DEC 10 - APPROACHES OF DOING PHILOSOPHY

Question 1

4 APPROACHES OF DOING PHILOSOPHY

Answer 1

1. CRITICAL OR ANALYTIC
2. SPECULATIVE OR METAPHYSICAL
3. REDUCTIONIST PHILOSOPHY
4. HOLISTIC PHILOSOPHY

Question 2

CRITICAL OR ANALYTIC philosophy has 2 fundamental task:

Answer 2

a. The analysis and definition of our fundamental concepts.
b. The clear and resolute criticisms of our beliefs

Question 3

SPECULATIVE OR METAPHYSICAL (4)

Answer 3

tries to find an underlying explanation or general principle that could explain reality in its entirety.

aims to reach some general conclusions as to the nature of the universe; and as to our position and prospects in it.

an attempt synoptically of all the facts – the results might be trivial, but the process may remind as of the extreme complexity of the world.

abstraction

Question 4

ABSTRACTION

Answer 4

The process of extracting a unifying explanation from the multiplicity of the things around them

Question 5

REDUCTIONIST PHILOSOPHY (4)

Answer 5

refers to understanding complex ideas by reducing them to their parts or individual constituents.

holds the notion that the complex system is nothing but a just a sum of its parts and that everything in it can be reduced to individual properties.

alogous to the level of organization in science in which organisms can be broken down into organ system, organ, tissue and cells

Rene Descartes

Question 6

Rene Descartes (3)

Answer 6

introduced the concept of reductionism during the 17th century.

likened the world to a machine with pieces working like a clockwork mechanism.

argued that the machine can only be understood if an individual would take its pieces apart and study its individual components before putting it back together to understand the biggest picture.

Question 7

HOLISTIC PHILOSOPHY (5)

Answer 7

Works on the assumption that all properties in a given system cannot be broken down by its component parts alone, but rather the system as a whole entity decides how the individual parts behave.

the idea that something can be more than the sum of its parts: more specifically it usually refers to the concept of reality.

contends that one must understand reality as a whole.

One can’t start examining just the parts of reality and expect to end up with an accurate picture of it.

Aristotle in metaphysics

Question 8

Aristotle

Answer 8

“The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

Question 9

METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING (7)

Answer 9

1. Plato’s Metaphysical System
2. The World Soul
3. Allegory of the Cave
4. Divided Line
5. Search for Knowledge
6. Dialectics
7. Method of Systematic Doubt

Question 10

Plato’s Metaphysical System (3)

Answer 10

assumed that this world is not the basis for the attainment of true and real knowledge.

assumed the existence of another world in another dimension.

assumed that before we were born, our soul was once part of the world soul.

Question 11

The World Soul (3)

Answer 11

immediate and direct contact with the world of Forms and Ideas.

Here, the highest and ultimate goal is to perceived the idea of the Good, which is the highest idea.

The moment that the knowledge of the GOOD is achieved, one will attain virtue, hence, hence becoming wise.

Question 12

Allegory of the Cave (2)

Answer 12

describes the process of the enlightenment of the soul, where, the prisoners started with the shadows inside the cave to the realization that the sun (representing the idea of the Good) is the source of whatever is true and good for all things.

This ascent of the soul from the soul of opinion to the world of knowledge is called Plato’s divided line.

Question 13

Divided Line (4)

Answer 13

Plato distinguishes between knowledge and opinion:

1. Opinion, which could only produce appearances or reality as it appears to us, is further divided into belief and illusion.
   - eikasia or illusion, or imagination is considered as the lower type in Plato’s allegory.
   - Belief or conviction, or pistis, on the other hand, comprises our commonsensical view about the world.

Question 14

Search for Knowledge (5)

Answer 14

For Plato, the real objective is the search for knowledge.

Knowledge has two levels:

     1. reason or noesis, and dianoia or 
     2. understanding using scientific, mathematical, or abstract hypotheses. 

Noesis is claimed by Plato to be higher than the Dianoia because it has to do with the grasping of complete or perfect knowledge of the forms and ideas, especially the idea of the Good in the world of Forms and Ideas.

Question 15

Dialectics (3)

Answer 15

The Socratic method is an example of the method of dialectic.

Dialectics consist of embracing and taking on the hypothesis or view of your opponent as if you agree with.

After which, you will try to deduce contradictory consequences of the same hypothesis to make it look absurd.

Question 16

Method of Systematic Doubt (3)

Answer 16

consist in doubting everything that can be doubted until you arrive at clear and distinct ideas which are non-sensical to doubt.

Once these are established as indubitable, these would qualify as the starting point of knowledge.

descartes

Question 17

Descartes

Answer 17

went on to prove the existence of the self, as one of the three indubitable premises of knowledge, in the dictum, “ I think, therefore, I am.”