INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY

Chapter Overview

Logic is often treated simultaneously as a field of study and as an instrument. As a field of study,

it is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of arguments and the principles and

methods of right reasoning. As an instrument, it is something, which we can use to formulate our

own rational arguments and critically evaluate the soundness of others‘ arguments. Before logic

itself has become a field of study, philosophers have been using it as a basic tool to investigate

issues that won their philosophical attention, such as, reality, knowledge, value, etc. Philosophy

is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence,

knowledge, truth, beauty, law, justice, validity, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical

enterprise that tries to answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reasonan
application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It involves reason, rational

criticism, examination, and analysis. In this chapter, we will learn the fundamental nature,

concepts, features and areas of philosophy. Furthermore, we will discuss why it is so important

to learn philosophy.

Lesson 1: Meaning and Nature of Philosophy

Lesson Overview: Because of its universal nature, it is difficult to define philosophy in terms of a
specific subject matter. However, we can define it etymologically as ‗love of wisdom‘. Thus, as a
pursuit of wisdom, philosophy refers to the development of critical habits, the continuous search for
truth, and the questioning of the apparent. In this lesson, students will be introduced with the
fundamental meaning, nature, and concepts of philosophy.

Dear learners, it is important to note first that giving a clear-cut definition of philosophy is difficult. It
may be easy to define other disciplines, such as, chemistry, physics, geography, etc in terms of a
subject matter, for they have their own specific subject matters to primarily deal with. However, it is
difficult to do the same with philosophy, because philosophy has no a specific subject matter to
primarily deal with. Philosophy deals primarily with issues. What contents philosophy has are not the
specific subject matters, but issues, which are universal in nature. However, this should not lead us
into thinking that philosophy is incomprehensible. It is only to say that whenever you want to
understand philosophy, it is better to read different thoughts of philosophers, consciously see its
salient features by yourself, participate in it, and do it. Philosophy is not as elusive as it is often
thought to be. Nor is it remote from our various problems. It is unanimously agreed that the best
way to learn and understand philosophy is to philosophize; i.e., to be confronted with philosophical
questions, to use philosophical language, to become acquainted with differing philosophical
positions and maneuvers, to read the philosophers themselves, and to grapple with the issues for
oneself. Socrates once stated that “Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in
wonder”. It is true that most of us may not have a clear knowledge about the history, nature,
language, and issues of philosophy. But, we all think and reflect in our own way about issues that
matter us most. We all have touched and moved by the feelings of wonder from which all
philosophy derives. Thus, we all participate, more or less, in philosophical issues, even though
thinking alone cannot make us philosophers. If, however, you still want to find its clear-cut definition,
it is better to refer to the etymology of the word itself, instead of trying to associate it with a certain
specific subject matter. Etymologically, the word ―philosophy‖ comes from two Greek words:
―philo‖ and ―sophia‖, which mean ―love‖ and ―wisdom‖, respectively. Thus, the literal definition
of philosophy is “love of wisdom”. The ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras was the first to use the
word ―philosopher‖ to call a person who clearly shows a marked curiosity in the things he
experiences. Anyone who raises questions, such as Does God exists? What is reality? What is the
ultimate source of Being? What is knowledge? What does it mean to know? How do we come to
know? What is value?, and the like, is really showing a curiosity that can be described as a vital
concern for becoming wise about the phenomena of the world and the human experiences.
Therefore, seeking wisdom is among the various essences of philosophy that it has got from its
etymological definition. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient by itself to understand philosophy, for not
all wisdoms are philosophy.

The wisdom that philosophers seek is not the wisdom of the expertise or technical skills of
professionals. Someone may be encyclopedic, and thus seemingly intelligent, but he may actually be
foolish when it comes to understanding the meaning and significance of what he knows. According
to Socrates, wisdom consists of a critical habit and eternal vigilance about all things and a reverence
for truth, whatever its form, and wherever its place. Based on the Socratic understanding of wisdom,
philosophy, as a pursuit of wisdom, is, thus, the development of critical habits, the continuous
search for truth, and the questioning of the apparent.

