UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO

PHILOSOPHY

Lesson 1: What is Philosophy?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students will be able

to:

1. discuss the origins of philosophy

2. enumerate and discuss the characteristics of

philosophy
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

3. enumerate and discuss the developments that

brought about the emergence of Western
Philosophy

4. identify notable ancient philosophers and discuss

their significant ideas and achievements
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

5. discuss significant aspects of Eastern Philosophy

and discuss its related schools of thought and belief
systems

6. compare Eastern and Western Philosophy

What ideas come to
your mind when you
hear the word
Philosophy?
(via Jamboard)
Philosophy: What is it and where did it
originate?

Greek words:
philos (love)
sophia (wisdom)

Ancient Greeks:
“love of wisdom”
lover of wisdom

is one who continually searches for

knowledge and seeks to continually
learn and improve what he or she
knows
uses human reason to investigate the
ultimate causes, reasons, and principles
which govern all things

Pythagoras was the first to call himself a

philosopho, a term which means “a lover of
wisdom”.
Characteristics
of
Western Philosophy

via Jamboard
Western Philosophy

 concerned with uncovering the truth

through systematic argumentation and
theory

 reason rather than faith

 scientific and theory-based approach in

philosophy
Greece was home to one of the great civilizations
during the Ancient Period.

Notable characteristics of ancient Greek

civilization was their love of learning.

Philosophers of Ancient Greece were primarily

preoccupied with the study of nature and the
universe.
“What is permanent in existence?”
“What is the universe made up of?”
First philosophers are called:
Pre-Socratics

Father of Western Philosophy:

Thales

Sophists:
taught a way of argumentation called
eristic
–win arguments rather than arrive at the truth
Sophists:
excellent public speakers

taught young people a wide array of subjects such

as grammar, mythology, political virtue, and
rhetoric
Philosophos:
teaching is more than just training people to
win arguments

learning: to learn the truth of all things in this world

arguments and discussion must be based on sound

reasoning

pioneers of today’s philosophers

Philosophos:

central belief:

“man need not know all things in the world, but one
must continue to inquire and seek to understand and
learn about the human condition”
Most Notable Ancient
Greek Philosophers
 Thales THALES

ultimate composition of all

things is water

all things take nourishment

from water

heat as being generated and

maintained by the amount of
moisture in an object
 Anaximander
a student of Thales

matter is not composed of water or

any other element

all things are created and emerged

from an indefinite and boundless
realm called apeiron
Boundless has no origin, because it is
itself the origin.

When things decayed or destroyed, they go back

into the apeiron.
 Anaximenes

believed that it is air that makes up all

things and that different elements and
substances are merely different phases
of air

considered air as the source of all life

 Pythagoras

credited with the formulation of

the Pythagorean theorem
 Heraclitus
proposed that everything that exists
is based on a higher order or plan
which he called logos

“You cannot step twice into the

same river, for fresh waters are ever
flowing upon you.”
 Democritus

devoted himself to studying

the causes of natural
phenomena

propose that matter is

composed of tiny particles
called atoms
 Diogenes of Sinope

advocate of a simple and

virtuous life

lived like a beggar

His teachings and views were

later developed by his
followers and influenced the
development of Cynicism.
 Epicurus

believed that philosophy could

enable man to live a life of
happiness

one should indulge in the needs

and pleasures
of the mind instead of the body

Epicureanism – a school of philosophy which believes that wisdom and

simple living will result in a life free from fear and pain.
 Socrates

did not claim to be “wise”

and merely considered
himself a “midwife”

believed that philosophy

could enable a man to live
a life of virtue

Socratic Method
 Plato

student of Socrates

Theory of Forms - everything

that exists is based on an idea
or template that can only be
perceived in the mind; these
nonphysical ideas are eternal
and unchanging.
 Plato

wrote the Republic -

discussed what he proposed
as the ideal society and
ideal form of government
ruled by wisdom and reason
 Plato

Dialectic – a method of inquiry

where two opposing ideas are
discussed in an attempt to arrive at
new knowledge

Academy, an institution of higher

learning which was the first of its
kind in the West.
 Aristotle

student of Plato

all ideas and views are based on

perception and our reality is based
on what we can sense and perceive

Deductive reasoning – the process

by which specific statements are
analyzed to reach a conclusion or
generalization.

founded Lyceum
 Archimedes

a mathematician, physicist,
engineer, inventor, and
astronomer

His inquiries into mathematics

led to earlier developments
which gave rise to modern
calculus.

Archimedes screw, a devise for

raising water, and a method for
determining volume using
displacement.
Archimedes screw, machine for raising water
the country where Western
philosophy originated from
Greece

formulated the Pythagorean theorem

Pythagoras
proposed that all things are based on a higher plan
called logos
Heraclitus

believed that philosophy can help man achieve

happiness and a life free from suffering
Epicurus
proposed that the material world is composed of atoms
Democritus

emphasized austerity and simplicity in life

Diogenes
formulated a method of examining a topic through the
use of questioning
Socrates

believed that ideas are the bases for everything that

exists in this world
Plato

believed that reality is based on what we can sense

and perceive
Aristotle
Thank you!