PHILOSOPHY OF MAN

Part One: IntroductionI. The meaning of PhilosophyA. DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHYNominal Definition:

Etymological Meaning:Two Greek words:

PHILOS/PHILIA

– LOVE

SOPHIA

– WISDOM/KNOWLEDGEPhilosophy means

Love of Wisdom.Real Meaning:

According to

Aristotle Philosophy

as “thinking which aims at maximum connected truthabout all available experience.”This definition does not mean that the philosopher must discover a kind or degree of connectedness or relationship; rather it
obliges him to pursue the process of search and discovery.For

Aristotle

, the aim of philosophy was to explore connections of all accessible asexhaustively and comprehensively as possible.P

hilosophy

has been defined by

Bittle

as the “

Science of beings

in their

ultimate reasons,causes and principles

acquired by the aid of

human reason alone.”

As a science

– because it based on knowledge, not on mere opinions, theory of hypothesis.Its major concern is the discovery of truth for the purpose of knowing it in advance in order to do something about it.

Philosophy is similar to science in that it exhibits critical-and-open-mindedness, persistence, willingness to abide by experience and reason, and impartial concernfor the truth.

The difference between the two fields lie in the scope and natureof their concerns and in their approach. Philosophy deals with all aspects of man’s experience while sciences deal with restricted fields.

Science of Beings

– it covers all things which can be apprehended by the human mind, thatis, anything that exist, is going to exist, can be thought of, or is known.

In their Ultimate reasons, causes and principles

– it is through

reason

that a thing isknown and understood;

causes

is something from which other things come. While other

sciences

give the
proximate or immediate

cause of things,

philosophy

seeks for the

ultimate or final

cause and principle. Finally, that

the goal of philosophy can be acquired by the aid of humanreason alone

means that philosophy bases its knowledge solely on the reasoning power of humanmind, not on any authority.

Faith and Divine Authority have no place in philosophical inquiry.Material Object:

All beings/things or everything that exist or has existence.

Formal Object:

the ultimate reasons, causes and principles of very nature or essenceand their existence.

Five View of Philosophy

which are supplementary to one another were given by

Titusand Smith

1)A personal attitude towards life and the universe.2)A method of reflective thinking and reasoned inquiry.3)An attempt to gain a view of the whole4)The logical analysis of language and the clarification of the
meaning of words and concepts5)A group of problems as well as theories about the solution of these problems

a.Origin of Philosophy

“Philosophy begins in

Miletus

” says
Reginald Ellen

. The radix of the claim lies on

Thales

: the acclaimed first philosopher.

Pythagoras

– coined the term philosophyBut by virtue of the point of origin of philosophy – which is

wonder

(by the way, we do notmean that Pythagoras didn’t wonder, the thing is, Thales wondered earlier that Pythagoras) – it is

Thales. This highlights the origin of philosophy.b.Cause of Philosophy

The cause of philosophy – not necessarily the ultimate cause – is wonder;

philosophystarts at wonder.c.Purpose of Philosophy

i. enables us to understand ourselves better;ii.helps us understand others, our fellowmen;iii.helps us understand others’ way of thinking;iv.help us understand the world and our place and role in it;v.helps us
understand the significance, meaning, value, and finality of human life;andvi.helps us know and understand God in his nature, essence, activities, and attributes