To interrogate the obvious means to deal creatively with the phenomenal world, to go beyond the
common understanding, and to speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt. But,
questioning/criticism is not the final end of philosophy, though raising the right question is often
taken not only as the beginning and direction of philosophy but also as its essence. Raising the right
question is an art that includes the ability to foresee what is not readily obvious and to imagine
different possibilities and alternatives of approaching the apparent. When we ultimately wonder
about the existing world, and thus raise different questions about its order, each question moves us
from the phenomenal facts to a profound speculation. The philosophical enterprise, as Vincent Barry
stated, is “an active imaginative process of formulating proper questions and resolving them by
rigorous, persistent analysis”. Therefore, philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries to
formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an
application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It involves reason, rational criticism,
examination, and analysis. Accordingly, we can say that Philosophy has a constructive side, for it
attempts to formulate rationally defensible answers to certain fundamental questions concerning
the nature of reality, the nature of value, and the nature of knowledge and truth. At the same time,
its critical side is manifested when it deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and
evaluation of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological questions. The
other thing, which is worthy of noting, is that philosophy is an activity. It is not something that can
be easily mastered or learned in schools. A philosopher is a great philosopher, not because he
mastered philosophy, but because he did it. It is not his theory, but his extraordinary ability to
critically think, to conceptualize, to analyze, to compare, to evaluate, and to understand- i.e., to
philosophize- that makes him so. Of course, the product of philosophizing is philosophy as a product.
However, what makes someone a great philosopher is not the produced philosophy, but his/her
outstanding ability to philosophize.

Lesson 2: Basic Features of Philosophy

Lesson Overview: As an academic discipline, philosophy has its own salient features that
distinguishes it from other academic disciplines, be it natural, social and humanistic disciplines. In
this lesson, students will be introduced with the generally fundamental features of philosophy.

Dear learners, the general features of philosophy can be summarized as follows:

1) 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. Usually
when a person says “my philosophy is,” he or she is referring to an informal personal attitude to
whatever topic is being discussed.

2) Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most deeply held conceptions and
beliefs. This is the formal sense of “doing” philosophy. These two senses of philosophy-“having”
and “doing”- cannot be treated entirely independent of each other, if we did not have a
philosophy in the formal, personal sense, then we could not do a philosophy in the critical,
reflective sense. However, having a philosophy 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, and a body of material to be appropriated such that we become able to think
philosophically.

To philosophize also means to generalize. Philosophers are reflective and critical. They take a
second look at the material presented by common sense. They attempt to think through a variety of
life‘s problems and to face all the facts involved impartially. The accumulation of knowledge does
not by itself lead to understanding, because it does not necessarily teach the mind to make a critical
evaluation of facts that entail consistent and coherent judgment. Critical evaluations often differ.
Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others disagree, first because they view things from
different points of view and with different assumptions. Their personal experiences, cultural
backgrounds, and training may vary widely. This is especially true of people living at different times
and in different places. A second reason philosophers disagree is that they live in a changing
universe. People change, society changes, and nature changes. Some people are responsive and
sensitive to change; others cling to tradition and the status quo, to systems that were formulated
some time ago and that were declared to be authoritative and final. A third reason philosophers
disagree is that they deal with an area of human experience in which the evidence is not complete.
Different people may interpret the evidence we do have in various ways. Despite these
disagreements, however, philosophers continue to probe, examine, and evaluate the material with
the hope of presenting consistent principles by which we can live.

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

Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences and human experience into
some kind of consistent worldview. 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. Although there are difficulties and dangers in setting forth any worldview, there
also are dangers in confining attention to fragments of human experience. Philosophy‘s task is to
give a view of the whole, a life and a worldview, and to integrate the knowledge of the sciences with
that of other disciplines to achieve a consistent whole. Philosophy, according to this view, attempts
to bring the results of human inquiry- religious, historical, and scientific into some meaningful
interpretation that provides knowledge and insight for our lives.

4) Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of the meaning of words and
concepts.

Certainly, this is one function of philosophy. In fact, nearly all philosophers have used methods of
analysis and have sought to clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language. Some
philosophers see this as the main task of philosophy, and a few claim this is the only legitimate
function of philosophy. Such persons consider philosophy a specialized field serving the sciences and
aiding in the clarification of language rather than a broad field reflecting on all of life‘s experiences.
This outlook has gained considerable support during the twentieth century. It would limit what we
call knowledge to statements about observable facts and their interrelations i.e., to the business of
the various sciences. Not all linguistic analysts, however, define knowledge so narrowly. Although
they do reject and try to ―clean up‖ many non-scientific assertions, many of them think that we can
have knowledge of ethical principles and the like, although this knowledge is also experientially
derived. Those who take the narrower view neglect, when they do not deny, all generalized
worldviews and life views, as well as traditional moral philosophy and theology. From this narrower
point of view, the aim of philosophy is to expose confusion and nonsense and to clarify the meaning
and use of terms in science and everyday affairs.

