relativism- describes the way things are, without suggesting a
way they ought to be. It seeks only to point out that people frequently
disagree over what is the most moral course of action. Moral Relativism holds
the position that the truth or falsity of moral judgments is not
objective. Justifications for moral judgments are not
universal, but are instead relative to the traditions, convictions, or
practices of an individual or a group of people. The moral relativist might
say, "It's moral to me, because I believe it is." Moral Relativism
holds that because there is no universal moral standard by which to judge
others, we ought to tolerate the behavior of others, even when it runs counter
to our personal or cultural moral standards.
Naturalism- the philosophical viewpoint that natural laws and
forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the universe, and that
nothing exists beyond this natural universe, or, if it does, it does not affect
the natural universe that we know. Followers of naturalism assert that natural
laws are the rules that govern the structure and behavior of the universe, that
the universe is a product of these laws, and that the goal of science is to discover
and publish them systematically. Further, this sense of naturalism holds that
spirits, deities, and ghosts are not real and that there is no
"purpose" in nature.
Nihilism - is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more
putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in
the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective
meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.
Positivism- is a philosophy of science based on the view that in
the social as well as natural sciences, data derived from sensory experience,
and logical and mathematical treatments of such data, are together the
exclusive source of all authentic knowledge. Obtaining and verifying data that
can be received from the senses is known as empirical evidence. Society
operates according to laws like the physical world. Introspective and
intuitional attempts to gain knowledge are rejected.
Postmodern Philosophy - is
a philosophical direction that is critical of the foundational assumptions and
structures of philosophy. Postmodern philosophy is skeptical or nihilistic
toward many of the values and assumptions of philosophy that derive from
modernity, such as humanity having an essence that distinguishes humans from
animals, or the assumption that one form of government is demonstrably better
than another. It is usually associated with the following philosophical trends:
nihilism and relativism, neo-Marxism, neo-pragmatism, and neo-existentialism.
Pragmatism – is a philosophical tradition centered on the
linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is
extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called
intelligent practice. Pragmatism is based on the premise that the human
capability to theorize is necessary for intelligent practice. Theory and
practice are not separate spheres; rather, theories and distinctions are tools
or maps for finding our way in the world. Pragmatism holds that an ideology or
proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a
proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and
that unpractical ideas are to be rejected.
Physicalism- isa philosophical position holding that everything
which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, that
there are no kinds of things other than physical things. According to
physicalism, the language of physics is the universal language of science and,
consequently, any knowledge can be brought back to statements on the physical
objects. In contemporary philosophy, physicalism is most frequently associated
with the mind-body problem where it holds that all that has been ascribed to
"mind" is more correctly ascribed to "brain" or the
activity of the brain.
Rationalism- is any view appealing to reason as a source of
knowledge or justification. In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory
in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and
deductive. Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead toa
range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position that reason has precedence
over other ways of acquiring knowledge, to the more extreme position that
reason is the unique path to knowledge.
Realism- is the belief that reality is independent of our conceptual schemes,
linguistic practices, beliefs, etc. Philosophers who profess realism state that
truth consists in the mind's correspondence to reality. Realists tend to
believe that whatever we believe now is only an approximation of reality and
that every new observation brings us closer to understanding reality.
Romanticism- was an artistic revolt against aristocratic social
and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the
scientific rationalization of nature. Romanticism placed new emphasis on such
emotions as trepidation, horror, terror, and awe - especially which experienced
in confronting the sublimity of untamed nature. Romanticism was rooted in the
German Sturm und Drang movement, which prized intuition and emotion over
Enlightenment rationalism.
Scientism - refers to a belief in the universal applicability of the scientific
method and approach, and the view that empirical science constitutes the most
authoritative worldview or most valuable part of human learning to the
exclusion of other viewpoints. Scientism describes the dogmatic endorsement of
scientific methodology and the reduction of all knowledge to only that which is
measurable.
Skepticism- Philosophical skepticism is an approach that denies
the possibility of certainty in knowledge, whereas methodological skepticism is
an approach that subjects all knowledge claims to scrutiny with the goal of
sorting out true from false claims. Skeptics critically examine meaning
systems. Skeptical examination often results in a position of ambiguity or
doubt.
Solipsism - is the idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. Solipsism
holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure. The external
world and other minds cannot beknown, and might not exist outside the mind.
Stoicism - taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment,
and that a sage, or person of moral and intellectual perfection, would not
suffer such emotions. Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life, and
they thought that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not
what a person said but how they behaved.
Tautology - is an unnecessary repetition of meaning, using dissimilar words that
effectively say the same thing. A rhetorical tautology can also be defined as a
series of statements that comprise an argument, whereby the statements are
constructed in such a way that the truth of the proposition is guaranteed, or
that the truth of the proposition cannot be disputed, by defining a dissimilar
or synonymous term in terms of another self-referentially. Tautologies play a
role in analytic discussions of logic and what it is possible to know.
Teleology - any philosophical account that states final causes (purposes, aims,
and goals) exist in nature, meaning that design and purpose analogous to that
found in human actions are inherent also in the rest of nature.
Transhumanism- is an international intellectual and cultural
movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally
transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available
technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual,
physical, and psychological capacities. Tran‘s humanist thinkers study the
potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome
fundamental human limitations, as well as study the ethical matters involved in
developing and using such technologies.
Utilitarianism - is an ethical theory holding that the proper course
of action is the one that maximizes the overall happiness. It is thus a form of
consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only
by its resulting outcome, and that one can only weigh the morality of an action
after knowing all its consequences.
