LESSON 1 : WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY

The use of the term philosophy is attributed to Pythagoras as he is said to be the first to use it when he
differentiated the three classes of people who attend the ancient Olympic Games as (1) lovers of gain;
(2) lovers of honor; and (3) lovers of knowledge or wisdom. According to Pythagoras, the third class of
people are the best since they go to the games as spectators who seek the truth. They neither seek
profit (as represented by the first class of people who sell their wares for money) nor compete in the
games for honor (as represented by the second class of people). He called this class of people
philosophers.

When you look for the meaning of philosophy in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or any search engine on the
Internet, you will be led to its etymology. The word philosophy is derived from philosophia (φιλοσοφία)
which is a combination of the Greek terms philos (love) and sophia (wisdom). Thus, philosophy means
“love of wisdom.”

Many philosophers argue that there is more to philosophy than its etymology. Some say that philosophy
cannot be defined because its definition is one of the problems of philosophy. Despite the varying
definitions of philosophy, it does not mean, however, that there are no recognized definitions,
characterizations, or common notions about it.

Big Idea

Humans have the innate desire to know and understand fundamental things about themselves and the
world.

The Subject Matter of Philosophy

In the book Three Concepts of Philosophy, Armando Bonifacio explained that characterizing philosophy
can begin with the common conceptions about it. One of the common conceptions is that people,
though unconsciously, have a philosophy in life: “The fundamental values or some basic assumptions
about things, persons, institutions, and others which form presuppositions that influence one’s beliefs,
decisions, and actions.” Another conception is that the activity of reflecting on and analyzing one’s
beliefs or reasons for actions or decisions could be a kind of philosophy as well. Lastly, philosophy could
also be a reconstructed belief or a value system which shows a universal and comprehensive character
as a result of reflection and analysis in a more comprehensive and systematic manner.

Philosophy is also viewed as a study of subjects that can be understood as how they are talked about. In
other words, philosophical understanding is not making some discovery about the world, but deciding
on how to talk. Talking about subjects means (1) investigating the meaning of concepts or proposals of
new terms in order to advance some area of philosophical inquiry; (2) critiquing the use of these terms;
or (3) a combination of both. The question asked is “What subjects can be talked about?”

There are two differences between philosophical and non philosophical subjects. The first is the
fundamental importance of philosophical subjects to a reflective person. Hence, as philosophical
subjects, matters that a reflective person believes and counts as real, and matters that he or she thinks
that shape his or her life are considered. The second is the lack of general agreement on how the
subjects of concern may be defined. Philosophers would agree that there is no one characterization for
how a subject may be talked about. There may be one definition that prevails, but so far problems in
philosophy are still problems because there has never been an absolute answer to questions on
philosophical subjects such as the following:

• What is knowledge?

• What is the nature of the self?

• Does God exist?

• What is the standard of beauty?

• Is there a universal morality?

Since philosophers agree that there is a lack of a general agreement to how philosophical subjects are
defined, philosophy becomes an ongoing activity because there may be many and varied answers to
fundamental questions.In the succeeding discussion, you will familiarize yourself with the branches or
divisions of philosophy so that you may understand philosophical subjects, how they are talked about,
why they are important to a reflective person, and how a beginner in philosophy engages in
philosophizing, like what the early philosophers did, in a more comprehensive and systematic manner.

Big Idea

The difference between philosophy and nonphilosophy subjects is the manner of how the subject
matter is thought about.

Major Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy covers a wide range of subjects. The following are the major branches of philosophy.

Ethics

Ethics, which is derived from the Greek term ethos meaning “custom,” is concerned about human
conduct. As a normative study, it deals with norms or standards of right and wrong applicable to human
behavior. It is considered as prescriptive as it prescribes what people ought to do rather than describes
what people do. A philosopher engaged in ethics is concerned in finding out what norms or standards of
human behavior lead to ends or goals that are desirable or undesirable. His or her evaluation and
analysis are directed toward knowing whether there are higher human ends that may be considered as
the chief end of man. What constitutes this end is analyzed through the nature of a human being and his
or her moral and social virtues in relation with others.