5) 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. Some of the
philosophical questions raised in the past have been answered in a manner satisfactory to the
majority of philosophers. Many questions, however, have been answered only tentatively, and
many problems remain unsolved. What are philosophical questions? The question ―Did Ram make
a false statement on his income tax return?‖ is merely a question of fact. However, the questions
―What is truth?‖ and ―What is the distinction between right and wrong?‖ have philosophical
importance. Sometimes we think seriously about fundamental life issues: What is life and why am I
here? Why is there anything at all? What is the place of life in this great universe? Is the universe
friendly or unfriendly? Do things operate by chance or through sheer mechanism, or is there some
plan, purpose, or intelligence at the heart of things? Is my life controlled by outside forces, or do I
have a determining or even a partial degree of control? Why do people struggle and strive for their
rights, for justice, for better things in the future? What do concepts like ―right‖ and ―justice‖
means, and what are the marks of a good society? Often men and women have been asked to
sacrifice their lives, if need be, for certain values and ideals. What are the genuine values of life and
how can it attained? Is there really a fundamental distinction between right and wrong, or is it just a
matter of one‘s own opinions? What is beauty? Should religion count in a person‘s life? Is it
intellectually valid to believe in God? Is there a possibility of a ―life after death?‖ Is there any way
we can get an answer to these and many related questions? Where does knowledge come from,
and can we have any assurances that anything is true? The above questions are all philosophical.
The attempt to seek answers or solutions to them has given rise to theories and systems of thought,
such as idealism, realism, pragmatism, analytic philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, and
process philosophy. Philosophy also means the various theories or systems of thought developed by
the great philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza,
Locke, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Royce, James, Dewey, Whitehead, and others. Without
these people and their thoughts, philosophy would not have the rich content it has today. Even
though we may be unconscious of the fact, we are constantly influenced by ideas that have come
down to us in the traditions of society.

Core Fields of Philosophy

Lesson 3: Metaphysics and Epistemology

Lesson Overview

Dear learners, we have said earlier that philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise that tries

to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of reason- an

application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation. It deals with the most basic

issues faced by human beings. The content of philosophy is better seen as asking the right

questions rather than providing the correct answers. It even can be said that philosophy is the

study of questions. Van Cleve Morris has noted that the crux of the matter is asking the ―right‖

questions. By ―right‖ he meant questions that are meaningful and relevant- the kind of questions

people really want answered and that will make a difference in how they live and work.

Philosophy has different primary and secondary branches. This course deals only with the

primary ones, namely Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, and Logic. Metaphysics is the most

important fields of philosophy that deal with the studies of ultimate reality and human

knowledge, respectively.

In this lesson, we will discuss the first two major fields, Metaphysics and Epistemology, and we

will deal with the remaining two fields, Axiology and Logic, in the next lesson (Lesson 4).
Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of reality or existence. It

deal with issues of reality, God, freedom, soul/immortality, the mind-body problem, form and

substance relationship, cause and effect relationship, and other related issues. Metaphysicians

seek an irreducible foundation of reality or ‗first principles‘ from which absolute knowledge or

truth can be induced and deduced. The term metaphysics is derived from the Greek words

“meta” means (“beyond”, “upon” or “after”) and physika, means (“physics”). Literally, it refers

“those things after the physics.” Aristotle‘s writings on “first philosophy” came after his treatise

on physics, therefore, Aristotle‘s editor, Andronicus of Rhodes, named them metaphysics.

Here are some of the questions that Metaphysics primarily deals with:

 What is reality?
 What is the ultimately real?
 What is the nature of the ultimate reality?
 Is it one thing or is it many different things?
 Can reality be grasped by the senses, or it is transcendent?
 What makes reality different from a mere appearance?
 What is mind, and what is its relation to the body?
 Is there a cause and effect relationship between reality and appearance?
 Does God exist, and if so, can we prove it?
 Are human actions free, or predetermined by a supernatural force?
 What is human being? A thinking mind? A perishable body? Or a combination of both?
 What is time?
 What is the meaning of life?

