Having discussed what philosophy is, we now consider why it is important to study philosophy. We will divide our discussion into 2 parts: (1) Why is it important for all persons in general and (2) Why is it specifically important for Christians to study philosophy? We begin, in true philosophic fashion, by examining the question itself: what we do mean by philosophy being important and we introduce the idea of the philosophic mindset. We then examine 5 reasons why it is important for all persons to adopt the philosophic mindset. We will end by providing an overview of the different branches of philosophy.…
Other than learning hard facts, philosophers can provide answers to life questions that many people may have : on old age, immortality and…
The liberal arts, are “liberal” because someone who studies them must be free enough so that he is not consumed with his material well-being, such as the servile arts. However, one cannot discredit their value for the servile arts, especially the most basic ones, allow humanity to survive. In addition, the servile arts aid in providing the freedom necessary to study liberal arts whose purpose is to perfect our higher capacities to be better beings. The liberal arts consists of the trivium and quadrivium, which provide one with the fundamental tools to study philosophy, “the art of arts and the discipline of disciplines.” Philosophy, Greek for “love of wisdom”, seeks the fundamental causes and principles of things. The trivium strengthen one’s ability to think and express correctly whereas, the principles of mathematics found in the qaudrivium helps one to think abstractly. Thinking abstractly is imperative to philosophy because it deals with universal causes and principles, which is always in some form a movement of abstraction. The liberal arts also helps one to understand the divisions of philosophy: natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysics. Natural philosophy seeks to know the nature and cause of things that populate the physical world and moral philosophy studies human action and its relationship to goal of human action, happiness. Metaphysics, also known as “theology” by Aquinas, concerns itself with the ultimate causes and principles of things. Theology illuminates the philosophical findings of fundamental causes and principles of the universe to discover their ultimate cause, God. Thus, all the disciplines of philosophy are ordered to theology. It “shows us the path to salvation”, the beatific vision which is the perfect supernatural knowledge of God and perfect…
Philosophy is the rational analysis of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct; the pursuit of happiness. The greek translation for Philosophy means the love of wisdom. The love of wisdom, as discussed in class, is best modelled after a quote by Pope Benedict XVI: “The world can offer you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” It is pushing and venturing outside of your comfort zone in search for the knowledge and understanding that wisdom offers. There are many concepts often misconstrued in philosophy that we discussed in class. For example, it is a misconception when people come to the conclusion that there are no correct answers in Philosophy. It is a fact that there are indeed correct answers…
Philosophy is a growing and advancing subject as it deals with the love of wisdom. Furthermore, philosophy expresses the search for self-understanding and asking questions about basic concepts one may encounter on a daily base. Philosophy is a field of interest as it brings forth a different way of thinking. Constantly, we inquire about specific aspects of daily life. For example, one may question whether their profession will make them happy or not?…
Every individual is different. Every person has his own personal ways of thinking and his personal outlook on life. Many find difficulty in understanding themselves. In my situation the study of philosophy helped me enrich the understanding of myself. My ways of thinking and my attitude towards life also were improved.…
The quality of your life philosophy is a direct result of your abilities to think critically and think creatively, abilities that you have been developing while working on activities presented throughout this book. But a life philosophy is incomplete until it is acted upon through the decisions you make, decisions made possible by your ability to choose freely. These are the three life principles of human transformation upon which this book is based: thinking critically, living creatively, choosing freely. These three principles are interlocking pieces of the puzzle of your life. Working together as a unified force, these principles can illuminate your existence: answering questions, clarifying confusion, creating meaning, and providing fulfillment.…
Ideas: “It’s tragic that people have to get ill to appreciate life”, the possibility of something coming from nothing, we study philosophy because reading what others think can help us formulate our own ideas. We are aware that we are part of something mysterious. Philosophy started because myths could not be trusted.…
1. Philosopher and the human: They have to acquire experience about the effects of some actions on their happiness and improving it or at least maintain it.…
identify what is valuable and important ( McEwen & Wills, 2014, p. 25). Philosophy’s most…
2. Philosophy is the love of wisdom. The need to learn and really understand what is going on around you and in your life. It’s knowing who you are and realizing what’s really important. There is no way of avoiding philosophy, it’s in peoples everyday lives. Everyday, even if you don’t notice it you are making an ethical decision or spotting someone else doing something morally wrong and stepping in; or you could be thinking about your life and making some changes and thinking of what’s really important. Without philosophy, you would never truly know yourself.…
Bertrand Russell’s essay “The Value of Philosophy” is, as the title states, solely about the value of philosophy and why it demands to be studied. Russell’s writing in the beginning causes you to ask questions such as ‘Is the study of philosophy really important?’ and ‘Is the effort put into such controversial thinking/conversing even worth it when in the end obtaining definite knowledge is actually impossible?’. Russell inexplicably addresses the “practical-man” who only views philosophy as “useless trifling” and only sees the importance of material needs, and not the “goods of the mind”, so to speak. The author argues that the goods of the mind (which are indefinitely found in philosophical study) are just as important as having the goods of the body (food, water, etc.). Philosophy primarily aims at obtaining knowledge. Russell’s essay causes you to realize that while obtaining knowledge is the primary goal in philosophy, “no definite answers can be given” to the questions we seek in the subject. With this being said, this also raises the question ‘Is it good to know absolutely everything?’ Russell argues that the study of philosophy and the consideration of questions with no definite answer will “keep alive that speculative interest in the universe which is apt to be killed by confining ourselves to definitely ascertainable knowledge.” Reading the essay shows that there is such significance in the study of philosophy for it “keeps alive our sense of wonder.” Philosophy causes you to respect the question being studied, just as much as the answers that follow. Russell states, philosophy should be studied “for the sake of the questions themselves.”…
While reading the book, “A guide to the Good life” by William B. Irvine, I noticed the importance of Core 280 and why King’s College requires students to take at least two of these classes. Many of us will probably not be the next Socrates of our time, but we will understand a deeper meaning to our lives and how we can reach goals and conquer road blocks along the way. In his book, Irvine starts out with a small introduction of the role that philosophy plays in our lives every day, and we don’t even notice it. Per Irvine, philosophy has two parts to its main effect on our lives. First it allows us to live our lives to the fullest and set goals so that we don’t “mislive” our lives. Second, it allows us to set strategies to attain those goals…
In the reading of ‘Value of Philosophy,’ Russell starts off by explaing the “practical man,” believes that, “the influence of science or of practical affairs, are inclined to doubt whether philosophy is anything better than innocent.” Russell is trying to explain that the “practical man” looks at the meaning of philosophy, and sees philosophy only in black and white, and when the “practical man” thinks about philosophy, they believe that “concerning which knowledge is impossible”. Russell goes on by explaining how physical science, is so far reached with inventions, it shows how it effect’s mankind, but, it does not belong to philosophy. Russell goes on by suggesting to understand philosophy; we all must free our minds of the prejudices of what we know of the “practical man.” This man is the one who only recognizes the materials he needs, only what he thinks is necessarily, “only food for his body”. But what is a necessity is to provide food for the mind. Russell goes on be saying, “It is exclusively among the goods of the mind that the value of philosophy is to be found; and only those who are not indifferent to these goods can be persuaded that the study of philosophy is not a waste of time.” This conveys that the person should not look at philosophy as just black and white, but to explore all the gray areas between them.…
Furthermore, science had taken man apart but had not put him back together (Reed and Shearer, 2009). Philosophy was then sought out for the main reason to unify scientific findings so that man as holistic being might emerge. Scientific discoveries led then to knowledge explosion and philosophy intensified and made that knowledge more valuable. As…