Philosophy As The Origin Of Every Sort Of Knowledge - Term Paper Example

Philosophy Philosophy is the origin of every sort of knowledge even though we have different streams of knowledge at present like, arts, sciences, mathematics etc. In order to give respect to philosophy, even now a doctoral student gets the degree of doctor of philosophy even if he has completed his doctoral studies in other subjects like physics, chemistry or history. Earlier, it was the philosophers who interpreted various things happening around them to the world. For example, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes were some of the prominent philosophers of ancient time who succeeded in educating the people about the various natural and unnatural things happening around them. This paper tries to answer questions like; Is philosophy practical? Can we ever really know anything? Is there ultimately objectivity to ethics? Is happiness really possible in our world? Is there, after all a god? What is the good life? etc. Is philosophy practical? Many people feel philosophy is remote from human life because it deals with long time spans, immense areas of space, and matters which cannot always be perceived by the senses. A philosophy which meets the needs of men will both reflect the structure of nature accurately and apply to man's everyday experience. In order for such ideas to be helpful practically, they must descend from the realms of theoretical debate to become an intimate part of the person himself. They must be absorbed into the whole person rather than being, like a fact about the migration of birds, stored away in some corner of the brain (Is philosophy practical?) Philosophy can be classified in to tow broad classes such as; natural philosophy and moral philosophy. Natural philosophies often make use of evidences to explain things whereas moral philosophy often makes use of beliefs to explain things. In any case, it is difficult to assume that all the philosophical teachings are practical or correct irrespective of the whether it belongs to moral philosophy or natural philosophy. For example, earlier, philosophers educated the people that earth is flat in shape. Moreover, they taught the public that sun is rotating around the earth and that is why see sun in the east in the morning and in the west in the evening. However, development of science forced philosophers to leave this idea behind. Philosophy is all about asking questions and finding answers. It is difficult to get 100% correct answers to all the questions asked. Questions which get 100% correct or absolute answers can be put under the label of practical philosophy. For example, we know currently that earth is rotating around the sun and that is why day and night occurs. In other words rotation of earth is proved beyond doubt and hence we can put it under the practical philosophy label. However, we do not know what happens to our soul after our death. Religions have different teachings about the future of soul based on certain beliefs. It is difficult to put this topic under practical philosophy label. In short, philosophy can sometimes practical and sometimes impractical. Can we ever really know anything? What we know about this universe is much lesser than what we do not know about this world. Even scientific principles are undergoing changes at time passes. For example, earlier we assumed that sun is moving while earth remains stationary, later we concluded that the earth is moving and the sun remains stationery. According to the latest scientific principles, both earth and the sun are moving and we do not feel the movement of sun because of the huge size of sun compared to earth. Same way earlier, we thought that electricity is the flow of protons and we represent the direction electricity from anode to cathode or from positive terminal to the negative terminal. Later we realize that electricity is nothing but flow electrons and it is impossible for electrons to flow from anode to cathode. In short, scientific principles are undergoing changes periodically and it is foolishness to assume that we know something about this world. Even after millions of years of evolution of human life on earth, we still do not know from where we come and where we go after death. Philosophy or science has accepted the existence of soul and mind on human body. Many philosophers argued that soul is the driving force of body. If soul is a driving force, then it should be a kind of energy form. According to scientific principles, energy can neither be created, nor be destroyed. In other words, if soul is an energy form, then it cannot be destroyed even after the death of human body. In other words, the controversies surrounding life and death have not been answered correctly yet by the scientific principles. Earth is only a planet of sun and sun is only star in the Milky Way galaxy. It is assumed that millions of galaxies having millions of stars and planets exist in this universe. Even our knowledge about this earth is limited. Then how can we argue that we know something, when we consider our lack of knowledge about other planets, stars and galaxies? Is there ultimately objectivity to ethics? One of the most important issues in ethics concerns the status of moral views. Are they objectively true or false (as are, say, views regarding history or biology), or are they essentially matters of taste? Is ethics ultimately about objective properties — properties that do not depend on anyone's attitudes or feelings — or about subjective judgements? Objectivism is the view that there are objective facts in ethics, e.g., those certain things really are good and others really are bad (What Is Ethical Subjectivism?) Objectivity of ethics is controversial topic. For example, the killing of Bin Laden is morally right for Americans and many others in the world. However, there are many Muslims in this world who criticize the killing of Bin Laden. For them Laden was a sacred person who conducted jihad or sacred war against the enemies of Islam. According to Islamic beliefs, jihad or war against nonbelievers is morally acceptable. In other words, Islam and other religions may have different views about ethics. Ethics is or morality definitely has objectivity and value in this world. It is difficult to anticipate a world in which people lead crazy life style for their own advantages and pleasure. Man is a social animal and it is impossible for him to lead a lonely life. He needs to interact and seek help from others for leading a happy life. No two individuals are alike or different people may have different interests. It is possible that the interests of one person may