At first, questions like, “What is real?” seem too simple to bother asking. But consider George

Knight‘s example about the existence of a floor and one will see that the question has far

reaching implications: What is exactly the nature of the floor upon which you stand? It may seem to
have a rather straightforward existence. It is obviously flat, solid, and smooth; it has a particular
color; it is composed of an identifiable material, such as wood or concrete; and it supports your
weight. Suppose, however, that a physicist enters the room and questioned about the reality of the
floor. She will reply that the floor is made of molecules; that molecules consist of atoms, electrons,
protons, and neutrons; and these, finally, of electric energy alone. A third position is offered by a
passing chemist. To him the floor is a hotbed of hydrocarbons associated in a particular way and
subject to certain kinds of environmental influences, such as heat, cold, wetness, dryness, and
oxidation. It is evident that the question of reality is not as simplistic as it appears. If the reality of a
common floor is confusing, what about the larger problems that presents themselves as humankind
searches for the ultimate reality of the universe? Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask
because they provide the foundation upon which all subsequent inquiry is based. Metaphysical
questions may be divided into four subsets or aspects.

i) Cosmological Aspect: Cosmology consists in the study of theories about the origin,

nature, and development of the universe as an orderly system. Questions such as these

populate the realm of cosmology: “How did the universe originate and develop? Did it

come about by accident or design? Does its existence have any purpose?”

ii) Theological Aspect: Theology is that part of religious theory that deals with conceptions

of and about God. “Is there a God? If so, is there one or more than one? What are the

attributes of God? If God is both all good and all powerful, why does evil exist? If God

exists, what is His relationship to human beings and the ‘real‘ world of everyday life?”

iii) Anthropological Aspect: Anthropology deals with the study of human beings and asks

questions like the following: What is the relation between mind and body? Is mind more

fundamental than body, with body depending on mind, or vice versa? What is humanity‘s

moral status? Are people born good, evil, or morally neutral? To what extent are

individuals free? Do they have free will, or are their thoughts and actions determined by

their environment, inheritance, or a divine being? Does each person have a soul? If so,

what is it? People have obviously adopted different positions on these questions, and those
positions influence their political, social, religious, and educational ideals and

practices.

iv) Ontological Aspect: Ontology is the study of the nature of existence, or what it means for

anything to exist. Several questions are central to ontology: ―Is basic reality found in

matter or physical energy (the world we can sense), or is it found in spirit or spiritual

energy? Is it composed of one element (e.g., matter or spirit), or two (e.g., matter and

spirit), or many?‖ ―Is reality orderly and lawful in itself, or is it merely orderable by the

human mind? Is it fixed and stable, or is change its central feature? Is this reality friendly,

unfriendly, or neutral toward humanity?‖

Epistemology

Epistemology is the other field of philosophy that studies about the nature, scope, meaning, and

possibility of knowledge. It deals with issues of knowledge, opinion, truth, falsity, reason,

experience, and faith. Epistemology is also referred to as ―theory of knowledge‖.

Etymologically, the word epistemology has been derived from the Greek words episteme,

meaning ―knowledge, understanding‖, and logos, meaning ―study of‖. In other words, we can

say that Epistemology is the study of the nature, source, and validity of knowledge. It seeks to

answer of the basic questions as ―What is true?‖ and ―How do we know?‖ Thus, epistemology

covers two areas: the content of thought and thought itself. The study of epistemology deals with

issues related to the dependability of knowledge and the validity of the sources through which

we gain information.

The following are among the questions/issues with which Epistemology deals:

 What is knowledge?
 What does it mean to know?
 What is the source of knowledge? Experience? Reason? Or both?
 How can we be sure that what we perceive through our senses is correct?
 What makes knowledge different from belief or opinion?
 What is truth, and how can we know a statement is true?
 Can reason really help us to know phenomenal things without being informed by sense
 experiences?
 Can our sense experience really help us to know things beyond our perception without
 the assistance of our reasoning ability?
 What is the relationship and difference between faith and reason?

