Friday, April 10, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
The Scope of Philosophy Sec.3 The Courage to Think For Yourself
The Scope of Philosophy.
Philosophy differs from other modes of knowing
primarily by its aim. It attempts to evaluate life’s experience on all levels and in all realms in order to
achieve a meaningful, comprehensive vision. Thus Philosophy evaluates such
areas as religious experiences, aesthetic experiences, moral experiences etc.
Thus for Plato
philosophy was the search for the true, the good and the beautiful. Whereas a
scientist aims at an accurate description of the facts of the world, a
philosopher is concerned with the meaning, the logic, the evaluation and interpretation of facts.
All sciences originated in philosophy.
The word Philosophy means love of wisdom and
was first used by Pythagoras,
a great Greek mathematician
and philosopher. Heidegger
– a contemporary philosopher defined philosophy as the “wisdom of love”. For Wittgenstein and Schlick
philosophy is a body of critically evaluated propositions.
There is a general agreement that philosophy
may be divided into three areas:
1. The study of the
ultimate nature of reality is called Metaphysics or Ontology (Philosophy of Being). Metaphysics, which Aristotle called the
“first philosophy”, is concerned with the study of questions of the origin and
nature of the universe, the nature of being as being, the origin and nature of
life and man, and similar problems.
2. The study of the
nature, scope, and value of knowledge is the concern of Epistemology. The major problems of
epistemology are: the possibility and
sources of knowledge, the nature of truth and falsehood, the limitations of
true knowledge, and similar problems.
3. The study of the origin, nature, criteria
and validity of values is the concern of Axiology. To this general area belong Ethics, Aesthetics, Religion, Politics and similar
sciences. All of them are concerned with value problems. Axiology as a general
theory of values asks questions like,
a. “Where do values
reside?”
b. “What constitutes
the source and origin of values?”
c. “How are values
recognized?”
d. “Can we
‘discover’ values or do we ‘create’ values?”
Since philosophy evaluates and interprets every
area of human thought and experience there is Philosophy of Politics,
Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, and so on.
The evaluative and interpretative character of
philosophy demands that its function include one or more of the following:
e.
a critical examination of the assumptions and ideas basic
to the problems of truth, value and the world.
This critical examination is called analysis;
f. an organization
of all facts relating to the problems of truth, value and the world into a
coherent and meaningful
unified
vision of experience. This unification
of experience is called synthesis;
g.
an exploration of the meaning
of such a unified vision or picture of reality for man in his coexistence with
the world:
h.
This proposition of meaning for
man is speculation.
Historically a number of different
philosophical methods have been used and defended as leading to philosophical
insight. The procedure of comparing one’s ideas with the ideas and beliefs of
another by questioning and carefully analyzing the statements is known as the Socratic
method. Its name originated with
Socrates, the master of Plato. Socrates believed that truth can be discovered
by this method of questioning because, according to his view, everybody has
inborn knowledge of Truth from the soul’s preexistence
in the world of Ideas
or Forms. When the soul is at birth “imprisoned in the body”, it forgets the vision of eternal
truths. The process of questioning brings forth the ‘forgotten’ knowledge into
full awareness. The knowledge is in man like a baby in a woman. It needs
“bringing forth”, being ‘delivered’ like a baby at the moment of birth. Thus
Socrates compared his method to “spiritual midwifery”.
The analytical procedure from carefully defined
general definitions, axioms
and principles to more particular conclusions is called deductive method.
The adaptation of the scientific method for
philosophical conclusions is called inductive method. Here the
philosopher moves through the process of observation, classification,
hypothesis, empirical testing,
deduction, demonstration and organization towards the statement of
principle.
The achievement of philosophical truths by
disciplined contemplation of the Infinite is called the mystical method.
This method is associated with all mystics of all times and cultures. It is
most respected and dominant in the East, however, also the West has rich
mystical tradition, although the Western mind betrays more bias towards scientific
thinking.
The intuitive method is the attempt to
achieve philosophical insights by looking within the self.
The formulation of philosophical problems
through the formal theory
of linguistic and symbolic forms is known as the metamathematical method.
We do not intend, at this point, to evaluate
the above methods. Perhaps two points ought to be mentioned. First, that each
of those methods had in the past and has at present many adherents. Second,
that each method may be useful and fruitful as far as it goes. It would be
presumptuous and dogmatic to discard any of them without careful analysis and scrutiny.
