PHILOSOPHY NOTES: FIRST TERM – FIRST QUARTER

DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

1. PYTHAGORAS - it is said, invented the word “philosophy.” According to him,

the gods alone should be called wise. Men are just “friends of wisdom,” lovers of
wisdom. That is what philosophy literally means: “love of wisdom.”
2. Aristotle defined philosophy as “the knowledge of things through their causes.”
3. 3. Originally, philosophy was not distinguishable from science and it embraced all
kinds of human knowledge, but today, we limit the field to this common
definition: “Philosophy is the science of beings in their ultimate reasons, causes
and principles acquired by the aid of the human reason alone.
4. Popularly, philosophy means some private wisdom from which one deserves a
measure of consolation in times of misfortune. Thus it is fairly frequent to see
something like this said: “Business reverses cost him a fortune, but he took his
losses philosophically.”
5. 5. Technically, philosophy is the science of science, for it criticizes the conclusions
and defends the principles of other sciences.

The Necessity of Philosophy

1. Philosophy is love of wisdom. Today wisdom signifies a sublime, universal

knowledge of things visible and invisible. The philosopher loves knowledge for
its own sake, for the sake of learning of information.
2. Philosophy is not a futile or useless knowledge because it complements
man’s desire for intellectual perfection and integrity.
3. 3. This perfection of the intellect through the acquisition and contemplation of the
truth gives the highest satisfaction and happiness to man in the natural order.
4. Philosophy, on the other hand, provides the answer to the manifold problems
vitally affecting human life – God, man, the world, beauty, society, good and evil,
human destiny, etc. problems which philosophers tackle not merely of curiosity
but because of their tremendous influence upon human conduct, thoughts and
actions.

Division of Philosophy

Aristotle divided human sciences into three great classes

1. Practical Sciences – those which seek knowledge for the conduct of human life.
2. Productive Sciences – those that are concerned with technical and mechanical arts
having to do with human needs.
3. Theoritical Sciences – those that seek knowledge for its own sake.

Branches of Philosophy

a. Logic – is not knowledge but the way to attain knowledge, the order of concepts
b. Cosmology – the study of the world
c. Psychology – the study of the living being
d. Ontology – the study of Being as being/or being in general
e. Theodicy – the study of the Being as God
f. Epistemology – the study of relation of knowledge with reality

Nota Bene: (Take Note)

• The topic on Universal vs. Particular is in your book

• The topic on Dialectic and Truth is in your book
• The topic on Wonder and Knowledge is in your book
• That is why I did not include it here in your notes

Philosophical Thought in Three Views

• Cosmocentric View - “Kosmos” (world) centered:

Characteristic of ancient philosophy
• Theocentric View - “Theos” (God) centered: characteristic of medieval
philosophy
• Anthropocentric - “Anthropos” (man) centered: characteristic of modern
philosophy

ANCIENT
1.Thales – view that WATER is the underlying principle of all things because
everything that has life need water.
2.Anaximander – view that AIR because it can better account for change and for life.
3.Pythagoreans – identified numbers as first principle

4.Atomist – a tiny indivisible entities, invisible to the naked eye that makes up
everything.

MEDIEVAL
-sustained man’s intellect that the world
becomes secondary to God
-Using theocentric view (Avicenna, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas) that God is the
starting point of the entire chain of existence

MODERN
-is characterized by subjectivity and individualism hence centered on man
(Anthropocentric)

a. Rationalism – that knowledge is acquired through reason independent of sense

experience thus knowledge is based on ideas and concepts
(Bertrand Russell and Rene Descartes)
b. Empiricism – holds that knowledge is ultimately derived from sense experience
(John Locke – tabula rasa, George Berkeley and David Hume

Additional Notes
Meaning of Philosophy
-refers to ideas, views, principles, perspectives, or beliefs (religious, cultural, scientific,,
historical or psychological)
-the activity of reasoning or of engaging in reasoning
-the academic course usually taken on the tertiary level

PILOSOPO – equivalent term in Filipino of the word Philosopher one who likes to reason
out or to engage in the activity of reasoning

SOPHISTS – a group of intellectuals who taught oratory or the art of public

speaking) for a fee to individuals aspiring to have a successful career in politics.

- believes that all truths are relative in that all truths are determined by or based on
human interests, but human interests vary from one person to another or from one group
of persons to another thus no truths that holds for all humans

WISDOM – essentially includes knowledge of the truth, is a trait of someone who is wise.

WISE
-a one who is aware of (or who knows) what he knows and what he does not know
-a person who is aware of his own ignorance
-a person who holds beliefs that are not true but which he/she can justify
-a person who knows a lot of things that are valuable in life
-a person who does not only know what is true, but also knows what is good or what
ought to be done in a given situation and acts accordingly