GENERAL DISCUSSION

OF PHILOSOPHY
Dr. Muhammad Munir Kayani
 MEANING AND NATURE OF
PHILOSOPHY
‘Philia’ and ‘Sophia’

‘Love’ and ‘Wisdom’

Philosophy= love of wisdom Philosopher= lover of wisdom

Search for truth Seeker of truth

 DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

• Plato
“Philosophy find it wonder curiosity created in the mind
of man. This curiosity motivates him to think in diverse
ways.”
• Okoro
"The love of wisdom may be interpreted to mean as
interest in knowledge." (Okoro, 2002)
 CONT…

• Friedrich Hegel (Philosophy of Religion)

"Philosophy is not a wisdom of the world, but is
knowledge of what is not of the world; it is not knowledge
which concerns external mass or empirical existence and
life, but is knowledge of that which is eternal, of what God
is, and what flows out of His nature.”
(Krishnananda, 1992)
 CONT…

• Herbert Spencer
"Philosophy is concerned with everything as a
universal science.“
(Chandra & Sharma, 2004)
• Even in the Middle Ages (dark era of philosophy) philosophy
was called as
“The queen of the sciences“
(Olson, 1967).
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy

Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology

Ontology Ethics

Cosmology Aesthetics

Theology
 BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS
• Metaphysics
• Ultimate nature of reality
• Nature and existence of man, God and universe
• Related question:
• What is the nature of universe?
• Is there anything that does not change?
 CONT…
• Ontology
• Used synonymously with metaphysics
• Deals with the study of being or existence
• Ultimate reality of nature of matter
• Related questions
• What is the relation of body and soul?
• How could mind (abstract) related to the body (physical)?
 CONT…
• Cosmology
• Deals with nature of universe
• Principles and laws of universe
• Related questions
• Is time real or illusion?
• Is life limited to earth only?
• Is this universe eternal?
 CONT…
• Theology
• Deals with the study of God and His creation
• Relationship of God and His creation
• Related questions
• What is the nature of God?
• How can we know that something is happening due to the will of God?
 BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS
• Epistemology
• Deals with the
• Study of knowledge
• Reality of knowledge
• Knowledge of reality
• Truth, validity, source and nature of knowledge
 CONT…

• Types of knowledge (Kneller, 1971)

• Revealed knowledge
• disclosed by God
• Rational knowledge
• acquired through logic and reasoning
• Empirical knowledge
• gained by senses
• Intuitive knowledge
• through insight
• Authoritative knowledge
• derived by the testing of an authority
 CONT…
• Epistemological questions
• Can we believe something as true without any evidence?
• On what basis intuition of a person can be rejected or accepted?
• How can we tell that a piece of knowledge is true and testified?
 BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS
• Axiology
• Deals with general study of values
• Nature of values and value judgment
• Divided into two types
• Ethics
• Aesthetics
 BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTS
• Ethics
• Discusses criteria for values
• Standard of good and bad
• Concerned about morality and judgment
• Related question
• What is good for all men?
• Are moral values different for people of different region and religions?
 CONT…
• Aesthetics
• Philosophy of art and beauty
• Investigation about feelings, emotions and harmony
• These values are likely to be personal and subjective
• Related questions
• What is the importance of art in human life?
• Is there any standard criteria to measure beauty?
 COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
MEANING

Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology

Derived from two Greek Derived from two Greek Derived from two Greek
words; words; words;
• meta means above, • episteme means • axios or axion means
behind, beyond knowledge value
• phusika means the • logia means the study, • logia means the study,
scientific study of the theory or science of theory or science of
world. something. something.
 COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
THEORY

Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology

• Metaphysics is the • Epistemology is the • Axiology is the
theory of being. theory of theory of value.
knowledge.
 COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
DEFINITION

Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology

Metaphysics is the
philosophical investigation
of the nature of reality,
being of existence.
Metaphysics is concerned
with the nature of reality,
time and space, origin of
universe and purpose of
human life.
It is the philosophical
investigation of the nature
of knowledge and truth and
of the difference between
knowledge and opinion.
Epistemology deals with
questions regarding the
nature, structure and
validity of knowledge.
Axiology is the
philosophical investigation
of the nature of values and
of the foundations of value
judgments. It deals with
ethics and aesthetics. In it,
we deal with values, the
criteria for right and good
and the criteria for beauty.
 COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
TYPES

Metaphysics Epistemology Axiology

• Three main types • Epistemology has no types • Axiology is divided into
• Ontology but knowledge can be two types
divided into following five
• Cosmology types
• Ethics
• Theology • Revealed • Aesthetics
• Rational
• Empirical
• Intuitive
• Authoritative
 COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF BRANCHES OF
Metaphysics
• What is the nature of
universe?
• Is there anything that does
not change?
• What are the basic
characteristics of human
nature?
• How human mind and
human body are related?
PHILOSOPHY
RELATED QUESTIONS
Epistemology
• What is the nature of
knowledge?
• What are limits of
knowledge?
• What is the nature of truth?
• What are the differences
between truth and falsity?
Axiology
• What are the basic
standards of morality?
• How can we know what is
good and what is bad?
• What is beauty?
• Is there any criteria to judge
beauty and art?
 QUESTIONS?

Thank You
 RELATED URLS
• https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=luc-Hf_bEOIC&pg=PT10&dq=introduction+to+philo
sophy&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjgzfvfkZTPAhUHWRoKHW2NCDkQ6AEIRD
AI#v=onepage&q=introduction%20to%20philosophy&f=false
• https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=OB99kPP1ziEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=introducti
on+to+philosophy&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjgzfvfkZTPAhUHWRoKHW2NC
DkQ6AEIOjAG#v=onepage&q=introduction%20to%20philosophy&f=false
• https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=5nbZgaRxYGgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=introduct
ion+to+philosophy&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjgzfvfkZTPAhUHWRoKHW2NC
DkQ6AEILjAE#v=onepage&q=introduction%20to%20philosophy&f=false
• https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=779LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PR6&dq=branches+of+philo
sophy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib3P_EjZHPAhWEvRoKHczNA84Q6AEIHDAB#v=o
nepage&q=branches%20of%20philosophy&f=false
• http://www.roangelo.net/logwitt/philosophy-origin.html