The systematic reflections in ethics will lead to an understanding of the concept of right and wrong and
of conceptions about morality that affects one’s actions toward others. Thus, ethics helps people
prioritize their values.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics comes from the Greek word aisthetikos, which means “sensitive” or “perceptive.” In this
branch of philosophy, the philosopher is concerned with the analysis of aesthetic experience and the
idea of what is beautiful. The analysis is directed toward the nature of aesthetic judgment, standards of
beauty, and the objectivity of these standards in response to the questions raised about the meaning of
aesthetic experience.

In aesthetics, philosophers analyze whether beauty is based on utility, experience, form, pleasure, or
expression. For example, if you look at a painting or any kind of artwork, what are your bases of
judgment to say that it is beautiful? How does a panel of judges decide who wins a beauty pageant?
How are paintings priced?

Epistemology

Epistemology comes from the Greek word epistēmē, which means “knowledge.” This branch of
philosophy deals with various problems concerning knowledge. Among the major concerns in
epistemology are the origin of knowledge—whether empiricism (given by experience) or rationalism
(given by the mind prior to experience)—and the verification or confirmation of knowledge. Other highly
specialized problems in this branch of philosophy include the distinction between belief and knowledge,
the nature of truth, the problems of perception, the external world, and meaning and other minds.

Big Idea

Philosophy examines a wide range problems and issues that are fundamental to understanding the
nature things, humans actions, human reasoning, and reality.

For example, determining whether there is an objective truth and investigating the bases of certainty
are among the specific problems tackled in epistemology. Thus, epistemology can be helpful in making
judgments such as in the courts of law.

Logic

Logic is the branch of philosophy that looks into whether there are rules or principles that govern
reasoning. As a study of reasoning, logic incorporates the analysis of the methods of deduction and
induction to provide the rules on how people ought to think logically. Knowing the rules of logic gives a
person the techniques to create sound arguments and avoid fallacious reasoning. Logic also increases
one’s ability to reason correctly and distinguish irrational reasoning.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics literally means “after physics.” Early Greek philosophers claimed that it is the study of the
nature of reality. This branch of philosophy analyzes whether everything is material, and if life, energy,
and mind are their different manifestations. Metaphysicians reflect on the subject of appearances (how
something looks by how it appears) and reality (that which actually is).

Some examples of specific questions that metaphysicians reflect upon are the following:

• What is the meaning of life?

• What is the purpose of life?

• Does God exist?

Thus far, you are introduced to some of the areas that philosophy is concerned with. Each branch
informs you on how reflection and analysis may be used in the discourse of topics and issues that
concern humans. Your understanding of these concepts and philosophical inquiry and reflection will also
allow you to clarify what you believe in, value, and recognize as the source or basis of your actions.

Brief History of Philosophy

Pre-philosophical Period

Even before the birth of natural philosophy, people had already attempted to explain the origin of things
and events or occurrences in nature. Such attempts are evident in folklores, myths, and legends that the
ancient peoples—the ancient Babylonians, Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, and the Greeks most notably—
believed in. However, these stories are characterized by religious elements or supernatural powers and
not by natural or rational explanations.

Pre-Socratic Period

Miletians

Western philosophy is said to have begun in the Ionic colonies of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey)
around 6th century BC through Thales of Miletus (Turner, 1903; Russel, 1945). Thales, known as the first
Greek philosopher and the father of philosophy, is regarded as the first to engage in the inquiry of
searching for causes and principles of the natural world and various phenomena without relying on
supernatural explanations and divine components. By observing nature, he believed that the Earth floats
on water, which was considered as the first or ultimate substance.

Another Miletian is the philosopher Anaximander who also wondered about the beginning of the
universe and where it came from. More systematic than Thales, Anaximander claimed that the universe
was formed from the boundless (apeiron) which is both the first principle (arche) and the substance
(stoicheion) of the universe. On the other hand, Anaximenes, another Miletian, argued that air was the
fundamental element. Through the process of rarefaction or compression, the air surrounds Earth in a
more or less compressed state.

