PHILOSOPHY - AN OVERVIEW

Objective
Define philosophy and show how it is related to critical thinking

Nawa Stephen
Where Is God?
 Philosophy

What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is derived from the ancient
Greek word φιλοσοφία - Filosofia
Philosophia = philos + sophia
Philos = Love
Sophia = Wisdom and means
Etymologically – Philosophy is “the
love of wisdom.” (PhD)
What does it mean to love wisdom?
 Philosophy
• Socrates who is considered the 1st
Philosopher often contrasted lovers
of wisdom with two other people;

a. People who formed belief based

on custom or tradition rather than
argument
b. Rhetoricians and sophists who
used arguments not to form true
belief but to achieve other ends.

• Philosophy, by contrast, aims at

forming true beliefs about the world
on the basis of reason
 Philosophy
Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which are
often held uncritically.
 We refer to this meaning as the informal sense of philosophy or
“having” a philosophy.
Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held
conceptions and beliefs

 These two senses of philosophy — “having” and “doing”—cannot be treated

independent of each other, for if we didn’t have a philosophy in the informal,
personal sense, then we could not do a philosophy in the critical, reflective sense.

 Having a philosophy, however, is not sufficient for doing philosophy. A genuine

philosophical attitude is searching and critical; it is open-minded and tolerant—
willing to look at all sides of an issue without prejudice.

 To philosophize is not merely to read and know philosophy; there are skills of
argumentation to be mastered & techniques of analysis to be employed.
Philosophers are reflective and critical.
 Philosophy

Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as whole.

 Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and human
experience into some kind of consistent world view.
 Philosophers wish to see life, not with the specialized slant of the scientist or the
businessperson or the artist, but with the overall view of someone cognizant of life
as a totality.
Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the
meaning of words and concepts.
Philosophers use methods of analysis to clarify the meaning of terms and the use of
language. E.g Fallacies
 Ad hominem: attacking the person instead of their ideas
 Hasty Generalization: rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant
facts
 Circular Argument: Restating the argument rather than actually proving it
 Philosophy
• How is Philosophy different from other areas?
– Natural Sciences – Biology, Physics, Chemistry
– Social and Human Sciences – Psychology, Economics etc

• They were once a part of philosophy – Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton Adam Smith were
philosophers
• They found systematic new ways of answering the questions they were interested in,
which we now call sciences

• HOWEVER, there still remains other questions that haven’t been answered and
Philosophy concerns itself with such questions.

• Other sciences are restricted in their scope, but philosophy isn’t. It seeks to
understand reality along other sciences (hence CT isn’t domain specific)

• What Questions, then, does philosophy consider?

 Philosophy
Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that interest people and for
which philosophers always have sought answers.
Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of human existence.
Many of these questions have only been answered tentatively, and many problems
remain unsolved.
 What is life and why am I here?
 Is there life after death?
 Why is there anything at all rather than nothing?
 Does god exist?
 How is love different from passion or sexual desire?
 What is the distinction between right and wrong?
 What is knowledge and how do we come to have it?
 What is Truth?
 What is an Argument and what entails a Good Argument?
 Importance of Philosophy
 The study of Philosophy enables us to think carefully and clearly about important
issues.

 In studying Philosophy, we learn to take a step back from our everyday thinking and to
explore the deeper, bigger question which underpins our thought.

 The focus in the study of Philosophy is to learn not what to believe, but how to think.

 Studying philosophy sharpens your analytical abilities, enabling you to identify and
evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in any position.

 It refines your ability to construct and articulate cogent arguments of your own.

 It prompts you to work across disciplinary boundaries and to think flexibly and
creatively about problems which do not present immediate solutions.
 Branches of Philosophy

PHILOSOPH
Y

Metaphysics Logic Disciplinary

Epistemology Axiology Philosophies
(Study of (Study of
(Study of (Study of (Philosophical
Ultimate Correct Study of Other
Knowledge) Value)
Reality) Reasoning) Fields of Inquiry)

Deductiv Inductive Informal

Fallacies
e Logic Logic Logic

CRITICAL
THINKIN
G