Doing

Philosophy
CHAPTER 1
The Meaning of
Philosophy
LESSON 1
PHILOSOPHY
• Two Greek words
• Philo – loving
• Sophia – wisdom
• It means “the love of wisdom.”
• It was first utilized by the Greek thinker
Pythagoras.
• It is also defined as the science that by
natural light of reason studies the first
causes or highest principles of all things.
A Sense of Wonder
• Philosophy begins with wonder.
• Whenever we ponder on these
thoughts, ideas, standards,
hypotheses, ethics or methods for
living, we are doing philosophy.
• Each one of us has his/her own
“philosophy.”
A Rational and Critical
Enterprise
• As a rational enterprise, philosophy
seeks to eradicate from our
perspectives every taint and trace of
ignorance, superstition, prejudice,
blind acceptance of ideas, and any
other form of irrationality.
• As with Socrates, the accent in all
philosophy clearly falls on reason and
criticism.
A Rational and Critical
Enterprise
• Nonrational – different from and maybe
higher than experience or reason
• Ultimate presuppositions – known with
certainty as the foundation of all of our
other ideas but which themselves cannot
be proved. This view is known as
“foundationalism.”
• Foundationalism – from a purely logical
standpoint not everything can be argued
lest there never be an end to the arguing
• Philosophy is an attempt to think
rationally and critically about life’s most
urgent questions.

• “The unexamined life is not worth

living.” by Socrates
• The ultimate philosophical concern

• Reason has its limits and the role played

by the nonrational is itself a good
philosophical question.
AREAS OF
PHILOSOPHY
LESSON 2
METAPHYSICS
• Greek word
• Meta – after or beyond
• Phusi – nature
• It studies reality, seeking its ultimate
causes in an absolute sense
• “What is real?”
• It seeks the most intimate aspect of
every reality – its being
EPISTEMOLOGY
• Greek word
• Episteme – “knowledge”
• Logos – “study of” or “theory of”
• The study or theory of knowledge
• “How do we know?”
VALUE THEORY
• The investigation of something worth
significant.
• “What is value?”
ETHICS
• Greek word
• Ethos – customs
• It is concerned with a particular kind of
value, specifically esteem, as it applies
to individual actions, decisions and
relations
• “What is morally good?” and “What is
right?”
AESTHETICS
• Greed word
• Aisthetikos – one who is perceptive
of things through his sensations,
feelings, and intuitions
• The study of a particular kind of value
such as the values which are part of
the arts and our experience of beauty
• “What is art?”
LOGIC
• The study of principles by which we
distinguish sound from unsound
reasoning and of different types of
reasoning.
• It is the formulation of the standards of
right thinking
Areas of Philosophy
1. Metaphysics
2. Epistemology
3. Value Theory
4. Ethics
5. Aesthetics
6. Logic
The Importance of
Studying
Philosophy
LESSON 3
4 Reasons for Studying
Philosophy
1. To enhance our critical thinking skills
2. To improve comprehension
3. To upgrade our lives
4. To liberate us
Critical Thinking Made
Sharper
• In studying philosophy…
• It allows us to contemplate carefully and
clearly about critical issues.
• We learn to pause from our everyday
thinking and ask greater questions that
support our thoughts.
• It hones our analytical capacities,
empowering us to recognize and assess
our strengths and weaknesses in any
position.
Expand Comprehension
• In studying philosophy…
• It helps us to elucidate issues, segregate
among choices, and settle on better
choices.
• It improves our comprehension of the
daily human issues and helps us make
level-headed choices in insignificant life
issues.
Living a Better Life
• In studying philosophy…
• It upgrades our lives through
broadening the horizon of our reality
beyond our private interest
• It upgrades our lives by reinforcing
the foundation on which a
specifically fulfilling philosophy of life
can be created.
Toward Freedom
• In studying philosophy…
• It helps us enter the foundation of
our responsibilities by allowing us to
study and substantiate or supplant
our own convictions.
The Philosopher
LESSON 4
PHILOSOPHER
• One who perceives in some measure
the ways in which the various
experiences and awareness of
existence form a pattern of meaning.
• To be a philosopher involves striving
after wisdom, not possessing it.
Types of Philosophers
1. ORAL PHILOSOPHER
• No formal training on or studied
philosophy in school
• Claims to be a philosopher
• Able to recognize the philosopher
within himself and benefits from
philosophizing at own level
• Creates enthusiasm by having people
argue about it
Types of Philosophers
2. STREET PHILOSOPHER
• Pretends to be brimming with
knowledge and wisdom
• Keep his listeners entranced with half-
baked theories, poorly-thought-out
solutions to everything, conspiracy
theories and the like
Types of Philosophers
3. AMATEUR PHILOSOPHER
• Studies philosophy for own satisfaction
and it made him become consciously
aware of his ignorance of the subject
• Best of this kind – like Socrates
• Worst of this kind – like street
philosophers
Types of Philosophers
4. STUDENT PHILOSOPHER
• Studied philosophy in school, college or
university
• Might never become a true philosopher
unless figures out how to utilize own
knowledge in positive and pragmatic
ways
Types of Philosophers
5. ACADEMIC PHILOSOPHER
• Does not earn living as a philosopher
yet a qualified philosopher at the
degree level
• His being useful as a philosopher
depends on whether he can utilize his
philosophy to benefit others other that
himself
Types of Philosophers
6. PROFESSIONAL PHILOSOPHER
• Earns a living by writing books, making
TV appearances, teaching or
researching about philosophy
• Although intellectually he gifted and
understands philosophy at its very root,
he is still not considered a great
philosopher.
Types of Philosophers
7. GREAT PHILOSOPHER
• Systematic in way of thinking
• Can thoroughly ponder his thoughts to
a more significant level than most
philosophers
• Almost all great philosophers are long
dead and gone.
 The “Tender-minded”
and “Tough-minded”
Philosopher
• In “The Present Dilemma in
Philosophy,” William James suggested
that philosophers tend to fall into
either one of two camps – the tender-
minded or the tough-minded
 TENDER-MINDER
PHILOSOPHER
Reason as the source of
knowledge
Given to the life of the intellect
and ideas
Mind –reality of all things
World and history – meaningful
and purposeful
With spiritual dimension of
existence
Will is not completely enslaved
to antecedent and mechanical
causes
All things are essentially unified
Person of conviction and belief
TOUGH-MINDED
PHILOSOPHER
Five senses
Oriented toward the world of
science and facts
Matter – ultimate reality
World and history – devoid of
any ultimate point
No evidence for spiritual
Will is completely enslaved to
antecedent and causes
Disparateness of things
Suspends judgment and waits for
more evidence