Thales of Miletus is regarded as a father of philosophy.

Heraclitus of Ephesus and Xenophanes of Colophon

Heraclitus and Xenophanes continued the Miletian claim of a single, proper substance. They also offered
a cosmological account, but they expanded their focus on the human subject and investigated the
nature of inquiry itself in the physical explanations they provided. Heraclitus claimed the “unity of
opposites” in characterizing the cosmos and went further to express that to understand these
characterizations is to inquire of the logos (an objective law-like principle) and be able to speak the
language of the logos. Xenophanes, on the other hand, claimed that there is a single god. He did not
subscribe to the idea of an anthropomorphic god, whom many people believed in his time. Xenophanes
suggested that if gods are “human-like,” then horses, oxen, and lions would have equine, bovine, and
leonine gods respectively as well.
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans

The Pythagoreans believe that the cosmos is a structured system ordered by numbers. For them, things
become knowable because they are structured the way they are; the structure can apparently be
expressed in a numerical ratio. Hence, they believe that nature can be quantified.

The pre-Socratics and their points of view expressed a tendency toward observation and analysis. Since
these points of view are devoid of any mythical notions, they are already somewhat “scientific.” Though
their main concern is the nature of phenomena or what constitutes the cosmos, testimonia (reports
from ancient authors about the thinkers’ life and thoughts) and fragments (passages taken to be direct
quotations) reveal that they are also concerned with religious and ethical thought, the nature of
understanding, mathematics, and other areas of concern. Their philosophies have influenced later
philosophers and are said to extend to the whole of Western philosophy.

Socrates and the Socratic Schools

The second period in the history of Greek philosophy is comparatively short, but it is considered the
most flourishing. This period was dominated by three famous philosophers—Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle. The philosophers in this period mainly had to answer the problem of how to save the
intellectual and moral life of the nation, which was threatened by materialism and skepticism.

Socrates – 469-399 ac

Plato- 427-347ac

Aristotle- 384-322ac

Socrates

Socrates left no writings at all and yet he has greatly influenced Western philosophical tradition through
Plato’s Dialogues. Socrates is best known for the elenchus, or the Socratic method. It is a method of
question and answer that aims to provoke the one being asked to think for oneself and to clarify one’s
conceptions about what is asked. Socrates is also regarded as the one who urged self-examination and
claimed that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

Plato

Plato’s philosophy is a completion and extension of the philosophy of Socrates. Socrates taught that
knowledge through concepts was the only true knowledge—to which Plato concluded that the concept,
or the idea, was the only true reality. Thus, for Plato, philosophy is the science of the idea, or, as we
should say, of the unconditioned basis of phenomena.

Plato’s philosophical ideas are found in his Dialogues, which are accounts of what he is concerned with
as influenced by his teacher, Socrates. The Republic, one of Plato’s most famous works, discusses his
social and political philosophy and his belief that for the Greek city-states to flourish, they must be led
by philosopher kings, and that justice is best manifested if persons will do what is suited to each of his or
her soul. Plato’s works also encourage humanity to seek what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful
in the intellectual realm beyond the appearances because the senses are often deceitful. He also urged
that humans detach themselves to what is corporeal because the soul without the limitation of the body
can better recognize the eternal form of truth, beauty, and goodness. Such beliefs reveal Plato’s views
on ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy.

Aristotle

Aristotle’s philosophy is often described as an opposition to the Platonic philosophical tradition.

