Key points(GST102)

Study session 1
.1. definition of philosophy

➡ Philosophy as the love of wisdom ( Philein- love, Sophia(wisdom) - in line with epistemology

➡ Philosophy as the search for reality ( finding the basic stuff)

➡ Philosophy as a search for truth(comparison of truth at different process)

➡ Philosophy as the formulation of metaphysical systems or cosmologies

➡ Philosophy as the rational explanation of nature

( Thales and other ionian used human reason and relies mainly on the facts of experience)

(Homer and other Greeks relied on intuition and supernatural notion to explain nature)

➡ Philosophy as the critical/logical analysis of Language

➡ Philosophy as the search for an idea life(ethics)

➡ Philosophy as the concern with human existence

2. Socrates is the Father of Western philosophy

3. The problem of philosophy is it definition.

We have a definition of philosophy but not the definition of philosophy

4. People who belong to the school of material holds that the world is purely material, those in the
school of idealism holds that the world is essentially spiritual whole those in the school of dualism hold
on to the two school of thought
5. Martin Heldegger wrote a book titled introduction to Metaphysics

6. Epistemology is the study of nature of human knowledge

7. Immanuel Kant believe that certain things are beyond human knowledge

Hegel said there is nothing beyong human knowledge or the cognitive power of human reason

Sceptics deny that man cannot know anything with certainty

8. Ethics deals with morality in general.

9. We have the following aspect

Philosophy of law(jurisdiction)

Philosophy of science

Philosophy of education

Philosophy of politics

Philosophy of religion

Philosophy of mind

10. Ontologist philosophize about being

11. Idealist, ontologist, metaphysicians goes beyond material dimension of reality

Study 2
1. Periods of philosophy (4 in number)

Ancient-(Pre-Socratic and Socratic period)

➡ medieval ( deals with religion)

➡ modern ( foundation of experimental science)

➡ contemporary period

2. Philosophers in the pre Socratic period

- Thales ( said water is the first principle thing, examined earthquake and natural phenomenon)

- Anaximader: drew the first map and determined solstices and equinoxes

- Anaximenes: claimed the fundamental substance is air and that soul is air, fire is rarefied air

The three of them are called MileSians

Other philosophers in pre Socratic period

*Pythagoras ( first to define philosophy)

*Heraclitus( suggested fire is the primordial element

* Anaxagoras

*Atomist( Leucippus and Democritus)

* The sceptics and sophists( taught for money. The chief sophist is chief Sophists)
3. Socratic period

Philosophers

Socrate

Plato( mentored by Socrate)

Aristotle ( mentored by Plato)

Aristotle was the founder of the school of Lyceum

Socratic period birthed neo-platonism and neo-aristotelism

Note: Hellenistic period is the period between Ancient and Medieval period

4. Medieval period ( also called middle age or dark age)

Philosophers

St. Augustine

St.Thomas Aquinas

St. Anselem

Few Jewish and Islamic scholar

5. The modern period( scientific knowledge)

Philosophers

John Locke

Rene Descrates

Spinoza
Note: Immanuel Kant made distinction between a priorl and posterior knowledge

Karl Marc influenced socialism as an alternative capitalism

Modern period begins from Renaissance and lasted till the end of 19th century

6. Movements in contemporary period(9)

Neo idealism

Neo Thomism

Positivism

Phenomenology

Existentialism

Existential phenomenon

Pragmatism

Process philosophy

Analytic philosophy

Note
1. For the three mileSians the principle stuff was water(Thales),air(anaximenes) and an infinite eternal
substance (anaximander)

2. Heraclitus suggested fire as a primordial element

For him reality was change( change is constant ) and motion

3. Plato called the essence of things ideas and forms which can only be known by reason not sense
perception

4. German idealism was led by Fitche, shcelling, Hegal

5. John Locke said ideas comes from sense, perception, experience

6. David Hume said metaphysics is based on sophistry and illusion not experience

7. Contemporary period gave rise to 9 movements.

8. Metaphysics is a core area of philosophy, the group of all positive science, study of being and the
ultimate nature of this

9. Metaphysics is divided in two branches

I)Metaphysica generalis( ontology is it special branch)

II) Metaphysica physicalis( also known as regional ontology deals with science)

10) Axiology is the study of value and it branches off to ethics(moral philosophy) and Aesthetic ( study of
beauty majorly and ugliness)

11. Criticism gravitates toward synthesis. On the attempt of positivism to criticism metaphysics it
succeeded in elevating itself to classical metaphysics.

