LEARNER'S MODULE

Social Science and Philosophy

(Understanding Philosophy)

Course Content 5: Philosophy and Science

Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, the students must be able to:
1. Compare the two fieldsꟷ philosophy and science.
2. Create a conclusion how philosophy and science can achieve synergy.
3. Describe the different philosophical sciences.

Logic
Logical reasoning is one of the fundamental skills of effective thinking. It works by raising questions like: 'If this is true,
what else must be true?', 'If this is true, what else is probably true?', and ‘If this isn’t true, what else can’t be true?' These are all
inferences: they’re connections between a given sentence (the “premise”) and some other sentence (the “conclusion”). Inferences
are the basic building blocks of logical reasoning, and there are strict rules governing what counts as a valid inference and what
doesn’t.
Example: "If there is someone at the door, the dog will bark." Assuming this sentence holds true, there are some other
sentences that must also be true like "If the dog didn’t bark, there is no one at the door." and "Just because the dog barked doesn’t
mean there’s someone at the door." There are also a few sentences that are probably true, such as "The dog can sense (hear or
smell) when someone is at the door." and "the dog belongs to the people who live in the house where the door is located."
Types of Logical Reasoning
1. Deduction is when the conclusion, based on the premises, must be true. For example, if it’s true that the dog always barks
when someone is at the door and it’s true that there’s someone at the door, then it must be true that the dog will bark.
2. Induction is when the conclusion, based on the premises, is probably. The answers are less definitive than they are in
deductive reasoning, but they are often more useful. Induction is our only way of predicting what will happen in the
future.

Psychology
Psychology arises out of philosophy. It arose in order to include the empirical method when examining questions posed
by philosophy. Therefore, philosophy has brought various topics of study to the field of psychology, like sensation, perception,
intelligence, and memory. Psychology depends on philosophy for several reasons. Philosophy gives psychology a general vision
of being human. This is the basis for a good part of psychological theories. The inverse relationship is also true. Philosophy
sometimes uses scientific methodology to achieve its objectives. Both share theories and objects of studies.

Ethics
Also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong.
The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles. How should we live? Shall we aim at happiness or
at knowledge, virtue, or the creation of beautiful objects? If we choose happiness, will it be our own or the happiness of all? Ethics
deals with such question at all levels. Its subject consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision-making, and its major
concerns include the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong.

Metaphysics
It is concerned with the nature of existence, being and the world. Arguably, metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy.
Aristotle calls it "first philosophy" (or sometimes just "wisdom"), and says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the
principles of things". It asks questions like: "What is the nature of reality?", "How does the world exist, and what is its origin or
source of creation?", "Does the world exist outside the mind?", "How can the incorporeal mind affect the physical body?", "If
things exist, what is their objective nature?", "Is there a God (or many gods, or no god at all)?"