1. ADELA CORAZON SILVA
BAMP 1-A
What is Philosophy?
'Philosophy' = 'Learning' was the Medieval origin of the title "Doctor of Philosophy" (PhD); it
originally meant a most learned person (or teacher) -- i.e. one who had mastered all the branches
of learning, at a time when it was regarded by many as still possible to do that.
Again, the question of what philosophy is -- is itself a philosophical question.
Philosophy for the Greeks..
"Philosophy. To the Greeks, who coined the word, philosophy was primarily the love of wisdom.
Socrates, a master of philosophers, did not profess to have wisdom or knowledge, but he sought
them. His philosophy was always a quest, never a body of knowledge or doctrine. Some Greek
philosophers, less modest than Socrates, taught what they believed to be truth. What they taught
came to be known, like the quest for truth, as philosophy. The Greeks were not fond of
definitions and did not impose sharp limitations on philosophy. It did not include manual skill or
such occupational learning as that of the farmer, the sophist, the physician, or the priest. It
comprised the body of disinterested learning. The word is still used in this sense in the title,
doctor of philosophy.
Philosophy for the Chinese..
Chinese philosophy lays emphasise either on the practical running of society and mores
(Confucianism), or a scientific study and interpretation of nature in terms of the interaction and
interchange of a few basic principles, such as yin and yang, the five elements (or wu ching, more
properly translated as "five states of change"), and eight trigrams and sixty four hexagrams (as
explained in the ancient book of divination known as the I Ching). From the former comes the
regulations for running society and human interaction; from the latter, an understanding of the
subtle principles of nature and the human body (as illustrated in the various forms of Chinese
medicine (acupuncture, etc) and "Taoist yoga"). So we could say that the emphasis has
consistently been "horizontal" rather than "vertical". And this was probably the reason why
Chinese civilisation has always been (until the scientific revolution in the West) so
technologically advanced, producing such inventions as the magnetic compass, gunpowder,
printing, etc.

2. Philosophy for the Hindus..
The concept of a divine god is not fundamental to the Hindu philosophy.Is the Hindu god any
different? Since Hinduism is not an organized religion, not one founded by a code book, we can
only go by what are the traditional practices and beliefs of the people. These beliefs of the
common Hindu present a picture of a god not very different from the gods of other religions.
Hindu philosophy, thus understood, not only includes the philosophical doctrines present in
Hindu texts of primary and secondary religious importance, but also the systematic philosophies
of the Hindu schools: Nyāya, Vaiśeṣ ika, Sāṅ khya, Yoga, Pūrvamīmāṃsā and Vedānta. In total,
Hindu philosophy has made a sizable contribution to the history of Indian philosophy and its role
has been far from static: Hindu philosophy was influenced by Buddhist and Jain philosophies,
and in turn Hindu philosophy influenced Buddhist philosophy in India in its later stages. In
recent times, Hindu philosophy evolved into what some scholars call “Neo-Hinduism,” which
can be understood as an Indian response to the perceived sectarianism and scientism of the West.
Hindu philosophy thus has a long history, stretching back from the second millennia B.C.E. to
the present.
Philosophy for the Muslims..
For a long time Islamic philosophy was under a cloud of doubt and uncertainty. Some people
denied its existence while others affirmed it. This uncertainty continued all through the
nineteenth century. Those who denied the very existence of an Islamic philosophy feigned
ignorance and maintained that the teachings of Islam opposed all free discussion and
investigation, and therefore Islam has never risen to the aid of philosophy and science throughout
the centuries of its existence. The only fruits Islam has borne for its followes have been
intellectual despotism and dogmatism, they said.Islamic philosophy is simply an imitation of
Aristotelian philosophy, and Islamic philosophical texts are nothing other than repititions of
Greek ideas in Arabic.
Islamic philosophy is unique in the sort of topics and issues with which it deals, the sort of
problems it attempts to solve and the methods it uses in order to solve them
Islamic philosophy concerned itself with such matters as the problem of unity and multiplicity,
the relationship between God and the world, both of which had been subjects of heated
controversies and discussions among the theologians for a long time.
Another aim of this philosophy was to reconcile revelation with reason, knowledge with faith,
and religion with philosophy, and to show that reason and revelation do not contradict each
other, and that religion would be accepted by the pagan when it is illuminated by the light of
philosophic wisdom. It aimed to prove also that when religion embraces philosophy it takes on
philosophical qualities just as philosophy too assumes the colour of religion. In all, Islamic
philosophy is a creature of the environment in which it grew and flourished, and as is quite
obvious, it is a religious and spiritual philosophy.