The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Uses of Philosophy -the Incompleteness of Scie...
The Courage to Think For Yourself The Search For Truth and The Meaning of Human Life: The Uses of Philosophy -the Incompleteness of Scie...: THE USES OF PHILOSOPHY – THE INCOMPLETENESS OF SCIENCE To philosophize is to attempt to see in a coherent and meaningfu...
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
The Uses of Philosophy -the Incompleteness of Science Sec.II Part(2)
THE USES OF
PHILOSOPHY – THE INCOMPLETENESS
OF SCIENCE
To philosophize is to attempt to see in a
coherent and meaningful vision v the totality of my whole existence. It is a
renewed effort to see the essential value and direction of my life. Ultimately
to philosophize one must decide for wisdom of life.
Here we face a number of difficulties.
First a casual look at the history of
Philosophy reveals to us many and different beliefs, ideologies, faiths. As already
mentioned, it seems that almost everything that has been believed as true by
some thinkers was also denied by others. Philosophers do not seem to agree on
the most vital issues, which perennially confront every generation of mortals.
Second a casual look at the contemporary scene,
at the world today, seems to suggest the same. There are so many divergent views, ideologies and
mythologies and all have dedicated defenders and followers sometimes fanatically sold to
their visions of what is valuable, true
and meaningful.
This realization may lead to despair. Is Truth
attainable at all? How can I know whether there is anything worth believing at
all? Is not skepticism
the most reasonable attitude? Is not everything relative?
Third the observation of the great majority of
people is not encouraging either. It does not take much time to see that a
great part of mankind lives without paying much attention to the crucial
questions of human
existence. False notions of security, ignorance deliberately cultivated,
thoughtless pleasure-seeking,
mad activism are
all glorified and widely practiced. Preoccupation with senseless trivialities –
this is what we see everywhere, or it seems so.
Not many people like to think deeply. Many
deliberately evade confronting their inner emptiness by constantly trying to
run away from themselves. The
society in which we live provides immeasurable ways for making it easy
to plunge into thoughtless spending
of time. It is called entertainment: drugs, alcohol, bought sex, etc. Many people
live this way.
It is enough to reflect on this all to be
tempted very strongly to give up the serious search for a true meaning of our lives. Is
there any?
This “temptation to despair” is nevertheless the result
of a superficial and shallow observation. For philosophy is not a futile quest. Many individuals
found deep and rewarding meaning to their lives in personal search; in
Philosophy. The quest itself is certainly difficult and may last a lifetime.
But it is not a futile quest.
Gradually light emerges. Many a truth, a belief acquires through centuries of thinking and
rethinking more validity and more solid justification. Everyone wants to make
his or her life as meaningful
as possible. Mankind never gives up this search for meaning. If it had it would
stop existing as mankind.
There would be no humanity, we would not exist. For this search for meaning,
philosophy is the main striving force of one’s existence. There is no life
without it.
The perennial questions confront in some way
every thinking human being, but the horizon of knowledge,
the depth of insight differs from century to century. All humanity evolves
dynamically towards clearer understanding, toward fuller awareness, towards
simpler vision of
meaning of existence.
The differences must be there, because each
culture, each civilization,
each generation
(and each individual) has a perspectival, partial and limited view.
Nevertheless the insights, the answers gained gradually accumulate.
We must not let ourselves be deceived by the perspectival
and limited nature of human knowledge. Since human beings are limited, so will
be their visions, but limited does not mean non-existent. Since philosophical
questions face each one of us, we are very privileged. We can examine how the
greatest minds of mankind struggle with the same problems. We have a dialogue with the great
philosophers of the past and the present. This itself is a great advantage. By
examining their views, the way they formulated the enduring all-human questions
on the meaning of existence, we may be spared going into blind alleys of
improper ways of questioning. By examining carefully their answers we may get
tremendous insights and depth of vision, perhaps even true solutions. We are not
alone in this human quest
which endures over the ages. My and your vision is certainly very limited and
meager, to say the least, but in conversing with the great philosophers, the
leaders and giants of insight
and vision, we can think the thoughts of the best of all humankind. The great
advantage of this fact cannot be overestimated ever. This is most certainly the
most exhilarating experience. It is growing towards full human stature as a
member of the whole family of men. Are we not contradicting ourselves? First we
realized that the philosophical search for meaning must be done by each one for
himself and thus it is a lonely search, and now we are saying that this search
is nevertheless a search together with other thinkers in a kind of enduring
search – dialogue over centuries
of time! There is no contradiction here. What is important is our aim, our goal: to shape my meaning of my existence, for
myself. The purpose of philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas remarked, is not to know what others
thought, but to attain towards the TRUTH of things. In studying Philosophy each
one must think for himself. Each one is all the time searching and actively
looking for his or her meaning. Philosophizing is a constant determined
reaching towards the vision of TRUTH. Otherwise it would be a meaningless
gathering of scattered information
only. So much is always clear.
