SOCIAL SCIENCE AND ITS METHODS

Good day, Everyone!

Psalm 91:7
A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.

In simplest definition, Social Science is a branch of science that deals with the institutions and functioning of human
society and with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society, on the other
hand, Philosophy is a way of thinking about the world, the universe, and society. It works by asking
very basic questions about the nature of human thought, the nature of the universe, and the connections between
them.

Is social science and philosophy related with one another?

Philosophy is the science to learn fundamentals of science, while social sciences is a fruit of the philosophy. The
simplest analogy is when you try to make a house called “social science” philosophy is more likely the foundations
that build it.

Let’s have first the SOCIAL SCIENCE.

Imagine that you owned a time machine and that you travelled back to those days when your great grandparents
were children. You found that your home and the surroundings look very different. If you travel back further, you will
be even more surprised and fascinated by the food, clothes and even the language that your ancestors were using.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what happened in the past? Do you realize that we can relate with our past even
today? Does it not sound like a mystery that we must solve?

What is Social Science?

Social science is, in its broadest sense, the study of society and the manner in which people behave and influence
the world around us.

Social science tells us about the world beyond our immediate experience, and can help explain how our own society
works - from the causes of unemployment or what helps economic growth, to how and why people vote, or what
makes people happy. It provides vital information for governments and policymakers, local authorities, non-
governmental organizations and others.

Why Social Science?

Put simply, the social sciences are important because they create better institutions and systems that affect people’s
lives every day. Creating frameworks for understanding the origins and effects of regime type, the purpose of
political parties, the reasons for polarization, the structure of social networks, the goals and structures of
government agencies, or the challenges and opportunities faced by service providers and nonprofits are all attempts
to make sense of structures that have real and profound on-the-ground impacts.

SOCIAL SCIENCE AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

As the name itself suggests, Social Science is concerned about society. It aims at understanding all aspects of
society as well as finding solutions to deal with social problems. It is a broad area of knowledge and includes several
different disciplines under its domain. The main ones that you need to know at this stage are:

 History and Archaeology

 Geography
 Political Science
 Sociology
 Economics
 Psychology
 Anthropology

An academic discipline, or a field of study, is a branch of knowledge that is taught at various levels of education and
researched at university level. Any field of study has several sub-disciplines or branches. These may at times
overlap. Some important branches or sub-disciplines of Social Science are Economics, History and Archaeology,
Geography, Political Science and Sociology. You would be surprised to know that in the beginning, there was only
one discipline, i.e. Philosophy. Philosophy means love for wisdom or knowledge. That is why even now the highest
Degree in any subject is Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy). Later, when knowledge started increasing and expanding, a
need was felt to classify knowledge into different disciplines. Science and Social Science came to be differentiated.
Both refer to different aspects of our reality. Environment Science deals with knowledge regarding the natural and
physical world. Social Science on the other hand deals with knowledge concerned with all aspects of society and
human beings themselves.

History and Archaeology

What is History? History is an account of events that have happened in the past. It is about the real people and the
real things. It does not deal with mere ideas and ideals or what should have been. On the other hand, it is a study of
what has been. History does not deal with individuals alone. It is concerned with nations and societies. It is not
limited to kings and queens, but all human beings. It includes all men and women, rich and poor irrespective of their
background in terms of religion caste etc. Have you ever wondered how and what happened to our ancestors in
ancient times?

Why do we study History?

The study of History helps us to know our roots, strengths and achievements and gives us a sense of pride as well
as direction. What we call progress would be non-existent if we do not have proper knowledge and understanding of
our past. There is a general belief that history deals with the past, which we think is dead. In reality, our past has
important lessons for the present and the future. History records this legacy that has an important bearing on our
lives. In essence, history relates the story of cooperative actions of a large number of men and women in their quest
for a better life. When we think of how we can know about our past, we get connected to Archaeology. Often these
past activities and achievements bring a sense of pride. Let us keep them safe for our future generations.

Archaeology is the study of the ancient times with respect to society and culture. The traces of those events can be
found in material remains i.e. the artifacts, burials, ruined buildings, monuments, etc. and are studied
by archaeologists. They interpret them to provide knowledge about the times to which these artifacts belong. The
study of Archaeology also includes the written records that are very ancient and cannot be easily deciphered or
understood. These sources give more reliable and authentic information.
Most of the time, such traces are found buried underground and have to be dug out. This is called archaeological
excavation. Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Nalanda are some well known sites where excavations have been
undertaken and valuable material found. Such excavations are often carried out and reported in the newspapers. A
very interesting recent discovery is that of the remains of a city found under the sea near Gujarat. It is believed to be
Hindu God Krishna’s city Dwarka. Rakhigarhi, in Haryana, is another very recent excavation site.

Geography

The study of History and Archaeology remains incomplete without knowing something about the Geography of the
area being studied. Geography is the study of the earth’s landscapes, people, places and environment. In simple
terms, it is knowing about the world in which we live. Geography is unique in bridging the social sciences (human
geography) with the natural sciences (physical geography).

Geography plays an important role in shaping the life and history of any society. It helps us to recognize the
differences in cultures, political systems, economies, landscapes and environments across the world. It also helps
us to establish links among them. Geography provides an ideal framework for relating to other fields of knowledge,
too. If we know the geography of a country, we can understand what happened in history. In this lesson, you will
read that early humans made bows, arrows and other small tools. It is from studying Geography that you get to
know why. After ice age, changes in environment must have taken place. As a result, many dense forests might
have become grasslands. Can you imagine what must have happened? Yes, it led to a growing population of grass
eating animals like the deer, goat, sheep and the antelope. You also know that these animals can run fast. So
hunting them was not easy with heavy weapons. These light stone weapons, which the early humans had invented,
helped them in their survival.

Political Science

Government is a word with which you are familiar. You often hear or read about it in the newspapers or on the
television. Have you ever thought about what a government is? Do you know the role it plays in our lives and the
important things it does for the people? The government of a country makes laws and everyone living in the country
has to obey these laws. In democracy, it is the people who give power to the government when they elect them. In
this way people help the Parliament of that country to make laws. While in a monarchy, it is the monarch or
king/queen who has the powers to take decisions and enforce them. Social Science also deals with how we are
governed. It also helps us to understand the role of people like us in the running of nations and governments. This
discipline is called Political Science.

Sociology
Sociology is yet another very important part of Social Science. It is the study of human behavior in societal context.
Sociology focuses on the study of human groups. Sociology comes from the Latin word ‘sociologie’. It literally
means the study of companion. Sociology seeks to understand the structure of a society and how it works. It also
seeks to define and understand the different factors that have shaped our society. This includes race, class, gender,
culture, religion, belief systems and government. Sociology also studies the way individual and group behaviours
impact on the running of our society.

Economics

Living in a society also means that we must know how to organize our lives. We must know how to economize our
income, time and resources because all of them are limited. You must also learn to organize your time in such a
way so that you can manage to do things you want. Similarly, when we make a budget for our home, we make the
best use of the resources which are available to us. We can avoid many problems in this way. We call this study
Economics. It is much more than making a budget. It is the scientific study of the ways in which humans make
choices about production, consumption and wealth. This becomes very important when we are faced with limited
means. It is the social science of striking a balance between needs and available resources. Studying this subject
will be more interesting if you apply the learning to real life situations. One such activity could be to make your
household budget or time table.

Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, according to the American Psychological
Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human
development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.
Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of people throughout the world, their evolutionary history, how they behave, adapt to
different environments, communicate and socialize with one another. The study of anthropology is concerned both
with the biological features that make us human (such as physiology, genetic makeup, nutritional history and
evolution) and with social aspects (such as language, culture, politics, family and religion).

The Evolution of Human Beings (Part 1)

Good day, everyone!

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say to you, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall
have them.

The first human-like beings are believed to have emerged about two million years ago. They resembled apes.
Biologists called them Homo sapiens (wise human beings in Latin). They did not know how to cultivate land and
grow food. Nor did they know how to build a house for shelter. They lived in caves or on tree tops. Do you know that
human beings had started living on earth much earlier than they learnt to write? The invention of writing was an
important landmark, as written records became the main source of our knowledge of the past. Do you know what is
not recorded in writing is called Prehistory? You will be surprised to know that the period of prehistory is much
longer than the recorded time, which we term as history. So, to re-construct the life of prehistoric humans, historians
and anthropologists study tools, weapons, ornaments, cave dwellings and cave paintings made by our ancestors.
History refers to that period of human evolution for which written records are available. Such writings are found on
rocks, pillars, copper plates and more recently paper.

