This document provides an overview of philosophy. It begins by defining philosophy as the love of wisdom and discusses it as the study of fundamental problems using critical and rational approaches. It outlines the two main branches of philosophy as pure philosophy, which generates its own questions, and applied philosophy, which explores the foundations of other disciplines. Some key branches of pure philosophy discussed include logic, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics. Applied philosophy branches mentioned include philosophy of religion, political philosophy, and philosophy of science.
1. What Is Philosophy?
• Philosophy refers to the thoughts and ideas that
began in Asia Minor around 600 B.C. The word
“philosophy” comes from the Greek words
“philein”, which means “to love” and “soph”,
which means “wisdom.” So “philosophy” literally
means the “love of wisdom.”
• Philosophy is the study of general and
fundamental problems (existence, knowledge,
values, reason, mind, and language) with critical,
radical, and systematical approach and relies on
rational argument.
2. The 2 Branches of Philosophy
• Pure philosophy (which generates its own
questions and answers)
• Applied philosophy (which explores the
foundations of disciplines whose subject-
matter it does not control)
3. The Branches of Pure Philosophy
• Logic: the study of reasoning. Which forms of argument are valid, and
why? What are the `laws of thought'? What is the distinction
between necessary and contingent truth, etc?
• Epistemology: the theory of knowledge. What can I know, and how?
Does perception provide knowledge? What guarantee that my
knowledge is true? Do I have of judgements based on memory? Can
knowledge reach beyond experience? And so on.
• Metaphysics: the theory of being. What exists? What is existence?
Does God exist? What are the basic items in the world? Do properties
exist, as well as the individuals that possess them? And so on.
• Ethics and aesthetics: the theory of value. Is there a real distinction
between those things, actions, affections which are good and those
which are bad or evil? Can we justify the belief that we ought to do
this rather than that? What is virtue, and why should we cultivate it?
What is beauty, and why should we pursue it? And so on.
4. Of The Branches of Applied Philosophy
• Philosophy of religion (include theology, although it would be more
accurate to say that its subject is really the possibility of theology)
• The philosophy of language - concerned with the understanding of
meaning and communication.
• Political philosophy. The oldest branch of applied philosophy, and
the theme of the first masterpiece of Western philosophy, Plato's
Republic.
• Applied ethics. involving the application of philosophical argument
tospecific moral problems (sexual conduct, abortion and euthanasia.
• The philosophy of science: a branch of epistemology (concerned
with the validity of scientific method), together with a branch of
metaphysics (concerned with the existence of the entities postulated
by science, many of which - quanta and quarks, for example - are
metaphysically highly problematic).
5. The philosophy of science
The branch of philosophy that deals
specifically with what science is and is
not, how it works, and the logic
through which we build scientific
knowledge.
6. Science
It is a relatively modern word (not found before
about 1400 A.D.). “Science” comes from the
Latin word “scire” which means “to know.” The
word “scientist” was introduced in 1834 by a
British scholar, William Whewell (1794-1866).
Before this time people who studied science
were called “natural philosophers.”
Science is a systematic way to study the world in
which we live.
7. Where does science come from?
• Modern science is a combination of three
different ways ancient people investigated the
world (first through ideas, then as
observation, then as application).
• Modern science is a combination of science as
ideas (now : philosophy), science as discovery
(now : particular scientific discipline, such as
chemistry, biology) , and science as invention
(now : technology)
8. The “Embrio” of Science
Science evolved from “natural philosophy”
during the 16th and 17th centuries, through the
works of people who thought of themselves as
philosophers, and most of whom we consider
scientists: Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, and
Isaac Newton, etc.
