Download lesson 1 of Philosophy and more Lecture notes History of Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity!
Module I
Fundamentals of
Psychology
Scope of the Module There are three (3) lessons on this module: Lesson 1. What is Philosophy? Lesson 2. What is the Human Being? Lesson 3. Some Fundamental Questions Overview of the Module The basic answer to the question "What is the human being?" is to be covered by this module. But not everything that can be said about the human being is included here. To acquire a working knowledge of fundamental psychology, an introduction to philosophy is needed. Objectives of the Module Upon completion of this module on the fundamentals of psychology, you shall be able to:
- know what philosophy is all about;
- understand some fundamental things about the human being from the standpoint of philosophies;
- have an orientation on basic psychology as a preparation for latter psychological theories;
- draw some conclusion after your exposure to some fundamental questions of philosophical psychology.
Philosophy 3 Module I Lesson 1. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? Lesson Objectives: After studying this lesson on what philosophy is, you shall be able to:
- define philosophy from three major views;
- identify two (2) approaches in the study of philosophy and the undergirding characteristics or elements in each approach;
- respond to the self-test with appreciation. Philosophy may be regarded as indefinable as there are many definitions to it as there are philosophies. Three (3) views attempt to explain its meanings. These are:
- Pythagoras (585 - 500 B.C.) is reputed to have coined the word "philosophy." It comes from two Greek words, "philos" which means "love" and "sophia" which means "wisdom." Thus, etymologically, philsophy is "love of wisdom." This seems to be a simple definition. We have here two simple words, "love" and "wisdom," but on closer scrutiny, are not really that easy to grasp. Take the word "love" which means "an attraction or affection, desire felt for a person who arouses delight or warm attachment or devotion" (Webster). Applied to an inaminate situation it is feeling that elicits interest or sympathy or delight; i. e., a positive feeling for someone or something. And in this case, a positive feeling for or interest in the intricacies and delight in knowledge or information. That is why, etymologically, philsophy is "love of wisdom." This seems to be a simple definition and, hopefully, anyone who reads it will find little difficulty in grasping its meaning. The word "wisdom," like the word, "love" is simple only at the beginning. Is wisdom the same as knowledge? Is one who is knowledgeable necessarily wise? Is a wise person necessarily knowledgeable? Do we really know what "love" is? or for that matter, what "wisdom" is? A philosopher is supposedly a lover of wisdom. What does it really mean?
is the willingness to use reason or the powers of the mind in the quest for truth.
- Philosophy therefore has a universal appeal, since nature has equipped every human being with reason, everyone can try to philosophize.
- When we indulge in discussion about God, freedom, immortality, the meaning of life, etc., we are raising questions of philosophy. Summing Up The Aristotelico-Thomistic philosophy strives to attain some certain knowledge about the next fundamental questions of existence, through the use of reason.
- Karl Jaspers (1883 - 1969) describes philosophy as a discipline in which questions are more important than answers and where every answer only paves the way for more questions.
- This contemporary attempt to define philosophy makes us see how open-ended a philosophical discussion may be. No one has a monopoly of truth. Anyone is welcome to this seemingly endless quest to pursue one's ideas wherever they might lead.
- Martin Heidegger (1889 - 1976) believes philosophy is a dialogue with philosophers. Through reading, two horizons meet: the world of the reader and the world of the text. Both are altered in the process of reading.
- Every epoch has the duty to interpret a text.
- The art of interpretation is what constitutes hermeneutics, which is the hottest trend in philosophy today. Conclusion
- No one can philosophize well without reading the works of different philosophers.
- An open mind is necessary for a philosopher.
- "No philosophy is right in toto and should not be wholly accepted without question; nor is there any philosophy which is so completely wrong that it deserves an outright rejection" (Emerita Quito of De La Salle University).
Two (2) Ways of Studying Philosophy A. The Historical Approach studies philosophy by tracing the development of philosophical ideas throughout human history. These are divided into the usual four (4) historical periods:
- The historical division used here is based on what the German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel calls Zeitgeist (spirit of the time).
- The Ancient Age is cosmocentric or world-centered; the Medieval Age is Theo- centric or God-centered; the Modern Age is Anthropocentric or human-centered; and the Contemporary Age is the 20th century -- which is more global in its outlook than the previous ages.
