Topic #1: Introduction to Philosophy Flashcards
Philosophy is derived from what two greek words?
Philia (Love) and Sophia (Wisdom) = Love of Wisdom
It is the pursuit to apply correct knowledge
Philosophy
The four branches of Philosophy
- Metaphysics
- Epistemology
- Logic
- Ethics
it is the branch of Philosophy that deals with concepts and questions regarding the notion of God, soul and even freedom
Metaphysics
This philosophical study ventures into the understanding of the nature and dynamics of knowledge.
This also attempts to know how knowledge is acquired and if it could be acquired and to what extent is knowledge possible.
Epistemology
This branch of philosophy attempts to distinguish sound or good reasoning from unsound or bad reasoning
Logic
This branch of Philosophy questions how human persons ought to act, and search for a definition of a right conduct and the good life.
Ethics
Two Kinds of Reflection
Primary Reflection
Secondary Reflection
It is a kind of reflection characterized by that calculates, analyzes, or recounts past events. It is also fragmented and compartmentalized thinking. It is also called Instrumental Thinking.
Primary Reflection
This kind of reflection integrates fragmented and compartmentalized experience into a coherent whole and is genuine or unselfish thinking.
Secondary Reflection
What do you call the ability of the mind to construct and evaluate arguments?
Critical Thinking (Primary Reflection)
Two skills needed in doing philosophy
Philosophical Reflection
Construction and evaluation of argument
Why is Philosophical Reflection important in doing Philosophy?
It enables us to look deeper into our experiences and see the bigger picture of reality
Why is Construction and Evaluation of Arguments important in doing Philosophy?
It allows us to express our ideas in a systematic and logical way and allows us to examine the ideas of other people
How can we determine the wrongness of a human action?
If an act does not conform to moral standards.
- If it affects the well-being of the other.
- If one’s practice of freedom violates the other person’s freedom.
How can we determine the rightness of a human action?
- If it conforms to moral standards and ethical principles that we have learned and acquired along the way implicitly or explicitly?
- If we experience happiness?
- If the act generates ultimate goodness for the majority?
- If it is pragmatic to the individual?
Why do we need to be ethical or moral?
We are individuals among other individuals. (Esse est co-esse)
- We as social beings are political beings, hence, involved in the “becoming” of our world.
We are, therefore, involved in the development or otherwise, downfall of our social life.
- Now, in attempting to define or redefine our moral existence, we are confronting the necessity to examine our own faculties and our moral judgments.
It is the analysis of the situation or the careful deliberation of circumstances or socio-cultural dynamics
Critical Thinking