Philosophy: Philia, Which Means Love, and Sophia Which Means Wisdom. Philosophy, Therefore
Philosophy: Philia, Which Means Love, and Sophia Which Means Wisdom. Philosophy, Therefore
Philosophy: Philia, Which Means Love, and Sophia Which Means Wisdom. Philosophy, Therefore
Philosophy is not merely another field of learning. It serves as a framework for all
knowledge, and its study is invaluable for acquiring the skill of critical thinking that is the
mark of a well-educated person. It also serves as a way of integrating knowledge.
IS PHILOSOPHY A SCIENCE?
Philosophy, in its real definition, is the science of all things by their first causes as
known in light of reason.
a. Philosophy as Science
The word science comes from the Latin verb scire, which means to know. Science,
however, is not just any kind of knowledge; it is a scientific knowledge. Now, a scientific
knowledge is knowledge of causes of things. Someone truly has the science of something
only if one has knowledge of its causes. To advance in one’s understanding, the “why” of
things must be addresses, not merely the “what”.
When a person knows the causes of things, one has attained certitude. Certitude is
the natural result of knowing not only the facts but also their causes. Now since scientific
knowledge is knowledge of causes, it must, therefore, be certain. It is not merely an
opinion, a conjecture or a belief. Rather, it is a certain knowledge that results from an
analysis of causes of things.
In this regard, we can say that philosophy is a science because it seeks to acquire the
knowledge of the causes of things.
Philosophy deals with concrete, real, contingent things. Many are of the belief that
philosophy deals only with the abstract that is beyond the physical. But this is not
completely true. It is true that we make use of abstract concepts in philosophy but only to
aid us in our understanding of concrete things.
Concrete, real, contingent things are things that are not self-existent. A being that is
not self-existent owes its existence to something other than itself. It is that which has its
own cause for its existence.
c. Philosophy as Known in Light of Reason
Philosophy is the science of all things by their first causes known in light of natural
reason. The italicized phrase means that philosophy seeks the first causes of things as far
as they can be rationally established by the human mind unaided by Divine Revelation.
DIVISIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophical inquiry is divided into major branches based on the objects they
address. The discipline of philosophy has traditionally been broken into 9 main branches or
areas of study:
WHAT IS LOGIC?
Logic is defined as the science of correct reasoning. As a science, it is a body of
information concerning the different relations that arise in our mind when it knows things.
The order that is reflected in our thought and actions is characteristic of the operation of
the intellect when it knows the truth.
Logic is not the foundation of philosophy or scientific knowledge; it is only its tools.
By itself, it is incapable of giving a comprehensive criterion of validity. It merely facilitates
in organizing our ideas, expressing them with more accuracy, and drawing from them some
legitimate conclusions. Further, it equips us with logical skills that are needed for
intelligent and rigorous inquiry.
1. Simple apprehension is the act by which the intellect grasps the essence of
something (apprehension because it lays hold of the thing mentally; simple because
the intellect merely takes the thing in without any affirmation or denial about it).
2. Judgement is a mental operation that pronounces the identity or non-identity
between two ideas.
3. Reasoning is a mental act that proceeds from the previously known truth to a new
truth.
All other mental operations (such as dividing, comparing, abstracting, etc.) may
involve any or all of these basic mental operations.
The material object of a science refers to the things that the science covers in its
study. The material object, then, of logic are concepts and conceptual structures like
propositions and syllogisms.
SHORT HISTORY OF LOGIC
The founder of logic is Aristotle of Stagira in Thrace (384-322 B.C.), son of the
physician Nichomadus, and who became Plato’s student at eighteen years of age and
studied with him for twenty years. Shortly afterward in 343 B.C., he became a tutor for
three years to the thirteen-year-old Alexander, who was to rule the world as Alexander the
Great. In 335 B.C., he founded his own school, the Peripatetic School of philosophers.
Aristotle’s work on logic is found in his Organon (meaning the method or organ of
investigation) which consisted of a number of his writings.
For two thousand years, Aristotle has been accorded the title, “the philosopher,”
reflecting a correct perception of this most gifted student of Plato. Aristotle advised his
students to familiarize themselves with the two volumes of the Analytics before studying
his metaphysical doctrines set forth in his First Philosophy, o Metaphysics. Aristotle
intended logic to be used as a method of finding truths rather than as a compendium of
truths. He regarded logic as a preparatory study for students of philosophy proper.
Aristotle understood truth to mean the agreement of knowledge with reality; truth
exists when the mind’s mental representations, otherwise known as ideas, correspond with
things in the objective world. He had said: “Affirming the non-existence of the existent or
existence of the non-existent is falsehood; but affirming the existence of the existent, and
non-existence of the non-existent, is truth.”
Logical reasoning makes us certain that our conclusions are true, and this provides
us with accepted scientific proofs of universally valid propositions or statements.
WHAT IS AN IDEA?
An idea is abstract because it focuses only on the nature or essence it signifies and
leaves aside the concrete, sensible characteristics of that thing. An idea is a mental sign
whereby we grasp the essence of a thing. The mental operation by which we grasp the
essence of a thing without yet making a statement about it is called simple apprehension
whose product is a term.
WHAT IS A TERM?
Term is the verbal manifestation of the ideas. It is defined as a conventional sign
that is expressive of an idea.
WHAT ARE THE 2 LOGICAL PROPERTY OF A TERM?
Connotation and Denotation are the logical properties of terms. A term connotes
something when it indicates the meaning of something; it denotes something if it refers to
something.
1. Concrete – it expresses something that has attributes that can be perceived through
the senses.
Examples: pen chalk phone ring computer
2. Abstract – it expresses something separated from any single object. It is a pure idea
expressed in words.
Examples: truth happiness height knowledge
B. According to Extension
C. According to Origin
E. According to Meaning
1. Univocal – a term that carries only one meaning in its several uses.
Examples: human person astronaut computer
2. Equivocal – a term that carries different meanings in its different uses. The term
may be equivocal:
only in pronunciation
marry and merry blue and blew
cue and queue jeans and genes
hill and heal not and knot
F. According to Quality
G. According to Object