NEED OF PHILOSOPHY:

Most students entering university are unfamiliar with philosophy. Although

high school students are intellectually capable of studying philosophy, they
are seldom given the opportunity. Consequently, the students' impressions
about philosophy - impressions widespread in our society - are often
uninformed or misinformed. They may well wonder: "Why should I study
philosophy?"
Here are some possible reasons:

Philosophy helps us understand that things are not always what they
seem. P

Philosophy helps us learn about ourselves and the world. It teaches us

how to grapple intelligently with basic questions such as:
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"Who am I?"

"Does God exist?"

"How should I live?"

"Should I do what society tells me to do?"

"Can I be sure of any of my beliefs?

"Does my life have meaning?

"Are values just a matter of opinion?"

"What is the nature of mind, language, and thought?"

Philosophy makes us more critical. It shows us that what we take for

granted may be false -- or only part of the truth.
Philosophy develops our ability
- to reason clearly
- to distinguish between good and bad arguments
- to think and write clearly

- to see the big picture

- to look at different views and opinions.
These skills are highly prized by employers and by graduate /
professional schools. They are never outdated. They enrich our lives and our
relationships.
By studying the writings of great philosophers we see the extent to
which philosophy has influenced science, religion, government, education
and
art.
Philosophy empowers us to critically examine ours views and the views
of others. Occasionally this leads us to reject our "inherited" views; however,
it should always give us new and creative ways to deal with problems we
could not otherwise solve.

NEED OF ASPECTS OF PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE:

Philosophy is a key aspect in life and is regarded very highly because it
greatly influences our everyday life in most situations we encounter.
It can simply be described as the study of all the general and fundamental
problems in life. It uses an approach that is systematic and critical and one
that relies on rational argument to achieve this.
The normal day-to-day problems tackled in philosophy are mostly connected
to the mind, knowledge, existence, values and language among others as
human beings interact with each other and with other things in their
environment.
Philosophy is a major concept divided into several branches to cover all
spheres in life. The branches include: Epistemology, logic, metaphysics,
moral and political philosophy, aesthetics and the specialized branches.
Epistemology deals with the scope and the nature of knowledge. It covers
various relationships and can be used in life to analyze relationships such as:
relationships between truth, relationship between belief and the theories of
justification. It helps us to think critically.
Logic on the other hand deals with the study of principles of correct
reasoning and inferences that are valid. This is very important in life as it

enables human beings to make the decisions they do after analysing various
situations.
Metaphysics involves studying general features of reality. Such features
include: processes, events, objects as well as their properties, time,
existence, relationship between the body and the mind among others.
Moral philosophy, also known as ethics, majorly deals with how best we
should live and interact with each other is society while political philosophy
which is they study of government and how we relate to communities and
helps human beings to put ethics that are right to the laws that govern us.
Aesthetics influences how we view beauty, art, sentiments and tastes and
our perceptions, enjoyment. It helps us appreciate accomplishmnets of
various artistes whose works we come across.
The specialized branches of philosophy that play a major role in our
everyday life include: Philosophy of science, religion, mind, law and
language. These determine our perceptions and understanding of these
fields. Philosophy is thus very important in everyday life as it influences
everything we do as human beings in our environment.

USES OF PHILOSOPHY:
Much of what is learned in philosophy can be applied in virtually any
endeavor. This is both because philosophy touches on so many subjects and,
especially, because many of its methods are usable in any field.
The need of philosophy is the acquisition of the following skills.

Critical thinking :
The ability to identify key issues in decision-making or problem
solving; and to identify various related problems and solutions.

Argumentation:
The ability to proceed in a valid and sound way from premises to
conclusions; to rationally persuade others; to more rigorously seek
roneasoned self-understanding.

Communication skills:

The ability to summarize the content of a message clearly and

objectively (for example, to differentiate fact from value); to explain
complex ideas and principles.

Skills in design and planning:

The ability to look at a problem, or an opportunity, from different
angles and to identify alternative plans of action or design.

General Problem Solving.

The study of philosophy enhances, in a way no other activity does,
one's problem-solving capacities. It helps one to analyze concepts,
definitions, arguments and problems. It contributes to one's capacity
to organize ideas and issues, to deal with questions of value, and to
extract what is essential from masses of information. It helps one both
to distinguish fine differences between views and to discover common
ground between opposing positions. And it helps one to synthesize a
variety of views or perspectives into a unified whole.

Communication Skills.
Philosophy also contributes uniquely to the development of expressive
and communicative powers. It provides some of the basic tools of selfexpressionfor instance, skills in presenting ideas through wellconstructed, systematic arguments that other fields either do not use,
or use less extensively. It helps one to express what is distinctive of
one's view; enhances one's ability to explain difficult material; and
helps one to eliminate ambiguities and vagueness from one's writing
and speech.

Persuasive Powers.
Philosophy provides training in the construction of clear formulations,
good arguments, and apt examples. It thereby helps one develop the
ability to be convincing. One learns to build and defend one's own

views, to appreciate competing positions, and to indicate forcefully

why one considers one's own views preferable to alternatives. These
capacities can be developed not only through reading and writing in
philosophy, but also through the philosophical dialogue, in and outside
the classroom, that is so much a part of a thoroughgoing philosophical
education.