What is Philosophy - Term Paper Example

What is Philosophy? Metaphysics Metaphysics, a term well describing what could be the study of the existence in its essential form, holds within itself a concave vision that deflates and conflates frames of truth mostly by utilizing the instruments of epistemology and ontology. Since this branch of philosophy largely monopolizes the pursuit of the true nature of existence and knowledge of it, it is crucial to identify the means by which it is done, and the convolutions of the said means i.e. epistemology and ontology. To begin with, it is notable that though both methodologies set out to achieve the same end, the convergence of the two has made for irreparable separations in the nature of thought on the one issue of existence. Ontology argues with no apology for allowance of an overarching idea, a whole nature of things, which exist as independent of the mind. It answers its basic question of ‘what’ with a basic explanation of ‘what is’. Although the word ontology is a term used more fluently from the 17th century tradition of thought, it can be traced back to Aristotle where he identifies that there is an ‘episteme’ that need only investigate being as being and nothing more. With the tractional loss caused by epistemological thought, ontology lends to metaphysics what it had lost; the objective science of being as such, as identified by Peter van Inwagen (Inwagen). Epistemology Nonetheless, the grounds for epistemology are not dismissible. The arguments against structural universals and the dire need to accommodate empirical interference has come to have an overbearing reach into the crux of shaping existential truths. The fact of ‘relational’ truths, as David Lewis calls them, places a larger burden on the validity of truth as a philosopher might know it, an endeavor to achieve ‘improved’ truths. In a traditional sense, it is easy to relegate it to its tight premise whereby ‘justified true belief’ is the essence of knowledge of existence; it would not be quite fair to let it remain thus encapsulated. The emphasis it places on experience and/or reason is not by any means a phenomenon to ignore. It is also necessary to see here, that experience and reason may well be being termed as objective truths by epistemologists, a fallacy in its own theorem. It is easily imaginable that while one must work with major presupposition in only in ontological realms whereas it is only natural that those who work on epistemological lines inculcate just as many basic assertions in their arguments on validation of it. If empiricism is the only means to truth and hence, truth can vary with the variance of its subject, then it seems to be stating that empiricism is an objective truth. Such fallacies have given rise to what may be termed as scepticism, a state of not believing that things may well be known in any valid sense whatsoever (Silverman; Lewis). Ethics Ethics as a branch of philosophy derives its fundamental elements from Socratic thought. This entails the belief that there is a particular standard which signifies the proper, upright course of conduct that a man should adopt in his behavioral exhibits. There is of course, the divide between descriptive ethics and normative ethics, the former merely identifying what they are while the latter seeks to define what or discover what actions may in fact be right or wrong to perform and what would differentiate a good person from a bad person. In traditional philosophy, ethics have to be present in a human life; it is to be the means of deciding in what manner to live the said life. The proper foundational ethic is a benchmark, or a standard of living, against which actions may be measured in order to judge them for their ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’. In the minds of philosophers like Socrates, it is not just a criterion for the major events or decisions in life but a notion that pervades, or should pervade, our day to day actions. It also inculcates itself, or should do so, as a code of conduct in our relations with others. To him, this was a method of achieving ‘happiness’. A life planned and led without taking the question of ethical flawlessness, in the opinion of traditional philosophers, could never lead to a fulfilling and successful life. In short, living entails acts, acts need for them to be attached to certain values. The philosophy of ethics strives to answer the questions of what those values should, and shouldn’t, be. It was in the face of this theory, which may have seemed to be rather a restrictive idea, later philosophers like Sartre theorized about the principles of existentialism whereby no act can be judged for its rightness or wrongness (Kymlicka). Social Philosophy Social philosophy, on the other hand, ponders over the incident of social behavior and social issues. Though there is an intrinsic overlap between ethic and social philosophy, it would not be entirely wrong to suggest that the latter is more concerned with the interpretation of society and how it produces and reproduces itself with time and changes, or develops. It is more a study of humans living and operating within a set of relationships which make up a society rather than a theory on moral rectitude. In essence, social philosophy observes and tries to explain phenomenon in order to bring about clarity of understanding of social systems and social order. The norm of social unity, according to MacKenzie, is a very critical issue with most theorists working in the realm of social philosophy. To other theorists, it is an observation of the general facts of the society and is more suitably a social science than a philosophy. It would be more close to the actual truth of the matter to insist that it is very concerned with the questions and conundrums that arise in relation to human social behavior. It pays its attention more to the operational institutions of the society like educational institutions and family, and the role of religion in shaping social behavior. It advances questions into cultures and subcultures of human grouping, and does not hesitate to tear apart even the social classifications of gender and race. The major functions of social philosophy are both critical and constructive; it is in both these capacities that it somehow starts to resemble the theories and teachings of the philosophers on ethics (Kymlicka; Inwagen). However, it is still more than that in the instance that it has become a ‘science of society’; it reflects on the institutions of the society, on their relations to each other, and the effect of these systems on human social interaction and development. Social philosophy then goes a step further and ponders on and theorizes about the philosophical implications of these notions. It is more a philosophizing on civilization, an almost archeological treatment of the present which sets it apart from the other more self-absorbed and self-contradictory branches of philosophy. The fact that it also goes further into looking for the meaning and purpose of human existence is what stubbornly keeps it within the philosophical bracket of study, otherwise, its massive overlap in working with other subjects like sociology may well have allowed it to become entirely absorbed in them and not exist as a separate force of thought to be reckoned with. Works Cited Top of Form Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. Oxford [England: Clarendon Press, 1990. Print. Bottom of Form Silverman, Allan, "Platos Middle Period Metaphysics and Epistemology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), . Top of Form Lewis, David K. Papers in Metaphysics and Epistemology. Cambridge, UK: New York, 1999. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Van, Inwagen P. Ontology, Identity, and Modality: Essays in Metaphysics. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print. Bottom of Form Read More