This document provides an overview of the origins and developments of Western and Eastern philosophy. It discusses the following key points: - Western philosophy traces its origins to ancient Greek philosophers before Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It developed through four historical periods: Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary. - Eastern philosophies emerged in countries like India, China, and Japan. They are often woven with religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Eastern philosophies emphasize harmony between people and nature. - Key figures who influenced Western philosophy include Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, and Marx. Eastern philosophies include Hinduism

1. Origins and
Developments of
Doing Philosophy

2. 01
Western Philosophy

3. General Characteristics
of Western Philosophy
Dualism
The idea of having two perpetually contradictory elements
in one reality.
Individualistic
Western philosophy has a predilection towards the
individual person instead of the community.

4. The existence of Western philosophy may be traced
through four general historical periods:
● Ancient Philosophy
● Medieval Philosophy
● Modern Philosophy
● Contemporary Philosophy
The Origin of Western
Philosophy

5. ca 500 BCE-ca 400 CE
Western philosophy traces its origins to the ancient Greek philosophers before the time of
the three luminary figures of Greek philosophy namely Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Ancient Philosophy
Some of the notable philosophers during this era were the triumvirate of Thales who
believed the substance of nature is water, Anaximander who speculated that nature
is composed of the infinite and that the earth is spherical and it is afloat in the vast
universe, and Anaximenes who assumed that air serves as the substance of nature.
Another important figure is Pythagoras who emphasized contemplation as an
integral elemental of doing philosophy.

6. He coined the term “philosophy”, formulated the Pythagorean theorem, and the use of
numbers to explain things in the universe.
Another famous philosopher is Heraclitus who likened nature into fire that is constantly
change. “One cannot step on the same river twice” is a statement attributed to him. For him,
change is the only permanent thing in this world.
He is followed by Parmenides who contradicted Heraclitus by saying that change in
the world is an illusion and the permanent thing in this world is being.
Lastly, among many others, is Anaxagoras who postulated that the substance
of nature is the atom.

7. By use of reason, the philosophers before Socrates differentiated mythology and religion
from philosophy.
Socrates developed the Socratic Method as an intellectual process to scrutinize information to
arrive at the truth. It is the early form of dialectics that has immense influence in the
development of Western philosophy.
Plato, a student of Socrates and a prolific writer, introduced the early notion of dualism where
reality comprises two elements such as matter and form.
Aristotle, who was also a student of Plato, is credited to have developed the
systematic way of correct thinking or logic, and the correct way of acting or ethics,
which are still part of today’s fundamental learning requirements.

8. Medieval Philosophy
ca 500 CE-ca 1500 CE
Contrasted to the very secular nature of Greek philosophy, the tone of doing
philosophy during the Middle Ages is neatly associated with theology. Reason is
used to analyze the nature of God and His relation, the human being, and the rest of
creation.
Philosophy, utilizing the ideas of Plato and Aristotle, is theocentric. Medieval
philosophy uses authority through disputations to develop reasoned religious
thought and doctrines.
Consequently, the Church became a recognized power manifested by her hierarchy
and has put the state under her dominion.

9. The towering figure who represents this era is Thomas Aquinas. He was a
theologian and a philosopher. He bridged the seeming gaps between or
contradiction of philosophy and theology.
His ideas, unlike many currents in the Church of the time, embraces several ideas
put forward by Aristotle. Of his unfinished work, Summa Theologiae is often
referred to by many as his greatest work. He is known for the five ways of proving
the existence of God and the use of the concept of matter, form and substance in
the developing concept of the human being as an embodied spirit.

10. ca 1400 CE-ca 19000 CE
Modern Philosophy
Doing philosophy slowly changed during the Renaissance (1400 CE-1700 CE) or the era when Europe
went through the process of “rebirth” in cultural, artistic, political, and economic aspects of society.
Contrasted to the God-centered thinking of the Medieval Philosophy, this era put into motion the
humanist movement of promoting the idea of the human person as the center of the universe, and
people should focus their gaze to human achievements in education, classical arts, literature, and
especially science.
Great artists, scientists, and philosophers emerged during this era (Orion, et al, 2020). Rene Descartes is
an exemplary representative of the period for philosophy. It is through him that the approach of doing
philosophy by disputations change into an approach akin to science which he called the methodic doubt.

11. He postulated that the measure of truth, which is clear and distinct, or the indubitable truth, is
achieved through the use of the power of the rational component of the human being (Skirry, n.d.).
His philosophy is called rationalism or the theory that truth should be based on reason and
knowledge instead of faith and more sense perceptions. Rationalism has established a wide gap
between human beings and other elements of nature, where the rational being has dominion over
the rest of creation. With this, Rene Descartes is considered the Father of Modern Philosophy.
Modern western philosophy continued with the tradition of Rene Descartes on rationalism.
Another prominent philosopher during his era is Karl Marx who postulated the notion of dialectical
materialism which states the social phenomena are a result or synthesis of the continual
conflicting forces in society. This conflict emanates from the material needs of the human being.

12. Contemporary Philosophy
ca 1900 - present
This era refers to western philosophy from the 20th or 21th century highlighted by the
professionalism or the academic-based practice of philosophy. Schools of thought in the 20th
century were logical positivism and analytic philosophy which are tradition in Great Britain and the
United States of America.
There is also the school of thought called pragmatism made popular by John Dewey who
emphasized the practical use of knowledge.Existentialism, which roots started in the previous
era, became popular during and immediately after the World Wars.

