Approaches in Doing Philosophy: Analytic and

Speculative Philosophy
Lesson Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson,
the student will be able to

1. Differentiate analytic from speculative approach in philosophy

2. Formulate logical reason and profound opinions

3. Recognize the value of a healthy argumentation

__________________ 1. The first act of Philosophy

__________________ 2. “The unexamined life is not worth living”

__________________ 3. Philosophy is all about deep _______________

__________________ 4. The father of Western Philosophy

__________________ 5. The fundamental substance of reality according to #4

Analytical Approach

 In philosophy, an analytical approach refers to a method of

examining concepts, arguments, and philosophical problems by
carefully analyzing their components and logical structure.

 Analytical philosophy is all about the analysis and definition of our

fundamental concepts and consequently to clear the resolute criticism
of our beliefs.
-Charlie Dunbar Broad from his article entitled The Main tasks of Philosophy
Speculative Approach
 A speculative approach refers to a method of examining or
approaching a topic, idea, or situation with a focus on speculation
or conjecture rather than relying solely on concrete evidence or
established facts.

 According to Vinzons, speculative philosophy is all about trying

to “find an underlying explanation or general principle that could
explain reality in its entirety.”
Lets have an activity!!!
WHICH COMES FIRST? THE EGG or the CHICKEN?
Egg comes first!
 Darwin’s theory of evolution –It was made possible by the
Darwinian principle that species evolve over time.
 “Evolutionary biology provides literal answers that
chickens had ancestors that were not chickens” – Fabry
Chickens comes first!
 “every winged bird according to its kind” in
Genesis 1:21. Thus, God created mature birds with
the ability to reproduce.
 THE EGG: we analyze, think, and logically presented
arguments to prove its existence – that’s how Analytical
Philosophy is!

 THE CHICKEN: we speculate, relied on myths, stories, and

came up with such truth – that’s Speculative Philosophy for
you.
Analytical approach in philosophy
 This Analytical approach in philosophy was given birth
during the twentieth century through the efforts of G. E.
Moore and Bertrand Russell as they broke away from
the ideology Absolute Idealism.
 According to Aaron Preston, an author from the Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, these two great thinkers used
linguistic idiom – “frequently basing their arguments on the
meanings of terms and propositions.”
 For Russell, language and grammar are philosophically misleading,
especially when we do not consider the context of the statement and
may create illusions to others. Therefore, as they suggest, we read
between the lines, examine the language and see the true logical form
of the context.
Two important tasks in doing analytical
approach according C.D. Broad.
 know the facts – not just the context of the language/grammar, but also the
information that the words convey.
 The role of analytic approach is to verify if the sentence is really correct
and if we think deeper, the sentence becomes unseemly true. The
longer we look closer to the sentence, the vagueness of the words
shallow.
Two important tasks in doing analytical
approach according C.D. Broad.
 Know the facts – not just the context of the language/grammar, but also the
information that the words convey.

 Examine and criticize our beliefs – we should take away all our biases.
Speculative approach in philosophy
 According to C.D. Broad, “speculative philosophy aims to
reach some general conclusions as to the nature of the
universe; and as to our position and prospects in it. It is an
attempt to think synoptically of all the facts – the results
might be trivial but the process will remind us of the
extreme complexity of the world.”
 Answer the question

“Does God exist?”