CLASS 1.

PHILOSOPHY
Febri Hirnawan

The history of philosophy

Before we talk about history of philosophy, the following

items related to the philosophy itself lead us to know at least
what the philosophy is.

• The question “what is philosophy” is not easy to be

answered. Philosophy is not easily identified as a single
and distinct branch of study, and philosophers themselves
have never agreed upon any clear definition of their
subject.

• So, instead, the question, “what is philosophy” is itself a

philosophic question, likely to be answered in somewhat
different ways by philosophers belonging to different
schools of thought.

• In the history of thought there has been progressive

change in the place where the line has been drawn
between studies considered to be branches of philosophy
and those regarded as distinct from it.

• So, the best way to understand the nature of philosophy

is to observe of its history.

• Philosophy, however, is included the whole field of higher

learning – everything beyond reading, writing, and
arithmetic Æ Men begin to understand that “philosophy is
the mother of the sciences”.

• Philosophy in academic curriculum known as the study of

metaphysic, epistemology (theory of knowledge), logic,
ethics, and aesthetics, and in addition we are likely to find
various “philosophy of” in the list; philosophy of science,
 philosophy of history, philosophy of law, philosophy of
religion, political philosophy, etc.

• In the Western World, has its earliest traceable source

among the Greeks in Asia Minor in the 6th century B.C.
Philosophy, as it emerges from myth and poetry, begins
as speculation on the ultimate constituents and origin of
the universe.

• Philosophy begins in wonder (Plato).

Lawyers are referring constantly to quilt and innocence,
justice, a fair trial, and so on. But if one of them say :”
When we talk about justice, do we mean the same as
what the politicians mean what they talk about social
justice , or are we talking about something different here
?” he is beginning to do philosophy of law.

The doctor who ask him self :” Is there ever such a thing
as perfect health – if not , what do we mean by cure ? is
beginning to do philosophy of medicine.

In every field of activity there is a philosophy of it that

involves questioning its fundamental concepts, principles,
and methods. So, there is philosophy of science,
philosophy of religion, philosophy of art, and so on. Nearly
always, some of the best practitioners in each field are
interested in its philosophy.

• The necessity of learning philosophy.

9 Students studying sciences should understand

philosophy which facilitates unsurpassed thinking in
terms of deductive and inductive types.
9 They should understand how the development of
science depends on results of researches conducted
by doing the scientific process as a controlled activity
being led by philosophy.
 9 They are candidate researchers who should really
understand to do the scientific method which has a
close relation with philosophy.
9 Philosophy leads the researchers toward scientific
inquiries.
9 Last but not least, academic personality is as a result
of more understanding on philosophy.

History

• The students are able to read the selected readings from

many libraries or to get them from the book stores Æ
Home assignment

9 The Greeks and their World

Before Socrates, Socrates (470-399 B.C.), Plato,
Aristotle,
9 The beginnings of modern science (Model of the
Solar System 1712)
Copernicus to Newton, Machiavelli, Francis Bacon,
Hobbes,
9 The Great Rationalists
Descartes (1596-1650), Spinoza, Leibniz,
9 The Great Empiricists
Locke (1632-1704), Berkeley, Hume, Burke,
9 Revolutionary French Thinkers; French revolution
(1789-99) Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau,
A Golden Century of German Philosophy (1817)
Schopenhauer, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Marx,
Nietzsche
9 Democracy and Philosophy
The Utilitarians, the American Pragmatists; John
Stuart Mill (1806-73)

9 20th Century Philosophy

Frege and Modern Logic,
Russell and Analytic Philosophy, Popper,
The future of Philosophy.