PHILOSOPHY CONTRASTED

WITH OTHER FIELDS

Philosophy and Science
 Philosophy and Science
Definition:
• Science - systematized knowledge covering general truths or the
operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific
method.

• Philosophy - the study of the most general and abstract features of the
world and the categories with which we think. In philosophy the concepts
with which we approach the world themselves become the "topic of
enquiry."
 Philosophy and Science

Science started out as a part of philosophy. It was then called natural

philosophy, but science deviated from philosophy in the 17th century
and emerged as a separate study or domain.
1. Philosophy and science are two studies and domains. Philosophy came
first and became the basis for science, formerly known as natural
philosophy. Both studies have many branches or fields of study and
make use reasoning, questioning, and analysis. The main difference is
in the way they work and treat knowledge
2. Science is concerned with natural phenomena, while philosophy attempts
to understand the nature of man, existence, and the relationship that exists
between the two concepts.

3. "Science" comes from a Latin word (Scientia), while "philosophy" was

derived from the Greek "philosophia."
4. Another common element between the two studies is that
they both try to explain situations and find answers.
Philosophy does this by using logical argumentation, while
science utilizes empirical data. Philosophy’s explanations are
grounded in arguments of principles, while science tries to
explain based on experiment results, observable facts, and
objective evidence.
5. Science is used for instances that require empirical validation, while

philosophy is used for situations where measurements and observations

cannot be applied. Science also takes answers and proves them as objectively

right or wrong.
6. Subjective and objective questions are involved in philosophy, while only

some objective questions can be related in science. Aside from finding

answers, philosophy also involves generating questions. Meanwhile, science

is only concerned with the latter.

 7. Philosophy creates knowledge
through thinking; science does the same
by observing.

8. Science is also a defined study, in

contrast to philosophy, which can be
applied to many extensive areas of
discipline.
Philosophy and Art
 Art is anything evolved in our
social species to attract attention.

Art
• Interpreting experience
Most important to art are the aesthetic
values, and other considerations .
• Scope – Limited
• The artist’s treatment of beauty is
actual - primary endeavor is the actual
expression of beauty
• Must be free from self-consciousness
in his interpretation.
• Interpreting experience
Philosophy is concerned with
aesthetic experience, it is also concerned
with other values, with reality, with
knowledge, and with the kind of action
which results in the fullest life.
• Scope – Broader and more inclusive
• The philosopher’s treatment of
beauty is theoretical - Chief task is to
parallel the experience of beauty with
an intellectual understanding of its
nature.
• His task of interpretation
necessitates that he be highly
conscious of himself
Philosophy
Philosophy and Religion
Is religion just a type of philosophy? Is philosophy a religious activity?
There seems to be some confusion at times over just whether and how religion
and philosophy should be distinguished from each other − this confusion is not
unjustified because there are some very strong similarities between the two.
Similarities:
The questions discussed in both religion and philosophy tend to be very
much alike. Both religion and philosophy wrestle with problems like: What is
good? What does it mean to live a good life? What is the nature of reality?
Why we are here and what should we be doing? How should we treat each
other? What is really most important in life?
Differences:
 To begin with, of the two only religions have rituals. In religions, there are
ceremonies for important life events (birth, death, marriage, etc.) and for
important times of the year (days commemorating spring, harvest, etc.).
Philosophies, however, do not have their adherents engage in ritualistic
actions.
 Another difference is the fact that philosophy tends to emphasize just the
use of reason and critical thinking whereas religions may make use of
reason, but at the very least they also rely on faith or even use faith to the
exclusion of reason.
 Many religions teach adherents to revere sacred scriptures.
 Miracles may not play a very large role in every religion, but they are a
common feature which you don’t find in philosophy.
 A number of suggested connections between Philosophy and
religion

1.Philosophy examines the bases of belief upon which religion is founded, and it may by
virtue of its questioning contribute added intellectual basis for religion.
2. Since religion, like science, is a realm of experience in which the experiencing subject is
related to reality greater than and beyond himself. Philosophy can scarcely ignore this area
of human experience as one of the sources of data with which its interpretative activity
must begin.
3. One contribution which philosophy makes to religion is to offer help in
understanding the receptacle into which divine truth and life come.

4. Philosophy may also do much to refine religious belief.

5. Another contribution of philosophy to religion is the help it can offer in understanding
the thought forms of people. Too commonly the gap between those who preach the
message of religion and the multitudes who listen to them is the result of
misunderstanding.

6. But there is another significant way in which philosophy is related to religion. This is
that religion become the appropriate field of practical endeavor in which a given
philosophy may find expression.
Philosophy and Education
 Principles and values of life learnt through education and
experience gives birth to philosophy in one’s life.
Philosophy lays the foundation of leading one’s life based
on our principles.
’Education is the dynamic side of philosophy’.

Education is practical in nature and philosophy is theory.

Philosophy is theoretical and speculative; education is practical.

Philosophy asks questions, examining factors of reality and
experience, many of which involved in the educative process;
whereas the actual process of education is a matter of actively
dealing with these factors, i.e., teaching, organizing programs,
administering organizations, building materials, building curricula,
etc.
There are two chief ways in which philosophy and education are related.

1. Philosophy yields a comprehensive understanding of reality, a world view, which when

applied to educational practice lends direction and methodology which are likely to be
lacking otherwise. By way of reciprocation.

2. The experience of the educator in nurturing the young places him in touch with phases of
reality which are considered in making philosophic judgments. Because of this, those who
are actively engaged in educating can advise philosophers about certain matters of fact.
Thank you