12. Platonism in metaphysics vis associated with search for the double underlaying appearance or
palpable reality.
13. Aristotle( sketched professional academic metaphysics)said metaphysics is the study of aqua being(
study of being precisely being)

14. PROTAGORAS of Abdera introduced human dimension and assigned primacy to human subjectivity

15. According to Plato, reality governs idea

(Ideas are real, non ideas are unreal)

16. Aristotle holds that reality is primarily informed by the mind or matter informed by idea

17. Non Muslims are called infidels.

18 Neo Metaphyscism is the know it all mentality, superior-holier thou attitude

19. Extremism is holding on to your views, hardened position,makes man the master, repudiator)

20. Extremism begets extremism (vengeance (

21. A radical faith that doesn't prescribe to a middle course is sheer extremism

22. One who steers up a middle cour se speaks the language of being

23. Types of philosophy

Information philosophy: tells us about the history of philosophy and exposes us to being indirectly

Interrogation/investigative philosophy: talks about philosophy of other discipline

24. Hellenistic is the period between ancient and medieval ( there are 5 schools under this area-cynic,
cyrenalism, epicureanism,stoicism, sceptism)
25. Epistemology studies knowledge, it's a call to reflect on our justifiable claim of common sense

26. Curiosity fuels the attempt to discover knowledge

27. According to Plato, essence of knowledge are provided by forms of things

28. Mind is the highest product of matter

29. St. Augustine made distinction between immediate and scientific awareness

30. Awareness is the product of soul perception

31. The culture of people makes it possible for us to distinguish those who know from those who don't
know

32. According to Plato and Socrates, ignorance is the cause of wrongdoings

33. Marxist approach to knowledge can be explicated in practice

34. David Hume and Migual argued that moral act is as a result cof the heart's perception

35. According to Gorgias, knowledge cannot be communicated because the vital element of knowledge (
acquitance)

is missing.

36. It is doubtful if knowledge vis possible without memory.

37. Sceptism denies possiblity and plausibility of knowledge ( they feel we can not be certain about what
we know)

38. School of thought in knowledge (2)

I) Rationalism ( attributed to sense)

II) Empiricism( error as a phenomenon is ingrained in human reasoning)

39. Error is an impediment to societal development

40. Religious knowledge is the product of faith(it is through revealed authority)

41. " All I know is that I know nothing" was said by Socrates

42. Sceptism can serve a tool to overhaul our stockpile of ignorance

43. The human mind is the seat of adequate and inadequate ideas

44. Adequate ideas have reference to God

45. Pyrroh doubts the power of human mind to penetrate inner nature of things( he's yet to operate in
the spiritual�)

46. There are 2 types of knowledge

Prior knowledge ( before investigation)

Posterior knowledge ( the one gained from experience)

47. According to Spinoza we have 3 levels of mind operation ( confused, adequate, intuitive)

48. Intuitive knowledge ( as in based on your instincts) is inmates and it is derived from God

49. John Locke is the father of classical Empiricism ( he declared that knowledge is from experience)

50. Roderich said what we know must be possible and plausible

56. In the process of reflection, the mind converts the impression to object if it contemplation

57. Demonstrative knowledge is derived from memory, sensitive knowledge from sense experience,
intuitive knowledge from the mind without intervention of any idea

58. We have 5 classic truth theories ( coherence, correspondence, pragmatic, performative, redundancy
(not redundant)

59. Epistemology basically prepare our mind to know what we do not know and recover what we can
know and question that for which we have no clear perspective

