Philosophy:

Lecture
Introduction
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Lecture-1

▆ Philosophy is a peculiar subject in the sense that it is hard to define it. If one asks an instructor of
an introductory biochemistry course: “what is biochemistry?”, the instructor will not have much
trouble to give a definition of biochemistry. Of course, different instructors of biochemistry may give
slightly different definitions of biochemistry, but probably none of their definitions will involve a
significant controversy about the nature of the subject. But the case of philosophy is different; the
issue of defining it is a tough task that involves lot of significant controversies.

▆ In order to define philosophy, we can look at the etymology of the word “philosophy”. The word
“philosophy” has come from the Greek word “Philosophia” which is a combination of two words:

Philos Loving

Sophia Knowledge/wisdom

★ So, philosophy might be defined as love of knowledge/wisdom.

★ But this definition won’t work. This definition does not give us any real idea about philosophy. It
is a too broad and too general definition which does not specify the distinct characteristics of
philosophy. For example, all sciences and other disciplines involve love of wisdom/knowledge. One
can love knowledge/wisdom without doing any philosophy.

★ What we actually need is a definition which will give us ideas about the nature and characteristics of
philosophy and which will make us able to distinguish philosophy from other disciplines.

▆ Instead of defining philosophy, let us, then, consider the nature of the problems that are dealt with in
philosophy.

★ It is claimed that philosophy deals with what sometimes called fundamental problems or
fundamental issues. But what is a fundamental problem or a fundamental issue? Roughly, a
fundamental problem is an issue our thought about which contributes in building our worldviews. So,
a problem about a particular event which does not affect our worldview is not a fundamental
problem, and hence, is not an issue with which philosophy deals. For example: whether a particular
person abides human right or not is not a philosophical issue; but human rights in general is a

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philosophical issue. Similarly, whether you or I do have knowledge about a particular thing is not a
philosophical issue; but knowledge itself is a philosophical issue.

▆ Now, let us consider the particular sort of problems philosophy deals with. There are four main
branches of philosophy. These are: epistemology, meta-physics/ontology, axiology and philosophy
of religion.

▆ Epistemology: the word ‘epistemology’ has come from two Greek words:

Episteme Knowledge
Logos Study of/science of

► Epistemology is the study of knowledge.

► Again, this definition is too broad and general. It does not give a real idea about
epistemology.

★ Thus, instead of defining epistemology, let us see what sort of issues epistemology deals with.

★ One issue with which epistemology deals is how to define knowledge. We generally think that
we know what knowledge is; that we have knowledge about many things; that we do not have
knowledge about many other things. But do we really know what knowledge is? If one is asked to
answer the question: “What is knowledge?”, one may find oneself in an awkward position, as it is
really difficult to define knowledge. Philosophers try to do this difficult task; they have proposed
their definitions of knowledge; and naturally all of these proposed definitions involve debates and
controversies.

★ Other issues with which epistemology deals include: what is the sources of knowledge? What is the
limit of knowledge? What is truth? etc.

▆ Meta-physics/ontology: The word meta-physics and ontology have come from Greek words:
Meta After
Physics Physics
► The study that begins after physics.
Ontos Being
Logos Study of/science of
► The study of being (existence).
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★ Issues metaphysics/ontology deals with include: what is the nature of the ultimate stuff of the
universe? Is the universe made of some ultimate kind of being such as matter, spirit, energy? etc.

▆ Axiology: The term “Axiology” is a modern term. Axiology includes the general theory of
value, ethics and aesthetics.

★ The problems axiology deals with include: supreme norms of human life, nature
and kinds of values, whether values are subjective or objective, what beauty is, etc.

▆ Philosophy of religion: It deals with issues related to God believed and explained/described in
religions.

★ Issues with which philosophy of religion deals include: proof of the existence of
God, how to reconcile between the idea of an all-good and all-powerful God and the
unexpected existence of extreme evils, etc.

▆ Now, recall that we have not yet got a definition of philosophy. What we have seen so far, are
just few examples of the problems and issues with which philosophy deals. But giving such
examples is not a good alternative to giving a definition of philosophy.

★ Examples are examples, and by any sense, they are not alternative to
definitions.

✅ For example, someone asks you: “What is the definition of mammal?”

• You replied: “A human is a mammal, a dog is a mammal, and a cat is a mammal”.

In addition to that you have also shown him a man, a dog and a cat.

• You have not defined “mammal”. It won’t give him the information that a definition
of “mammal” would give.

★ But by giving him the examples of mammals, you have done one thing; you have
given a hint about what a mammal is. Likewise, by giving examples of some
philosophical issues, I have tried to give you a hint about what philosophy is.

★ What was the hint I gave?

✅ Philosophy is a subject that deals with fundamental issues; it analyzes those issues, tries to
answer questions related to them. When a philosopher analyzes an issue, he does not do it by means
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of observation or experiment like a scientist. Even if he uses some results of observations and
experiments, still those are not his actual method of analyzing his topic. Rather, his method may be
called logical analysis. Sometimes, it may be a sort of linguistic analysis.

▆ So, by giving examples of philosophical issues, I have given a hint about what sort of problems
philosophy deals with. But I have not yet given a definition of philosophy. Neither am I going to
define it now. For, as we see, every issue of philosophy involves lot of controversies and debates.
And, the issue that “What philosophy is” is a philosophical issue. Hence, it also involves debate
and controversies.

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