9. SIX MAJOR COMPONENTS OF SCIENCE
1. PROBLEMS (NO PROBLEMS, NO SOLUTIONS,
NO SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE)
2. ATTITUDES
3. METHOD
4. ACTIVITY
5. CONCLUSIONS
6. EFFECTS
10. I. PROBLEMS
THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC
PROBLEMS
1. COMMUNICABILITY (PROBLRMS THAT ARE
INCOMMUNICABLE DO NOT ACHIEVE THE STATUS
OF “BEING SCIENTIFIC”)
2. IT CAN BE DEALT WITH BYU THE MEANS OF THE
SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE WHICH INCLUDES 6
CHARACTERISTICS : CURIOSITY, SPECULATIVENESS,
WILLINGNESS TO BE OBJECTIVE, WILLINGNESS TO
SUSPEND JUDGMENT, AND TENTATIVITY
3. IT CAN BE DEALT WITH BY MENAS OF THE
SCIENTIFIC METHOD (WHEREVER IT CANNOT BE
APPLIED, THERE CANNOT BE SCIENCE)
11. II. THE SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
1. CURIOSITY (AIMS AT UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW THINGS EXIST, WHAT IS
THEIR NATURE, HOW THEY FUNCTION, HOW THEY ARE RELATED TO OTHER
THINGS, ETC) IT DEVELOPES INTO INQUIRY, INVESTIGATION, EXAMINATION,
EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE, AND EXPERIMENTATION
2. SPECULATIVENESS (A WILLING AND EFFORT TO TRY TO SOLVE THE
PROBLEMS BY PROPOSING ONE OR MORE SPECULATIVE HYPHOTHESES
3. WILLINGNES TO BE OBJECTIVE (IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE RELIABLE RESULTS)
4. OPEN MINDEDNESS (WILLINGNESS TO CONSIDER ALL RELEVANT
SUGGESTIONS REGARDING HYPOTHESES, METHODOLOGY, NEW IDEAS, THE
VIEW OF OTHERS AND EVIDENCE RELATIVE TO THE PROBLEMS AND
CONDEMN WITHOUT SUFFICIENT REASON
5. WILLINGNESS TO SUSPEND JUDGMENT OR REMAIN UNCERTAIN UNTILL ALL
NECESSARY EVIDENCE BECOMES AVAILABLE
6. TENTATIVITY (FACT SHOWS : SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS THAT BECOME
ESTABLISHED AND ALMOST UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED IN ONE ERA HAVE
ALWAYS REMAINED INADEQUATE AND GIVEN WAY TO EVENTUALLY
REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPTION THAT LED TO NEW SYSTEM BASED ON
RADICALLY DIFFERENT PRESUPPOSITIONS)
12. WILLINGNESS TO BE OBJECTIVE INCLUDES :
1. WILLINGNESS TO FOLLOW SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY WHWREVER IT MAY
LEAD
2. WILLINGNESS TO BE GUIDED BY BOTH EXPERIENCE AND REASON WHICH
IS CONCEIVED INTERDEPENDENTLY AS CONFORMITY TO RATIONAL LAW
AND ABILITY TO CHOOSE THE BETTER OR BEST.
3. WILLINGNESS TO BE RECEPTIVE TO THE DATA AS THEY ARE,
UNINTERPRETATED BY BIASING PREFERENCE OF THE OBSERVER
(MINIMIZING SUBJECTIVE FACTORS E.G., PRECONCEPTION, IMAGINATION)
TO CONFIRM OR REFUTE THE HYPHOTHESES. IF THE AUTHORITY REFUSES
TO REVEIL ITS NATURE , THE SCIENTIST MUST SPECULATIVELY INVENT.
4. WILLINGNESS TO BE CHANGED BY THE OBJECT ( IT REQUIRES THE
SCIENTIST TO REVISE AND RECONSTRUCT HIS CONCEPTION WHENEVER
HE/SHE DISCOVERS SOMETHING HE/SHE DID NOT KNOW BEFORE.
OBJECTIVITY MEANS THAT THE OBJECT-NOT THE SUBJECT- IS THE
AUTHORITY, THE SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE.
5. WILLINGNESS TO ERR (EXPECTING MUCH MORE TIME IN EFFORT
RESULTING IN ERRORS THAN IN ACHIEVING THE TRUTH. DEMANDING
SUCCESS ON FIRST TRIAL IS NOT SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE)
6. WILLINGNESS TO PERSIST SO LONG AS POSSIBLE TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND
THE PROBLEM OR OBJECT. GIVING UP TRYING WHEN FRUSTATED GIVES UP
ESSENTIAL SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
13. III. METHOD
• THERE IS NO SUBJECT MATTER TO WHICH SCIENTIFIC
METHOD CANNOT BE APPLIED
• EACH SCIENCE HAS ITS OWN METHOD BEST SUITED TO ITS
OWN KINDS OF PROBLEMS. EVEN SOME CLASSIFY
SCIENCES ON THE BASES OF DIFFERING METHODS (BUT
THE TRUTH, IT IS BASED ON DIFFERING PROBLEMS)
• EACH PARTICULAR PROBLEM MAY REQUIRE ITS OWN
UNIQUE METHOD → IT IS THE PROBLEM THAT
DETERMINES THE METHOD
• THEORITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGICAL
INVENTION MAY CHANGE THE METHOD, BUT THE
PREVIOUS ONE STILL HAS ITS CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE
• COMPLEX PROBLEMS CALL FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY
METHODOLOGIES AS EACH STAGE OF METHOD NEEDS
DIFFERENT METHOD
14. SCIENTIFIC METHOD ACCORDING TO
BRITISH EMPIRICISM
• THERE ARE 4 STEPS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD
NAMELY : OBSERVATION OF DATA, CLASSIFICATION
OF DATA, FORMULATION OF HYPHOTHESES,
VERIVICATION OF HYPHOTHESES.