Epistemology seeks answers to a number of fundamental issues. One is whether reality can even be
known. Skepticism in its narrow sense is the position claiming that people cannot acquire reliable
knowledge and that any search for truth is in vain. That thought was well expressed by Gorgias, the
Greek Sophist who asserted that nothing exists, and that if it did, we could not know it. A full-blown
skepticism would make intelligent action impossible. A term closely related to skepticism is
agnosticism. Agnosticism is a profession of ignorance in reference to the existence or nonexistence
of God. Most people claim that reality can be known. However, once they have taken that position,
they must decide through what sources reality may be known, and must have some concept of how
to judge the validity of their knowledge. A second issue foundational to epistemology is whether all
truth is relative, or whether some truths are absolute. Is all truth subject to change? Is it possible
that what is true today may be false tomorrow? If the answer is ―Yes‖ to the previous questions,
such truths are relative. If, however, there is Absolute Truth, such Truth is eternally and universally
true irrespective of time or place. Closely related to the issue of the relativity and absoluteness of
truth are the questions of whether knowledge is subjective or objective, and whether there is truth
that is independent of human experience. A major aspect of epistemology relates to the sources of
human knowledge. If one accepts the fact that there is truth and even Truth in the universe, how can
human beings comprehend such truths? How do they become human knowledge? Central to most
people‘s answer to that question is empiricism (knowledge obtained through the senses). Empirical
knowledge appears to be built into the very nature of human experience. Thus, when individuals
walk out of doors on a spring day and see the beauty of the landscape, hear the song of a bird, feel
the warm rays of the sun, and smell the fragrance of the blossoms, they ―know‖ that it is spring.
Sensory knowing for humans is immediate and universal, and in many ways forms the basis of much
of human knowledge. The existence of sensory data cannot be denied. Most people accept it
uncritically as representing ―reality.‖ The danger of naively embracing this approach is that data
obtained from the human senses have been demonstrated to be both incomplete and
undependable. (For example, most people have been confronted with the contradiction of seeing a
stick that looks bent when partially submerged in water but appears to be straight when examined
in the air.) Fatigue, frustration, and illness also distort and limit sensory perception. In addition,
there are sound and light waves that are inaudible and invisible to unaided human perception.
Humans have invented scientific instruments to extend the range of their senses, but it is impossible
to ascertain the exact dependability of these instruments since no one knows the total effect of the
human mind in recording, interpreting, and distorting sensual perception. Confidence in these
instruments is built upon speculative metaphysical theories whose validity has been reinforced by
experimentation in which predictions have been verified through the use of a theoretical construct
or hypothesis. In general, sensory knowledge is built upon assumptions that must be accepted by
faith in the dependability of human sensory mechanisms. The advantage of empirical knowledge is
that many sensory experiences and experiments are open to both replication and public
examination. A second important source of human knowledge is reason. The view that reasoning,
thought, or logic is the central factor in knowledge is known as rationalism. The rationalist, in
emphasizing humanity‘s power of thought and the mind‘s contributions to knowledge, is likely to
claim that the senses alone cannot provide universal, valid judgments that are consistent with one
another. From this perspective, the sensations and experiences humans obtain through their senses
are the raw material of knowledge. These sensations must be organized by the mind into a
meaningful system before they become knowledge. Rationalism in a less extreme form claims that
people have the power to know with certainty various truths about the universe that the senses
alone cannot give. In its extreme form, rationalism claims that humans are capable of arriving at
irrefutable knowledge independently of sensory experience. Formal logic is a tool used by
rationalists. Systems of logic have the advantage of possessing internal consistency, but they risk
being disconnected from the external world. Systems of thought based upon logic are only as valid
as the premises upon which they are built. A third source of human knowledge is intuition- the direct
apprehension of knowledge that is not derived from conscious reasoning or immediate sense
perception. In the literature dealing with intuition, one often finds such expressions as ―immediate
feeling of certainty.‖ Intuition occurs beneath the threshold of consciousness and is often
experienced as a sudden flash of insight. Intuition has been claimed under varying circumstances as
a source of both religious and secular knowledge. Certainly many scientific breakthroughs have been
initiated by intuitive hunches that were confirmed by experimentation. The weakness or danger of
intuition is that it does not appear to be a safe method of obtaining knowledge when used alone. It
goes astray very easily and may lead to absurd claims unless it is controlled by or checked against
other methods of knowing. Intuitive knowledge, however, has the distinct advantage of being able
to bypass the limitations of human experience. A fourth influential source of knowledge throughout
the span of human history has been revelation. Revealed knowledge has been of prime importance
in the field of religion. It differs from all other sources of knowledge because it presupposes a
transcendent supernatural reality that breaks into the natural order. Christians believe that such
revelation is God‘s communication concerning the divine will. Believers in supernatural revelation
hold that this form of knowledge has the distinct advantage of being an omniscient source of
information that is not available through other epistemological methods. The truth revealed through
this source is believed by Christians to be absolute and uncontaminated. On the other hand, it is
generally realized that distortion of revealed truth can occur in the process of human interpretation.
Some people assert that a major disadvantage of revealed knowledge is that it must be accepted by
faith and cannot be proved or disproved empirically. A fifth source of human knowledge, though not
a philosophical position, is authority. Authoritative knowledge is accepted as true because it comes
from experts or has been sanctified over time as tradition. In the classroom, the most common
source of information is some authority, such as a textbook, teacher, or reference work. Accepting
authority as a source of knowledge has its advantages as well as its dangers. Civilization would
certainly stagnate if people refused to accept any statement unless they personally verified it
through direct, firsthand experience. On the other hand, if authoritative knowledge is built upon a
foundation of incorrect assumptions, then such knowledge will surely be distorted. Dear learners, it
is important to note that one source of information alone might not be capable of supplying people
with all knowledge. It might be important to see the various sources as complementary rather than
antagonistic. However, it is true that most people choose one source as being more basic than, or
preferable to, the others, and then use it as a benchmark for testing other sources of knowledge. For
example, in the contemporary world, knowledge obtained empirically is generally seen as the most
basic and reliable type.

