Abstract
This paper talks about the Nature of Philosophy and describes in detail the main inquiries of philosophy. An attempt has been made to explain areas that are widely accepted to be ‘main’ and of primary importance. These include the areas of Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics and Aesthetics.
The paper also delves into the approaches used by philosophers to address the numerous questions raised by each specific inquiry. These methods are described with respect to the modules of thinking or actions so used by contemporary as well as age-old philosophers.
The paper then goes on to explain how culture and philosophy are inter-linked and how they both influence the development of thought in an individual who is exposed to both.
The paper also puts forth the area of philosophy that describes the author the best and how the author’s cultural factors have played a role in determining that particular area of philosophy.
NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Philosophy is one of the oldest known spheres of study. Ancient Western Civilisation scholars believe that it was the Greeks who introduced us to Philosophy, which literally translates to ‘Love of Wisdom’. Philosophy deals with the analysis and understanding of basic, everyday life issues and providing solutions for the same through keen observation and astute reasoning. This academic discipline is different from other areas like Psychology in the sense that it heavily relies on a rational argument where analysis of a situation follows a systematic, fine-tuned approach.
Philosophical Areas of Inquiry
There are five philosophical areas of inquiry.
Ethics. Ethics, also known as Moral Philosophy, includes the study of practical reasoning and is but a compilation of rules and concepts that tells one how to behave with other people. The main branches of Ethics are applied ethics, meta-ethics and normative ethics.
Approach to the questions posed by Ethics
Socrates and Aristotle are the two Greek philosophers who gave much thought to ethics. At the core of ethics are the three fundamental questions: How must one live? What is right? What is good?
NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
Aristotle said that one must find his/her potential in life and only when this is found that can the individual find happiness and fulfil his purpose. Socrates was of the belief that ‘self-knowledge’ is essentially required to be successful.
Metaphysics. Meta (after) and physics (science) come together to form the sphere of metaphysics where all the primary thinking is directed towards those ideas and facts that cannot be described or explained by science. Metaphysics includes the study of time, existence, relation between mind and body and so on.
Approach to the questions posed by Metaphysics
Metaphysics looks to answer two crucial questions: What is there? What is it like?
There are different comparative styles to deal with the questions posed by Metaphysics. These would be:
- Rational vs. Empirical: In rational, intelligence and thorough reasoning is used to reach a conclusion whereas in empiricism it is believed that knowledge of all sorts comes from sensory experiences.
- Systematic vs. Analytical: In the systematic approach, all issues posed are attempted to be answered in a coherent and orderly fashion whereas the analytical approach calls for issues to be broken down into bits and then analysed.
NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
Epistemology. Epistemology deals with two main particulars – knowledge and justification. The knowledge of whether we (humans) know everything, what we know and what we don’t, what are the limits of knowledge, can knowledge be justified, are the basic thoughts underlying Epistemology.
One thing that finds its way in the discipline of Epistemology is scepticism; scepticism with respect to whether the knowledge so gained is absolutely correct or do we still not know it all.
Approach to the questions posed by Epistemology
There are certain indispensable questions pertaining to epistemology. These are:
- Is all the knowledge in the world certain or can there be loopholes?
- Do we have to cross our fingers and believe in luck or is there a thorough basis to meet our future expectations?
- Is science plainly descriptive or does it actually assist us in understanding things?
In epistemology, the approaches to these questions (and more) are either rational or empiricist. The rational approach says that all deductions can be made from hard-core facts and so knowledge comes from information, intuition, etc. Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from the senses alone.
NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
Logic. It could be said that logic is an extension of epistemology. In logic, one stands to learn the principles that govern reasoning.
Approach to the questions posed by Logic
There are two approaches that attempt to answer the questions raised by logic:
- In deductive reasoning (top down logic), given a set of statements, a related set of statements can be implied from the former. For example, all fishes swim; pomfret is a fish; so, pomfrets can swim.
- In inductive reasoning (bottom up logic), generalisations are reached on the basis of certain specific examples. For example, 90% women can’t drive; Maya is a woman; so in all probability Maya cannot drive.
Aesthetics. The nature of beauty, art, perception, taste is studied in this philosophical area.
Approach to the questions posed by Aesthetics
Simplicity, complexity, symmetry are the theories used to comprehend aesthetics.
There are other areas of philosophy too, like history of philosophy, social philosophy, political philosophy and so on.
NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy and Culture
Culture refers to how our education refines us and how our way of life depends on the cities/countries we live in and the societal influences we are subjected to. Philosophy, on the other hand, is as prevalent in our everyday life as we think it to be abstract. We come in contact with philosophy through our readings and education – marxism, logic, reasoning, introspection and so on, even without us being consciously aware of it.
Sometimes, these philosophical readings are in-sync with our thoughts (thoughts developed in the same tune as our culture) and sometimes they are not. This conflict or assimilation results in the development of thought.
If the ideas are in-sync, then we accept the philosophical readings blindly. In case they are not, the more prevailing idea of the two – philosophical or the one embedded in us by our culture – takes precedence.
Major philosophical area and me
I think the area of Ethics best describes me, my style of thinking and my life.
The questions posed by ethics are the ones that I find myself constantly seeking answers to. I make it an attempt to do what is ‘right’ and what is ‘good’. I believe self-knowledge is the key to leading a good and fulfilling life and I work towards just that.
Needless to say, culture plays a pivotal role in determining my idea of ‘good’ and ‘right’. Belonging to a close knit community and being educated in a convent school establish my ethical choices more often than not. Belief in God and family life, the need to be fair to fellow human beings are just some of the cultural factors that impact my larger ethical decisions.
References
Sandra LaFave, West Valley College. Epistemology and Metaphysics.
Undergraduate Committee of the Department of Philosophy, University of Florida (1997-2012)