contrast with the interests of another person. In such cases, ethics help people to avoid conflicts or clashes between people. Religions play a vital role in keeping ethical principle intact on earth. As mentioned earlier, no science or technology succeeded ever in unveiling the mysteries surrounding life after death. Under such circumstances, people have the option to trust religions and its ethical principles because of their concerns about life after death. Is happiness really possible in our world? “According to Aristotle, In all his actions, Man strives for happiness. According to Victor Hugo, The deepest happiness in life is to be truly convinced that we are loved just as we are, yes, even despite what we are” (Is happiness really possible). Different philosophers and different scholars tried to answer the above question many times. Happiness in this world depends on the perceptions of a person about his life. A person can lead a happy life in this world if he is able to adapt with the diverse life problems in his life. Absolute happiness is impossible to achieve. Albert Einstein says that nothing is absolute and everything is relative. In other words, happiness of a person in this world can be evaluated in comparison with the happiness of another person. It is difficult to assume that anybody left this world after the completion of an absolute happy life. Even Jesus Christ asked Father to avoid his crucifixion if possible. In other words, even Jesus failed to leave this world with absolute happiness. The achievement of lasting happiness depends on our ability to understand and to align ourselves with the true nature of objective reality. Epicurus showed us the way: He concluded that Happiness is rooted in the elimination of pain and the achievement of tranquility. Modern psychology confirms his ideas and provides further insights by correlating the pain/happiness syndrome with evolutionary psychology. Man now has the knowledge, and the choice, to free himself from the slavery of obsolete icons (Requadt) Is there, after all a god? Jews, Christians, and Muslims revere the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Thus Jews view G-d, the Christians view the Father (one part of the Trinity) and Muslims view Allah somewhat similarly. But the Christian Trinity is a very different deity construct than can fit into the strictly monotheism of Judaism and Islam. And Jews view their G-d very differently than the Muslims view Allah; they have different qualities, attributes, expectations, etc. Many Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Sikhs regard their own religion as the only true religion; other religions are partly or completely false (How concepts of God have developed over the ages) There are different religions and different concepts about gods in this world. The concept of God existed among human generations even from the evolution itself. It was difficult for the human to explain things happening around him. He has realized that some invisible forces are controlling this earth or universe and he calls it as God. The question about the concept of God is still irritating science and technology. It is difficult for science or philosophy to reject the existence of God until it succeeds in unveiling the mysteries around life and death as mentioned earlier. Science has so far failed miserably in explaining the origin of this universe in a convincing manner. Science has put forward many theories about the origin of this universe. Big bang theory is one among them which is the most popular one in the scientific world and the atheist’s world. Science argued that the universe has made up with hydrogen clouds and alternate expansions and contractions of universe resulted in a big explosion and the creation of stars and other planets. It explains everything logically once it starts from the concept of hydrogen clouds. It is believed that the sun and other stars contain huge amounts of hydrogen which is transformed to helium because of the nuclear fusion process going on inside sun and other stars. This nuclear fusion process is the reason why huge amounts of energy in the form of heat and light emitted from stars. Science succeeded in arranging its arguments logically once it starts from the concept of hydrogen clouds. However, from where these hydrogen clouds formed; is a question which is conveniently forgotten by science while explaining the formation of this universe. In other words, science is still searching in the darkness in order to find answers about the origin of this universe. Until science succeeded in answering these questions, it is logical to believe in a super power or God. What is the good life? Socrates is believed to be the first philosopher who tried to find the meaning of life. After Socrates, many others tried to interpret the meaning and scope of life in different manner. Socrates tried to explain life in terms of a person’s commitment towards the state. In other words, Socrates gave more importance to the interests of the state rather than the interests of the individual. Socrates’s concept about good life has less prominence in the present world. Plato and Aristotle treated morality as a genre of interpretation. They tried to show the true character of each of the main moral and political virtues (such as honor, civic responsibility, and justice), first by relating each to the others, and then to the broad ethical ideals their translators summarize as personal “happiness” (Dworkin) According to current belief, a good life is a life which gives more importance to the happiness of colleagues than the individual happiness. For example, we often consider the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa etc as successful lives. All these people give priority to the wellbeing of others at the expense of their own personal life. To conclude, philosophy is the origin of every sort of knowledge which helped us to solve problems one by one and develop immensely. However, there are many questions which were unanswered by philosophy and science. Until all the questions were answered, we cannot say that our knowledge is perfect. Since our knowledge is imperfect, it is logical to believe in a super power or God. Works Cited 1. Dworkin, Ronald. “What is a Good Life?”. 2011. Web 05 May 2011. 2. “How Concepts of God have Developed over the Ages”. Web 05 May 2011. 3. “Is Philosophy Practical? “. Web 05 May 2011. http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/24-74-5/ge-svm.htm 4. “Is Happiness Really Possible?”. Web 05 May 2011. 5. Requadt Walter E. “Happiness”. Web 05 May 2011. 6. “What Is Ethical Subjectivism?”. Web 05 May 2011. Read More