goals with the possibility of success.
To
Introduction to Philosophy
Philosophy is the oldest among the
sciences
Philosophy begins when an individual
thinks
Etymologically the name came from two
Greek words [philien + sophia] which
means, “love of wisdom”.
It is involved in all the activities of the
society in history, be it ancient, medieval,
modern, or contemporary.
Major Branches
Branches of Philosophy
Ethics
-is the branch of study dealing with what is
the proper course of action for man. It
answers the question, "What do I do?" It is
the study of right and wrong in human
endeavors. At a more fundamental level, it
is the method by which we categorize our
values and pursue them. Do we pursue our
own happiness, or do we sacrifice
ourselves to a greater cause? Is that
foundation of ethics based on the Bible, or
on the very nature of man himself, or
neither?
Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is
our means of deciding a course of action.
Without it, our actions would be random
and aimless. There would be no way to
work towards a goal because there would
be no way to pick between a limitless
number of goals. Even with an ethical
standard, we may be unable to pursue our
the degree which a rational ethical
standard is taken, we are able to correctly
organize our goals and actions to
accomplish our most important values.
Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our
ability to be successful in our endeavors.
Logic
-is “the study of correct reasoning,
especially regarding making inferences.”
Logic is used in other disciplines like math
and computer science.
Philosophy of Man
-is the branch of philosophy dealing with
man as the meeting place of matter and
spirit. Man is an embodied subject.
-This study is unique in the sense that man
is the subject as well as the object of
knowledge. Body and soul are equally real,
true, radical, substantial, and original.
They are neither uniform nor deducible
from each other. There is no existential
cleavage between them. Yet they can be
distinguished from each other. Soul is the
form of the body. We can never encounter
mere body and never encounter pure soul.
Cosmology
-is a branch of philosophy dealing with the
origin and general structure of the
universe, with its parts, elements, and
laws, and especially with such of its
characteristics as space, time, causality,
and freedom. the part or branch of
astronomy that deals with the general
structure and evolution of the universe.
Cosmology is the study of the universe, via
theory and observation, of its beginning,
evolution, large-scale structure, and far
future. A philosophy of cosmology seeks
to discern ways of knowing the universe,
given that we have only the one data point
(one universe) and we cannot conduct
classic experiments on it.
Metaphysics
-is the branch of philosophy responsible
for the study of existence. It is the
foundation of a worldview. It answers the
question "What is?" It encompasses
everything that exists, as well as the nature
of existence itself. It says whether the
world is real, or merely an illusion. It is a
fundamental view of the world around us.
Metaphysics
is the foundation of philosophy. Without
an explanation or an interpretation of the
world around us, we would be helpless to
deal with reality. We could not feed
ourselves, or act to preserve our lives. The
degree to which our metaphysical
worldview is correct is the degree to which
we are able to comprehend the world, and
act accordingly. Without this firm
foundation, all knowledge becomes
suspect. Any flaw in our view of reality
will make it more difficult to live.
Epistemology
-is the study of our method of acquiring
knowledge. It answers the question, "How
do we know?" It encompasses the nature
of concepts, the constructing of concepts,
the validity of the senses, logical
reasoning, as well as thoughts, ideas,
memories, emotions, and all things
mental. It is concerned with how our
minds are related to reality, and whether
these relationships are valid or invalid.
Epistemology is the explanation of how we
think. It is required in order to be able to
determine the true from the false, by
determining a proper method of
evaluation. It is needed in order to use and
obtain knowledge of the world around us.
Without epistemology, we could not think.
More specifically, we would have no
reason to believe our thinking was
productive or correct, as opposed to
random images flashing before our mind.
With an incorrect epistemology, we would
not be able to distinguish truth from error.
The consequences are obvious. The degree
to which our epistemology is correct is the
degree to which we could understand
reality, and the degree to which we could
use that knowledge to promote our lives
and goals. Flaws in epistemology will
make it harder to accomplish anything.
Aesthetics
-is the study of art. It includes what art
consists of, as well as the purpose behind
it. Does art consist of music, literature, and
painting? Or does it include a good
engineering solution, or a beautiful sunset?
These are the questions that aimed at in
esthetics. It also studies methods of
evaluating art, and allows judgments of the
art. Is art in the eye of the beholder? Does
anything that appeals to you fit under the
umbrella of art? Or does it have a specific
nature? Does it accomplish a goal?
Art has existed through all of recorded
human history. It is unique to humans
because of our unique form of thinking.
Its importance is based on this nature,
specifically, man's ability to abstract. Art is
a little understood tool of man to bring
meaning to abstract concept. Aesthetics is
important because it delves into the reason
why art has always existed, the burning
need of mankind through the ages to see
the world in a different, clear way. It
further evaluates art by the standard of
human life, and whether it accomplishes
the job of satisfying man's intellectual
needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make
