RPE01: Philosophy and Ethics

INTRODUCTION

• Philosophy deals with philosophical and foundational problems that

arise from within.
• Philosophy is from Greek work philosophia, “Love of Wisdom”.
• Wisdom refers to the quality of having experience, knowledge, and
good judgement, the quality of being wise as well.
 INTRODUCTION

• Pythagoras was said to have been the first man to call himself a
philosopher; in fact, the world is indebted to him for the word philosopher.
• It is said that when Leon, the tyrant of Philius, asked him of who he was, he
said, “a Philosopher” and he likened the Philosopher to spectators at ancient
games.
• Before that time the wise men had called themselves a sage, which was
interpreted to mean those who know.
 INTRODUCTION
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those
connected with
• existence,
• knowledge,
• values,
• reason,
• mind, and
• language.
 INTRODUCTION
• Philosophy is the rational attempt to formulate, understand, and answer
fundamental questions.
• In a broad sense, philosophy as an academic discipline is an activity that
people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths the
world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each
other.
• Questioning, Critical discussion, argument and presentations are coming
in the Philosophical procedure.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs about life and the universe, which
are often held uncritically.
• We refer to this meaning as the informal sense of philosophy or “having”
a philosophy.
• Usually when a person says “my philosophy is,” he or she is referring to
an informal personal attitude to whatever topic is being discussed.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and criticizing our most

deeply held conceptions and beliefs.
• These two senses of philosophy— “having” and “doing”— cannot be
treated entirely independent of each other, for if we did not have a
philosophy in the formal, personal sense, then we could not do a
philosophy in the critical, reflective sense.
• Having a philosophy, however, is not sufficient for doing philosophy.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
• A genuine philosophical attitude is searching and critical; it is open-
minded and tolerant—willing to look at all sides of an issue without
prejudice.
• To philosophize is not merely to read and know philosophy; there are
skills of argumentation to be mastered, techniques of analysis to be
employed, and a body of material to be appropriated such that we become
able to think philosophically.
Philosophers are reflective/thoughtful and critical.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the world as a whole.

• Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of the various sciences
and human experience into some kind of consistent world view.
• Philosophers wish to see life, not with the specialized slant of the
scientist or the businessperson or the artist, but with the overall view of
someone cognizant of life as a totality.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is the logical analysis of language and the clarification of

the meaning of words and concepts.
• Certainly, this is one function of philosophy.
• In fact, nearly all philosophers have used methods of analysis and have
sought to clarify the meaning of terms and the use of language.
• Some philosophers see this as the main task of philosophy, and a few
claim this is the only legitimate function of philosophy
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is a group of perennial/ever lasting problems that interest

people and for which philosophers always have sought answers.
• Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems of human
existence.
• Some of the philosophical questions raised in the past have been
answered in a manner satisfactory to the majority of philosophers.
 NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY

• Many questions, however, have been answered only

tentatively, and many problems remain unsolved.
• What is truth?
• What is the distinction between right and wrong?
• What is life and why am I here?
• Why is there anything at all?
 IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY

• The study of Philosophy enables us to think carefully and clearly about

important issues.
• In studying Philosophy, we learn to take a step back from our everyday
thinking and to explore the deeper, bigger question which underpins our
thought.
• The focus in the study of Philosophy is to learn not what to believe, but how
to think.
 IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY
• Studying philosophy sharpens your analytical abilities, enabling you to
identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in any position
• It hones your ability to construct and articulate cogent arguments of
your own.
• It prompts you to work across disciplinary boundaries and to think flexibly
and creatively about problems which do not present immediate solutions.
• Because philosophy is an activity as much a body of knowledge, it also
develops your ability to think and work independently
Presently a few valid meanings of theory by a few recognised
rationalists:
• “Philosophy is a logical inquiry into the nature of reality”
(Dr.SarvapaliRadha Krishna) ·
• "Reasoning is the science and analysis of insight". (Kant)
• "Reasoning is the study of information". (Fichte)
• "Reasoning focuses on the information on the everlasting, of the
fundamental idea of things". (Plato)
• "Reasoning is the science which explores the idea of being for what
it's worth in uprightness of its own temperament. (Aristotle) ·
• "Reasoning is the study of sciences". (Comte)
• "Reasoning is the whole of all logical information". (Dr. Paulsen)
 SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY
• The issues that philosophy must address are those that are related to our
way of thinking.
• First and foremost, there is 'logic,' which is the study of valid reasoning
or argument.
• The 'latent structure of our actual thinking,' often known as
epistemology or theory of knowing, is a related field.
• It is the study of what it means to know, rather than what we know or
how we know.
 SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY
• The study of good and evil is also a perplexing topic for philosophers. It
is morality's domain. It does not list the good and terrible.
• It is morality's domain.
• It does not list the good and terrible deeds, but rather examines what it
means to be right or wrong on a fundamental level.
• It is a fundamental quest because it allows the human mind to discern
between what is good and what is evil.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PHILOSOPHY