Nomadic Life

The Stone Age The primitive human beings were nomads. They kept moving from one place to another in search of
food from the environment. They moved in groups to ensure safety from wild animals, for social security and for
companionship. They also started making tools with stones. So, we call that period in human evolution as the Stone
Age. In each stage human beings used stones as implements which were better than the earlier ones. This helped
them to progress to a better and safer life. It had the following main stages:
The Old Stone Age - Paleolithic Age (500,000 B.C. -10,000 B.C.)

During the old stone ages, (Paleolithic Age) human beings lived in the foothills of the mountains preferably near a
river. Rivers provided them with drinking water as well as food in the form of animals that came there to quench their
thirst. They could find caves for shelter on the foothills. So, their basic needs of food, water and shelter were
satisfied easily at such spots. Do you know that early humans had to push out wild animals, specially the giant
bears, from the caves in order to make a home for themselves? Just imagine how difficult and dangerous life the
primitive people lived. To cover and protect their bodies from heat and cold, these primitive humans wore bark from
the trees and the skin of animals, which they dried under the sun. You must appreciate the role environment plays in
sustaining the human beings even today. There are some places in India like the Andaman and Nicobar Island
where certain tribal live like the early humans even today. Early humans lived in caves and made paintings depicting
hunting scenes on the walls of these caves. Paintings of animal-chase, especially big animals like bison and
reindeer can still be seen in the Bhimbetka caves in Madhya Pradesh. It is quite possible that this practice of
drawing on the walls was some kind of a ritual that ensured that they would be successful in their hunting
expeditions. It is also possible that it was a creative expression to make their surroundings beautiful by making an
artistic expression of their hunts.

The Paleolithic humans also developed certain practices which we think must be their religious beliefs. They
worshipped their ancestors after their death and buried them with tools and eatables for a comfortable journey to the
next world. They were afraid of natural phenomena like lightning and thunder. They could not understand facts like
the rising and setting of the sun. But they knew that when the sun rose in the east, it gave heat during the day time,
whereas the moon gave peace and coolness at night. To them it was something supernatural, because they could
not understand the cause. So they worshipped the Sun, the Moon, Thunder and Lightning. Moreover, they were
wise enough not to destroy nature and its balance. They took from nature only as much as they needed and
preferred to live in harmony with it. Don’t you think that the world would be a nice place to live in if people followed
what the early humans did? The Old Stone Age was followed by the Middle Stone Age or the Mesolithic age. The
Mesolithic age was regarded as the transitional age between the Paleolithic age and the Neolithic age.

The Middle Stone Age – Mesolithic Age (10,000 B.C. – 8,000 B.C.)

Let us see how the humans during the Mesolithic age discovered the use of fire. It is quite possible that when two
pieces of flint stone were struck together, they produced a spark. This spark may have fallen on some dry leaves
and caused a fire. This could have frightened or surprised the early humans. The intelligent humans learnt to use
this discovery to their advantage. They found that fire frightened the animals and so could provide them safety if
kept burning near the caves. It also provided light during the night. Even the food became softer and tastier when
cooked on fire. It also warmed up the cold caves by providing heat. Even today, people warm themselves sitting
near a fire on a cold winter night. This must have been really a great event in the life of early humans. Can you
imagine how the progress of early humans from living on the treetops to the discovery of fire took place? It could not
have happened overnight. Obviously, it took several thousand years. No wonder that fire became an object of
wonder as well as worship.
The New Stone Age – Neolithic Age (8,000 B.C. – 4,000 B.C.)

In the beginning, human beings were mere hunters and food gatherers. It took them hundreds of thousands of years
before they could become food producers. This was the beginning of the Neolithic Age. Humans could grow their
own food and they no longer depended on the uncertainty of hunting or searching and gathering more food. How do
you think this happened? It is quite possible like the discovery of fire this could also have been an accident. May be
some seeds fell on the ground and plants came out. These plants soon became a regular supply of food. They
started sowing these seeds and harvesting them. Now, they had to look after the plants they had sown. This was
because there was a gap of at least six months between sowing and harvesting the grains. This was the beginning
of agriculture. It led to a settled life for humans for now they had a regular source of abundant food. They also had a
better chance of survival as they no longer had to go hunting for food. Agriculture brought many advantages and
changes in the lives of the human beings. They built huts for themselves which were probably protected by a wall.
Their fields lay outside the walls. Now they had a regular place to live which soon took the form of a village. This
village consisted of many families which provided protection to each other.

The Evolution of Human Beings (Part 2)

1 John 2:15–16
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world.

GOOD DAY EVERYONE!

(This is only the continuation of the topic that we had last meeting about the Evolution of Human Beings. Last
meeting we have the different stages of nomadic life or the stone age which are the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and
Neolithic Age. Let's continue.)

Use of Metals: Chalcolithic Age

Humans had come a long way from their food gathering and stone implement days. Yet they were not satisfied.
Soon they discovered a metal called copper. This period now came to be called the Chalcolithic Age. In this age
people began to use copper for making implements. Do you remember reading that in order to make clay pottery,
the early humans used fire? It is used till today in the form of furnaces. Copper was the first metal to be melted by
heat in order to make implements.)

(Instructor's Note: As the early humans started discovering new materials, they started experimenting with them.
Copper was mixed with other metals like zinc, tin and lead to produce bronze. The age in which people started
using bronze came to be called the Bronze Age. The tools made of metal proved to be much more effective than the
earlier stone implements. Metallic knives and axes were helpful in cutting down trees and more land was cleared for
agriculture. The period when humans used both metals and small pieces of stone, is called the Chalcolithic age.)

Beginning of Community Life

Agriculture, mixed farming, development of tools and discovery of wheel all led to a settled life which we may call
the beginning of a village life.

(Instructor's Note: By now, the groups of human beings that had settled together had become larger. And a large
group needed someone who could maintain law, order and some discipline. So, it was natural that they those one
such person amongst themselves who could lead them.)

Various groups decided their own method of choosing a leader. The leader was more often the oldest person in the
group and sometimes it could be the strongest person in the community. The leader looked after the law and order
of the settlement. If a dispute arose between any two members of the group, the leader would act as the mediator.
Gradually, these settlements became even larger. Towns and cities started coming up.

Religion

Human beings all over the world have fear of the unknown. Any event, which was not understood by them, was held
in awe and soon became sacred. The same happened with the early humans. The earth assumed the status of a
mother figure, which provided food for all living beings – her children. The sun gave life and warmth. It was also
reassuring after the dark night. It was the same for the moon, stars, rains etc. People started worshipping them.
They started sacrificial rites and sang songs in praise of these natural objects. There were magic practitioners, who
claimed they could prevent people from coming to harm by them. Some individuals decided to perform sacrificial
rites and pray for the community. Such persons came to be known as priests.

Iron Age and beyond

(Instructor's Note: As you have learnt, human culture and civilization has undergone several phases of
development. The earliest human beings started making tools with stone. Later, human beings discovered metals,
which proved to be more useful for making tools. Copper, Bronze and Iron were discovered in that very
chronological order.)

The discovery of iron was a very important landmark in human civilization. It helped in making tools that were more
lasting and durable. Later, other materials came to be used. People learned to make alloys, which are made up of
two or more metals in fixed ratios. Brass is an example of an alloy. Then, we learnt how to make steel by adding
Carbon to Iron. And much later, modern science gave us a very useful material called plastic. Plastic is still used for
making all kinds of tools and objects of everyday use. It has many advantages over other materials. However, lately,
it has been found to have a negative impact on our environment. Therefore, its use is being restricted. I am sure you
have heard about the ban on plastic bags. The scientists are now trying to discover biodegradable plastic. So, you
must realize that every age of human development presents its own set of challenges. These have to be addressed
as humans evolve to the next stage.

