Lesson 1: Philosophy

(For Classroom purposes only)

A. MEANING

ETYMOLOGICAL (Origin of the word)

Philosophy is derived from two Greek words Philos/Philia meaning love of, and
Sophos/Sophia meaning wisdom. Hence, philosophy would mean LOVE OF WISDOM.

NOMINAL (Meaning of the name)

Philosophy is the science of beings in their ultimate causes, reasons and

principles acquired by the aid of human reason alone.

1. SCIENCE – because it is a systematic body of knowledge and not merely an

opinion or belief.
2. SCIENCE OFBEINGS – as it investigates everything that the human mind can
conceive and apprehend. i.e., anything that is, that will be, have been, can be
known and can be thought of.
3. ULTIMATE CAUSES, REASONS AND PRINCIPLES - like any other scientific
discipline, philosophy also deals with the WHAT, WHY and HOW OF THINGS.
Unlike the empirical sciences however, philosophy does not seek the
immediate cause of things, instead, it seeks the ultimate cause from which
things follow or arise.
4. ACQUIRED BY THE AID OF HUMAN REASON ALONE – means that philosophy
based its conclusions solely on the power of NATURAL reason. NATURAL
means arriving at knowledge without the aid of experimentation or divine
authority.

B. BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

Study and application

DIVISIONS CATEGORIES FIELDS/AREAS SUBJECT MATTER
Pure Philosophy Theoretical Epistemology Knowledge
Cosmology Physical world
Metaphysics Reality, Beings
Ontology Particular reality
Psychology Mind
Theodicy God, divine
doctrine
Practical Aesthetics Art, Beauty
Axiology Values
Ethics Behavior
Logic Reasoning
Semantics Language
Applied Philosophy Philo. Of Education
Philo. Of Mind
Philo. Of Religion
Philo. Of History
 Philo. Of Politics
Philo. Of Science
Philo. Of Literature
Subject matter and Area
Area Branch
On the world/ Universe Metaphysics
Epistemology
Ontology
Cosmology
On man/ language Social Philosophy
Logic
Psychology
Semantics/Linguistics
On God Theodicy

1. METAPHYSICS – metaphysics is best described by the Greek statement “ta

meta ta physika biblia” meaning the book that follows the physics book.
Etymologically, it is derived from the Greek words meat (beyond) and
Physikon (nature). Hence, it means “beyond the physical.” It is primarily
concerned with being as being i.e. anything that has in itself an act of
existence. Ontology is a subfield of Metaphysics that deals with particular
beings.

2. EPISTEMOLOGY – came from the Gk. Word “episteme” meaning knowledge

and “logos” meaning study of. It is the field of Philosophy that examines the
origin, presuppositions, nature, extent and veracity of knowledge.

3. COSMOLOGY – came from the Gk. Word “kosmos” meaning order and system
of the universe and “logos” meaning the study of. Its primary concern is the
study of the universe as a rational and orderly system. Its concerns include
the origin, structure, constituting elements, characteristics, laws that underlie
the existence and operations of our world and the universe. Space, time,
matter, change and motion are also studied by the cosmologists.

4. SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY – deals with the social processes with reference to the
principles underlying social structures and social functions.

5. LOGIC – studies the nature and problems of clear and accurate thinking and
the systematic and orderly argument or reasoning. The term logic is derived
from the Gk. Word logos/logike/logikos which originally meant the word that
came to mean thought or reason.

6. ETHICS – it is the science or study of morality. Derived from the Gk. word
“ethos/ethikos” meaning customs, character, traditions, norms etc., this field
studies the right and wrong in man’s behavior as well as his pursuit of the
good life by examining his morals base on ethical standards.
 7. PSYCHOLOGY – it is a philosophical field that studies man including his
nature, attributes and operations. This covers the concept of life and its
operations, the soul, sensation, appetition and volition.

8. THEODICY – is derived from the Gk. word “theos” meaning GOD. This is a
discipline that deals with the existence, nature and attributes of GOD in the
light of the truth arrived at by our human reason. It is not to be taken as
synonymous with Theology.

***NOTE : Logic is the most fundamental field of Philosophy and regarded ny

Aristotle as an indispensible foundation of all types of knowledge.

C. IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY

1. Philosophy assists us to satisfy high-level needs which often arise when

maintainance, food, clothing and shelter have been met.

2. It integrates our experience into coherent, systematic worldview. It integrates

thoughts, feelings and actions in a meaningful way.

3. It exposes us to history of thought by portraying the evolutionary nature of

intellectual achievement. It portrays a perspective of continuing development
of human thought.

4. It helps us realize our powers of analysis, our abilities to positively criticize, to

reason, to evaluate, to theorize and to justify. Exposure to great ideas of
extraordinary thinkers is likely to hone our powers on analysis, hopeful
enough to apply them constructively to our own affairs. (Barry, 1983)