worse those needs.
Theodicy
-is the study of God based on reason and
not revelation; means vindication of God.
It is to answer the question of why a good
God permits the manifestation of evil,
thus resolving the issue of the problem of
evil.
Ontology
-is the study of beings and truths, studying
the structure of the nature of reality or the
nature of existence. Ontology identifies
and distinguishes concepts and their
relationships; it describes content and
relationships.
Relation to other sciences
Ethics is a science of morality and
descriptive science. The science that gives
us the idea of what is good or bad.
Studies of Political Science, Economics,
Anthropology, Sociology, Education and
other social sciences are disciplines that
normatively insist on a course of action
or discipline for people on matters about
their subject areas but based on what is a
morally acceptable norm or the standard
set by the Ethics of some source as either
the law, religion or culture.
What is Ethics?
The branch of Philosophy deals with what
is the proper action for man. It answers the
question, "What do I do?" It is the study of
right and wrong in human endeavors. At a
more fundamental level, it is the method
by which we categorize and pursue our
values.
Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is
our means of deciding a course of action.
Without it, our actions would be random
and aimless. There would be no way to
work towards a goal because there would
be no way to pick between a limitless
number of goals. Even with an ethical
standard, we may be unable to pursue our
goals with the possibility of success. To
the degree to which a rational ethical
standard is taken, we can correctly
organize our goals and actions to
accomplish our most important values.
Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our
ability to be successful in our endeavors.
Morality
Morality is not fixed. Morality describes
the particular values of a specific group at
a specific point in time.
1) Moral refers
to what societies sanction as right and
acceptable. While some moral principles
seem to transcend time and culture, such
as fairness. What is moral is what makes
society better. When we help make society
better, we are rewarded with also making
better our own lives and the lives of our
families and friends. Without moral
conduct, society would be a miserable
place.
2) Immoral describes
people who can differentiate between right
and wrong but intentionally do wrong
anyway. Nonmoral is used when morality
is clearly not an issue.
3) Amoral implies acknowledgment of
what is right and what is wrong but
unconcern for morality when carrying out
an act.
Constituents
1) Knowledge - for a human to exist, there
must be the agent's knowledge of the
action. No human act can happen without
knowledge.
2) Freedom - human act proceeds from
the agent's use of freedom. An action done
by force can never be a human act.
3) Voluntariness - human acts are
intended and deliberate. It is an act from
the will.
Modifiers
1) Ignorance - the lack of knowledge or
information; the absence of knowledge
Ignorance in its result:
a) Antecedent ignorance excludes all
exercise of the will; because no knowledge
is had of the object
b) Consequent ignorance is willed
implicitly, and hence does not entirely
exclude knowledge
c) Concomitant ignorance does not
entirely exclude knowledge but comes
together with the action.
2) Concupiscence - also called passion is
an immediate reaction or normal response
of an individual. Concupiscence is a bodily
inclination and is an act of man.
Concupiscence becomes a liability when
the agent prolongs it.
3) Habit - a constantly repeated action that
can be good or bad. Virtues are good
habits that are recommended for everyone.
Vices are bad habits that are never
recommended but avoided. Liability of the
habit is on vices; full or less liability
depends on the action of the agent whether
it is put to a full stop or allowed to
continue.
4) Violence - a force from agent 1 that
compels an individual or agent 2 to do
action he or she does not like doing. This
is an author and actor scenario, where the
actor is the victim while the author sets the
scene.
5) Fear - the shrinking of the mind. A fear
that is created thru imagination or is an
abstraction. This fear is different from the
usual fear of a person that is part of
concupiscence or passion since this is a
fear of nothing but the latter is a fear of
something.
Law Religion cannot function as a standard or
shared source of moral authority and
value, either theoretically or practically,
Law in the primary sense of the term is a
because of the consequences and the
rule or ordinance of human action
profound confrontation between traditional
prescribed by the authority.
religious frameworks against the dynamic
A primary authority or source that includes living conditions the modern times.
the actual rules of law created by a
governmental body like; constitutions,
statutes, and codes (from the legislature),
case opinions (from the courts), and
regulations (from administrative agencies).
These materials may be generated by the
official of a locality, state, or federal
government.

Culture

The most generally accepted concept is

that culture is a key determinant of an
individual's ethical ideology ( identity),
which affects an individual's inclination to
behave ethically. In other words, culture
acts as a guideline in determining whether
certain practices are appropriate and
acceptable.
To apply one's own culture or ethnicity is a
frame of reference to judge other cultures,
practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people,
instead of using the standards.

Religion
Religious authority is an ultimate source of
authority containing accurate and
authoritative knowledge about God or a
deity who can give guidance on how their
believers should behave, for example, the
Ten Commandments in the Bible which
prohibits Christians from certain acts
-“Thou shalt not kill”.