• THE HYPHOTHESES ARE VERIFIED BY TRACING THEM
BACK TO ORIGINAL SENSE DATA (LOOKING
BACKWARD)
• PERSON BORN WITH BLANK MAINDS WAITING TO
BE FILLED BY SENSE DATA SHAPED BY IMAGES AN
COMBINED BY ACTION OF THE MIND
• ALL SCIENCE BEGINS WITH OBSERVATION →
DEFINING THE PROBLEM
15. SCIENTIFIC METHOD ACCORDING TO
AMERICAN PRAGMATISM
1. FOR THE NATURE OF DATA OR SENSE DATA AS
ABSTRACTIONS ALREADY PARTLY INTERPRETED
OR MISINTERPRETED, SO THE QUESTION IS
WETHER OBSERVATION OF DATA IS THE ACTUAL
STARTING POINT OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
2. HYPHOTRHESES ARE VERIFIED BY THEIR
WORKABILITY (LOOKING FORWARD) NOT BY
TRACING TO DATA WHICH HAVE GONE
(LOOKING BACKWARD)
3. THE FIRST STEP OF INQUIRY IS THE ANALYSIS OF
THE PROBLEM AND THEN INSPECT THE
RELEVANT FACTS DESIGNATED BY THE ANALYSIS
IN THE FIRST STEP
16. FIVE STAGES OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD
1. AWARNESS OF PROBLEM
2. EXAMINING THE PROBLEM. IT BEGINS BY EVALUATING ITS IMPORTANCE,
SOLVABILITY, AND SIMILARITY WHIT OTHERS, HOW MUCH EFFORT
SHOULD BE EXERTED. MARKING OUT ITS BOUNDARIES AND ANALYS ITS
INGREDIENTS SO THE RELEVANT AND IRRELAEVANT ASPECT, DATA, AND
HYPHOTHESES OF IT CAN BE DISTINGUISHED.
3. PROPOSING SOLUTIONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO PROBLEMS BY TRIAL
AND ERROR THINKING STARTING WITH INITIAL SUGGESTION IF IT SPRINGS
EARLY AFTER INITIAL OBSERVATION OF THE PROBLEM
4. TESTING PROPOSALS OR VERIFICATION OF HYPHOTHESES BY TWO KINDS
OF TESTING : MENTAL (A. CONSISTENCY WHITIN ITSELF, WITH KNOWN
FACT, WITH BODY OF KNOWLEDGE, B. RELEVANCY TO PROBLEM, C.
ADEQUACY IN COMPREHENDING ALL RELEVANT FACTORS, D. CLARITY AND
SIMPLICITY, AND E. COMMUNIUCABILITY) AND OPERATIONAL (DESIGNING
ONE/MORE EXPERIMENTS, DEMONSTRATING WORKABILITY OF
HYPHOTHESES, EFFICIENCY, MORE REPEATABLE
5. SOLVING THE PROBLEM (UNTIL UNDERSTANDING HAS BEEN ACHIEVED
AND COMMUNICATED,
17. PRESUPPOSITIONS (MENTAL BACKGROUND)
THERE IS NO PRESUPPOSITIONLESS RESEARCH. PRESUPPOSITIONS AT
LEAST INCLUDE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF :
1. THE EXISTENCE AND ITS KNOWABILITY (METAPHISICAL)
2. THE KNOWLEDGE AND HOW IT IS OBTAINED, MODIFIED, AND
FORGOTTEN (EPISTEMOLIGICAL),
3. THE LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION (LINGUISTICAL)
4. THE STUCTURE OF THINHKING AND INFERENCES (LOGICAL)
5. THE NUMBER, CALCULATION, AND MATHEMATICAL INFERENCES
(MATHEMATICAL)
6. THE VALUES BEAUTY, OBLIGATIONS AND ULTIMATE VALUE OF
LIVING (AXIOLOGICAL, AESTHETIC, ETHICAL, AND RELIGIOUS)
7. THE PHYSICAL UNIVERS (PHYSICAL SCIENCES), THE LIFE
(BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES), SOCIETY (SOCIAL SCIENCES).