Social Science and Society

One of the great problems in a democracy is getting the majority of people to reach substantial agreement on the
major policies that should be followed to create a better society. Social scientists can aid in bringing about this
agreement by helping people to understand the issues, the difficulties involved, and the possible steps to a solution.
If we express social objectives in sufficiently general terms, agreement is not so hard to obtain. Most people would
like to have a heaven on earth characterized by peace and goodwill, with freedom, justice, security, health, and
happiness for all. But when it comes to drawing up a blueprint for reaching these objectives, disagreements and
obstacles become apparent. Social scientists themselves are not always in complete agreement on what our
specific social goals should be or on how we can best work toward them. In any case, the function of social science
and of those who practice it is not primarily to determine social objectives. Its major function is to discover how our
objectives can be achieved. The determination of the goals themselves—our social values—is not a scientific
problem but one having to do with our likes and dislikes, our esthetic concepts, our moral standards, and our
philosophical and religious beliefs.

Iron was the very important landmark class in the human civilization because, the Iron Age helped many countries to
become more technologically advanced. Metalwork made tasks like farming easier, as the iron tools were much
better than what the people had before.

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

GOOD DAY EVERYONE!

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he
will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Nature of Philosophy

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy seems to be profound subject matter. As a matter of fact have you ever wondered why most
philosophers are of the forefront of any science? In fact the philosophy is the mother discipline out of which the
other science emerges. What makes philosophy unique or different from the other disciplines? During ancient
times in Greek Iona, before the emergence of philosophy as a discipline, any investigation regarding nature of
things would be labeled as “phusis” or “nature”. Back then there was no distinction between science,
philosophy or religion. Thus, any investigation regarding the nature of things is general falls under phusis.

Around 650 B.C, a man from a fishing village in Miletus, named THALES, started to diverge from
the mythological tradition and sought to answer questions like “What is that underlying substance that reality is
made of? How do things come to be, change and pass away? Is there something that remains amidst all these
changes?
For Thales, the underlying substance that reality is made of must be WATER because water is everywhere. It
can change into solid, liquid or gas, it is observed as dew in the morning. It was even believed that the sea was
the father of all things. However the more important point to emphasize here is that a man has dared to go
against tradition for the first time, and assumed that it is within man’s rational ability to abstract and explain
reality.

NOTE: Mythological - relating to, based on, or appearing in myths or methodology.

The Major Sub-disciplines of Philosophy:

1. Epistemology - the philosophical study of knowledge:

2. Metaphysics - the philosophical study of reality:

*Ontology - What kinds of things actually exist?

*Philosophy of Mind - What is the nature of consciousness?

*Philosophy of Religion – What is the nature of God?

3. Axiology - the philosophical study of value:

Ethics - the philosophical study of morality:

Political Theory - the philosophical study of justice

Aesthetics - the philosophical study of beauty:

Philosophy of Literature –

Philosophy of Art –

Philosophy of Music –

4. Logic - the philosophical study of reason and arguments

5. History of Philosophy – the philosophical examination of the development of ideas.

People – what did philosophers of the past think about and why?

Ideas – how do ideas arise over time and influence the development of new ideas in the future?

TRIVIA: Do you know that the term philosophia was first use by PHYTAGORAS and his followers around
531 B.C.? As early as 630 B.C., Thales already doing philosophy.

Each of those definitions that you gave on your activity is interesting in its own way, and to some degree
capture some of what Philosophy is about, or at least what people THINK it's about. What we can glean from
these definitions is that Philosophy is a kind of conversation about important questions, much of which is
focused on human existence. But more specifically, we can divide Philosophy into major groups of questions
that we can call the "sub-disciplines" of Philosophy.

To make it simple class, EPISTEMOLOGY is all about KNOWLEDGE.

If EPISTEMOLOGY is all about the KNOWLEDGE, METAPHYSICS is all about the NATURE AND
REALITY.

One of the sub disciplines of Philosophy is EPISTEMOLOGY.

It is said there that it is the philosophical study of knowledge meaning it answer questions:

What is knowledge?

Can we have knowledge?

How do we get knowledge?

The next one is the METAPHYSICS which focuses on the philosophical study of reality
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being and the world. Arguably,
metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy: Aristotle calls it "first philosophy" (or sometimes just "wisdom"),
and says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the principles of things".

There are 3 sub discipline of metaphysics. These are the following:

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality. It answer the
question, “What kind of things actually exist?”

Philosophy of Mind is the philosophical study of the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions,
mental properties, and consciousness, and of the nature of their relationship with the physical body. It
answer the question, “What is the nature of consciousness?”

Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of the meaning and nature of religion. It includes the
analyses of religious concepts, beliefs, terms, arguments, and practices of religious adherents.

The next one is AXIOLOGY which focuses on the philosophical study of value. It may answer the
questions:

What makes an action Right or Wrong? Is morality relative?

What do the words 'right' and 'wrong' actually mean?

When we say AXIOLOGY, this is all about the VALUE, please take note:)

The next one is LOGIC which focuses on the philosophical study of reason and arguments. This may
answer the questions:

What is an argument?

What makes an argument work?

What makes an argument fail?

This will be our topic on finals after philosophy, the LOGIC which is all about REASONING and
ARGUMENTS.

Lastly, is the History of Philosophy which focuses on the philosophical examination of the development of
ideas.
Class, Back then there was no distinction between sciences, philosophy or religion until a man from a
fishing village in Miletus, named THALES came. He was an ancient (pre-Socratic) Greek
philosopher who is often considered the first philosopher and the father of Western philosophy. His
approach to philosophical questions of course cannot compare to modern or even later Greek
philosophers, however, he is the first known person to use natural explanations for
natural phenomena rather than turning to supernatural world and his example was followed by other
Greek thinkers who would give rise to philosophy both as a discipline and science.

THE BEGINNINGS OF DOING PHILOSOPHY

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to His purpose.

Good Day Everyone!

What is philosophy? Why is there a need to philosophize? How do we characterize the study of philosophy?
What are the practical uses of philosophy in life?

Teacher's Note: Philosophy came from two Greek

words: philo means “love” and sophia means “wisdom” which were used by ancient Greeks to refer to “love
of wisdom” and soon applied to the study of discipline that uses human reason to investigate the ultimate,
causes, reasons and principles which govern all things. Thus, philosophers are people who engage in philosophy
are lovers of wisdom.

THE BEGINNINGS OF DOING PHILOSOPHY

I. The Pre-Socratics

 The importance of the first group of philosophers known as the pre-Socratics should not be
underestimated. In fact many of the popular ideas today had their roots in pre-socratic philosophy.
 It has been a very long journey since the beginning of Western Philosophy dating back to 630 B.C. in
Melitus. Melitus, as a fishing village and center of trade and commerce in ancient Greece, was the ideal
place for the first practice of philosophy to emerge. It became the melting pot of ideas from other
cultures in other parts of the globe. Together with the shrewdness of businessmen going in and out of
Melitus, it was part of ordinary life to hear people trying to voice out their opinion and convince others
through argumentation that their argumentation is the most plausible one.
THE PRE-SOCRATICS PHILOSOPHERS

 THALES
 ANAXIMANDER
 ANAXIMENS
 MAXIMUS
 PYTHAGORAS
 HERACLITUS
 PARMENIDES
 EMPEDOCLES
 ANAXAGORAS
 XENO
 LEUCCIPUS AND DEMOCRITUS
 EPICURUS

1. THALES- the most popular among the three which are Anaximens and Anaximander, being the father of
Western Philosophy and regarded as one of the sages (wise men) of ancient Greece. He believed that the main
idea that fundamental substance or primary constituent of reality is water.

He was the first philosopher to assume that the earth is flat. Such that when you reach the edge of the horizon,
you will fall. He was shrewd businessman during his time. He was able to establish a monopoly of the olive oil
trade which took him to the African continent specifically in Egypt.

Teacher's Note: He became familiar with geometry and brought it to ancient Greece, thus becoming also as
Mathematician.

Considered also as an astronomer because he was credited to have successfully predicted an eclipse.
2. ANAXIMANDER- (610-546 BC)- very good prose writer , he claimed that the fundamental substance of
reality is the infinite or the APEIRON – it has no precise characteristics or attributes, it is ageless and eternal
and encompasses all the worlds.