- The 20th Century could only be a continuation of the Modern Age. But a New Age is possibly in the making, especially in these days when totalitarian states seem to be giving way to much freer societies.
- As Filipinos, we have experienced this emergence of a new epoch ourselves. The struggle at EDSA in those four days in February 1986 gives us hope for a new day dawning fo us, as well as for many other countries in the world today. 1.1 Ancient Age: The East
- It is now generally accepted that the East had its own formal philosophy as early as 2000 B.C.
- Hinduism calls it darsana (from the root word which means "to see"). Indian Philosophy is not confined to logical thinking and reasoning only. The Hindu resorts to intuition, where reason no longer penetrates (again, from the root word which means "to see"). "The Story of Svetaketu" A good illustration of this is found in the Chandogya Upanishad (VI, 1.3). Here a story is told about a boy named Svetaketu. At 12, he was sent by his father to school. When he returned home after another 12 years, Svetaketu displayed the arrogance of one who considered himself superior in knowledge. Seeing how his son's head had become bloated, the father asked Svetaketu:
- Medieval Age This is the Age of the Church when there was no separation yet between Church and State.
- Most of the philosophers were priests and monks. Culture was based on an underlying belief in Providence.
- St. Thomas Aquinas was pronounced by Pope Pius V as the Angelic Doctor and Pope Leo XIII declared him as the Catholic Philosopher.
- Thomistic Philosophy is mainly an adaptation of Aristotelian philosophy, just as St. Augustine earlier can be said to have baptized the philosophy of Plato.
- Medieval Philosophy is a continuation of Greek philosophy in many ways. The only difference was that the culture of the Medieval Age was steeped in the tradition of Catholicism.
- Definitely the birth of Jesus Christ made an ineradicable dent on the consciousness of humanity, especially in the Church of the Western world.
- Modern Age
- The Renaissance provided the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age. Renaissance historian used the unpalatable term "medieval" or "Middle Ages" to signify a "Dark Age" which was supposed to mean culturally zero.
- The Renaissance (from "re-nascere" meaning "to be born again") was intended to be a rebirth of culture, a return to the Enlightened Age of the Greeks.
- In this period, humans rediscovered their potentials and powers.
- By inventing the compass, they sailed the seas and walked on new lands. They realized that the world was not just the West.
- They discovered that the earth was not a flat disc.
- Copernicus shook the old belief that the earth was an unmoving center of the universe.
- Galileo polished his telescope.
- Gutenberg invented his printing press.
- When the Bible was translated from Latin into the vernacular and it wreaked havoc, especially when the average lay person began to see how its scientific foothold limped.
- This new consciousness of the Antropocentric Age was ushered in.
- Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) known as the Father of Modern Thought, raised his famous method of universal doubt. He wanted to cleanse the mental slate of all its content in order to start building the edifice of knowledge anew. His ambition was to construct science on a secure foundation.
- Modern Philosophy had the all-consuming characteristic of the Cartesian ambition.
- The Rationalism of Leibniz and Spinoza made full use of logical and mathematical precision in order to guide human reason in the search for truth.
- The Empiricism of Locke, Berkeley and Hume -- who based all knowledge on experience, opposed Rationalism.
- The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) resolved the debate between the empiricists and rationalists.
- The German Idealism which started from Kant's philosophy, culminated with G. W. F. Hegel (1770 - 1831). His dialectics became the methodical basis of the critique of capitalism of Karl Marx (1818 - 1883).
- Arthur Schopenhaur and Friedrich Nietzsche reacted to Hegel's idealism. These two influential German philosophers brought back philosophy to existential level.
- The human person is now ready for the 20th century.
- The Contemporary Age
- Many schools of thought have remarkably proliferated in the last century. The Continental tradition has given us Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Hermeneutics.
- The Anglo-American has its predilection for Analytic Philosophy, together with its variations such as Logical Positivism and Linguistic Analysis.
- Other Philosophical Schools that have bloomed these years are: Process Philosophy, Structuralism, and the various philosophies of science.
- The return to Oriental sources, as well as the emergence of indigenous philosophies are the new challenges today.
