Course : COMM6383 - Philosophy And Ethics Of Communication

Effective Period : September 2018

THE NATURE OF
PHILOSOPHY

Session 1
 Learning Objectives

The Nature Of Philosophy

When finished, you’ll be able to:
Explain how Plato’s Allegory of the Cave shows that philosophy
is freeing activity.
Define epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, and explain the
kinds of questions each asks.
State how philosophy can help you build your outlook on life, be
more mindful, and become a critical thinker.
Today’s Outline
A. What is Philosophy?
B. The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy
C. The Value of Philosophy
D. Philosophy of Communication
The feeling of wonder is the mark of the philosopher, for all
philosophy has its origins in wonder.

PLATO
A. What is Philosophy?
The word philosophy comes from the Greek words philein, meaning
“to love”, and sophia, meaning “wisdom.”

Philosophy is thus the love and pursuit of wisdom. It includes the

search for wisdom about many basic issues: what it means to be a
human being; what the fundamental nature of reality is; what the
sources and limits of our knowledge are; and what is good and right
in our lives and in our societies.
A. What is Philosophy?
• Philosophy, which literally
means the love of wisdom,
begins with wonder about
our most basic beliefs. Its
goal is to help us achieve
autonomy by making us
more aware of our own
beliefs and encouraging us
to reason and think through
issues for ourselves.
What is Philosophy?
Plato’s Allegory and “Doing” Philosophy

Philosophy as an • The activity of journeying upward from the dark cave to the
acitivity. light can be seen as what philosophy is.

• The journey upward is hard because it involves questioning

Philosophy is hard work. the most basic beliefs that each of us has about ourselves
and the world around us.

The aim of philosophy is • Philosophy breaks chains that imprison and hold us down,
freedom. chains we often do not even know we are wearing.

Philosophy Examines • Philosophy examines our beliefs about the most basic
Our Most Basic issues of human existence.
Assumptions.
B. The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy

Epistemology,
The three
main fields of Metaphysics, and
philosophy
are:
Ethics.
B. The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy

1. Epistemology: The Study of Knowledge

Epistemology deals with questions of knowledge (including the
structure, reliability, extent, and kinds of knowledge); truth,
validity, and logic; and a variety of linguistic concerns. An
example is the question of whether truth is relative.
B. The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy
2. Metaphysics: The Study of Reality or Existence

Metaphysics addresses questions of reality (including the

meaning and nature of being); the nature of mind, self, and
human freedom; and some topics that overlap with religion,
such as the existence of God, the destiny of the universe, and
the immortality of the soul. An example is the question of
whether human behavior is free or determined.
B. The Traditional Divisions of Philosophy

3. Ethics: The Study of Values

Ethics is the study of our values and moral principles and how
they relate to human conduct and to our social and political
institutions. For example, do we have a moral obligation to love
and serve others, or is our only obligation to ourselves?
C. The Value of
Philosophy

• Philisophy can help us

achieve freedom, it also
can make us more
tolerant, and enable us
to think critically and
reason well, skills that
can help us in almost
every area of our lives.
D. Philosophy of Communication
Philosophy and Communication
Berfilsafat berarti berkomunikasi secara filosofis, dan berkomunikasi
secara filosofis berarti memberikan kebijaksanaan yang dibicarakan
oleh filsafat dan yang diucapkan pada saat yang bersamaan.

Filsafat dan komunikasi telah menjadi milik bersama sejak awal,

bahwa yang pertama datang dengan sendirinya dan memperkuat
pendiriannya melalui yang terakhir, membuatnya logis — memang
secara filosofis — bahwa kita menjadikan komunikasi sebagai
penyelidikan filosofis..
D. Philosophy of Communication
Philosophy and Communication
• Communication takes place always under its own shadow, moving forward
only insofar as it also speaks back to what it leaves behind. And thereby, in
this speaking back, it keeps a degree of what is left behind.

• From this derives our sense of the reality of communication, our sense of
its continuity, of our being in communication, even across silence, over
noises, or through what are called mis-communications or communication
breakdowns.

• It is through this continuity that we communicate, and it is through this

continuity to that “communication” can be turned into a topic in our
communication

• For in saying “one cannot not communicate, one affirms and confirms that
one is communicating, not only by stating that one cannot but do what one
is doing, but also by admitting that one cannot not do what is being done
while doing it.
Reference
• Chang, Briankle G. : edited, Butchart, Garnet C..
(2012). Philosophy of Communication. The MIT Press.
ISBN: 9780262516976.
• Claude Mangion. (2011). Philosophical Approaches
To Communication. 1st Books Library. United
Kingdom. ISBN: 978-1-84150-429.
• Manuel Velasquez. (2017). Philosophy. CENGAGE
Learning. Boston. ISBN: 978-1-305-41047.
THANK YOU