LESSON 3: Approaches in

doing philosophy
 C.D. Broad(Charlie Dunbar Broad)

• The Main Tasks of Philosophy

*Two differentiated approaches in doing Philosophy*

1. Critical or Analytic Philosophy
2. Speculative or Metaphysical Philosophy

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 Analytic Philosophy

*Two fundamental tasks of Analytic Philosophy*

1. The analysis and definition of our fundamental
concepts
2. The clear and resolute criticism of our beliefs
How do we use the analytic philosophy in order
to resolve the problem stated?
1. We need to recognized that this not a
disagreement.

According to Acuna:
"What do you mean by that?" Or "In what sense are
you using the word or phrase?"
Thus according to Waismann:
"A philosophical question is not solved, it dissolves."
2. According to Broad, is to examine and criticize
our beliefs and assumptions in our everyday life.

According to Broad:
It is important to subject our beliefs and biases to
constant criticisms to be able to test whether or
not they worth holding on to.
 Speculative Philosophy

As Broad would put it , speculative philosophy

aims to reach some general conclusions as to the
nature of the universe; and as to our position and
prospects in it.

The process of extracting a unifying from the

multiplicity of the things around them is called
abstraction.
 Reduction and Holistic Philosophy

• Reductionism versus Holism-----Contrasting

Approaches(by Willy Ostreng).

• Reductionism focuses on the properties of its

parts.

• Holism leans on the relationship between them.

 Reductionist Philosophy

• It holds the notion of the Newtonian assumption

• Rene Descartes first introduce Discourse on

the Method(Part V) on 17th century
 Holistic Philosophy

• Holism from the Greek word holos means "all",

"whole", or "total".
• According to Aristotle in metaphysics;
'The whole is more than the sum of its part."
• Holism was introduced by South African
Statesman Jan Smuts into the language.(1926)
• Frege, Wittgenstein, and Quine
Two main types of Holism

1. Epistemological Holism
2. Semantic Holism
• Moderate Holism

______The End______