1. What do you think philosophers do?

What is good? What makes actions or people good? What is right? What makes
actions right? Is there a God? What is truth? What is a person? What makes a person
the same through time? These are some of the questions that a philosopher attempts to
answer. Philosophers spend a lot of time thinking, they are rational people, they do
critical thinking, logical reasoning, produce their thinking and they also form coherent
arguments. They offer perspectives or hypotheses on significant questions in morals,
rationale, and other related fields. Philosophers study human nature, world, and universe
and if God truly exists. They provide clear reasons for answers and they expand
knowledge, ethics and truth.

2. Define what is philosophy and its purpose. 

The term "philosophy" means, "love of wisdom." (from Greek, by way of

Latin, philosophia) It is the study of general and principal issues, such as those
associated with the reality, presence, knowledge, values, and reason. It involves lots of
thinking
(1) It is the foundation of critical thinking
(2) Science can’t answer everything
(3) It has particular meaning in the business world.
(4) Ancient Philosophers continue to influence humanity

3. Enumerate some of the advances in knowledge forwarded by the following philosophers.

a. Karl Marx 

 Theories of Social Class

His main focus on social class was that one's social class dictated one's social life. Marx meant
that if one is in the upper class, life was one of leisure and abundance, while those in the lower
class lived lives of hardship and poverty.

 Alienation and Revolution

In the industrial society, the aristocracy was replaced by the capitalists (bourgeoisie). These
were the people who owned businesses with the goal of earning a profit, and the working class
was replaced by the proletariat, the people who laboured for wages. Alienation is seen as the
workers becoming more distanced from, or isolated from, their work, resulting in a feeling of
powerlessness.

 Capitalism and Socialism

Capitalism as a progressive historical stage that would eventually stagnate due to internal
contradictions and be followed by socialism. Marxists define capital as “a social, economic
relation” between people
Socialism, for Marx, is a society which permits the actualization of man's essence, by
overcoming his alienation.

b. René Descartes  

 Analytical Geometry
Descartes made the revolutionary discovery that he could solve problems in geometry by
converting them into problems in algebra.
In La Gèomètrie he showed that curves could be expressed in terms of x and y on a two-
dimensional plane and hence as equations in algebra.

The Cartesian coordinate system used in the image below is named in his honor. (Descartes’
name in Latin is Cartesius.)

 Calculus
Calculus has been crucial to the progress of mathematics and the sciences. It was developed in
the 1660s by Isaac Newton, and developed independently in the 1670s by Gottfried Leibniz.

c. George Berkeley

 concepts of "spirit" and "idea”

Spirits are simple, active beings which produce and perceive ideas; ideas are passive beings
which are produced and perceived.

 Proof of the existence of God

d. Thomas Aquinas

 Summa Theologica
Written from 1265 to 1274

 Summa Contra Gentiles

which, while still philosophical, comes across to many critics as apologetic of the beliefs he
expressed in his earlier works.

e. John Stuart Mill 

 Theory of Value and the Principle of Utility

His view of theory of life was monistic: There is one thing, and one thing only, that is
intrinsically desirable, namely pleasure.

 Morality as a system of Social Rules\

The fifth and final chapter of Utilitarianism is of unusual importance for Mill’s theory of
moral obligation.
  The role of Moral Rules (Secondary Principles)

f. Immanuel Kant

 Rationalism and Empiricism

Mind has set structure in order to interrupt information but no content-which must be gathered
from experience

 Critique of Practical Reason

Believes physical law applies to appearances, and our through our will we act with the idea of
freedom (free will)

 Supreme Moral Principle

Two perfect duties- No suicide or deceitful promises.
Reference

Hughes, J. (2018) Four Reasons Why Philosophy Is As Relevant As Ever. Retrieved from
https://www.bachelorstudies.com/article/four-reasons-why-philosophy-is-as-relevant-as-
ever/
The Doc . (2016). “René Descartes." Famous Scientists. Retrieved from
https://www.famousscientists.org/rene-descartes/

Stanford. (2011). George Berkeley. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/berkeley/

Schefczyk, M. (n.d). John Stuart Mill: Ethics. Retrieved from https://iep.utm.edu/mill-

eth/#:~:text=2.,is%20intrinsically%20desirable%2C%20namely%20pleasure.