However, it would be irrational and unjustifiable
to reject a philosophical insight,
which after careful rethinking appears as true and valid, within an important
area of my search simply because it is not my own, but someone else’s. This
point is so obvious that it would be a waste of time to dwell on it further.
There lies the value and meaning of studying the greatest and the best in
Philosophy.
Some of the modern thinkers are rather skeptical of
conclusion, transcending what they define as human experience. This experience
is conceived by them in a rather narrow sense, called scientific. To those
thinkers – contrary to the Ancient Greek belief and Medieval attitude, philosophy
should only be concerned with what is empirically verifiable. By empirical
verification again they mean sense-verification. This attitude in its extreme
form narrows tremendously the horizon of inquiry to the scientifically demonstrable only.
There are some, who believe that Science so understood, is all we have to our disposal.
Scientific truth – truth obtained by special sciences – has
the redeeming quality of being exact, but is never complete and never ultimate.
It does not suffice unto itself. It needs philosophical, that is more
fundamental, grounding. It originates in many assumptions which are without
much scrutiny
accepted as good. Scientific truth does not stand on its own feet and is not
fundamental enough. It must be integrated and rooted in more complete and final
kind of truth, which may be considered neither “scientific” (in a sense described
above) nor directly demonstrable by senses. No scientific theory is in any way ultimate for each one can be – and
historically often had been – replaced by another one. Where science ends the
problems do not end, neither does the search for meaning. It must be noted also
that special sciences give us only piecemeal insight into very limited a
narrowly specified aspects of the world:
by no means exhaustive or complete. The scientist himself within his field of
specialization, as a human being needs truth which is whole and complete.
Whether he likes it or not, by the very make-up of his human mind, he must form a total concept of
the universe and find his place in it. The philosophic truth is more general
thus less exact but more basic. It is truth of higher rank not only because its
horizon is broader and deeper, but also as a type of knowledge. The inexact
philosophic truth is true truth and indispensable. A truth may be very exact
and yet very small and almost devoid of deeper meaning altogether. Special
sciences alone cannot ever completely satisfy the imperative need for a meaning-vision
of the totality of human experience as human. As Sidney Hook remarked, “Philosophy concerns itself
with the place of man in the universe from the point of view of certain -large
and perennial questions which all reflective men at some time or another ask.
These questions are not asked or answered in any of the special sciences, but
to answer them intelligently one must be familiar with the best science and
theology of the day.” Sidney Hook, The Uses of Philosophy).
This then is Philosophy as the quest for
wisdom. Wisdom is concerned with meaning, values and value judgments. It is
knowledge of what is good or better, bad or worse, what is meaningful and what
is not. It is knowledge which throws in the concreteness of human existence a
certain illuminating light at the questions:
Who am I? What is the universe around me? What can I know? What I can
hope for? What should I do? Does the universe show a design or not? Is there a God or Friend beyond
phenomena or are we alone? Are human beings destined for immortal existence or
perchance only complicated sparks of chemical elements?
This of course, is only a random selection of
philosophical problems. There is a host of other problems. All are interrelated
and mutually trigger one another and thus throw light at one another forming
gradually a more meaningful pattern of vision.
We are in the position now to put together the
answer to the question: Why should we
study Philosophy? Philosophy provides
(a) purpose in life. It enables a person to attain a coherent system
of ideas and beliefs leading towards a more satisfactory mode of living;
(b) tremendous enrichment of human knowledge because it organizes
the best of sciences and draws conclusions
relevant for the search for the meaning of
life;
(c) contact with the greatest minds in the history of mankind. The
problems of Philosophy are by their very nature perennial. Mankind has been
wrestling with these problems through the ages and will continue in future. In
each generation there are geniuses
of insight and depth who have left their answers to be pondered and examined.