Axiology and Logic

Lesson Overview

We have said earlier that philosophy deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings.

Axiology is the philosophical study of value, which originally meant the worth of something. It

includes the studies of moral values, aesthetic values, as well as political and social values.

Logic, on the other hand, is a philosophical study of arguments and the methods and principles of

right reasoning. In this lesson, we will discuss Axiology and Logic as the other two major fields

of philosophy.

Axiology

Axiology is the study or theory of value. The term Axiology stems from two Greek words-

“Axios”, meaning “value, worth”, and “logos”, meaning “reason/ theory/ symbol / science/study

Of”. Hence, Axiology is the philosophical study of value, which originally meant the worth of

something. Axiology asks the philosophical questions of values that deal with notions of what a

person or a society regards as good or preferable, such as:

 What is a value?
 Where do values come from?
 How do we justify our values?
 How do we know what is valuable?
 What is the relationship between values and knowledge?
 What kinds of values exist?
 Can it be demonstrated that one value is better than another?
 Who benefits from values?
 Etc.
Axiology deals with the above and related issues of value in three areas, namely Ethics,

Aesthetics, and Social/Political Philosophy

Ethics

Ethics, which is also known as Moral Philosophy, is a science that deals with the philosophical

study of moral principles, values, codes, and rules, which may be used as standards for

determining what kind of human conduct/action is said to be good or bad, right or wrong. Ethicshas
three main branches: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Ethics raises various

questions including:

 What is good/bad?
 What is right/wrong?
 Is it the Right Principle or the Good End that makes human action/conduct moral?
 Is an action right because of its good end, or it is good because of its right principle?
 Are moral principles universal, objective, and unconditional, or relative, subjective and
 conditional?
 What is the ultimate foundation of moral principles? The supernatural God? Human
 reason? Mutual social contract? Social custom?
 Does God exist? If so, is He Benevolent and Omnipotent?
 If God is Benevolent, why He creates evil things? If God does not create evil things,
 then, there must be another creator who is responsible to creation of the evil things? But,
 if it is so, how can God be an Omnipotent creator?
 Why we honor and obey moral rules? For the sake of our own individual benefits?, or for
the
 sake of others?, or just for the sake of fulfilling our infallible duty?

Ethics, or ethical studies, can be grouped into three broad categories: Normative ethics, Metaethics,
and Applied Ethics.

Normative Ethics refers to the ethical studies that attempt to study and determine precisely the

moral rules, principles, standards and goals by which human beings might evaluate and judge the

moral values of their conducts, actions and decisions. It is the reasoned search for principles of

human conduct, including a critical study of the major theories about which things are good,

which acts are right, and which acts are blameworthy. Consequentialism or Teleological Ethics,

Deontological Ethics, and Virtue Ethics are the major examples of normative ethical studies.

