UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
FACULTY OF FINANCE

MARXIST-LENINIST PHILOSOPHY

Lecturer: Ph.D Do Kien Trung

Module class: 23C1PHI51002304
Course: K49- Regular university
Full name: Pham Tuyet Trinh
Student code: 31231025457
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY ?

What is philosophy ?
In the eighth to seventh centuries B.C, the first ancient Greek philosophers called
Philosophia meaning the love of wisdom. This is a new way of trying to make a sense of
the world. After that, the earliest philosophers used the word “Philosophy”, it basically
meant “The academic study of anything”. The first universities in the western world,
Plato’s Academy, Aristotle’s Lyceum such as math, biology, physics, poetry, political
science and astronomy were all considered to be philosophy. When science was born,
there were many parallels between science and philosophy as both are aimed at
explaining and reasoning about a certain phenomenon. However, study that had strong
empirical elements came to be considered science- a search for answers, but philosophy
came to be understood more as a way of thinking about question, a big question.
Philosophy sounds abstract but in reality it starts from the smallest questions. When I
know surprise, I know philosophy. One day, I suddenly wonder “Why is it
raining?” ,“Why do I exist ?”, “Why people have to be born and die ?”, that’s when I
know philosophy. Therefore, what is philosophy? – Philosophy begins with our thinking
about ourselves and about our place in this world.
The big questions
One of the first might best be phrased as: “What is the world like?”, this sounds simple to
answer as everything around our lives is the world. Nevertheless, philosophers really
want to ask “What’s the nature of reality?”. For example, the world just made up of
matter and energy or is there something else going on. If it just made up of matter and
energy, then where did it all come from ? And is god real ? If god is real, how they look
like ? And for that matter, when I asking about the world, can I also be asking the nature
of myself like “What kind of being am I ?” All those questions are Metaphysics: the
branch of philosophy that studies the nature of reality. Metaphysics is an effort to
understand the fundamental nature of the world, of the university, and of being. After
asking these questions, we have to use Epistemology: the branch of philosophy that
studies the nature and scope of knowledge to answer them. It poses questions like: “Is
the world really what I think it is ?” such as is everything I see and think really true?. So
if those things aren’t true and what is right? Whether the science is the best idea or are
there things that will be more true that we do not yet know. After a lot of searching, I
begin to develop my own ideas. But now, I don’t know whether my opinion is correct or
not? So to know whether that statement is right or wrong, I will then rely on Value
theory. It’s divided into two main branches. The first is Ethics: the branch of philosophy
that studies and evaluates human conduct. In philosophy, ethics isn’t wrong or right, it’s
the study of how humans should live with each other. Ethics in philosophy is not about
using it to judge whether this person behaves right or wrong. Ethics is for each person to
answer the question: “How should we live?” Why do we treat strangers differently than
the people we love? Why do we always love ourselves ? Ultimately, whatever system we
use to decide what’s good or evil, as human behavior goes, is determined by our value.
The second is Aesthetics: the branch of philosophy that studies the nature beautiful .
Beauty is present everywhere. Beauty and art are things that people always value very
much. For many people who study this particular kind of philosophy – aestheticians, they
believe “The Beautiful” something that doesn’t depend on what you happen to find
attractive, it’s just objectively true. Besides, philosophers always use one thing to explain
questions, which is Logic. Logic is the philosopher’s tool box. This is a way to help them
give evidence and strong arguments without falling victim to fallacies. We use
philosophy in all areas of life like every time we argue with our parents, or when we
make a decision to choose a school to study, choose someone to be friends with. Because
we always thinking about our world like What do I appreciate? Why should I appreciate
it? How should I appreciate it?
For things that happen, when philosophy is needed, apply the following two steps.
Step 1: Try to understand. It means if we disagree on a certain issue. Don't rush to
dismiss it. Try to be open to looking at the problem from a different perspective to
understand the problem.
Step 2: Critical evaluation. Try to put ourself in a different position to look at that
problem. We’ll try to knock down what us think about a particular view of the world.
Because only when we challenge our understanding of how some people view world, can
we decide for ourself if theirs is a view worth having.

The purpose of philosophy is for each of us to have a way of viewing the world around us
that best suits us. At the same time, try to find the ideal by making strong arguments so
that your judgment is right. “Be a philosopher in important moments of life”