Teacher's Note: He believed that the earth is cylindrical and is suspended in space, was the first philosopher to
draw a map.

3. ANAXIMENS- he concluded that the fundamental substance must be AIR. Air holds our soul together, it
encompasses the whole world. He went back to the flat-earth theory, but unlike Thales who did not give an
exact shape of the earth, he gave a definite shape by claiming that the earth is and other heavenly bodies are like
saucers floating in the air. The earth is flat and round.

Quote of the Day: “An unexamined life is not worth living”

4. MAXIMUS used as well his observation and reasoning to provide causes for other natural phenomena on
earth. He said:

EARTHQUAKES were the result either of lack of moisture or super abundance of water.

LIGHTNING is caused by the violent separation of clouds by the wind.

RAINBOWS are formed when densely compressed air is touched by the sun.

5. PYTHAGORAS

He is the leader of a religious cult (PYTHAGOREANS). He treated philosophy as a WAY OF LIFE.

He said that Philosophy and religion are connected and merged into one. He considered Philosophy and
Mathematics as good for the purification of the soul. He believed that the primary constituent or reality would
be numbers. Anything could be explained through numbers.

Teacher's Note: In Mathematics, the Pythagorean Theorem is a fundamental relation in Euclidian geometry
among the three sides of a right triangle. Its states that the squares the other two side.

PHILOSOPHY, meaning it is the LOVE FOR WISDOM and the people who love
wisdom are called PHILOSOPHERS.

Personally, for me it depends, when a person does philosophy they are attempting to
understand the nature of being or the nature of Reality. So anyone who has insight on this
can indeed be a philosopher. However, it is my feeling that not all people can do this and
moreover not all people wish to do this.

Author: Shaira Myrell Naling | Created at: Saturday, Oct 17, 2020 09:39:25 click to reply

Class, Pre-Socratic philosophers are the Western thinkers preceding

Socrates (c. 469-c. 399 B.C.E.) but including some thinkers who were roughly
contemporary with Socrates, such as Protagoras (c. 490-c. 420 B.C.E.). The
application of the term “philosophy” to the Pre-Socratic is
somewhat anachronistic (something or someone that is not in its correct
historical or chronological time), but is certainly different from how many
people currently think of philosophy. The Pre-Socratic were interested in a
wide variety of topics, especially in what we now think of as natural science
rather than philosophy. These early thinkers often sought naturalistic
explanations and causes for physical phenomena.

Let us take one by one the Pre Socratics philosophers.

A philosopher is someone who creates systems, conditions, or ways of

thought. By thinking about what a human being does and is and what this
thing is that we call reality, one is doing philosophy.

1. Thales was the FATHER OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY.

He was the first philosopher to assume that the earth is flat.

He was also a MATHEMATICIAN, since he became familiar with geometry and
brought it to ancient Greece.

He was also an ASTRONOMER, since he was credited to have successfully

predicted an eclipse.

2. Anaximander was a very good PROSE WRITER, since he was the author of
the surviving lines of Western Philosophy. He speculated and argued about
“The Boundless” as the origin of all that is.

He claimed that the fundamental substance of reality is the infinite or the

APEIRON – it has no precise characteristics or attributes, it is ageless and
eternal and encompasses all the worlds. That is why he believed that the
earth is cylindrical and is suspended in space.

3. Anaximenesis best known for his doctrine that air is the source of all
things.

He gave a definite shape by claiming that the earth is and other heavenly
bodies are like saucers floating in the air. The earth is flat and round.

4. Maximus used as well his observation and reasoning to provide causes for
NATURAL PHENOMENA such as earthquakes, lightning and rainbows.

5. Pythagoras is the leader of a religious cult (PYTHAGOREANS). He believed

that the primary constituent or reality would be numbers. Anything could be
explained through numbers.

As a mathematician, he is known as the "father of numbers" or as the first

pure mathematician, and is best known for his Pythagorean Theorem.

THE BEGINNINGS OF DOING PHILOSOPHY (Part 2)

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according
to His purpose.

Good Day Everyone!

Teacher's Note: Today we're going to continue our discussion about the different philosophers who contributed
in Philosophy.

Let's continue...

6. HERACLITUS- he was known for the mystical nature of its philosophy his idea of CHANGE.
He believed that the only thing that is permanent in this world as CHANGE. He said, “You cannot step twice
into the same rivers, for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you. We step and do not step into the same rivers,
we are and are not.”

7. PARMENIDES – he leader of the Eleatic school from Elea in Southern Italy. His philosophical idea is a
contradiction of the idea of change from Heraclitus. He proposed that the only thing that is permanent in this
world is BEING. His idea that reality is being and that we are, therefore interconnected.

8. EMPEDOCLES – he believed himself to be immortal and that he had magical powers. He was known to
have cured somebody who was comatose for 24 months. He was the proponent of the notion that reality is made
up of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water.

He is regarded as a pluralist because he had four elements as his fundamental substances that reality is made of,
instead of only one substance.

NOTE: Those philosophers who believed in just one element are considered as monist
9. ANAXAGORAS – they believed that there NOT just one element that reality is made of. As a matter of fact,
for him, there as many seeds or elements as there are kinds of things. Thus, for him, matter becomes infinitely
divisible. Whenever you divide matter, each separated part will contain elements of everything else.

Teacher's Note: Another important contribution of Anaxagoras is his idea about the “NOUS” or the mind,
which was conceived of as external but is infinite and is self-ruled and according to him, “mind has the greatest
strength and power over all things.”

10. ZENO – student and loyal follower of Parmenides, as expected he would pronounce and reiterate the idea of
Parmenides that reality is BEING. Thus, to strengthen the point that we are interconnected as being, he went to
prove this assumption by pronouncing that there is no motion.
11. LEUCIPPUS AND DEMOCRITUS – contributed their idea that the ultimate substance that reality is made
of are ATOMS. Atoms which means inseparable or indivisible, must be the ultimate constituent of matter.

12. EPICURUS – he said that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness, his views gave rise
to Epicureanism, a school of philosophy which believes the wisdom and simple living will result in a life free of
fear and pain.

THE TRIUMVERATE

 Socrates
 Plato
 Aristotle

SOCRATES – is being considered the foremost philosopher of ancient times. He did not claim to be “wise” and
merely considered himself a “midwife” that helped inquiring minds achieved wisdom. He believed that
philosophy could enable a man to live a life of virtue. He formulated the Socratic method, which means of
examining a topic by dividing a series of questions that let the learner examine and analyze his knowledge.
PLATO – a student of Socrates, he wrote down his mentor’s teachings and incorporate some of his ideas. His
teachings and writings were considered the foundation of Western Philosophy. His Dialectic, a method of
inquiry were two opposing ideas are discussed in an attempt to arrive at new knowledge. He founded the
Academy, an institution of higher learning which was the first of its kind in the Western world.

ARISTOTLE - is a towering figure in ancient Greek philosophy, who made important contributions to logic,
criticism, rhetoric, physics, biology, psychology, mathematics, metaphysics, ethics, and politics. He was a
student of Plato for twenty years but is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of forms. He was more empirically
minded than Plato and Plato’s teacher, Socrates.

Teacher's Note: As the father of western logic, Aristotle was the first to develop a formal system for reasoning.
He observed that the deductive validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its
content, for example, in the syllogism: All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Even if the content of the argument were changed from being about Socrates to being about someone else,
because of its structure, as long as the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. Aristotelian logic
dominated until the rise of modern propositional logic and predicate logic 2000 years later.

6. HERACLITUS – A Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, Heraclitus criticizes his predecessors and
contemporaries for their failure to see the unity in experience.

He believed that the only thing that is permanent in this world is CHANGE.

Please have a take note because this will be included to our quiz later.

PARMENIDES- Parmenides of Elea was a Pre-socratic Greek philosopher. As the first philosopher to inquire
into the nature of existence itself, he is incontrovertibly credited as the “Father of Metaphysics.”

He is also commonly thought of as the founder of the “Eleatic School” of thought—a philosophical label
ascribed to Pre- Socratics who purportedly argued that reality is in some sense a unified and unchanging
singular entity.

