2. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
Traditionally it is defined as love of wisdom because it came
from two Greek words Philos (love) and Sophia (wisdom)
Origin of Philosophy:
Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the West, in the
ancient Greek city of Miletus in the western coast.
Thales is the Father of Philosophy in the western civilization.
3. What made Thales a philosopher is his desire to know the
ultimate stuff that makes up the different things we perceived.
You see when we look at the world we encounter different
things: people, trees, clouds, mountains, rivers, etc. Now
Thales believed that despite the different things we encounter
there is one underlying stuff or substance in which everything
is composed. He believes that there is One in the Many. Thales
was the first individual who tried to reduce the multiplicity in
to a unity (Jones,1969). But his explanation of natural
phenomena is devoid of gods and goddesses of the old religion
of Greece. It is completely rational. It represents a departure
from the mythological religion of Greece. Thales approach
highlights the difference between religion and philosophy.
Religion rests on faith while philosophy rests on reason.
4. PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY
Thales greatest contribution to philosophy is not his
identification of water as the ultimate stuff of the
universe. His greatest contribution is the problem he
posed “What is the ultimate stuff of the universe?”
and his approach in solving that THALES 12 problem.
Studying Thales makes us realize that philosophical
activity is characterized by three things
5. BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
1.Methaphysics deals with the fundamentals
and essential characteristics of human nature
2.Epistemology studies the nature and means
of human knowledge
Methaphysics
Epistemology
Cognitive branches
6. 3. Ethics or morality according to Ayn Rand it is a
branch of philosophy that provides a human being
with a code of values to guide man’s choice and
actions(the choice and actions that determine the
course of his life.
4. Politics defines the principles of a proper social
system
5. Aesthetics studies the nature of arts. It is
concerned with the nature and the objective
judgement of beauty.
7. PHILOSOPHICAL TOOLS AND PROCESSES
1. Philosophical Questions
Philosophy was born because of ignorance. If one is
ignorant, he asks questions and if he keeps on
questioning the more knowledge he acquires. Once
a person stops questioning, he cease to become a
philosopher. In our daily struggles, one needs to
ask questions simple, serious and deep questions
that we have to grapple with. A philosopher is like a
child who has an inquisitive mind who never stops
asking questions and finding answers.
8. PHILOSOPHICAL TOOLS AND PROCESSES
2.LOGICAL REASONING
Philosophy was born because of ignorance. If one is
ignorant, he asks questions and if he keeps on
questioning the more knowledge he acquires. Once
a person stops questioning, he cease to become a
philosopher. In our daily struggles, one needs to
ask questions simple, serious and deep questions
that we have to grapple with. A philosopher is like a
child who has an inquisitive mind who never stops
asking questions and finding answers.
9. PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION
Reflection is an activity that requires a person to
examine his or her thoughts, feelings and actions
and learn from experience. (Abella, 2016). .
Philosophers always search for the essence of
things and the ultimate reasons for our existence.
Its trajectory is to see the bigger picture about
everything. This process is called philosophical
reflection. According to Gabriel Marcel,
philosophical reflection is the act of giving time to
think about the meaning and purpose of life.
10. 2 TYPES OF PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION
Primary Reflection- which is the ability to think
logically. The ability of the mind to construct and
evaluate arguments. It examines its object by
abstraction, by analytically breaking it down into its
constituent parts. It is concerned with definitions,
essences and technical solutions to problems. The
second type is Secondary reflection. According to
Marcel this type of reflection enables us to look
deeper into our experiences and see the bigger
picture of reality. It integrates the fragmented and
compartmentalized experience into a whole.
11. Reflection is not exclusive for philosophy in fact it is
employed in any endeavour, research or disciplines. In
research it is called methodological approach. Moral
theology employs the STOP sign as guidepost of moral
decision making. S= Search out the facts. It is necessary
that all means should be exhausted to better understand
the issue. T=Think, reflect and analyse the facts, its
negative or positive effects, advantages or disadvantages.
O= How it affects Others. We should always consider
others in every decision that we make. Every action that
we take has always a social dimension. It affects ourselves,
others and community where we belong. Lastly P= stands
for Pray.
