Defining philosophy is difficult because philosophy itself is philosophical.
Origin of Philosophy:
It comes from two Greek words; Philo & Sophia. Philo means Love while
Sophia means wisdom.
Philosophers are lovers of wisdom. Philosophy as a discipline urges us to being constant
search for wisdom. Philosophy urges us to distinguish wisdom from opinions,articles of faiths,
suggestion etc.
Philosophy is a discipline that subject opinions to critical assessment in order to have access to
thea lternative that is supported by a superior argument.
According to Bertrand Russell, philosophy because of its critical nature is a no-man'sland
between science and theology.
Philosophy and science are different because while science relies on empirical analysis,
philosophy relies on logical reasoning or critical reasoning.
Philosophy is like theology because both of them are concerned with issues beyond empirical
observation. However they differ because philosophy is critical in his own approach but
theology and religion are dogmatic.
According to Soyinka, philosophy is a violent discipline because it is the only discipline which
is so critically of things and at the same time is critical of itself.
To determine a philosopher is another problem.
Mythopoeia:it is Origin of systematic inquiring to the nature of world. To explain things in the
way of things around you, explaining nature by appealing to supernatural things.
Natural Philosophy & Human Philosophy
Up to about 13th Century there is no other discipline than philosophy. Every discipline start from
philosophy. Originally all disciplines are regarded as philosophy.
Natural Philosophy are chemistry, biology,mathematics, physicsetc.
Human philosophy
includes, sociology, economics, accountancy etc.
Philosophy does not discuss Mr A or Mr B,philosophy discusses Man.
Conceptions of Philosophy
Philosophy As Critical Argumentation & Examination of Ideas: It is the conception that urges and
requires us to start from the position of ignorance, in a way that as the idea is coming, you're
subjecting them to critical examination in order to distinguish the one that will be accepted and
the one that will not be accepted. A philosopher that is popular with this idea is called Socrates
.
For Socrates ,a wise man is not the one who knows all things but is the one who knows little
about everything. For Socrates,a philosopher must try as much as possible to have knowledge
about universe and must start from ignorance.
When peopl who think they know come to him, Socrates will get them to the level of Aporea;
because of his inquisitive nature,he becomes the enemy of the state. Socrates thought the
best way to learn is through questioning. For Socrates ,an one examine live,is not worth living.
“KnowThyself"
Philosophycas contemplation:
This is propounded by a philosopher known as Bertrand Russell.
For Russell a philosopher must acquire as much knowledge as per the world. That philosopher
must use the knowledge to better the society. Also philosophy urges us to know that there are
no absolute positions. Every position must be held tentatively until you're confrontedw ith super
argument. All philosophy questions are Open - Ended and all philosophy answers are Open- Ended.
No position is final in philosophy.
No absolutism in Science,No absolutism in philosophy .
Philosophy as contemplation, is urging a philosopher to be a universe citizen. You must not allow
your sentiment to influence your judgmentonissues.
Thanks to so much for reading. To be continued...