His philosophical idea is a contradiction of the idea of change from Heraclitus. He proposed that the only thing
that is permanent in this world is BEING.

8. EMPEDOCLES- he believed himself to be immortal and that he had magical powers because he cured
somebody who was comatose for 24 months.

He was the proponent of the notion that reality is made up of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water that’s
why he is regarded as a pluralist.

ZENO- Greek philosopher and mathematician, whom Aristotle called the inventor of dialectic.

He is the student and loyal follower of Parmenides, Thus, to strengthen the point that we are interconnected as
being, he went to prove this assumption by pronouncing that there is no motion.

Zeno is especially known for his paradoxes that contributed to the development of logical and mathematical
rigour and that were insoluble until the development of precise concepts of continuity and infinity.
ANAXAGORAS- was an ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosopher who developed theories on the substance and
the formation of the universe.

Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher with some unique ideas about where the world came from
and how the world came into being.

Anaxagoras is his idea about the “NOUS” or the mind, and according to him, “mind has the greatest strength
and power over all things.”

Do you agree to Anaxagoras when he said, the “mind has the greatest strength and power over all things”?
Explain your answer.

Author: Shaira Myrell Naling | Created at: Saturday, Oct 24, 2020 09:51:54 click to reply

LEUCIPPUS AND DEMOCRITUS - Leucippus and Democritus were the earliest Greek atomists.

He contributed their idea that the ultimate substance that reality is made of are ATOMS. Atoms which means
inseparable or indivisible, must be the ultimate constituent of matter.

EPICURUS- Epicurus developed an unsparingly materialistic metaphysics, empiricist epistemology, and

hedonistic ethics.

He said that philosophy could enable man to live a life of happiness; his views gave rise to Epicureanism, a
school of philosophy which believes the wisdom and simple living will result in a life free of fear and pain.

Triumvirate means a group or association of three.

These three I think were the famous philosophers.

These are SOCRATES, PLATO & ARISTOTLE. Let us take them one by one to know their significant
contribution to Philosphy.

The first one among the Three or the TRIUMVIRATE was…

SOCRATES- he is being considered the foremost philosopher of ancient times. The best account of life and
work of one of the most influential philosophers of all times is given by the later classical writers, in the first
place by his students Plato and Xenophon and the playwright Aristophanes who was his contemporary.

He did not claim to be “wise” and merely considered himself a “midwife” that helped inquiring minds achieved
wisdom.
He is the inventor of the so-called Socratic method or elenchus which remains one of the most commonly used
approaches not only to answer the fundamental questions of philosophy but it also serves as a tool for scientific
research.

PLATO- Plato was said to be an ancient Greek philosopher. He studied Socrates also he was a teacher of
Aristotle and he found the academy. He authored philosophical works of unparalleled influences. He influenced
many of the writers or researchers such as Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Pythagoreans.

He is the student of Socrates, he wrote down his mentor’s teachings and incorporate some of his ideas. His
teachings and writings were considered the foundation of Western Philosophy.

Wag malito ha, Plato is the student of Socrates thus Socrates was the teacher of Plato.

ARISTOTLE- He was a student of Plato for twenty years but is famous for rejecting Plato’s theory of forms. He
was more empirically minded than Plato and Plato’s teacher, Socrates.

He made important contributions to logic, criticism, rhetoric, physics, biology, psychology, mathematics,
metaphysics, ethics, and politics.

As the father of western logic, Aristotle was the first to develop a formal system for reasoning. He observed that
the deductive validity of any argument can be determined by its structure rather than its content, for example, in
the syllogism.

Among the two which is Socrates and Plato, Aristotle was the bravest and take note he rejected Plato’s theory of
forms.

LOGIC: ITS PHILOSOPHIC BACKGROUND

LOGIC: ITS PHILOSOPHIC BACKGROUND

Logic is a philosophy subject; thus, it is appropriate to discuss first, no matter how briefly, what
philosophy is.

What is Philosophy? We shall take up its etymological and real definitions.

ETYMOLOGICAL: Philosophy comes from two Greek words, Philo and Sophia which mean love for
wisdom.

REAL: Philosophy is a search for meaning.

SEARCH: Ordinarily this word means: “to look for something”. However, philosophically, it means something
more, because the philosophical search is more of a quest. It has the following components:

 it is that which is of value to the subject;

 it is that which consumes the whole person- his attention, concentration, interest; and
 it is that which is continued without let-up until the answer is found, or the conviction is reached that,
for the moment at least, this is the best possible, though still imperfect, answer.

Instructors Note:

(The following examples may help clarify the above:

 The wedding rings of my parents may mean more to me than any other piece of jewelry I own. The
search for life’s relevance or man and his relationships to God, to the other man, and to the world may
be of more value than wealth and fame.
 The loss of an ordinary ball pen, though irritating as every loss is, may be pursued to some extent, as
looking into one’s bag or table drawer, or asking people around, but can be dropped by this pragmatic
decision: I’ll just by another ball pen. The pursuit is not worth the hassle.

The loss of one’s grandfather in crowded Cubao, on the other hand, cannot easily be given up. Neither can loss
of my parents’ wedding ring. One cannot say “I’ll buy another Lolo.” He is irreplaceable. So are my parents’
wedding rings.

 I shall stop when I find what I am looking for. However, in life, one does not always find what he is
looking for. My Lolo and the wedding rings may never be found.)

Philosophy is engaged in the search for the meaning of life meaning in the sense of importance, significance,
value and relevance. All rational men should be so engaged, or life is just a frittering away, a senseless waste of
energy, a voice that is once heard and then fades in the wind. In this sense, each intelligent man is a
philosopher, or has the capacity to be one.

Philosophy asks a lot of questions. The most fundamental of these have to do with the nature of reality itself.
What is real and unreal? Which is to be accepted? The idealist’s or the pragmatist’s concept of it? What about
the physical universe? Where did it come from? How has it come to its present state? How will it end? What is
man? What is his nature, his origin, his destiny? As a being-in-the-world, how are his relations to God-man-
world defined in terms of moral and aesthetic values? What is life? What is death? Is there life after death? Is
there God?

Instructors Note:

(Even as we ask ourselves these questions, we become aware of our ability to think and to try to find answers to
these. We realized we can know things and order our thoughts into coherent patterns, conscious, too, of the fact
that we are not supermen or the divine being after all who can know all things.)

A survey of the more popular subjects offered in our universities should convince anyone that philosophy
indeed is an adequate coverage of a man’s whole life and interests
These subjects are:

 Logic- the science and art or correct thinking

 Ethics- that which delves into the morality of human acts, or as the contemporary moralists see it, the
reflection on creative responsibility.
 Epistemology- the theory of knowledge, the goal of which is truth.
 Ontology- the philosophy of being. It is a branch of metaphysics which is about ultimate reality, and
hence the foundation subject of all philosophy.
 Cosmology- the study of inanimate beings such as the universe, from the philosophical viewpoint, of
course.
 Aesthetics- the study of the beautiful.
 Rational or Philosophical Psychology- the study of the life principle of living things specifically that
of man.
 Theodicy- the philosophical study of God.
 Social Philosophy- the study of relationships between man and the family, Church, and the State.
 Philosophy of Man- the inquiry into man as person and as existent being in the world.

LOGIC: WHAT IT IS

The ordinary college student usually associates the word “logic” with the ability to “reason” out. He is
right. He usually is irritated with “illogical” behavior. On the other hand, he usually approaches the subject of
logic itself with certain trepidation, probably hampered by a mistaken belief that it is nothing but a study of
cumbersome terminologies and intricate mental operations which do not immediately help him neither reason
correctly nor lead eventually to well-paying jobs.

Instructors Note:

(To some people, logical knowledge may be acquired even without formal instruction or guidance. They point
at the vast number of successful men of the world who have never sat in a logic class. True, but these have
arrived at correct decisions only after the long, arduous process of experience. Given the two men of equal IQ
and social background, one of whom was taken logic and the other as not, who do you think would be better at
reasoning?)

Logic is not to be identified with the innate capacity of everyone to reason out. Persons, who think that the
bright ideas and quick reasoning of a seven-year-old child is logic in its real sense, are being deceived. For a
logician, possesses the art by which he effectively arrives at the truth. He expresses his idea with clarity, with a
judicious choice of terms, propositions, and arguments. He distinguishes between correct and incorrect
reasoning with more confidence but only after a painstaking study of logical methods and principles.