• Reasoning is connected with the information on the real world.

• Reasoning serves to for tracking down reality.
• Theory might be moderate, customary and adaptable in nature.
• The thoughts of reasoning are important and significant.
• Reasoning arrangements with the idea of the real world.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF PHILOSOPHY

• Reasoning is what figures out various sense fail to remember the

method of information.
• Reasoning is what is dependably powerful.
• Reasoning gives an alternate heading to the change of conduct.
 CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY

• Philosophy strives towards a holistic perspective, a picture of the

entire.
• It can't be pleased with a sectional view that's only part of the
picture.
• A synoptic perspective of the universe is philosophy.
• Life and philosophy are inextricably linked.
 CONCEPT OF PHILOSOPHY

• A superficial life focused solely on sensory pleasures and financial

comforts leads to a superficial materialist philosophy.
• A deeper philosophy of idealism emerges from a deeper life of sense
restraint, emotional and passion control, and pursuit of human good,
truth, beauty, and the Holy.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

• Metaphysics
• Axiology
• Logic
• Aesthetics
• Epistemology
• Ethics and
• Political Philosophy
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
METAPHYSICS

• Metaphysics has been an essential area of philosophical discussion.

• It is basically concerned with making sense of the idea of existence
and the all God's creatures.
• By and large, it has two different survey locales, including
Cosmology and Ontology.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

METAPHYSICS

• Cosmology is focused on understanding the origin, evolution,

and the eventual fate of the universe, which include laws that
keep it in perfect order
• Ontology investigates various types of things that exist and
their relationship with each other.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
AXIOLOGY
• Also referred to as the theory of value
• Explores the nature of value and its metaphysical aspects.
• Value Theory is often interchangeably used as Axiology
• This branch of Philosophy peruses upon the value of goodness.
• To put it simply, Axiology looks at the concept of value in terms of
its philosophical terms and argues questions about nature and what
actually is valued.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

EPISTEMOLOGY

• Term originated from the Greek word episteme which literally means
knowledge, and the other half of the word ‘logy means ‘the study of.
• Basically it is about the study of knowledge.
• What can we know?
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

EPISTEMOLOGY

• A fundamental question concerning Epistemology is, what is knowledge? It

also asks questions like, can knowledge ever be absolute?
• Is there a limit for humans to know certain things?
• If we are living in a world of simulation, how can we know it?
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
ETHICS
• Ethics is concerned with the definition of right and wrong.
• It elucidates schools of thought that instruct us how to act in a given
situation, which has always been a matter of contention between
philosophers.
• Every philosopher has defined it according to their own subjective
understanding.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
• Combining the two fields of Politics and Philosophy
• Political Philosophy studies political government, laws, liberty, justice,
rights, authority, political states and systems, ethics, and more.
• It explores the concepts of why we need governments, the role of played
by governments, what are its constituents, amongst others.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
AESTHETICS

• Concerns the theory of art and beauty.

• Questions of art and beauty are considered to be part of the realm of
values because many philosophical problems in aesthetics involve
critical judgments.
• There are wide differences of opinion as to what objects call forth the
aesthetic response, and what beauty really is.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
AESTHETICS
• Our concepts of beauty may differ not because of the nature of
beauty itself, but because of varying degrees of preparation in
discerning beauty.
• Therefore, if we cannot perceive beauty in objects that others find
beautiful, it may be wise to withhold judgment until we are capable
ourselves of making a competent analysis of the aesthetic
experience.