(d) a sense of worth and meaning of life. An
unexamined life is not worthy of man. An exclusive preoccupation with everyday
concerns without a more comprehensive view limits and impoverishes life robbing
it almost completely of its value and import;
(e) social evaluation. In our modern rapidly
changing world of mass civilizations a mass destruction becomes more and more
probable. The study of Philosophy helps towards an intelligent evaluation of
the political scene and to constructive use of one’s freedom for the interests of civilization. It augments
the sense of meaning of each person’s individual existence.
To quote Jacques Maritain, Philosophy reminds men “of the supreme
utility of those things which do not deal with means, but with ends. For men do
not live only by bread, vitamins and technological discoveries. They live by
values and realities which are above time and are worth knowing for their own
sake.” (Jacques Maritain, On the Use of Philosophy).”
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Walking With Jesus: A Way Forward for the Church, Pope Francis
Walking With Jesus: A Way Forward for the Church
7 Inspirational Messages From Pope Francis
(Sarah Begley) April 3. 2015 Time Magazine
The most important event in the Catholic liturgy is this weekend, and Pope Francis has a new book coming out as an Easter present to his flock. The book is a collection of various sermons and speeches he has given in the last two years, on topics ranging from wisdom to poverty. Here are seven thought-provoking excerpts from Walking With Jesus: A Way Forward for the Church, out Sunday.
On faith
In many areas of our lives we trust others who know more than we do. We trust the architect who builds our home, the pharmacist who gives us medicine for healing, the lawyer who defends us in court. We also need someone trustworthy and knowledgeable where God is concerned. Jesus, the Son of God, is the one who makes God known to us. From the Pope’s new book, Walking With Jesus (On faith) -From the encyclical Lumen Fidei, June 29, 2013
On knowledge:
[O]ur own knowledge and self-awareness are relational; they are linked to others who have gone before us: in the first place, our parents, who gave us our life and our name. Language itself, the words by which we make sense of our lives and the world around us, comes to us from others, preserved in the living memory of others. Self-knowledge is only possible when we share in a greater memory.”
-From the encyclical Lumen Fidei, June 29, 2013
On consumerism:
When we look only for success, pleasure and possessions and we turn these into idols, we may well have moments of exhilaration, an illusory sense of satisfaction, but ultimately we become enslaved, never satisfied, always looking for more. It is a tragic thing to see a young person who “has everything” but is weary and weak.
-From the encyclical Lumen Fidei, June 29, 2013
On compassion:
We have to learn to be on the side of the poor
and not just indulge in rhetoric about the poor! Let us go out to meet them,
look into their eyes, and listen to them. The poor provide us with a concrete
opportunity to encounter Christ himself and to touch his suffering flesh.
-From the Message for the 29th World Youth Day,
Jan. 21, 2014
On illness:
Jesus in fact taught his disciples to have the
same preferential love that he did for the sick and suffering, and he transmitted
to them the ability and duty to continue providing, in his name and after his
own heart, relief and peace through the special grace of this sacrament [of the
anointing of the sick]. This, however, should not make us fall into an
obsessive search for miracles or the presumption that one can always and in any
situation be healed. Rather, it is the reassurance of Jesus’ closeness to the
sick.
-From a general audience, Feb. 26, 2014
On marriage:
It is true that there are so many difficulties
in married life, so many, when there is insufficient work or money, when the
children have problems—so much to contend with. And many times the husband and
wife become a little fractious and argue between themselves. They argue, this
is how it is, there is always arguing in marriage, sometimes even the plates
fly. Yet we must not become saddened by this; it is the human condition. The
secret is that love is stronger than the moment when they are arguing, and
therefore I always advise spouses, do not let a day when you have argued end
without making peace.
-From a general audience, April 2, 2014
On communication:
[C]ommunication is ultimately a human rather
than a technological achievement. What is it, then, that helps us, in the
digital environment, to grow in humanity and mutual understanding? We need, for
example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm. This calls for
time and the ability to be silent and listen.”
-From the Message for the 48th World
Communication Day, Jan. 24, 2014
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