13. A philosopher representative of this philosophy is Jean Paul Sartre who states the human being is
condemned to be free. Another popular school of thought during the said era is phenomenology, as
represented by Edmund Husserl, which looks into the nature of phenomenon from the subjective
perspective of the individual. There is also the postmodern philosophy or often called continental
philosophy which name is associated with its geographical locus of practice in mainland Europe.
Continental philosophy promotes a more subjective understanding of truth and harbors the multi-
dimensional consideration of truth. Philosophers of this era like Jacques Derrida and Michel
Foucault questioned the existence of an objective reality and moral values.
Throughout the development of Western philosophy, the primacy of the human reason is
constantly uphead to make sense of human experience to develop rational guideposts for human
actions in the present and in the future.

14. 02
Eastern Philosophy

15. While the Western Philosophy was busy developing in the western side of the globe, various
philosophies and belief systems emerged in the Eastern countries. Philosophy in the East is
neatly woven with religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
Eastern philosophical schools of thought are either related to one or several supreme
beings or not. There is no distinction between philosophy and religion. Eastern
philosophies are a compendium of literature that inspire people to live a harmonious life
with others and nature. They place highest value to the harmony of things, similarities and
unity of ideas, and the balance of different forces to form unity.
One example is the balancing of the opposing forces of the Yin and Yang of Taoism to
establish unity and harmony. This applies to human-to-human and human-to-nature
relationships. Consequently, community relation is highly regarded in forms of the
exercise of prudence, fulfillment of social obligations, and living a life of moral
righteousness.

16. The common way of arriving at the truth is not seeking for the truth but looking in and through
the parts and establishing the unity of these with the truth. These general characteristics of
Eastern philosophies were developed from human experience with an intention to serve as
guides in human life and existence. In terms of the groupings of adherence, there may be seven
philosophies (Abella, 2016).
Historical
Period
Philosophy Description
ca 2000 BCE Judaism It is considered the oldest monotheistic religion
whose locus of practice is in Israel. Believers look
at God who revealed himself to the people
through the prophets God is worshiped in
synagogues and their spiritual leaders are the
rabbis. The human person has to study and abide
by the law enshrined in the sacred texts namely
the Torah and TaNaKH.

17. Historical
Period
Philosophy Description
ca 1500 BCE Hinduism This is an Indian religion with various denominations that host many gods
and goddesses with three big gods namely Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu.
Hinduism has the doctrines of samsara or the continuous cycle of life,
death, and reincarnation and karma or the universal law of cause and effect.
The person should strive to achieve dharma or life of good conduct and
morality Hindus venerate all animate beings. They also revere the cow and
consider it as a sacred animal. Most Hindus are vegetarian and they do not
eat beef.
ca 600 BCE Shintoism This is a Japanese indigenous religion that worships Kami or spirits that
manifest in animate and inanimate elements. It has no sacred book like the
Bible of the Christians but it thrives as a practice from generations to the
next. Rituals and shrines are very important to realize purity in the human
person. Shintoism also emphasizes simple and harmonious life with nature
and people.

18. Historical
Period
Philosophy Description
ca 500 BCE Jainism It is an Indian non-theistic religion which perceives the universe as eternal
and never-ending. It is a journey to spiritual purity and enlightenment
through meditations and disciplined non-violence to all living creatures. The
human person must conquer the passions and bodily senses to achieve
enlightenment.
ca 400 BCE Buddhism It is a way of life founded by Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha, meaning
the enlightened one. Buddhism believes four noble truths: 1) there is
suffering: 2) suffering is caused by misplaced desire such as greed and
desires, ignorance, and hatred; 3) cessation of suffering to achieve
liberation from suffering; and 4) to follow the eightfold path as a means to
enlightenment.

19. Historical
Period
Philosophy Description
ca 400 BCE Confucianism It is a Chinese philosophy founded by Confucius. It focuses on the order of
society that is formed by transformed individuals. The transformation of the
individual comes from observing the order of things and by living out the
three Confucian values namely, filial piety, humanness, and the conduct of
rituals in relation to transitions in life-stages and social interactions.
Confucianism emphasizes the role of the individual in nurturing and
sustaining community cohesion.
ca 200 BCE Taoism It is also a Chinese philosophy that puts a premium on the unity and harmony
of the opposing elements of nature yang-yin. Taoism teaches the human
person to flow with life in accordance with the Tao or the cosmic. force
which flows through the yang and yin. All other things emanate from the
dynamics of the Yang and Yin.

20. Historical
Period
Philosophy Description
ca 610 BCE Islam It began with the Prophet Muhammad. It uses the Quran as its sacred book
and Allah as the supreme being. Islam is the second biggest monotheistic
religion of the world. Muslims follow the five pillars: 1) declare one's faith in
Allah and his prophet Muhammad or shahada; 2) pray five times every day
(dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening) or salat; 3) give charity to those
in need or zakat; 4) fast during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan or
sawm; and 5) pilgrimage to Mecca or hajj.
ca 1440 BCE Sikhism God created everything and is present in everything. The human being needs
to meditate and render selfless service for others. The ultimate end of the
human being is to be in union with the supreme being

21. Both Western and Eastern philosophies developed in specific geographical locations
and cultures in various historical eras. It could be said that philosophy is a product of a
particular situation in a given time. This means that a particular philosophy is a
relevant response to a particular context. Hence, the diversity of philosophical ideas
reflects how people in different situations reflect on their experiences to gain
guidance for their actions. The stark differences between the Eastern and Western
philosophies in terms of methodology and practice may not be compared because
such are a product of different places, time, and people. What is important is that the
reflective discernment process or philosophy gives guidance, direction, and meaning
to human action.

22. Thank you for listening