Introduction to Philosophy

Bryan B. Albia, PhB, SThB, MAL(cand)
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

Thesis 1:
Nature, Objects, and
Divisions of
Philosophy

The word philosophy was coined from
the Greek “φιλειν” (philein) which
means to love and “σοφια” (sophia)
which means wisdom.
The early thinkers, Pythagoras and
Heraclitus, called themselves philosophers
or "lovers of wisdom” only because
accordingly only the gods are wise.
What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is
technically defined as
“scientia rerum per
causas primas sub
lumine rationis
naturalis”
What is Philosophy?

We may translate this as: "the science of
beings in their ultimate reasons, causes, and
principles, acquired by the aid of human
reason alone"; or "the science which by the
natural light of reason studies the first
causes or highest principles of all things"; or
"the science of things in their first causes in
so far as these belong to the natural order".
What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is a science. It is not based on
mere opinions or theories or hypotheses, but
is certain knowledge derived from reasoned
demonstration of causes and reduced to a
system. It is a science or beings; of all things
which can be reached by the human mind. This
includes man, the world, God, everything that
is, or becomes, or is known.
What is Philosophy?

What is Philosophy?
A reason is that by means of which, a thing is known and can be
understood;
a cause is that which contributes in some positive manner toward the
production of a thing;
a principle is that from which something proceeds.
The other sciences give the proximate causes of things, while philosophy
searches for the ultimate reasons and causes and principles.

What is Philosophy?
Philosophy is a knowledge acquired by the aid of human reason alone.
This means that philosophy does not base its knowledge on
authority, but solely on the reasoning power of the human mind.
Divine revelation, therefore, is formally excluded as a source of information in
philosophy, although it can and should assist the mind of man by pointing cut
the proper direction for the philosophic solution of a problem along; purely
natural lines.

What are the Objects of Philosophy?
There are two objects of study by any science.
The first is the material object
or the subject matter of the
science.
The second is the formal object which refers to the particular
attributes of the material object under study or the particular
aspect under which the material object is studied.
The formal object is further subdivided into the
formal object QUOD and the formal object QUO.
The “objectum formale quod” is that
which is immediately and primarily
apprehended by the science.
The “objectum formale quo” is the
medium by which the science studies its
object.

What are the Objects of Philosophy?
In the case of Philosophy,
the material
object is all
things.
The formal object quod is
the first cause or highest
principle of things.
The formal object quo is
natural reason alone and,
specifically, the
abstractive power of
reason.

What are the Divisions of Philosophy?
PHILOSOPHY
Logic
Cosmology
Psychology
EpistomologyMetaphysics
Theodicy
Ethics

Metaphysics is the science which deals with the nature of being, its attributes,
constituent principles, and causes. This includes the concept of being, its analogy
and fundamental attributes, problem of evil, act and potency, essence and
existence, substance and accidents, supposit and person, and causality.
Theodicy is the science of the nature, existence, essence, attributes, and operations
of God. This covers the demonstrability and actual demonstration of the existence
of God, His essence and attributes, and His immanent operations—intellection and
volition, and His transient operations—creation, conservation, concurrence,
governance, and providence.

Logic is the science of inferential thinking and correct reasoning. This covers the
study of ideas and terms, judgment and proposition, reasoning, and syllogism.
Cosmology is the science which considers the ultimate principles and causes of
mobile beings in general. This includes the essential principles of natural bodies,
matter and form, change, motion, time, place, space, causality and finality, and
generation and corruption.
Psychology is the science of animate mobile beings as such: especially man—his
nature, attributes, and operations. This covers the concept of life and its
operations, the soul, sensation and appetition, intellection and volition.

Epistemology is the science which examines the truth value or
validity of human knowledge. This includes the statement and
solution to the critical problem, nature, origin, objectivity, and
validity of knowledge, truth and certitude.
Ethics is the science of the morality of human acts as ordained
to the final end. This covers human acts and principles of
human actions, ultimate end of man, determinants of morality,
law and conscience.

