Topic four

Categories of philosophy
Categories of philosophy
General philosophy
Technical philosophy
Learning outcomes
After working through this
topic, you should be able to;
•Describe general
philosophy
•Describe technical
philosophy
•Describe the processes
through which general
philosophy could be
converted into technical
philosophy.
 General philosophy
• This is the wide world or informal view of philosophy. No specialization is attached to
it. It is the It comprises the philosophies of life. E.g. School motto; It can be collective
or individual.

• Collective general philosophy comprises the societal traditions, customs, oral

literature and general life styles. They are expressed in ideologies such as the Ujamaa
in Tanzania, drama, poetry, songs, vocals etc.

• Individual general philosophy involves the individual convictions and personal beliefs,
practices and creeds E.g. Nyayo philosophy.

• General philosophy is old as human kind, universal in nature, particular/peculiar in

each community and is authentic.
• The term authenticity stands for thinking that’s is independent ,original,critical and
sincere.
 General philosophy
• It comprises the philosophies of life. E.g. School motto; It can be
collective or individual.
• Collective general philosophy comprises the societal traditions,
customs, oral literature and general life styles. They are expressed
in ideologies such as the Ujamaa in Tanzania, drama, poetry,
songs, vocals etc.
• Individual general philosophy involves the individual convictions
and personal beliefs, practices and creeds E.g. Nyayo philosophy.
• General philosophy is old as human kind, universal in nature,
particular/peculiar in each community and is authentic.
• The term authenticity stands for thinking that’s is independent
,original,critical and sincere.
 Technical philosophy
• The worldwide view of philosophy has been reduced to
a small world inhabited by very few people-The world
of technical philosophy.
• Technical philosophy is an academic discipline which
involves professional approach of study. It is
dominated by very few people known as scholars/
professionals [Philosophers/ students of philosophy].
• It involves systematic information in search of reality. It
is properly and systematically structured in terms of
content, concept and methods of enquiry.
 Technical philosophy
• The work of technical philosophy is documented in
textbooks, journals, and other publications.
• Technical philosophy is related to the western world
and involves the acquisition of knowledge through
constant and intensive study of the subject.
• The wide world view of philosophy was reduced to
the small world of technical philosophy due to
formalization, westernization and specialization.
 Processes from general to technical
philosophy
1.Formalization
• This refers to the process of presenting human ideas through
writing.
• The philosophical ideas being put forward must be
written(documented)
• The writing of philosophical idears began with philosophical
writing of ancient Greek philosophers such as socrates
,plato,Aristotle,Hegel etc.
• The world today presents the work of technical philosophy
,through books and other scholarly writing such as journals, which
adheres to certain language, content and methods of research.
 Processes from general to technical
philosophy
2.Westernization
• There is need for an individual to be familiar
with the western philosophy and more so the
Greek philosophy ,to claim to be a philosopher.
• The greek philosophy is actually reffered to as
western philosophy and schools of thought such
as idealism,realism,pragmatism and
existentialism are built on the thinking of Greek
philosophies.
 Processes from general to technical
philosophy
3.Specialisation
• This is the process whereby an individual acquires
exceptional knowledge of ,or a skill in a particular subject as
a result of constant and intensive study of the subject so as
to qualify as an expert or specialist in that subject.
• A specialized field is characterized by special language,
special methods,skills,and interest.
• Concepts like
philosophy,logic,metaphysics,ethics,epistemology and many
others are all foreign and western in origin.
•