An Introduction to

Philosophy

What is Philosophy ?

What are your thoughts or ideas?

What is Philosophy ?

• There are many, many definitions of “philosophy”

• Philosophy concerns itself with the most fundamental human questions about reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language

Basic Human Questions

HCOM301

The Axial Age800-200 BCE

Ancient Evidence of Ideas

More Conventional Early Writing

Indus Script @ 2000 BCE

Phoenician Alphabet 1000 BCE

Plato’s Writing 370 BCE

Tao te ching 300 BCE

Closer to HomeIn Mesoamerica

Mayan Codex@ 500 CE

Mixtec in

Oaxaca@ 1000 CE

Mexica Migration Story@ 1400 CE

By the Middle Ages500-1500

Human inquiry into higher learning had been divided into just four fields:

1. Theology

2. Medicine

3. Law

4. Philosophy

In fact,

For the past thousand years,

people who study almost any field at the highest level are awarded a

Ph. D.

Doctor

of

Philosophy

Degree

Over the centuries…

Broad human inquiry into these basic questions has evolved into

some subsets or sub-disciplines within

the general field of Philosophy

Branches within Philosophy

Branches within Philosophy

• Ontology: what exists, and what is the nature of reality?

• Epistemology: what is knowledge, and how do we know things?

• Ethics: how should we live and behave? What are right and wrong, moral and immoral?

• Logic: what is correct reasoning?• Aesthetics: how are standards for beauty, taste,

humor, comfort arrived at?

Fields of Applied Philosophy

Philosophy of EducationPhilosophy of Politics or GovernmentPhilosophy of ArtPhilosophy of Medicine or Health CarePhilosophy of SciencePhilosophy of BusinessPhilosophy of HistoryEtc.

Focus of HCOM 301

Basic Philosophy

• Ontology ☚

• Epistemology ☚

• Ethics ☚

• Logic

• Aesthetics

Applied Philosophy Philosophy of Education Philosophy of Politics or

Government Philosophy of Art Philosophy of Medicine or

Health Care Philosophy of Science Philosophy of Business

Philosophy of Life ☚ (Worldviews)

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