Logic as a philosophical science has its own rewards namely:

 1. It guides man in his search of truth.
2. It develops and perfects his reasoning power.
3. It assures better relationships among men.
4. It is very helpful in the study of other philosophy subjects.

Definition of Logic

The term “logic” is derived from the word logos which mean study, reason, or discourse. It is
actually the science and art of correct thinking.

Logic as a Science

A popular pre-college word, science has come to stand for a systematized body of truths acquired
through observation and experimentation. It is not a topsy-turvy conglomeration of mere opinions or of
hypothetical knowledge. Logic is a science because it is a hypothetical knowledge. Logic is a science because it
is a systematized body of logical truths and principles governing correct thinking. It has been so since the time
of Aristotle.

Logic as an Art

“Art” usually means the making of a work of beauty, which is anything that awakens the feeling of
delight.

To fine arts are: painting, sculpture, music, dance, and poetic drama. As art each has only one
purpose: the expression of the beautiful. To accomplish this, the artist cannot allow in inaction. He must, day in
and day out, practice his art; most of the time in painful, restless pursuit, the only way for a painter and sculptor
to portray their dreams, for a violinist, a pianist, and any other musician to put their heart on wings of song, for
a ballet dancer to do his/her arabesque and pas de deux, like birds in the air, for Shakespearean actors like
Richard Burton to do their thing on stage.

Instructors Note:

(Logic is somewhat a different matter. The objective is still the expression of the beautiful, but in a limited
sense only- that in which reasoning is done “beautifully” with ease, with correctness, with validity.)

As an art, logic is a “techne” and teaches its students how to make a good argument. Logic is often
called the art of arts because it develops and perfects the intellect which all artists need in their work.

Logic
GOOD DAY EVERYONE!
 John 11:40
Jesus said to her, Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God.

LOGIC

1. The Meaning of Logic

Zeno, the Stoic, introduced the actual name of ‘Logic’. It is derived from the Greek word logike which means
“treatise on matters pertaining to thoughts or words.”

Logic is broadly defined as a science and art of valid inferential reasoning. As a science, it follows certain scientific
laws, patterns and principles in arriving at correct inferences. Logic is also an art because the mastery of its
techniques enables the mind to pursue truth in an orderly manner. Logic is commonly called the science of correct
thinking.

We shall consider Logic in its real definition as the science of those principles, methods and laws which the mind
must follow for the accurate and secure attainment of truth.

2. The Importance of Logic

Man is equipped with common sense. He has the ability to solve simple, ordinary and trivial questions. But such
faculty is rather basic or elementary and unrefined. It is unable to solve problems that are highly complicated and
technical. Thus the study of Logic is important for the following reasons.

1. It helps us to reason out correctly.

2. It makes us more critical and analytic.
3. It helps us think systematically.
4. It helps us detect errors in reasoning.
5. It enables us to distinguish between valid and invalid reasoning.
6. It enables us to persuade people.
7. It helps to develop sel-confidence.

3. The Division of Logic

Logic may be divided according to the Three Acts of the Intellect. These are: simple apprehension, judgement, and
reasoning.

Simple Apprehension is the first act of the intellect wherein by the acts of our senses we mentally grasp a thing
without affirming or denying about it.

Judgement is the second acts of the intellect wherein we join two understood terms obtained or acquired in simple
apprehension and deconstruct them either by affirmation or by negation.

Reasoning is the third act of the intellect wherein we draw conclusions from a given act of validity.

These three acts provide the elements of a subject matter and the bases of inferential functions. We view these acts
through this schematic diagram:
LOGIC AND CORRECT THINKING

Normally, we use the word “correct” for anything that conforms to a pattern or to rules. In logic this is also
the case-plus something more. When the premises have sufficient grounds for the conclusion, we call the argument
“correct”. Otherwise it is “incorrect”. This is weighing of whether reasoning is correct or incorrect is the core of the
problem confronting logic.

Thinking is a mental process. So are memorizing, simple recall, imagining, daydreaming, etc. These last
mental processes, however, do not involve thinking the way we conceive it as part of the logical operation. Intelligent
memorizing naturally needs some thinking or one is parrot-like. Simple recall of , say, to what nationality C. S.
Pierce belongs needs thinking in the sense that one comes up with the answer American, not Chinese. Or when
one is asked the sum of 5 + 5, one answers 10, not 20. But these are minimal exercises of the thinking process.
Imagining and daydreaming of a non-existent situation are not thinking in our sense again, but may be the
preliminary steps in the creation of a novel or a poem, which inevitably involves thinking.

There are two criteria for mental processes to be considered thinking: (1) when the objective is the truth,
and (2) when the truth we already have is the nucleus of further knowledge.

Therefore analysis, definition, classification, literary or scientific creativity are examples of the first
criterion; and criticism (as of books, movies, people), comparison and contrast (as between Jose Rizal, with whom
we are familiar, and another country’s hero) are examples of the second.

Logic’s first concern is validity; i.e., if the premises necessarily and inevitably lead into the conclusion. If
we say, for instance,

All orchids are flowers;

but the waling-waling is an orchid;

therefore I shall give you a waling-waling corsage on your birthday

There is something wrong with our thinking, for the conclusion does not follow logically from our premises; “therefore
the waling-waling is a flower” is the valid conclusion.

Logic leads man, in his search for truth, from the known towards the unknown, from the easiest towards
the most difficult. Specifically logic guides and directs man to form correct ideas or concepts, to unite concepts to
form propositions, and to correlate propositions into correct premises to form valid conclusions.

FORMAL AND MATERIAL LOGIC

There are some logicians like McCall who make a distinction between Formal and Material Logic. This is
the distinction:

Formal Logic is concerned with the aspect of form which has to do with correctness or sequence or the following of
rules. So, if we say:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

 therefore Pedro is mortal.

We have a categorical syllogism (a term to be explained later) which follows its rules and, hence, has sequence.

But if we say:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

therefore Pablo is mortal.

This is a categorical syllogism which does not follow its own rules and, hence, has no sequence.

Material Logic is concerned with the aspect of subject matter or content or truth.

In the first example above, all the statements are true (unless Pedro for you is the name of a dog or a
horse), and is what Material Logic is all about: that the content is true.

DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE LOGIC

These two deals with the process of thinking and that entail premises and conclusion.

Deductive Logic is that kind in which the premises flow logically into the conclusion. That is why it is also called
Formal Deductive Logic. It is from universal to the particular, or as McCall says from “the more too the less universal
by way of a middle term. “Again our first example:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

therefore Pedro is mortal.

Inductive Logic arrives at a conclusion, but with less certainty than Deductive Logic. In “Glenn was absent probably
because he was sick”, there is an implication that he could be absent due to some other reasons. “I wonder what my
mother is doing right now” implies she may be reading a book, or cooking lunch, or watching TV. “Prepare for a
math quiz tomorrow” implies a probability because that Math professor has been giving a quiz every Monday
morning for almost a month now.

In other words, Inductive Logic implies a sense of probability. As Copi says, it “may provide some
evidence of the truth.”

Inductive reasoning is closely allied to the scientific method, being from the particular to the universal.

Again, Logic derived from the Greek word “logos”, which means study reason or discourse.

Always remember that logic is the science and art of correct thinking

It is a science because it is a systematized body of logical truths and principles governing correct
thinking.

As an art, logic is a “techne” and it teaches how to make a good argument. It is also called the
arts of arts because it develops and perfects the intellect which all artists need in their work.

Let’s proceed to the LOGIC AND CORRECT THINKING.

It is “correct” when it conforms to a pattern or to rules.

Thinking is a mental process – involves analysis, definition, classification, comparison and
contrast, etc.

It guides or directs man to form correct ideas.

We have 2 branches of LOGIC. These are the following:

FORMAL LOGIC – concerned with the aspect of form which has something to do with the
correctness or sequence or the following of rules.

e.g. All men are mortal

but Pedro is a man

therefore Pedro is mortal.