- It is possible that the Age for the formation of a new intellectual synthesis is ripening.
- Philosophy is the freest of all disciplines. It cannot possibly be restricted within sclerotic limits, so, it defies a single definition. There seems to be nothing which a philosopher does not find interesting.
- There is a philosophy of art called Aesthetics and one hears of philosophy of education, philosophy of law, philosophy of religion, philosophy of literature, etc.
- This subject, Philosophy of the Human Being, is a course in Systematic Philosophy. It is basically, Psychology. (SEE NO. 3 OF "INSTRUCTIONS TO THE STUDENT")
AB Major In Psychology Philosophy 3 Module I Lesson 1 SELF-PROGRESS CHECK TEST (The following self-test is designed to help you find out how well you understood the lessons. Be fair to yourself. Enjoy this test as a gauge of what you now know about the course. As much as you can, try not to consult the end of the course for the answers.) A. On the blank before each number, write True if the statement is correct otherwise, write False. True1. Philosophy, like any other discipline, can easily be defined. True 2. There is some truth to the claim that there are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers. True 3. Philosophy is love of wisdom. False4. To become wise, it is not necessary to ask the question, Why? True 5. To philosophize, one should exercise open-mindedness. False 6. Philosophy and religion are the same; they both start with faith. False 7. Even if I am an atheist, I can study philosophy. False 8. Philosophy encompasses all things, including nothing. False 9. In studying philosophy, I should refrain from using my own reason because I might be wrong. True10. Philosophy dares the human person to think. True11. Philosophy is the freest of all disciplines. False2. Philosophy is like science in that it tries to be accurate through the use of tools, gadgets and other instruments. True 13. Philosophy started in the West. False 14. To the Easterner, logic should give way to intuition. True 15. The Greeks were the forerunners of the present-day scientists; they were Cosmo centric.
Human reason7. the light of alone. This definition was later adopted by a saint- St. Thomas Aquinas 8. philosopher of the Medieval Age, namely, Karl Jaspers 9. Questions 10. Answers 11. Answers 12. Questions 13. the Modern Age is Anthropocentric or human-centered 14. Medieval Age is Theocentric or God-centered 15. Zeitgeist16. Ancient Age: The East and The West 17 Modern Age18. Medieval Age 19. The Contemporary Age20. A twentieth-century German philosopher, , describes philosophy as a discipline in which are more important than , and in which every paves the way for further. This gives us the view of philosophy as an open-minded and never- ending quest. There are two ways of studying philosophy, and. History is divided into four periods, according to what the Germans call or the "spirit of the time." These four periods, together with their "spirit of the time," are: , , and. Metaphysis 21. Theodicy 22. Cosmology23. Psychology 24. Ethics 25. Epistemology 26. Logic 2 7.
The second approach divides philosophy into seven major branches: , , , , , , and. Be sure to mention the proper object of study of each of these branches. C. Enumeration: Write your answers on the spaces provided for. Three definitions of philosophy, together with the names of the philosophers. a."Philosophy is the love of wisdom," said Pythagoras in the fifth century BC. b. "Philosophy is a discipline in which questions of being and existence are more important than questions of knowledge," said Martin Heidegger in the twentieth century. c. "Philosophy is a continuous inquiry into the fundamental questions that shape human experience and understanding of the world," (John Dewey, mid-19th century) Two approaches to philosophy, together with their subdivisions and brief explanations The Historical Approach. Ancient Age of The East and The West In the ancient East, important intellectual traditions include Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Confucius (551–479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher who developed a system of morality and social ethics based on the principles of piety, loyalty, respect, and moderation. While in the ancient West, important philosophical traditions include Greek philosophy, Roman philosophy, and Christian philosophy. Greek philosophy is represented by many important figures and schools of thought, including Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans, Socrates and the Socratic method, Plato and his theory of forms or ideas, and Aristotle and his work on logic, metaphysics, and ethics. Medieval Age
6.Ethics. This research tackles the question, "What is good?" Our culture is experiencing a renewed feeling of urgency and relevance to moral principles. Values education is being promoted in the school system. 7.Logic. This research examines the science and art of hidden reasoning. It teaches you how to argue appropriately and keeps you attentive to potential flaws in every argument.