Aristotle believed that the perceptual and cognitive faculties of people are dependable; such belief
places humans in direct contact with the world to be studied and therefore engaged in substantive
philosophy. For Aristotle, human beings philosophize because they wonder about the world, and as they
do, more things of their experiences appear puzzling. His method focuses on analyzing phenomena or
experience and proving credible opinions about these experiences to arrive at adequate proof. Aristotle
believed that the aim of philosophy is truth, and the endowment of senses will lead a person in direct
contact with the world, and therefore would allow one to analyze whether what appears upon close
scrutiny and analysis is correct. Like Plato, Aristotle’s philosophy is also extensive in its topics of concern
such as human anatomy, biology, physics, knowledge, and ethics.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are considered the three of the greatest philosophers in the history of
Western philosophic thought. You will notice that their concerns are more concentrated on inquiring
what is man and what he or she can become. Through the Socratic method and Aristotle’s method of
inquiry (more like a modern scientist), you will realize that any and every perspective they have about
the world is a result of reflection and analysis. Whether it is based on physical or material evidence
brought about by experience or redirecting the inquiry toward the real forms (Platonic style),
understanding about the self and the world will be revealed through painstaking analysis.

Medieval Period: Scholasticism

The medieval period in the history of philosophy is described as the confluence of faith and reason.
Philosophers in this period used philosophy as a handmaid of theology. Concerned with proving God’s
existence and understanding what is man in relation with God, scholasticism directed its inquiry on how
reason can be used to provide proofs that God exists. Scholastics also attempted to reconcile Greek
philosophy and Christian theology. Among the recognized main philosophers during this period are St.
Anselm, who is known for his ontological argument for the existence of God in Proslogion; St. Augustine,
who is known to promote “the argument by analogy” against solipsism or the philosophical idea that
only one’s own existence is the only thing that is real; and St. Thomas Aquinas, who is famous for his
influential work Summa Theologica, which explains his views on the creation and government of the
universe, the origin and nature of man, and human destiny, among others, through Catholic theology.

The medieval philosophers’ attempt to reconcile faith and reason reveals that reflection and analysis
may be used to clarify thought or provide pieces of evidence as proofs for a topic important to human
like religious beliefs. You need to realize as well that philosophy is beyond a recognized authority
because beliefs of the church are placed under reflection, criticism, and analysis.
Modern Period: Rationalism, Empiricism, and Kant’s Philosophy

The modern tradition in the history of philosophy is recognized to be concerned about problems or
issues on knowledge. It is often described as dominated by two schools of thought—rationalism and
empiricism—and ends with the synthesis made by Immanuel Kant. The reflections and analyses are
directed toward answering the questions on the nature of knowledge and the verification and types of
knowledge claims to be known by humans.

Rationalism

Rationalism as a philosophical view states that the chief source of our knowledge is reason rather than
experience. This means that what provides us as our source of knowing something is supplied by our
mind, which data or information therein is not acquired through any form of experience. For instance,
we know some things that do not require experience for us to know them. We know that there are
numbers yet we do not experience them. This philosophical view developed by Plato began to emerge
and became highly influential during the time of René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and Gottfried Leibniz.
They are considered leading rationalists of modern period (17th–18th century).

Empiricism

Empiricists believe that aside from reason, experience is also a source of knowledge. The five senses
connected to the world can be used to determine what can be known. Aristotle first developed the idea
that senses, though they may not be a wholly reliable source of knowledge, are significant in forming
concepts and knowledge. John Locke, for instance, a leading figure of Empiricism argued that without
experience, which is only possible because of our senses, knowledge is impossible. Imagine the color
red. Suppose you are told so many information about color red, though you have not seen one yet. You
somehow have an idea of what it is. But once you are exposed to a place where colors are, will you be
able to identify the color red from other colors? Somehow, empiricists insist that you cannot because
you have no experience of the color red.

Immanuel Kant and Synthetic a Priori Knowledge

Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher, is known to be one of the greatest thinkers in the
history of Western philosophy for various reasons. One reason is his contribution to the development of
modern philosophy, most especially in epistemology. Contrary to the philosophical views held by
empiricists and rationalists, Kant made a significant breakthrough by introducing the idea of synthetic a
priori knowledge. According to him, this form of knowledge is a product of both reason and experience.
It means that to make sense of our experience of something, we need concepts to describe it while
experience supplies the contents of our concepts necessary in forming judgments about our
experiences. Kant denied the main claim of rationalism that knowledge is independent of experience,
and of empiricism that knowledge is based on experience alone. Instead, he insisted that not only
through and by reason nor experience alone that one can acquire knowledge, but rather one needs
both.