3. Origin of Philosophy..
Originally [by the time of Socrates] the word 'Philosophy' meant 'Learning' (the noun) and a
'philosopher' was 'a lover of [or one who thirsts for] learning'. Learning is our language's highest
and broadest [i.e. all-inclusive] category -- it subsumes [includes] all the subject-matters of
education [or culture].
What are the Branches or Divisions of Philosophy?
Logic is the study of the ideal method in thought and research: observation and introspection,
deduction and induction, hypothesis and experiment, analysis and synthesis. It contains rules for
formulating arguments and ordering thought so as to come to sound conclusions.
Aesthetics is the study of, or expressions of theories of reasoned thought regarding the ideal
form, or beauty; it is the philosophy of art.
Ethics is the study of ideal conduct, right and wrong; it attempts to deal with questions of "what
ought to be" in regards to our behavior.
Politics is the study of the ideal organization of society and government; justice, monarchy,
aristocracy, democracy, socialism, anarchism, feminism: these are some of the possible elements
of political philosophy.
Metaphysics is the study of, or expressions of theories of those things that are above or beyond
nature or physics; beyond the five senses, the "ultimate reality" of all things. It includes two
other distinctive categories within its pale:
Ontology , the study of being, of what is; the ultimate reality of and behind 'existence' and
'matter'; and
Epistemology , from two Greek words: 'episteme' (knowledge) and 'logos' (speech, reasoning).
The subject explores How we know, or the nature and limitations of knowledge.
Meaning of Logic..
Dialectic (logic) is "the study of the art of reasoning". Dialectic is the method of philosophy,
although some are willing to apply the word 'philosopher' to those who "reject logic". (Note.--
The word 'dialectic' is also used to mean 'the method of question and answer'.)
Based on the definition of Matt Slick,Logic is the process of proper inference. It is the system of
thinking properly, of arriving at proper conclusions. It is the process of proper thinking based
upon principles that govern the validity of arguments.

4. Material and Formal objects of Logic.
Formal logic concerns itself primarily to the correctness rather than the truth of a logical process.
material logic on the other hand,is the truth of a material content.
My Philosophy,Then and Now.
Basically, my philosophy is just to be happy. Being happy means you're contented,and being
contented is having a peace of mind. Since there is a "Great Depression" in the late 30's why not
have the opposite one?
If only the world knows what would happen if everyone is happy,then it would be a great
difference.No Wars,No Negative vibes. Its having the simple thought of"Everything will fall into
place" and worrying less about what's gonna happen tomorrow. Just Believe you can and you're
halfway there. Happiness is like a perfume that you can't pour on others without getting a few
drops on yourself. I don't have any things to believe in rather than being happy,because I can say
that its the root cause of positivity. Also,I believe that everything will follow once you start
living it.
References:
http://www.roangelo.net/logwitt/philosophy-origin.html
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 1946 Edition.
http://www.kheper.net/topics/eastern/Chinese_philosophy.htm
http://www.whatrain.com/shukla/index.htm&sa=U&ei=qqKwULvzCK60iQfvnYHIAw&ve
d=0CC8QFjAJ&usg=AFQjCNHSE0iI4Si8XZTkgW0tYyINQNo03g
http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/study-philosophy.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/az/experiment/phildiv.html
http://carm.org/questions-logic
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_material_and_formal_objects_of_logic