MOD2-ASSIGNMENT1-Philosophy and Main Branches of

Philosophy

 Do some more readings on the philosophy which interests you most.

 Video Clip: “What is Philosophy? Meaning of Philosophy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRG-rV8hhpU

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy, particularly Western philosophy, comes from the two Greek words, which
means “love” and “wisdom”. Thus, etymologically speaking, philosophy means the love of wisdom.

As is well known, love in this context is understood as a strong desire for a particular object;
while wisdom is understood as a correct application of knowledge. Thus, philosophy as the love of
wisdom, at least in this context, could refer to the strong desire of the human person to possess
knowledge and apply it correctly. It’s not a coincidence, therefore, that most philosophers in the
Ancient World, particularly in Greece, India, and China were sages or wise men. Think for example
of Socrates, Gautama Buddha, Confucius, and Lao Tzu.

Philosophy is defined as a science that studies beings in their ultimate causes, reasons,
and principles through the aid of human reason alone. And when we speak of “being” or
“beings” in philosophy in this context, we mean all things that exist, material or immaterial. An
example of beings are “stones”, “trees”, “persons”, “cars”, air, water; and the notions of “God”,
“soul”, “spirit”. All of these are beings, and philosophy studies their ultimate causes, reason, and
principles through the aid of reason alone.

In other words, philosophy is concerned with the reason and principles that account for
everything that exists.
Major Branches of Philosophy:

Philosophy is normally divided into four major branches, namely: Metaphysics,

Epistemology, Logic, and Ethics.

 Metaphysics comes from the two Greek words, which means “beyond” or “after” and physika,
“physical” or “nature”. Hence, etymologically speaking, metaphysics means the study of things
beyond the physical, that is, concepts or things that cannot be experienced, such as the concepts
of God, freedom, and soul.
 Epistemology comes from the two Greek words episteme, which means knowledge, and logos
which means study. It is formally defined as the study of the nature and scope of knowledge and
justified belief. Specifically, it analyzes the nature of knowledge and how it relates to similar
notions, such as truth, belief, and justification.
 Logic comes from the Greek word logos, which, as I already mentioned, has different meanings.
It is defined as the science of correct thinking or the study of the principles and criteria of a valid
argument. More specifically, logic attempts to distinguish sound or good reasoning from unsound
or bad reasoning.
 Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which originally means custom or habit. Broadly
construed, ethics is the morality of human actions. Ethics, therefore, is concerned with questions
of how human persons ought to act, and the search for a definition of a right conduct and the
good life.
It is important to note that ethics is not the same with morality. This is because ethics denotes the
theory of right action and the greater good, while morality indicates practice, that is, the rightness
or wrongness of a human action.

Submitted by:
RV EUNICE M. GARCIA
MAEd – SPEd
EDUC 202A
Philosophical, Psychological, and Socio-Historical Foundation of Education