CAMBA, Andrea Melisa R.

Assignment in PHL102

January 12, 2015

1. Meaning and definition of philosophy (include etymological and formal

definition).
Philosophy is an academic discipline that exercises reason and logic in an
attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about
knowledge, life, morality and human nature.
The term philosophy was coined by the Greeks from the words phileo, which
means to love and Sophia, which means wisdom. Thus, philosophy, in the
most literal sense, means the love of wisdom.
2. The different branches and sub-field of philosophy. Include the subject matter
of each branch/subfield and the different questions that fall under each
particular branch.
METAPHYSICS
At its core, the study of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality and the
universe. It is the learning of what exists in the world, what it is like and how it
is ordered. In this particular field of philosophy, some of the questions that are
often wrestled are the ff:

Is there a God?
What is truth?
What is a person? What makes a person the same through time?
Do people have free wills?
What is it for one event to cause another?

EPISTEMOLOGY

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and how it is acquired. Basically, it is

concerned with what one knows about the world, and how can one know it. The
typical questions of concern in epistemology are:

What is knowledge?
Do we know anything at all?
How is knowledge acquired?
Can we be justified in claiming to know certain things?
Can we be certain of anything?

Rationalism
Rationalism stresses reason as the most important element in knowing. It holds
that knowledge is acquired primarily through the mind. Rationalism also
asserts that one is born with innate ideas that precede any experiences we may
have through our physical senses.
Empiricism Empiricism on the other hand stresses that all ones knowledge
comes from the five senses. According to empiricist John Locke, our minds are a
blank state at birth, thus knowledge comes from our experiences.
ETHICS
Ethics is the study of moral value. It involves placing value to personal actions,
decisions and relations. Large questions about what is right and wrong arise
due to the struggle with this issue so the ethicist attempts to answer such
questions as:

What is good? What makes actions or people good?

What is right? What makes actions right?
Is morality objective or subjective?
How should I treat others?

Nowadays, important ethical issues include abortion, sexual morality, the death
penalty, euthanasia, pornography and the environment.
LOGIC

Logic is the field of philosophy that deals on how to develop valid arguments or
reasons. It studies the nature and structure of arguments (also includes
mathematical logic). Logicians ponder on questions such as:

What constitutes good or bad reasoning?

How do we determine whether a given piece of reasoning is good or bad?

AESTHETICS
Aesthetics is the study of beauty and artistic perception. It attempts to address
such issues as:

What is art
What is the relationship between beauty and art?
Are there objective standards by which art can be judged?
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?

3. Uses and functions of philosophy.

Generally speaking, philosophy can be applied in virtually any endeavor since it
touches on so many subject matters that can be related to any field.

General problem solving. The study of philosophy helps one to analyze

concepts, organize ideas, deals with questions of value and extract
information. It also helps one to distinguish differences between views

and synthesize a variety of perspectives into a unified whole.

Communication skills. Philosophy also contributes to the development
of expression and communication. It helps one to express what is
distinctive in ones view and explain difficult material; it also enhances

ones ability to eliminate vagueness from ones speech and writing.

Persuasive powers. It develops ones ability to build and defend ones
own views. It provides training in the construction of good arguments
and, at the same time, appreciation of contrasting opinions.

Besides the academic value of studying philosophy, it also useful in both

professional and personal aspects, even after ones course of study. It helps one

to understand other disciplines because every field employ its own reasoning
and sets standards of evidence, logic and epistemology philosophy of literature,
arts, science, etc).
4. Reasons why we study philosophy.
We study philosophy to address our curiosity. Philosophy began by attempting
to answer two deceptively simple questions: What can we know? And How
should we live our lives? And these questions in turn gave rise to others and
triggered mans thirst for knowledge and discovery.
Another reason is probably to benefit the many skills and abilities that we can
learn in studying philosophy. Many of these proficiencies are transferable, not
just in academic disciplines, but in other endeavors as well. Studying
philosophy lets us enhance our critical reasoning skills, communication skills
and general problem-solving skills which are of great help in any field of study.

http://www.whatisphilosophy.net/
http://www.arn.org/realscience/kog1asample/kog-phil-chem-1a-sample.pdf
http://philosophy.fsu.edu/content/view/full/36588

http://theologicalstudies.org/resource-library/philosophy-dictionary/85-5-branchesof-philosophy