THE INTEREST IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEACH GROWS BECAUSE THE
INFORMATION ABOUT CONCLUSIONS IN OTHER SCIENCES WHICH
MUST BE PRESUPPOSED HAS COME TO SEEM INCREASINGLY RELEVANT
AND SIGNIFICANT FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS IN PARTICULAR FIELDS.
18. IV. ACTIVITY (SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH)
TWO ASPECTS OF RESEARCH : INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL
1. INDIVIDUAL : “SCIENCE IS AN ACTIVITY =, A MODE OF
PRACTICE ... DONE BY PARTICULAR MEN”. EACH SCIENTIST
IS A PRODUCT OF HIS TRAINING, OPPORTUNITIES FOR
DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS, SKILLS AND
ABILITIES...
2. SOCIAL : “SCIENCE HAS BECOME A VAST INSTITUTIONAL
UNDERTAKING...SCIENCE TURN OUT TO BE AN ENERMOUS
ACCUMULATION OF SPECIFIC JOBS”. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
REQUIRES FINANCE. SO IT DEPENDS ON FAVORABLE AND
UNFAVORABLE ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE BY THE
GENERAL POPULATION, POLITICIANS, BUSINESS
EXECUTIVES, ETC.
19. V. CONCLUSION
• CONCLUSIONS I.E., THE UNDERSTANDING ACHIEVED AS A RESULT OF
SOLVING PROBLEM ARE THE GOAL OF SCIENCE AND THE ENDS WHICH
JUSTIFY ITS ATTITUDE, METHODS, AND ACTIVITIES AN MEANS.
• BUT CONCLUSIONS SHOULD BE HELD UNDOGMATICALLY. IT IS
TENTATIVE FOREVER NO MATTER HOW USEFUL AND RELIABLE IT HAS
BEEN BECAUSE “THE SCIENCE OF ONE AGE HAS OFTEN BECOME THE
NONSENSE OF THE NEXT”. IT IS FALLIBLE, BUT USED AS A PREMIS FOR
FURTHER INVESTIGATION. POPPER SAID, “A THEORY IS SCIENTIFIC IF
AND ONLY IF IT CAN BE OVERTHROWN WITH THE HELP OF
EXPERIENCE.”
• PROGRESS IN SCIENCE HAS COME NOT ONLY BY DISCOVERING NEW
HYPHOTHESES BUT ALSO BY DISCOVERING THAT OLDER THEORIES ARE
FALSE.
• DESPITE CONTINUING UNCERTAINITY, THE IDEA OF PROGRESSING TO
GREATER APPROXIMATION OF UNDERSTANDING EXIXTENCE
CONTINUES AS A PART OF THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT
20. VI. EFFECTS
1. ON TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRY (APPLIED SCIENCES)
THAT MAY BE MORE TRULY THAN PURE SCIENCE BECAUSE :
• IT CONNOTE EXTENDING SCIENCE THROUGH ITS EMBODIMENT IN
APPLICATION,
• THE PURPOSE OF SCINCE INCLUDES IMPROVING CONDITION OF LIVING,
• THE EFFECT OF SCIENCE BECOMES OBVIOUS (VALUABLE OR NOT) IN ITS
APPLICATIONS,
• FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS MORE LIKELY WHEN S.O EXPERIENCE ITS
BENEFICIAL RESULTS,
• WHEN THE HYPOTHESES ARE APPLIED, THE WORK PROVIDES A MORE
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE.
YET PURE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE NOT ANTAGONISTICS BUT
COMPLEMENTARY. THE SCIENTIST APPLYING HIS KNOWLEDGE TO PRODUCT
OR PROCESS IN INDUSTRY IS CALLED TECHNOLOGIST.
EVIL AND DANGEROUS EFFECTS OF APPLIED SCIENCE ARE ALSO PART OF
SCIENCE.
21. 2. SOCIAL EFFECTS
• CIVILIZATIONS DIFFER REGARDING THE EXTENT TO WHICH
SCIENCES HAVE DEVELOPED
• THE ADVANCE OF SCIENCE HAS GRADUALLY REDUCED THE
RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION
• DIVISION OF THE WORLD RESULTS FROM DIFFERENCES IN
INFLUENCE OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY UPON SOCIAL,
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, EDUCATIONAL, HEALTH, ETC
• SCIENCE CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH STRENGTHS (WEALTH,
HEALTH, LONGEVITY, EDUCATION, MILITARY POWER) AND
WEAKNESSES (OVERPOPULATION, EXHAUSTION OF
RESOURCES, POLLUTION, DEMORALIZATION). THIS IN TURN
PRODUCES ANTI-SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDES.
• SCIENCE PENETRATES ALL ASPECTS OF SOCIETY.