Acitivity 2

1. Define Philosophy?

Answer:

  Philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom, truth, and knowledge. Indeed, the word

itself means ‘love of wisdom’ in Greek. Philosophy is already an important part of
our life. Philosophy was a way for living, not a way of making a living. It is the
discipline concerned with questions of how one should live (ethics); what sorts of
things exist and what are their essential natures (metaphysics); what counts as
genuine knowledge (epistemology); and what are the correct principles of
reasoning (logic). It is an investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of
reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical
methods. It is the study of the ultimate nature of existence, reality, knowledge and
goodness, as discoverable by human reasoning.

2. Give the different philosophers and their contribution.

Answer:

Socrates (c. 469-399 BCE)

He most well-known ancient Greek Philosopher of all time, Socrates, was a
master stonemason and social critic. He never wrote anything and most of his
philosophical contributions come through his students, mainly Plato. Socrates'
greatest contribution to philosophy was the Socratic Method in which discussion,
argument, and dialogue are used to discern the truth.

Plato (c. 428-348 BCE)

Plato, a student of Socrates, is regarded as the father of political science and the
founder of one of the world's first known institutions of higher learning, the
Academy in Athens. The primary groundwork of Plato’s philosophy is a threefold
approach – dialects, ethics and physics, the central point of unison being the
theory of forms.

Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE)

A student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great, Aristotle is considered
one of the world’s greatest ancient philosophers. Aristotle studied a wide variety
of subjects, including science, ethics, government, physics and politics, and wrote
extensively on them. He believed that people’s concepts and all of their
 knowledge were ultimately based on perception. All aspects of Aristotle's
philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.

Democritus (c. 460-370 BCE)

Democritus, the so called “laughing philosopher”, was an influential ancient
Greek philosopher and one of the first advocates of democracy, equality and
liberty. He was also the first person, along with his mentor Leucippus, to advance
the hypothesis that all matter is composed of small invisible particles called
atoms. Many consider Democritus to be the "father of modern science".

Heraclitus (c. 535-475 BCE)

Heraclitus is yet another pre-Socratic philosopher, mostly known for his
contribution to the thought that things are always changing. He thought that
change is the fundamental essence of the universe, as stated in the famous saying,
"No man ever steps in the same river twice". He also said that opposites attract
and that fire was the base for all things in the world. He was also called "The
Obscure" and the "Weeping Philosopher", because of the lonely life he led and the
nature of his philosophy.

Pythagoras (c. 570-495 BCE)

Another pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, Pythagoras is a famous mathematician

who is credited with inventing the Pythagorean Theorem, one of the key
computations in geometry. Although better known for his legendary contribution
to mathematics, his philosophical works and ideas have had a great influence on
modern philosophy and on Plato as well. 

3. Why do we need to philosophize? (Explain in your own words)

Answer:

It gives you a sense of perspective. Philosophizing doesn’t merely deepen our

understanding about something, but are made more aware about how something can be
beneficial to us or not with a certain way peculiar to ourselves personally. Whether we
are using logical thinking, spirituality or any other means to understand something, but
eventually, it must guide us to an essential (deeper) understanding about ourselves and
place where we live and that can be used by us to make a better adjustment in all that we
face.