COR 015 Module 4 - Understanding the Branches of

Module 2 - Defining Philosophy Philosophy

Etymologically, philosophy came from the words There are two main branches of philosophy, namely
“philos” which means “love” and “sophia” which theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy.
means “wisdom. Hence, philosophy, literally, means
love of wisdom. Theoretical philosophy studies the principles of human
knowledge, thought, argumentation and
Conformably, an individual who engages in
communication, the nature of language,
philosophy is called a philosopher, that is, a lover of
wisdom. This implies that a philosopher is someone consciousness, and metaphysics.
who is attempting to find wisdom. This branch is more concerned on the origin/theory of
knowledge.
MODULE 3 - Tracing the Origin of Philosophy:
The Pre-Socratics and Socrates In this branch, the following specific branches fall:
1. Ontology - the study of being
The Three Pre-Socratic Philosophers 2. Epistemology - the study of knowledge
3. Metaphysics - the study of reality and existence
Pythagoras (570-495 BCE) 4. Theodicy - the study of God on logical
He treated philosophy as a way of life and gave abstraction.
emphasis on contemplation. He believed in
reincarnation. He made important contributions to the On the other hand, Practical philosophy uses
field of Mathematics, the most famous of which is the philosophical methods and insights to explore how
Pythagorean theorem. people can lead wiser and more reflective lives.
It focuses more on living a good life and concerns with
Thales (c.624-546 BCE). well-being, human excellence, wisdom, love and
He is considered as the father of western philosophy personal relationships, ethics, the meaning of life, and
and is regarded as one of the seven sages (wise men) how to develop enlightened values.
of ancient Greece. He claimed that there is one single
substance that comprises everything and that Under this branch, the following specific branches fall:
substance is water. 1. Logic - the study of correct thinking and valid
reasoning
Heraclitus (c.535-475 BCE). 2. Ethics - the study of morality and right living
He claimed that everything is changing and believed 3. Axiology - the study of values
that the only permanent in this world is change. He
used fire to emphasize this idea of change.

Socrates
While the pre-Socratic philosophers concerned
themselves with the physical world, Socrates turned his
inquiry on the human person and human living. In his
mind, knowledge is virtue. This means that to know
something is to do something. To know what is good is
to do what is good. This entails that not doing the good
means not knowing it. Consequently, in the mind of
Socrates, ignorance is a vice.

With this understanding, Socrates further claimed that

human beings must know themselves for them to be
able to live in accordance with who they are. Hence, he
said “know yourself for the unexamined life is not
worth living
 MODULE 5 – In addition, the three elements are arranged in a
Exploring the Approaches in Philosophy hierarchy with the rational element being the highest,
followed by the spirited element. The lowest element
Speculative Approach is the bodily element. Being the case, the rational
element should control the spirited and the bodily
Speculative approach is an approach in philosophy elements. In other words, in our present reality, the
which tries to bring together all the sciences. to bring mind must control the heart and the stomach.
Speculative approach tends to use terms that do not fit
with simple experiences of the world. It uses abstract
words. Aristotle

In speculative approach, concepts cannot be examined Aristotle claimed that man is not solely a soul but a
scientifically because it contains things that cannot be body endowed with life. He called the principle of life
seen by anyone like the claim that the soul is immortal. the soul. This means that the giver of life of the body is
the soul. Without the soul, the body has no life. Since,
man is a body endowed with life and the principle of
Analytic Approach life is the soul, then he is a unity of body and soul.

Analytic approach is an approach in philosophy in Moreover, since the soul is the giver of life, then
which all fundamental assumptions for all the sciences anything that has life must have a soul. Thus, Aristotle
are analyzed. said that there are three kinds of soul, namely, the
vegetative (or nutritive) soul, the locomotive (or
Analytic approach emphasizes on logic, language, and sensitive) soul, and the rational soul. The vegetative
aligns itself with the empirical sciences. soul is the soul of plants and trees and it has the powers
of reproduction and assimilation. The locomotive soul
Analytic approach inquiries into the meaning of the is the soul of animals and it has the powers of
concepts use and tries to avoid to use vague terms that reproduction, assimilation, locomotion, and sensation.
do not fit into the logical, linguistic, and empirical The rational soul is the soul of man and it has the
methods. powers of reproduction, assimilation, locomotion,
sensation, and reason.
In analytic approach, concepts can be examined
scientifically that is through checking its validity like the MODULE 8 - Exploring Man’s Embodiment:
claim that a square has four equal sides. Rene Descartes

MODULE 6 – Exploring Man’s Embodiment: According to Rene Descartes, everything that we know
Plato and Aristotle is made possible because of our senses. This entails
that without our senses, we will not know anything. We
Plato know something because we have our senses. Now, our
senses can be deceived and it can deceive us. Since
Plato claimed that man is a soul. He defined the soul as everything that we know is made possible because of
the self-initiating motion or the source of motion. our senses and our senses can be deceived and it can
deceive us, then everything that we know is not
Moreover, he said that man as a soul has three parts, certain.
namely, the rational element, the spirited element, and They are doubtable. As such, Rene Descartes said that
the bodily element. we must doubt everything. This is the methodic doubt
of Rene Descartes. Doubt what we know. Doubt that
The rational element is responsible for reason and you exist. Doubt that you are breathing. Doubt that you
language. The spirited element is responsible for are a man or a woman. Doubt that you have a soul. In
emotion such as hate, anger, love, and others. Lastly, doubting everything, however, there is something
the bodily element is responsible for bodily hunger and which we cannot doubt, that is, that we are doubting.
appetite. In addition, We can never doubt that we are doubting.
The more we doubt that we are doubting the more it
shows that we are doubting. Hence, Descartes said "I
doubt therefore I exist." This means that we are
doubting beings. Now doubting is an aspect of thinking.
Hence, we think therefore we exist. And, since thinking
is not a physical activity, then it is an activity of the soul.
Therefore, we are souls - we are thinking beings. How
about our bodies? For Descartes, the body is simply
man's instrument in living in this world