Meta-ethics is the highly technical philosophical discipline that deals with investigation of the

meaning of ethical terms, including a critical study of how ethical statements can be verified. It is

more concerned with the meanings of such ethical terms as good or bad and right or wrong than

with what we think is good or bad and right or wrong. Moral Intuitionism, Moral Emotivism Moral
Prescriptivism, Moral Nihilism, and Ethical Relativism are the main examples of metaethical studies.

Applied Ethics is a normative ethics that attempts to explain, justify, apply moral rules, principles,
standards, and positions to specific moral problems, such as capital punishment, euthanasia,

abortion, adultery, animal right, and so on. This area of normative ethics is termed applied

because the ethicist applies or uses general ethical princes in an attempt to resolve specific moral

problems.

II. Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the theory of beauty. It studies about the particular value of our artistic and aesthetic

experiences. It deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory/emotional values, perception, and

matters of taste and sentiment.

The following are typical Aesthetic questions:

 What is art?
 What is beauty?
 What is the relation between art and beauty?
 What is the connection between art, beauty, and truth?
 Can there be any objective standard by which we may judge the beauty of artistic works,
 or beauty is subjective?
 What is artistic creativity and how does it differ from scientific creativity?
 Why works of art are valuable?
 Can artistic works communicate? If so, what do they communicate?
 Does art have any moral value, and obligations or constraints?
 Are there standards of quality in Art?

iii) Social/Political Philosophy

Social/Political Philosophy studies about of the value judgments operating in a civil society, be it

social or political.

The following questions are some of the major Social/Political Philosophy primarily deal with:

 What form of government is best?

 What economic system is best?
 What is justice/injustice?
 What makes an action/judgment just/unjust?
 What is society?
 Does society exist? If it does, how does it come to existence?
 How are civil society and government come to exist?
 Are we obligated to obey all laws of the State?
 What is the purpose of government?

Logic

Logic is the study or theory of principles of right reasoning. It deals with formulating the right
principles of reasoning; and developing scientific methods of evaluating the validity and

soundness of arguments. The following are among the various questions raised by Logic:
  What is an argument; What does it mean to argue?
 What makes an argument valid or invalid
 What is a sound argument?
 What relation do premise and conclusion have in argument?
 How can we formulate and evaluate an argument?

What is a fallacy?; What makes an argument fallacious?

Importance of Learning Philosophy

Lesson Overview

Dear learners, we have seen in our first lesson that philosophy is a rational and critical enterprise
that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive application of
reason- an application that draws on analysis, comparison, and evaluation-, and deals with the most
basic issues faced by human beings. In this lesson, we will discuss the fundamental benefits of
learning philosophy.

Dear learners, if you ask any philosophy student ‗what is the necessity of studying philosophy‘,
he/she may give you the following famous philosophical statement: “The unexamined life is not
worth living”. The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, once said that “I tell you that to let no day
pass without discussing goodness and all the other subjects about which you hear me talking and
examining both myself and others is really the best thing that a man can do, and that life without
this sort of examination is not worth living.…” Thus, among the various benefits of learning
philosophy is that philosophy provides students with the tools they need to critically examine their
own lives as well as the world in which they live. Let us clarify it more. Some modern psychologists
point out that human beings have both maintenance and actualizing needs. The former refer to the
physical and psychological needs that we must satisfy in order to maintain ourselves as human
beings: food, shelter, security, social interaction, and the like. The later appear to be associated with
self-fulfillment, creativity, self-expression, realization of one‘s potential, and being everything one
can be. Although philosophy may not necessarily lead to this sort of self-actualization, it can assist us
to actualize ourselves by promoting the ideal of selfactualization. There are many characteristics of
self-actualization to whose achievement studying philosophy has a primordial contribution. Here
below are some of them

1) Intellectual and Behavioral Independence:- This is the ability to develop one‘s own

opinion and beliefs. Among the primary goals of philosophy, one is the integration of

experiences into a unified, coherent, and systematic world views. Studying philosophy

helps us not only to know the alternative world views but also to know how philosophers

have ordered the universe for themselves. As a result, we can learn how to develop and

integrate our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and actions for ourselves, and thus how to be

intellectually and behaviorally independent.

2) Reflective Self-Awareness:- self-actualization cannot be realized without a clear knowledge

of oneself and the world in which one lives. Philosophy helps us to intensify our selfawareness by
inviting us to critically examine the essential intellectual grounds of our lives.

