Big Picture in Focus: ULOa.

Familiarize the definition, and the

approaches to the study, of Philosophy.

Metalanguage
A Filipino thinker by the name of Bro. Romualdo Abulad, Ph.D., claims that “there are
as many views of philosophy as there are philosophers.” Scholars and even
philosophers around the world seem to have varied definitions/interpretations of such.
This implies that there is no ultimate definition of philosophy as the meaning of the
latter may depend from the lens of a certain philosopher. What we have, however, are
mere attempts to define philosophy. In studying philosophy, moreover, two
approaches are presented. First is the historical approach. Second is the systematic
approach. Anyone who wishes to learn profoundly and rigorously from his/her study
of philosophy should both delve into these two approaches.
This section presents some of the attempts to define philosophy and discusses the
two approaches to philosophy. Hence, the following:
1. Philosophy. There are attempts in defining what philosophy is. Among these
attempts, three are well-known, namely: the Etymological definition, the Real
definition, and the Contemporary view.

1.1 Etymological Definition. This kind of definition is anchored mainly on

the literal meaning of the root words of a term. As coined by Pythagoras,
Philosophy’s etymology comes from the two Greek words philos and sophia
that mean ‘love’ and wisdom, respectively. In this sense, Philosophy means
‘love of wisdom.’

1.2 Real Definition. This definition is anchored on the notions of Aristotle

and St. Thomas Aquinas. It is for this reason that real definition is also regarded
as the Aristotelico-Thomistic definition of Philosophy. In this definition,
philosophy is viewed as “a science which inquires into the ultimate causes,
reasons and principles of all things in the light of pure reason alone” (Aristotle,
p. 689).

1.3 Contemporary View. This view of philosophy is anchored on the

definition of philosophy given to us by the German existentialist Karl Jaspers.
He defines philosophy as “a discipline in which questions are more important
 than answers, and in which answers are bound to generate further questions”
(Jaspers, p. 12.).

2. Approaches to Philosophy. There are two approaches in the study of

philosophy, namely, the Historical approach and the Systematic approach. The
former tells us of the four major periods (Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and
Contemporary or Postmodern) in the history of philosophy, and each of which
has its own specific subject of discussion. The latter (Systematic Approach), on
the other hand, is composed of the branches of philosophy. Under this
approach are the following: Metaphysics, Theodicy, Cosmology, Psychology,
Epistemology, Logic, and Ethics (Abulad, et al., p. 7).

Essential Knowledge
Simply writing down the names of the four periods and of the branches of philosophy
without discussing them rigorously and profoundly is not reflective of effective learning
and does not give justice to the subject-matter per se. This section, therefore, seeks to
discuss thoroughly the two abovementioned approaches to philosophy in a more
specific manner. Note that it is encouraged to utilize other books, research articles,
among other resources that are available online such as, but not limited to, the
university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com, etc.

1. Historical Approach. This consists of the four major stages and developments
in the history of philosophy. With it are the following:

1.1 Ancient Period (c. 600 BC- 600 AD). The general theme in this period
is anchored heavily on the philosophical enquiry concerning the origin of
the world or cosmos. It is for this reason that this epoch is often regarded
as cosmocentric (world-centered). Furthermore, this period is best
remembered through the three important Greek thinkers, namely,
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

1.1.1 Pre-Socratic Philosophers. These are the thinkers prior to

Socrates. Among them are the following: Thales of Miletus (580
BC); Anaximander (c. 610-546 BC); Anaximenes (c. 545 BC);
Pythagoras (c. 572-500 BC); Heraclitus (c. 525- 475 BC);
Parmenides (c. 515-440 BC); and Democritus and Leucippus (c.
460-370 BC).

1.1.2 Socrates (c. 469-399 BC). This thinker is famous for his dictum,
“Know thyself, for an unexamined life is not worth living.” While
the thinkers prior to him and his contemporary were preoccupied
with the notions pertaining to the origins of the world, Socrates
proposed a philosophical enquiry concerning self-knowledge.
Socrates advanced the significance of knowing oneself prior to
knowing other external realities. According to the Oracle at
Delphi, Socrates was the wisest man among men of Athens
 because he was the first to learn and accept his ignorance. This
learned ignorance compelled him to posit that there are so much
in the world that are yet to be known.

1.1.3 Plato (429- 347 BC). A student of Socrates. It was because of

Plato that Socrates has been known up until now. This is because
Plato was the one who wrote dialogues that made mention of the
life and philosophies of his teacher Socrates. Plato is famous for
his Republic in which the latter’s main theme is education, and
the philosopher is the educated/enlightened one. Contained also
in this book is the notion of Plato that there are two worlds, that
is, the world of ideas/forms and the world of senses. The latter is
a mere copy from the former. In this sense, for Plato, the world
that is real because it is not subject to change is none other than
the world of forms/ideas.

1.1.4 Aristotle (384 BC). A student of Plato who distanced himself from
Plato’s notion of the two worlds. Aristotle maintained that there is
no world other than the world we are living in. Thus, for him, what
we have is the world here and now (hic et nunc).