60. Ideas have their origin from sensation

61. Sources of knowledge are reason( Rationalism) and sensory perception ( Empiricism)

62. Truth is defined as success in practice

63. Knowledge by heart influence our actions or reforms our behavior

64. According to Plato it is an extremely dark counsel to propose that belief+ logos = knowledge

He called this absurdity

65. For Rationalist, knowledge is not sensory ( bases on sensory perception) but ratiocinative( deals with
reasoning)

66. Knowledge entails belief but belief does not entails knowledge

67. The first sceptic were the sophist( PROTAGORAS was the chief sophist)

68. Error is incorrect judgement, a mistaken judgement, judgement that affirms what is not the case

69. The intuitive level is the level at which the unit between the individual and the universe is perceived
at a glance.

70. Epistemic exposure helps to improve our social relation

71. Ethics is from the Greek word "ethos" meaning character, custom

72. Ethics governs human conduct

73. Ethics is defined as the philosophical study of human conduct

74. Custom is the moral standard for distinguish right and wrong
75. A disciplined society is morally healthy and fit

76. Normal atmosphere is the training ground of morality

77. Empirical science is description science

Ethical science is normative

78. According to Barcalow behavior is classified as prohibited, required and permitted

79. Division of ethics ( meta(analysis), normative (standard norms), descriptive( describes)

80. Meta ethics is divided into 5

Naturalism, anti naturalism, emotivism, prescriptivism, intuitionism

81. Moral judgement is specific to human conduct

Moral principle is specific to human actions and character

82. Consequentialist theory is also referred to as telelogical theory.

83. Telo means purpose, end

84. Other telelogical theory are egoism and hedonism

85. Morality is from the Latin word Mors, mores, moralis

86. Conventionalism states that action is said to be right or wrong by someone

a) Divine command theory by God

b) ethical relativism ( by society

C) moral individualism by individual

87. The ethics guiding medicine is Hippocratic oath

88. Morality is neither relative or absolute but it is universal

89. The term Aesthetic was introduced by Alexander Gottlirb Baumgarten

90. According to Karo Ogbinaka, Aesthetic is derived from the Greek word Asthetikos meaning
perceptive

91. By representation we mean artist capture what they experience

92. We have two types of artist that shows interest in aesthetic

A) artist leaning towards philosophy

B) Philosophers with the taste for art

93. The republic was written by Plato

94. We have 6Aesthetic theory( play, pleasure, communication, experience, expression and imitation (
it's the oldest)

95. Aesthetic is therapitic according to Sigmund Freud.

96. Aesthetics is revolutionary, educational and a representative of significance

97. Taxun( Greek), ars(Latin) means craft

98. Moral issues rise when the choice people make will affect the well being of others

99. Immanuel Kant holds that actions should be asked in terms of motives or intentions of the moral
agent

100. Analytical philosophers believe philosophy is about clarification of concept

101. Logic is a branch and a tool of philosophy

102. Logic dates back to half a millennium ( but philosophy dates back to the 6th century)

103. Logic is from the Greek " logos"

104. Logic is not inborn, logic is learned and practiced

105. Logic is the study if correct and incorrect reasoning

106. Logic according to Irving cophin, is the method and principle of distinguishing between correct and
incorrect reasoning

107. Logic is an effective instrument in scientific knowing

108. Logic helps us to make inference through observation and enhance our communication.
109. Logic is a tool for ratiocination( reasoning)

110. Logic does not different according to discipline, fileds and institution. The same rules and law of
thought applies to whatever area logic is applied to

111. Anyone who seeks to ridicule logic must do so using logic in their attack thereby contradict ing
oneself

112. Logic is related to maths, psychology and natural science

113. Aristotle was the first to delineated on the subject matter logic

114. Freg defines numbers as plurarity of pluralities of pluralities

115. According to Russell, he said the relationship between maths and logic is just like the relationship
between man and boy

116. Empiricists insist that knowledge of objective world is only possible through observation

117. Theory is the aspect I'd natural science that must be backed up by experimental findings.

118. Types of Argument

Deduction

Inductive