3) Flexibility, Tolerance, and Open-Mindedness:- by studying different philosophical

perspectives we can understand the evolutionary nature of intellectual achievement and the

ongoing development of human thought. As we confront with the thoughts of various

philosophers we can easily realize that no viewpoint is necessarily true or false- that the

value of any attitude is contextual. Finally, we become more tolerant, open-minded, more

receptive, and more sympathetic to views that contend or clash with ours.

4) Creative and Critical Thinking: - this is the ability to develop original philosophical

perspective on issues, problems, and events; and to engage them on a deeper level. From

the study of philosophy, we can learn how to refine our powers of analysis, our abilities to

think critically, to reason, to evaluate, to theorize, and to justify.

5) Conceptualized and well-thought-out value systems in morality, art, politics, and the like: -

since philosophy directly deals with morality, art, politics, and other related value theories,

studying philosophy provides us with an opportunity to formulate feasible evaluations of

value; and thereby to find meaning in our lives

The other benefit of studying philosophy that should not be missed is that it helps us to deal with
knowledge. But, what is the advantage of uncertainty? What Bertrand Russell stated in his book, The
Problem of Philosophy, can be a sufficient answer for this question.

The value of philosophy is, in part, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who

has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from

common sense, from the habitual benefits of his age or his nation, and from convictions which

have grown up in his mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason. To

such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no

questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to

philosophize, on the contrary, we find… that even the most everyday things lead to problems

to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with

certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many

possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while

diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge

as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never

traveled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing

familiar things in an unfamiliar aspect (Bertrand, 1912, P; 158).the uncertainty of living. Philosophy
helps us to realize the absence of an absolutely ascertained
Chapter Summary

Logic, as a field of study, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of arguments and

the principles and methods of right reasoning. Etymologically, the term ‗philosophy‘ can be

defined as “love of wisdom”, being wisdom a critical habit and eternal vigilance about all things

and a reverence for truth, whatever its form, and wherever its place. Therefore, philosophy, as a

pursuit of wisdom, is the development of critical habits, the continuous search for truth, and the

questioning of the apparent. It is, however, important to note that ‗questioning the apparent‘ does

not mean denying the obviously real. It simply refers to the extraordinary ability and curiosity to

deal creatively with the phenomenal world, to go beyond the common understanding, and to

speculate about things that other people accept with no doubt. Philosophy, as a rational and

critical enterprise that tries to formulate and answer fundamental questions through an intensive

application of reason, is a dual-sided universal discipline: critical and constructive sides. While,

as a critical discipline, it deals with giving a rational critic, analysis, clarification, and evaluation

of answers given to basic metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological questions, it attempts,

as a constructive discipline, to formulate rationally defensible answers to certain fundamental

questions concerning the nature of reality, the nature of value, and the nature of knowledge and

truth Philosophy, as an academic discipline, has its own salient features that distinguish it from other

academic disciplines. Its systematic, logical and flexible approach to the ultimate reality of the

universe, human life, knowledge experience, truth and values and its holistic and evolutionary

nature are some the fundamental features of philosophy. Philosophy uses its major branches to

deal with the most important issues human beings face, namely Metaphysics, Epistemology,

Axiology, and Logic. Metaphysics deals with the studies of ultimate reality and existence.

Epistemology deals with the study of the meaning, nature, source, scope and possibility of

human knowledge. Axiology deals with the philosophical studies of human values, such as moral

values, aesthetic values, as well as political and social values. Logic, on the other hand, is a

philosophical study of arguments and the methods and principles of right reasoning.

Philosophy provides various fundamental benefits to learners. It provides students with the tools

they need to critically examine their own lives as well as the world in which they live, it assist

them to actualize themselves by promoting the ideals of self-actualization. That is, studying

philosophy helps to achieve the most important characteristic of self-actualization: Intellectual

and Behavioral Independence, Reflective Self-Awareness, Flexibility, Tolerance, and
OpenMindedness, Creative and Critical Thinking, and Conceptualized and well-thought-out value

systems in morality, art, politics, and the like. Moreover, studying philosophy helps us to deal

with the uncertainty of living, meaning it helps us to realize the absence of an absolutely

ascertained knowledge, and hence prepare ourselves to the ever growing human knowledge