1.2 Medieval Period (c. 600-1600). The concern of this period is heavily
anchored on the notion of God, His nature, and His relation to man and
the world. Here, we can remember the two most prominent thinkers of
this era, namely, St. Augustine of Hippo (354 AD) and St. Thomas
Aquinas (1225 AD).

1.3 Modern Period (c. 1600-1900). The decline of the Medieval period
caused the emergence of the Age of enlightenment in which the latter
became the antecedent of the Modern thought. Rene Descartes,
deemed as Father of modern thought, introduced the ‘cogito’ (I think) as
counterargument against skepticism’s radical abandonment of essence
and reason. His phrase, cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”), re-
claimed the dignity of reason as the source of knowledge. Thus, despite
the deception brought to us by our senses, reason transcends this
deception and thereby leads us to that which is real. Most, if not all,
scholars considered the period of modernity as an attempt to imitate, in
a more sophisticated manner, the Ancient period’s way of thought, that
is, reason (science) over belief.

1.4 Contemporary or Postmodern Age (1900-present). This period is the

global age. The history of philosophy has been widely known in terms of
the Western tradition. In the contemporary age, however, we now
acknowledge and consider certain philosophies coming from the East,
say, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, among other oriental
philosophies, as significant theories that contribute to philosophy as a
whole (Abulad, et. al., 7). Noteworthily, however, there are as many
 views of postmodernism as there are thinkers of such. For the sake of
simplicity and general understanding, postmodernism is often described
as “a set of critical strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts
as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyperreality to
destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical
progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning” (Aylesworth,
2015).

2. Systematic Approach. This approach consists of the divisions/branches of

Philosophy. These are as follows:

2.1. Metaphysics. This division of philosophy is commonly regarded as a

science that deals with the study of Being. As such, there is this being
as God (Theodicy), being as the world (Cosmology), and Being as Man
(Psychology). Under being as Man (Psychology) are Epistemology and
Ethics (Abulad, et. al., 7).

2.1.1 Theodicy. Its etymology comes from the two Greek words theos,
which means god, and dike, which means defense, justice, or

vindication. In this sense, Theodicy, as John Milton claims, can

be understood as an attempt to “justify the ways of God to men.”

2.1.2 Cosmology. This branch of philosophy is defined as the “science

of the physical universe.” Here, philosophers such as Aristotle,
Newton, Einstein, Hawking, among others, are significant
because of their contribution to philosophy of science, particularly
on cosmology.

2.1.3 Psychology. The classical definition of Psychology is the “study

(logia) of soul (psyche).” Until now, this is still the definition of
psychology in so far as we view the term as a branch of
philosophy. Empirical Psychology, as a separate discipline from
philosophy, changed their definition of psychology from the
classical point of view to a modern definition of such, that is,
Psychology as “a study of human behavior.”

2.1.3.1 Epistemology. Comes from the two Greek words

episteme, which means “knowledge”, and logos, which
means “study of, account, or reason.” Thus, it is not
wrong to define epistemology as a “study of
knowledge.” It is in epistemology where questions
pertaining to the origin, nature, and extent of
knowledge are significant. Logic plays an important role
 in epistemology in that it serves as a guiding principle
in analytical thinking.

2.1.3.1.1 Logic. This refers to the “art and science of

correct thinking.”

2.1.3.2 Ethics. It is derived from the Greek word ethos, which

means usage, customs, and character. Ethics is the
“practical science by which one arrives at what makes
man truly human in so far as one is able to actualize
one’s potentiality for being just and good” (Tabilid, 22).

* The following diagrams show the two approaches in the study of philosophy. These
will help you understand the approaches in simple way.

1. Historical Approach.

Ancient Medieval Modern Contemporary

(c. 600- 1600) (1600- 1900)
or Postmodern
(c.600 BC - 600 AD)
(1900-present)
*Theocentric *Ideocentric *Anthropocentric
*Cosmocentric
(God-centered) *The age of *Global and
(World-centered) Borderless age
*The golden age of geniuses and of the
*Grand debate emergence of *The Age of
between the the Church
mathematics and deconstruction and
perfect other *Faith and/over the other sciences unbelief
world (Platonic) Reason
and the world here *Debate between
and now Rationalism and
(Aristotelian) Empiricism
*Reason over
belief
2. Systematic Approach

Philosophy

Metaphysics
(Being)

Theodicy Psychology Cosmology

(God) (Man) (World)

Epistemology Ethics
(Knowledge) (Action)

Logic
 Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you
further understand the lesson:

*Curd, P. (2019). Presocratic philosophy. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.). Retrieved from
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2019/entries/presocratics/>.
*Fieser, J. (n.d.). Ethics. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from
https://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/
*Fordyce, D. (2003). The elements of moral philosophy with a brief account of nature,
progress, and origin of philosophy: With a brief account of the nature, progress and origin
of philosophy. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com
*Singer, M. (n.d). Philosophy. In The World Book Encyclopedia, 1994 World Book, Inc.
Chicago [530 words]— definition and importance