The other philosophies like philosophy of religion, philosophy of language,
philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of education
mean either the underlying principles of these sciences or the examination of
these sciences from the viewpoint and with the methodology of philosophy.
There is also the general division of Philosophy into Speculative and Practical:
Speculative Philosophy is that which exists solely for
the sake of knowledge. Its object is the truth.
Practical Philosophy is that which seeks to procure by some
kind of activity the good of man. Its object is the good.

Thesis 2:
Doing Philosophy and
Philosophy of the
Human Person

How to understand doing Philosophy?
To philosophize is to explore Life by asking questions. When
Man is confronted with Mystery, or with something whose
causes are still unknown, he wonders why.
Doing Philosophy or to philosophize is to wonder about Life:
About love and
Loneliness
About Birth and
Death
About Truth, Beauty
and Freedom

Socrates says : “Wonder is the feeling of a
Philosopher, and Philosophy begins in Wonder”.
(Plato, Theaetetus, 155 B. Benjamin Jewett in vol. 7of Great Books, p. 519 )
The Experience of Wonder - this willingness to stand in a
relaxed receptivity before an object involves a certain
reverence, epistemological humility and willingness to
appreciate… out of such admiration grows gratitude and
the impulse to celebrate, or possibly even to worship.

“To wonder means to realize that
there is something strange behind
the things that we ordinarily
perceive. To wonder is to notice
something extraordinary in the
ordinary things we see”.
(For the love of Wisdom by Chris John-Terry, An explanation of the meaning and purpose of
Philosophy)

“Philosophy is for those who are
willing to be disturbed with a
creative disturbance…Philosophy is
for those who still have the capacity
to WONDER.
(Philosophy an introduction to the Art of Wondering by James L. Christian, prelude.)

Philosopher can be best describe as one who loves truth in its
deepest meaning. This is in keeping with the literal meaning
of the word “Philosophy” as love of wisdom. The study of
Philosophy is a continual encounter, a dialogue carried on in
search of truth wherever it maybe found . Philosophy can be
termed as an inquiry which seeks to encompass the whole of
reality by understanding its most basic causes and principle in
so far as these are acceptable to reason and experience. It is
characterized as ‘beginning in wonder and ends in
mystery”.(Reflections on Man by Jesse Mann et al. P2-4)

“ Philosophy of man is an overview on the nature,
activities and destiny of man. It attempts to asses
his place in and his relationship to the world.
Through such an overview, an understanding of
what man is and who he is will emerge. In some
respect, Philosophy of man constitutes a
metaphysics of man, for it is a probe of the
deepest causes and meaning of man”
(Reflections on Man by Jesse Mann et. al p.13)
What is Philosophy of the Human Person?

Thesis 3:
The Value of
Philosophy

What is the Value of Philosophy?
Philosophy is a system of beliefs about reality. It
is one's integrated view of the world. It includes
an understanding of the nature of existence,
man, and his role in the world. Philosophy is the
foundation of knowledge. It is the standard by
which ideas are integrated and understood.

Philosophy is a necessary product of
man's rational mind. To live, man
must gain knowledge of the world.
To understand the world, man must
form conclusions about its very
nature.

Philosophy provides the framework for
which man can understand the world.
It provides the premises by which man
can discover truth, and use his mind to
support his life.

Philosophy gives us a
sense of direction,
guidelines on how we
live our life, and a
purpose to continuing
the course of our lives
It gives us a sense of
reason in our life
In this sense,
Philosophy can be
seen as:
A Belief A Motivation A Point of View in Life

To conclude, it’s not enough that one has a
Philosophy in Life but one must also
understand the Philosophy he/she has. In
order then to do that, one needs to BE
Philosophical!!!

“It’s important to learn about things, some things, or
even all things, but it is more important to learn to think.
Philosophy makes us think and thinking is part of being
human. Philosophy helps us to be human and should
lead us to be humane.”

Introduction to Philosophy

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