Rationalists, empiricists, and Immanuel Kant provided different perspectives on one specific concern—
the nature of knowledge and knowledge claims. Each school of thought espouses a conception of
knowledge based on its origin, which gives knowledge seekers a wider perspective and increased
understanding of an important area in the life of humans. In a later module, you will have an
opportunity to reflect upon some important concerns on knowledge especially about truth and wisdom.

However, the modern period also produced political theorists espousing the nature of a social contract
necessary for achieving a harmonious society based on the very nature of man. These theories will be
discussed further in module 11.

Contemporary Period: The Analytic and the Continental Tradition

The most difficult period to characterize is the philosophical tradition that dominated Western thought
in the 20th century. Because of various conceptions and concerns, historians of philosophy would often
distinguish between the analytic and the continental tradition in their broadest sense.

Big Idea

History give us lessons about our origins and Identity. It teach us to relate one event to another and
form meaningful connections from it.

Analytic Tradition

This school of thought, which dominated English-speaking countries, is concentrated on logical analysis
of language to solve the problems which beset philosophy. The philosophers under this tradition
espouse a method of verification that only accepts those that can be investigated by science as
meaningful and true. Among the philosophers who propose analysis in philosophy are Bertrand Russell,
George Edward Moore, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. However, their conceptions differ from one another.
Russell’s conception involves an analysis of meaningfulness of descriptions as opposed to names that
designate or denote a subject. For Moore, on the other hand, analysis is decomposing complex concepts
into their simple constituents. Meanwhile for Wittgenstein, the task of philosophy is to carefully analyze
ordinary language use, known as linguistic analysis.

Continental Tradition

This philosophical tradition dominated the non-English-speaking countries outside the analytic tradition
during the 19th and the later 20th centuries. German idealism, phenomenology and existentialism,
hermeneutics, structuralism, post-structuralism, and French feminism are some of the movements
within this tradition. What is common among these movements is their belief that the scientific method
is insufficient to provide an explanation of the world. In the analysis, continental tradition takes into
account the conceptions of the past and the views that any analysis is contextualized in history.
Moreover, movements under the continental tradition focus on the centrality of human action as a
constitutive part, and any analysis under the continental tradition is directed toward metaphilosophy to
seek a reconstruction of what philosophy is and its role in understanding knowledge, experience, and
reality.

The history of philosophy is an account of the different philosophical perspectives from different periods
and for topics that were considered important to humans. This history gives emphasis that the beauty of
the philosophic discipline is understanding the world from a variety of perspectives and reflection and
analysis. Thus, a person interested in philosophizing will scrutinize truths and explanations about the
world through analysis, criticism, and deliberate reflection.

Holistic Perspective and Partial Point of View

At this point, you might be overwhelmed by the ideas already presented. What you were introduced to
seems to be fragmented. You may also be asking, “What’s in it for me?” A beginner in philosophy like
you will have an effective understanding only if you can make sense of the different perspectives, can
distinguish them from a partial point of view, and can develop a holistic perspective to see the whole or
bigger picture. This manner will give you the value of philosophizing.

What you experienced in the previous discussions will give you a perspective of what philosophy is
based on, how it is done by the different philosophers, and the common notions or characterizations of
it. The discussion on each philosopher and the specific concerns each one inquired about gave you
partial points of views on the nature of philosophy. On the other hand, the synthesis of these partial
points of views gave you a holistic perspective of philosophy.

The etymology of philosophy (i.e., “love of wisdom”) gives you a clue on how to philosophize. When you
love, you try to know everything about that which your love is directed to. At first, you might be
interested in knowing the material or physical manifestations of that thing, but as your love for it grows
deeper, you would want to know more about it. Like being a lover, a philosopher takes into account
every detail—the partial points of views—in order to make a synthesis and develop a holistic
perspective. Hence, to philosophize is to take part in activities that do not only give you a partial point of
view but a holistic perspective emanating from reflections and analyse.