3. What is Philosophy?
Socrates – Philosophy “examines how we should
live.”
Plato – Philosophy “is a process of constant
questioning and questioning necessarily takes
the form of dialogue.”
4. What is Philosophy?
Milton Munitz – Philosophy is “a quest for a view of the
world and of man’s place in it, which is arrived at and
supported in a critical and logical way.”
Michael Russo – Philosophy is “a critical examination of
reality characterized by rational inquiry that aims at the
truth for the sake of attaining wisdom.”
5. What is Philosophy?
Karl Marx – Philosophy is “the interpretation of
the world in order to change it.”
6. What is Philosophy?
Merriam Webster Dictionary – Philosophy is “the
study about knowledge, right and wrong,
reasoning, and the value of things.”
7. What is a Philosopher?
Plato – “He who has the taste for every sort of
knowledge and who is curious to learn and is
never satisfied.”
8. Branches of Philosophy That Have Relevance
to Graduate Studies
1. Logic
2. Ontology
3. Epistimology
4. Ethics
9. What is Logic?
Aristotle defined logic as “new and necessary
reasoning”, “new” because it allows us to learn what
we do not know, and “necessary” because its
conclusions are inescapable.”
It asks questions like “What is correct reasoning”,
“What distinguishes a good argument from a bad
one?”, “How can we detect a fallacy in reasoning?”
10. What is Ontology?
Ontology from Greek ontos (being) and logos
(the study)
Ontology – is concerned with the nature of
phenomena and their existence – the ‘out there'
(Daft, 2009).
11. What is Ontology?
Ontology. An area of philosophy that deals with
the nature of being or what exists; the area of
philosophy that asks about the fundamental
nature of reality ( Neuman, 2011).
12. What is Ontology?
Ontology raises questions regarding
whether or not a phenomenon we are
interested in actually exists
independently of our knowing and
perceiving it (Daft, 2009).2009).
15. What is Epistemology?
Epistemology – a branch of philosophy
concerned with the nature and scope of
knowledge. It questions what knowledge is, how
it is acquired, and the possible extent a given
subject or entity can be known (Daft, 2009).
16. What is Ethics?
Ethics is deduced from the Greek word ethos,
meaning “custom” or “behavior.” The word moral is
deduced from the Latin mos (mores), meaning
“custom.”
18. From Gundula Bosch (John Hopkins University,
Baltimore, Maryland):
“… the need to put philosophy back into the
doctorate of philosophy: that is, the ‘Ph’ back
into the PhD… which means that our students
learn to apply rigor to their design and conduct
of experiments; view their work through the
lens of social responsibility; and to think
critically, communicate better, and thus improve
reproducibility.”
19. From Gundula Bosch (John Hopkins University,
Baltimore, Maryland):
“Train PhD students to be thinkers not
just specialists.”