MATERIAL LOGIC- concerned with the aspect of subject matter or content or truth of the
argument.

KINDS OF LOGIC

Deductive Logic- from more to less, meaning the premises flow logically into the conclusion.

Inductive Logic- from less to more, meaning it is closely allied to the scientific method, being
from the particular to universal.

LOGIC

1. The Meaning of Logic

Zeno, the Stoic, introduced the actual name of ‘Logic’. It is derived from the Greek word logike which means
“treatise on matters pertaining to thoughts or words.”

Logic is broadly defined as a science and art of valid inferential reasoning. As a science, it follows certain
scientific laws, patterns and principles in arriving at correct inferences. Logic is also an art because the mastery
of its techniques enables the mind to pursue truth in an orderly manner. Logic is commonly called the science of
correct thinking.

We shall consider Logic in its real definition as the science of those principles, methods and laws which the
mind must follow for the accurate and secure attainment of truth.

2. The Importance of Logic

Man is equipped with common sense. He has the ability to solve simple, ordinary and trivial questions. But such
faculty is rather basic or elementary and unrefined. It is unable to solve problems that are highly complicated
and technical. Thus the study of Logic is important for the following reasons.

1. It helps us to reason out correctly.

2. It makes us more critical and analytic.
3. It helps us think systematically.
4. It helps us detect errors in reasoning.
5. It enables us to distinguish between valid and invalid reasoning.
6. It enables us to persuade people.
7. It helps to develop sel-confidence.

3. The Division of Logic

Logic may be divided according to the Three Acts of the Intellect. These are: simple apprehension, judgement,
and reasoning.

Simple Apprehension is the first act of the intellect wherein by the acts of our senses we mentally grasp a thing
without affirming or denying about it.

Judgement is the second acts of the intellect wherein we join two understood terms obtained or acquired in
simple apprehension and deconstruct them either by affirmation or by negation.

Reasoning is the third act of the intellect wherein we draw conclusions from a given act of validity.

These three acts provide the elements of a subject matter and the bases of inferential functions. We view these
acts through this schematic diagram:
LOGIC AND CORRECT THINKING

Normally, we use the word “correct” for anything that conforms to a pattern or to rules. In logic this is
also the case-plus something more. When the premises have sufficient grounds for the conclusion, we call the
argument “correct”. Otherwise it is “incorrect”. This is weighing of whether reasoning is correct or incorrect is
the core of the problem confronting logic.

Thinking is a mental process. So are memorizing, simple recall, imagining, daydreaming, etc. These
last mental processes, however, do not involve thinking the way we conceive it as part of the logical operation.
Intelligent memorizing naturally needs some thinking or one is parrot-like. Simple recall of , say, to what
nationality C. S. Pierce belongs needs thinking in the sense that one comes up with the answer American, not
Chinese. Or when one is asked the sum of 5 + 5, one answers 10, not 20. But these are minimal exercises of the
thinking process. Imagining and daydreaming of a non-existent situation are not thinking in our sense again, but
may be the preliminary steps in the creation of a novel or a poem, which inevitably involves thinking.

There are two criteria for mental processes to be considered thinking: (1) when the objective is the
truth, and (2) when the truth we already have is the nucleus of further knowledge.

Therefore analysis, definition, classification, literary or scientific creativity are examples of the first
criterion; and criticism (as of books, movies, people), comparison and contrast (as between Jose Rizal, with
whom we are familiar, and another country’s hero) are examples of the second.

Logic’s first concern is validity; i.e., if the premises necessarily and inevitably lead into the
conclusion. If we say, for instance,

All orchids are flowers;

but the waling-waling is an orchid;

therefore I shall give you a waling-waling corsage on your birthday

There is something wrong with our thinking, for the conclusion does not follow logically from our premises;
“therefore the waling-waling is a flower” is the valid conclusion.
 Logic leads man, in his search for truth, from the known towards the unknown, from the easiest
towards the most difficult. Specifically logic guides and directs man to form correct ideas or concepts, to unite
concepts to form propositions, and to correlate propositions into correct premises to form valid conclusions.

FORMAL AND MATERIAL LOGIC

There are some logicians like McCall who make a distinction between Formal and Material Logic.
This is the distinction:

Formal Logic is concerned with the aspect of form which has to do with correctness or sequence or the
following of rules. So, if we say:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

therefore Pedro is mortal.

We have a categorical syllogism (a term to be explained later) which follows its rules and, hence, has sequence.

But if we say:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

therefore Pablo is mortal.

This is a categorical syllogism which does not follow its own rules and, hence, has no sequence.

Material Logic is concerned with the aspect of subject matter or content or truth.

In the first example above, all the statements are true (unless Pedro for you is the name of a dog or a
horse), and is what Material Logic is all about: that the content is true.

DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE LOGIC

These two deals with the process of thinking and that entail premises and conclusion.

Deductive Logic is that kind in which the premises flow logically into the conclusion. That is why it is also
called Formal Deductive Logic. It is from universal to the particular, or as McCall says from “the more too the
less universal by way of a middle term. “Again our first example:

All men are mortal;

but Pedro is a man;

 therefore Pedro is mortal.

Inductive Logic arrives at a conclusion, but with less certainty than Deductive Logic. In “Glenn was absent
probably because he was sick”, there is an implication that he could be absent due to some other reasons. “I
wonder what my mother is doing right now” implies she may be reading a book, or cooking lunch, or watching
TV. “Prepare for a math quiz tomorrow” implies a probability because that Math professor has been giving a
quiz every Monday morning for almost a month now.

In other words, Inductive Logic implies a sense of probability. As Copi says, it “may provide some
evidence of the truth.”

Inductive reasoning is closely allied to the scientific method, being from the particular to the universal.

Again, Logic derived from the Greek word “logos”, which means study reason or discourse.

Always remember that logic is the science and art of correct thinking

It is a science because it is a systematized body of logical truths and principles governing correct thinking.

As an art, logic is a “techne” and it teaches how to make a good argument. It is also called the arts of arts
because it develops and perfects the intellect which all artists need in their work.

It is “correct” when it conforms to a pattern or to rules.

Thinking is a mental process – involves analysis, definition, classification, comparison and contrast, etc.

It guides or directs man to form correct ideas.

We have 2 branches of LOGIC. These are the following:

FORMAL LOGIC – concerned with the aspect of form which has something to do with the correctness or
sequence or the following of rules.

e.g. All men are mortal

but Pedro is a man

therefore Pedro is mortal.

MATERIAL LOGIC- concerned with the aspect of subject matter or content or truth of the argument.

KINDS OF LOGIC
Deductive Logic- from more to less, meaning the premises flow logically into the conclusion.

Inductive Logic- from less to more, meaning it is closely allied to the scientific method, being from the
particular to universal.

SIMPLE APPREHENSION: THE FIRST ACT OF THE INTELLECT

GOOD DAY EVERYONE!

Psalm 37:3
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and truly you shall be fed.

Idea

A. Nature of the Idea

Ideas are figuratively, the building blocks of knowledge. In the same way as the foundation of a house is
important and descriptive of the quality of the building, ideas are the fundamentals of knowledge. It is upon
them that the meaning and direction of our judgement and reasoning depend. Our ideas are the bases of truth
and error in as much as our judgement expresses truth and errors. In a manner of speaking, we have to be firm
and accurate with the idea, because “no building can be solid enough unless its foundation is solid.”

B. Process of Forming Ideas

All knowledge starts with the senses. The first step in forming ideas as the act of perception. Perception is a
process by which we make use of our metaphysical sense organs (sense of sight, smell, hearing touch and taste)
in order to form a sense perception in our brain. This is the actual physical contact between the sense organs and
the stimulus.

Instructors Note: The image is eventually retained even after the actual object itself is removed because the
image is recalled by means of memory and imagination every time the object is suggested. This image or
phantasm of the imagination is the first step in the formation of idea. Phantasm is the sensible image or
representation of a particular or individual thing in reality. It is the immediate product of sense perception and is
the formed object of the memory and imagination.

Man does not stop at mere production of a picture in his imagination. In the presence of this image, man begins
to think and the intellect relays the sense image to make his own representation of the thing. This is the process
of abstraction.