Analytic Philosophy - In
the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Scandinavia, Australia, and New
Zealand, the overwhelming majority of university philosophy departments
identify themselves as "analytic" departments. Analytic philosophy is
often understood as being defined in opposition to continental philosophy. The
term "analytic philosophy" can refer to a tradition of doing
philosophy characterized by an emphasis on clarity and argument, often achieved
via modern formal logic and analysis of language, and a respect for the natural
sciences. In this sense, analytic philosophy makes specific philosophical
commitments: 1) the positivist view that there are no specifically
philosophical truths and that the object of philosophy is the logical
clarification of thoughts. This may be contrasted with the traditional
foundation that views philosophy as a special sort of science, the highest one,
which investigates the fundamental reasons and principles of everything. As a
result, many analytic philosophers have considered their inquiries as
continuous with, or subordinate to, those of the natural sciences. 2) The view
that the logical clarification of thoughts can only be achieved by analysis of
the logical form of philosophical propositions. The logical form of a
proposition is a way of representing it (often using the formal grammar and
symbolism of a logical system) to display its similarity with all other
propositions of the same type. However, analytic philosophers disagree widely
about the correct logical form of ordinary language. 3) The rejection of
sweeping philosophical systems in favor of close attention to detail, common
sense, and ordinary language.
Continental Philosophy –
This refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from
mainland Europe. Continental philosophy includes the following movements:
German idealism, phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, structuralism,
post-structuralism, French feminism, the critical theory of the Frankfurt
School, and some other branches of Western Marxism. Continental philosophers
generally reject scientism, the view that the natural sciences are the best or
most accurate way of understanding all phenomena. Continental philosophers
often argue that science depends upon a "pre-theoretical substrate of experience,
and that scientific methods are inadequate to understand such conditions of
intelligibility." Continental philosophy usually considers the conditions
of possible experience as variable: determined at least partly by factors such
as context, space and time, language, culture, or history. Continental
philosophy typically holds that conscious human agency can change the
conditions of possible experience: “if human experience is a contingent
creation, then it can be recreated in other ways." Thus continental philosophers
tend to take a strong interest in the unity of theory and practice, and tend to
see their philosophical inquiries as closely related to personal, moral, or
political transformation. This tendency is very clear in the Marxist tradition
("philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the
point, however, is to change it"), but is also central in existentialism
and post structuralism. Continental philosophy has an emphasis on meta
philosophy. In the wake of the development and success of the natural sciences,
continental philosophers have often sought to redefine the method and nature of
philosophy. In some cases, such as German idealism or phenomenology, this
manifests as a renovation of the traditional view that philosophy is the first,
foundational, a priori science. In other cases, such as hermeneutics, critical
theory, or structuralism, it is held that philosophy investigates a domain that
is irreducibly cultural or practical. And some continental philosophers, such
as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, or Derrida, doubt whether any conception of
philosophy can be truly coherent.
What are the three main branches of philosophy? The
integrity of these divisions cannot be rigidly maintained, for one area overlaps into the others.
·
Axiology: the study of value; the investigation of its nature,
criteria, and metaphysical status.
·
Epistemology: the study of knowledge.
·
Ontology
or Metaphysics: the study of
what is really real and deals with the meaning of existence and tries to
resolve the question of whether existence is identical with space, time,
nature, spirit or God
Philosophical method (or philosophical methodology) is the study of how to do philosophy. A common view
among philosophers is that philosophy is distinguished by the ways that philosophers
follow in addressing philosophical questions. There is not just one method that
philosophers use to answer philosophical questions.
Systematic philosophy attempts
to provide a framework in reason that can explain all questions and problems
related to human life. Examples of systematic philosophers include Plato,
Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, and Hegel. In many ways, any attempts to formulate a
philosophical method that provides the ultimate constituents of reality, a
metaphysics, can be considered systematic philosophy. In modern philosophy the
reaction to systematic philosophy began with Kierkegaard and continued in
various forms through analytic philosophy, existentialism, hermeneutics, and
deconstructionism.
Some common features of the methods that philosophers
follow (and discuss when discussing philosophical method) include:
·
Methodic
doubt - a systematic process of being skeptical about (or
doubting) the truth of one's beliefs.
·
Argument - provide an argument or several arguments supporting
the solution.
·
Dialectic
- present the
solution and arguments for criticism by other philosophers , and help them
judge their own.
What is the difference between science and philosophy? The main difference in
the way they work and treat knowledge. Science is concerned with natural
phenomena, while philosophy attempts to understand the nature of man, existence,
and the relationship that exists between the two
concepts. Meanwhile, science is only concerned with the latter.
What is the difference between a religion and a
philosophy? Philosophy in general is the rational investigation of truth,
whereas religion often makes the same kind of truth claims but doesn't claim to
base it on reason or rationality, but instead it is based on other things like
faith.
What is the meaning of man in philosophy? From
Latin ―Human it as, the concept of Man means human nature, general culture of
the mind. It is also ―men‖ in general, the human race taken as a unit. Most
philosophers defined as any human being endowed with reason.
What is the difference between a philosopher and
theologian? In attempting to
wrap my mind around the basic vocabulary, concepts, and methods of philosophy, I find myself wondering what the difference is between a philosopher and a theologian. Theology is a rational study of the existence of God/gods and the nature of
religious ideas.
What are the practical benefits of studying philosophy? The
hallmark of philosophy education is critical thinking and inductive
reasoning. Additionally, philosophy demonstrates that problems often have
multiple solutions, and teaches its students to approach problems from a number
of different perspectives ("lateral thinking").