TOPIC: MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPY OF EDUCATION

1. Philosophy A brief introduction

2. The beginnings of philosophy • The word philosophy literally means love of wisdom • It
can be traced back to the sixth century BC, in ancient Greece. A series of thinkers were
making inquiries on comparatively secular issues. These thinkers asked their questions
through reason and observation, rather than through tradition or revelation. These thinkers
were the first philosophers.
3. Philosophy, of course, is best known for asking some of the most difficult and
important questions there are, such as whether or not there is a god, how one can know
anything at all, and how a person ought to live. • ‘Although philosophers deal with speculative
issues that generally are not subject to investigation through experimental test’, and
philosophy is not considered a science however philosophy properly done is not mere
speculation. • Philosophers, just like scientists, come up with hypotheses which ultimately
must answer to reason and evidence.
4. The Branches of Philosophy Traditionally, there are five main branches of philosophy.
They are: • Metaphysics, which deals with the fundamental questions of reality. •
Epistemology, which deals with our concept of knowledge, how we learn and what we can
know. • Logic, which studies the rules of valid reasoning and argumentation • Ethics, or moral
philosophy, which is concerned with human values and how individuals should act. •
Aesthetics or esthetics, which deals with the notion of beauty and the philosophy of art.
5. Although each branch of philosophy can be studied by itself in isolation, however
these branches overlap one another. One philosophical question leads to another and another
until we cover all the branches of philosophy • Consider the following question. • Should
people give their excess wealth to the poor? (Ethical Question) • Are standards of right and
wrong built into the universe ? (A metaphysical question). • If he claims that people are
justified in taking a particular stance on that question, he is making at least a epistemological
claim. • Furthermore at every step in his reasoning, he will want to employ logic to minimize
the chance of being led into error by the great complexity of the questions. He may very well
look to some of the ethical, metaphysical, and epistemological writings of past philosophers to
see how his brightest predecessors reasoned about the matter.
6. Other divisions in philosophy • There also exist other divisions in philosophy that focus
on different philosophical traditions or schools, rather than the branches of philosophical
study. For example, there is a general divide between western philosophy, which puts its
origins in ancient Greece, and eastern philosophy. • “Eastern philosophy” can be divided into
the philosophies of specific areas, such as Arab philosophy, Asian philosophy, Indian
philosophy, Hindu philosophy, Chinese philosophy and so on. These areas have some
overlap, of course. Some eastern traditions are rooted more firmly in religious ideas.
7. The demands of philosophy • Philosophy requires a brave mind as you never know
what your inquiries will lead you to. Oftentimes shaking your own set of standard beliefs. A
philosopher must be ready for the consequences (Eg. In search for answers to whether God
exists or not I must be prepared to accept upon discovery that maybe he does exist). •
Philosophy requires humility – the acceptance that you do not know it all and you may benefit
from another ‘philosopher’s’ contributions or even the acceptance that you could be mistaken
8. The demands of philosophy • Philosophy requires patience – answers do not come
easily to the philosopher. A question could keep you engaged for days, months and years and
even when you think you have reached the answer as a philosopher you do not consider the
chapter closed. • Philosophy requires more than one thinker. Your thoughts sharpened

DR. SILVIA C. AMAG

Foundation of Education 
TOPIC: MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPY OF EDUCATION

