NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY,INC

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

MODULE 1: THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY AND LOGIC

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. explain and discuss the nature of Philosophy;
2. describe the nature and concepts of Logic; and
3. learn the importance of Logic

Introduction

The fact remains that clear thinking requires an effort and doesn’t always come naturally.
But one can get better at it if one is willing to work a bit and accept guidance every now and
then. The branch of Philosophy that facilitates this kind of knowledge is known as Logic. This
branch of study is concerned with finding and establishing the truth in our daily activities,
opinions, reasoning, arguments, etc.

In this introduction, the nature of Philosophy was included for the simple fact that Logic
is a branch of Philosophy. In one way or the other, learning the basic tenets and precepts of
Philosophy will help you appreciate it, and eventually, Logic.

Nowadays, our world is filled with many events that we question. Human beings try to
give answers and justifications to these events or experiences. For instance, in our daily
activities, we are presented with queries and arguments. Logic will introduce you to the basic
rudiments and principles on how philosophers construct argument and the degree of reasoning
and laws involved in constructing these arguments and the reasoning involved in deciding which
argument, opinion, etc is judged as true/false, correct/incorrect, valid/invalid.
 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY,INC
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Definitions of Philosophy
1 . E t ym o l o g i c a l : c a m e f r o m t w o G r e e k w o r d s , “philos/philia” (love)
and “sophia” (wisdom)

2. Real definitions:
 Aristotle- Philosophy was the foundation of the ability to
understand the basic axioms that comprise knowledge.

 Plato – Philosophy is the process of constant questioning, and

questioning necessarily takes the form of dialogue.

 Philosophy is the study of fundamental nature of knowledge,

r e a l i t y, a n d e x i s t e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y w h e n c o n s i d e r e d a s a n
academic discipline.

 Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental pr oblems,

s u c h a s t h o s e c o n n e c t e d w i t h r e a l i t y, e x i s t e n c e , k n o w l e d g e ,
values, reason, mind and language.

 Philosophy is the science of all things through their first causes

under the light of natural reason

Branches of Philosophy
I. Speculative
A. Epistemology
B. Metaphysics
C. Cosmology
D. Aesthetics
E. Theodicy
F. Philosophy of Man
G. Social Philosophy
H. Rational Psychology/Philosophy
I. Political Philosophy

II. Practical
A. Logic
B. Ethics
 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY,INC
Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

PHILOSOPHY

 study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially in an

academic discipline.
 a particular theory that someone has about how to live or how to deal with a particular
situation.
 academic discipline concerned with investigating the nature of significance of ordinary
and scientific beliefs - investigates the legitimacy of concepts by rational argument
concerning their implications, relationships as well as reality, knowledge, moral
judgment, etc.
 much of philosophy concerns with the fundamental nature of self.

Methods of Philosophical Inquiry

1. Review of Philosophy- to begin with, recall that philosophy is the pursuit of truth. This
means that philosophy is not just the colleciuton of information. Rather, it places the
highest importance on how we go about discovering whether or nor something is true.
Philosphy helps us understand things that we cannot know just by looking at the physical
world.

2. Specifying a Philosophical Question- in order to arrive at your own considered view

about a philosophical issue, you first need to think about the topic under consideration
and specify the precise question or problem you want to address.

3. Identifying and Evaluating Philosophical Positions- Now you can investigate what other
people have already said about it it is helpful to list many philoisophers’ positions on this
question before you decide which ones to tackle. You should then