Abstraction is the process by which we draw or grasp the universal and essential characteristics of things
belonging to the same class and leave out the individual or non-essential characteristics. Abstraction begins only
after we have acquired the phantasm or sense-image by way of a sense perception. After acquiring the
phantasm, the intellect now gives attention to this phantasm in order to make its own representation of the thing.
By this process of abstraction, the intellect filters all the given characteristics by drawing out the essential
elements of things belonging to the same kind and leaving out the accidental and non-essential elements. This is
now the intellectual image, and this is called the idea.

Therefore, the idea consists only of the essential elements among things of the same kind. Idea is the intellectual
image or representation of things. Idea, therefore, is defined as the mental representation of the essence of
things.

Instructors Note: There is always a danger of confusing the phantasm (sense-image) of the imagination with the
idea (intellectual image) of the intellect. Below is a practical comparison of the two to remove any existing and
possible confusion:

IDEAS PHANTASM
1. Intellectual image Sensible image of the imagination
2. Universal Particular
3. Applicable to concrete things Cannot extend to complex things
4. There are things that we can have an idea of, but no phantasm can be made.
5. Constant variable

C. Logical Properties of Ideas

1. Comprehension is the sum total of all the attributes or thought- elements which constitute the idea.
2. Extension is the sum total of all individuals or groups to which an idea may be applied. It is the range or
scope of individuals and classes to which an idea may be applied.

The relation between comprehension and extension is presented under the following principles.

a. The comprehension can neither be increased nor decreased without changing the idea itself;

b. The extension can be increased or decreased without destroying the idea.

c. The comprehension of an idea always remains the same, while the extension of the idea may change
continually.
d. As comprehension increases, extension increases, comprehension decreases. To illustrate, here is a tabled
presentation:

Comprehension Extension

Bodily things, plants, animals, man

Bodily, living plants, animals, man

Bodily, living, sentient animals, man

Bodily, living, sentient, rational man

D. Kinds of Ideas

To understand the nature of idea better, it would be advantageous to know them by their kinds:

1. Ideas According to Origina. Intuitive or Immediate- ideas formed as a result of direct perception of
things. These are ideas formed of immediately present objects, perceived as present and experienced.b.
Abstractive or Mediate- ideas formed by some means other than immediate perception. These are
acquired not through personal experience but usually through books, newspapers, or conversations with
others.

2. Ideas According to Relation

a. Connex- where one idea necessarily either includes or excludes the other. Like: father-child; husband-wife;
teacher-pupil; light-darkness; day-night. In those cases, you cannot be one without the other; or if you are of the
one, you are necessarily not of the other. Like in father and child. You cannot be a father without a child, or
cannot be a child without a father. Similarly, between father and son, if you are the son, you are not the father.

b. Disparate- when ideas neither necessarily include nor necessarily exclude each other. Like: man-black; iron-
wheel; wise-good. In the example man and black, it is not necessary that you must be black to be a man, or not
all men are black, or not all blacks are, men.

Disparate ideas are either identical or diverse.

i. Identical Disparate Ideas are those that have the same comprehension. Like: man-rational animal; water-
H2O; salt-sodium chloride.

ii. Diverse Disparate Ideas, on the other hand, are ideas with different comprehensions, Like: man-brute; tree-
dog; house-cat.
Diverse Disparate Ideas are further classified as compatible or incompatible.

1. Compatible Diverse Ideas are those whose comprehensions can be united to form a third idea. Like: man
+ white = white man; vegetant + sentient= brute; electric+ fan = electric fan.
2. Incompatible Diverse Ideas are those where the comprehension of one idea excludes the attributes of the
other:

Like: light-darkness; iron-wood.

Incompatible Diverse Ideas may either be contradictory, privative, contrary, or relative.

1. Contradictory Ideas are two ideas one of which expresses the simple denial of the comprehension of the
other must be applicable. Like: organic- inorganic; thing-nothing; good- not good; equal- unequal.
2. Private Ideas are two ideas one of which signifies perfection and the other a denial of such perfection in
a subject which it ought to possess. Like: sight-blindness; living-dead; healthy- sick; sanity-insanity.
3. Contrary Ideas are ideas that represent two extremes among objects of the same class. Like: white-
black; hot-cold; king-slave. Contraries are exclusive; they cannot be true at the same time in the same
subject.
4. Relative Ideas are two incompatible ideas united in such a way that one cannot be understood without
the other. Like: father-child; master-servant; east-west; cause-effect; left-right.

3. Ideas According to Extension

1. Singular- where it represents a single object only. It is qualified sometimes by proper names,
demonstrative pronouns ‘this’ and ‘that’, and by restrictive qualifications of objects or persons.
2. Universal- represents some common nature or attribute which can be applied to a class as a whole and to
each individual of that class. Denoted by quantifiers ‘all’ and ‘every’ or by the absence of any quantifier.
3. Particular – universal ideas taken partly and indeterminately. It applies neither to one nor to all, but to
some in an indeterminate manner. Presented by words ‘some,’ few,’ several,’ a ‘number of,’’ many’.
1. Collective- applies to all individuals of a class, but not to the simple members of the class. Like:
‘army,’ ‘flock’, ‘family’, ‘church’, ‘society’.

4. Ideas According to Comprehension

1. Simple- comprehension consists of one attribute or element only. Like: being, thing, one.
2. Composite- comprehension consists of more than one attribute or element.
3. Concrete- expresses a nature inherent in a subject. It represents a thing as it is found in reality. Such as
tall, white, man, small.
4. Abstract- expresses an attribute separate form the subject in which it inheres. Such as tallness,
whiteness, humanity, smallness.

Being part of the first act of the intellect, the soundness of an idea is important in the learning process
because this is the basis of good judgement and valid reasoning which are the second and third acts of
our intellect, respectively.
All knowledge starts with the senses. This is the first step in forming ideas as the act of perception.

Perception it is the actual physical contact between the sense organs and the stimulus.

For example, sugar is presented to various senses as an object of perception: I see it-it is white, I feel it- it is
hard and granular, I taste it- it is sweet. Through such sense of perception we can come up with something that
is white, hard, granular and sweet. The combination of these four characteristics forms an image and memory.

In the context of logic it would be better if we understand Idea as an intellectual image or representation of a
thing. The Phantasm is a sensible image of things and it is found in the imagination. The phantasm is a
sensible image of the material features of a thing, usually a kind of pictorial image with shape.

Abstraction is the process by which we draw or grasp the universal and essential characteristics of things
belonging to the same class and leave out the individual or non-essential characteristics.

Abstraction begins only after we have acquired the phantasm or sense-image by way of a sense perception.
After acquiring the phantasm, the intellect now gives attention to this phantasm in order to make its own
representation of the thing.

Take note: Take a look on the lesson content to know the practical comparison of the phantasm (sense image)
and the idea (intellectual image) of the intellect.

Let us proceed to the Logical properties of idea. We have 2 properties of idea:

namely comprehension and extension.

Comprehension-the sum total of all qualities, which constitute the meaning of a term. The comprehension of a
term expresses the essence of the object. The comprehension therefore is the meaning. Example: Man =
rational animal

Extension– the sum total of all individuals or objects to which the comprehension of a term is applied.
Example: Man = Peter, Paul, John

Comprehension and extension are inversely proportional. The greater is the comprehension of a TERM, the less
is its extension. The less its comprehension the greater is the extension.

Let us proceed to the Kinds of ideas.

The first one on the list is the Ideas according to origin. Under this are:

Intuitive or Immediate- ideas formed as a result of direct perception of things.

Abstractive or Mediate- ideas formed by some means other than immediate perception.

Let us proceed to the third one which is the ideas according to extension.

We have 4 things under these ideas according to extension namely:

1. Singular
2. Universal
3. Particular
4. Collective

To make it simple for you,

Singular- where it represents a single object only. E.g. this, that

Universal- represents some common nature or attribute which can be applied to a class as a whole and to each
individual of that class. E.g. all, every

Particular – universal ideas taken partly and indeterminately. E.g. some, few, several, number of, many.

Collective- applies to all individuals of a class, but not to the simple members of the class. E.g. army, flock,
family, church, society.

And lastly are ideas according to comprehension which includes: simple, composite, concrete and abstract.