against the thoughts of another one like you is what keeps you on your toes for a certain
inquiry yet pointing to problems in your thinking you could never spot yourself
9. Pre - Socratics Rational thought on the scene
10. Pre - Socratics • The early Greek philosophers had many arguments over many
centuries over how the world works, how it is made, and how it came into being. • One of the
topics these philosophers disagreed about was what the world was made of. They each had
their own ideas.
11. The first person we know about that asked questions about matter was Thales, a
Greek philosopher. He did a lot of work in astronomy and mathematics. Thales is believed to
have traveled to Egypt where he learned geometry and astronomy from the Egyptians. He is
credited with bringing this knowledge back to Greece. He used what he knew about the stars
to his advantage. Thales believed that water was the fundamental unit of matter. He thought
that everything in the universe came from water. Thales also felt that water could turn into
earth and other type of matter Thales of Miletus (625-545 BC)
12. Famous Quotes by Thales “The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself.” “Hope is
the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still”
Thales of Miletus (625-545 BC)
13. Many philosophers of that time were looking for an answer to the question - what is
everything composed of? Anaximander came up with the idea of “the Boundless” or “the
Ultimate.” Unfortunately, he never explained what that was. This was not a lot of help to
people. Anaximander also studied astronomy. He believed that the earth was hung out in
space. He also tried to explain why the earth did not fall. The idea had to do with balance
among all the celestial bodies. Famous quotes by Anaximander: Immortal and indestructible,
surrounds all and directs all. Anaximander (about 610-547 BC)
14. Anaximenes (550-475 BC) • In contrast to Thales, Anaximenes believed that air was the
basic substance of matter. When air is thinned, it could become fire. If air was condensed, it
would become wind and cloud. More condensing would make water and earth and stone. •
Many natural processes were “explained” by this theory. When we get thunder and lightning,
that comes from wind breaking out of clouds. • Rainbows occur when the sun’s rays hit the
clouds. Earthquakes take place when the ground dries out after a rainstorm.
15. Heraclitus (540-480) • No Greek philosopher born before Socrates was more creative
and influential than Heraclitus of Ephesus. • He is best known for his doctrines that things are
constantly changing (universal flux), that opposites coincide (unity of opposites), and that fire
is the basic material of the world. • Famous quotes by Heraclitus: • No man ever steps in the
same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man. • There is nothing
permanent except change
16. Empedocles (500-430 BC) • Empedocles was all things to all people. Some people
believed he was a great healer. Others thought he was a magician. He had some convinced
he was a living god. And others believed he was a total fake. • The “periodic table” of earth,
air, fire, and water came from Empedocles. He believed that these four “roots” made up all
matter. Even living creatures were composed of these materials. • Famous quotes by
Empedocles: • Happy is he who has gained the wealth of divine thoughts, wretched is he
whose beliefs about the gods are dark.Read more at
17. Democritus (460-370 BC) • Probably one of the first weather forecasters, Democritus
had people convinced he could predict the future. • The Greek philosophers debated about a
lot of things. One of their debates had to do with sand on the beach. They asked the question:
DR. SILVIA C. AMAG

Foundation of Education 
TOPIC: MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPY OF EDUCATION

can you divide a grain of sand indefinitely? Is there a point where you have to stop breaking
the grain in half? • Most of the philosophers believed you could divide the grain of sand all you
wanted and never stop. Democritus said there is a point where the grain of sand can no
longer be broken into smaller pieces. He called this smallest piece • Famous quotes by
Democritus • Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.Read
more at
18. Summarizing the Pre-Socratics • Thales thought everything was made of water. He
believed that water was the “primary substance” of all things. He thought that water could not
be divided any further. Today we know that water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom. • Anaximander rejected water as the primary substance. He thought everything
was made of something he called “the boundless.” Nobody is really sure what Anaximander
meant by “the boundless” and this caused problems for him. • Anaximenes didn’t agree with
either Thales or Anaximander. He rejected both water and “the boundless” as the primary
substance. He believed that air was the primary substance. • Empedocles disagreed with
everyone and said that all things in the world were not made up of just one substance, but of
four- earth, air, fire and water.
19. Summarizing the Pre-Socratics • Heraclitus is famous for his insistence on ever-present
change in the universe • Democritus thought that the world was made up of “atoms.” Of
course they did not know anything about atoms and could not explain what atoms were. He
believed that all things are made of atoms. Today we know that Democritus was right and the
other philosophers were wrong although his contemporaries did not believe in his theories.

Group 4

Pinpin

Quiambao

Rodriguez

Roque

Rubas

Ruiz

Sanchez

Tagle

Ustaris

DR. SILVIA C. AMAG

Foundation of Education