Meaning and Concept of Philosophy is defined. It also includes the relationship between Philosophy and Education.

1. Dr Rajnikant Dodiya,
Asst. Prof. HMPIETR

2. What is Philosophy?
“Philosophy is the stdy of general and fundamental
problems, such as those connected with existence,
knowledge, values, reason, mind and language.”
 Darshan Shastra (Sanskrit Word for Philosophy)
 Science of Knowledge
 Made of two Greek words –
(1) Philien = to love
(2) Sophia = wisdom
“Love for Wisdom”
 Philosophy is the oldest science of the world.
 Philosophy is a science through which we see or receive the knowledge
of reality.
 Philosophy is not merely a bookish knowledge, but the result of logical
thinking and contemplation.

3.  Philosophy is concerned with a search for eternal truth and
the man who engages himself in this search is called
philosopher.
 Deep thinking and meditation which concerns itself to the
God, the Soul and the Nature
 Philosophy is a mental activity which involves the problems
of human life, its nature and purposes.
 It is also a way of life.
 It is a search for truth and reality
 It is based on inquiry about life and existence
 It is an attempt to answer the ultimate question of life
 It is a search for knowledge and wisdom
 It is a conceptual rather than a practical activity

4. Definitions of Philosophy
 It is a logical inquiry into the nature of reality.
- Radhakrishnan
 Philosophy is a science of knowledge. - Fichte
 Philosophy like science, consists of theories of insights
arrived at as a result of systematic reflection.
- Joseph A. Leighton
 Philosophy aims at a knowledge of the eternal nature of
things. - Plato
 Man live in accordance with their philosophies of life, their
conception of the world. - Aldous
Huxley

5. Nature of Philosophy
1. A set of views about life and universe
2. A process of reflecting and criticizing
3. A rational attempt to look at the world
4. Logical analysis and Clarification of concepts
5. Inquiry into the deepest problems of human
existence

6. A set of views about life and universe
Everyone’s philosophy is different
Personal attitude for looking on any topic
of life
Beliefs about life and the universe which are
sometimes critical

7. A process of reflecting and criticizing
 To have personal philosophy is important to
think over it, reflect on it and criticize it
 Philosophical attitude is always critical
 Such attitude is open minded and tolerant
without prejudice
 Knowing the skill of argumentation and
analytical techniques

8. A rational attempt to look at the world
Seeing at some issues and making
conclusions
Seeing life through an over all view / the
totality of life
Logical views over life and presenting own
thoughts on it

9. Logical analysis and Clarification of concepts
Philosophy is itself an analysis of thoughts
It clarifies different concepts and theories
of life
Rational thinking is important in logical
analysis
Sometimes it is seen as the main task of
philosophy and the only legitimate
function of philosophy

10. Inquiry into the deepest problems of
human existence
Deepest problems like –
What is truth?
What is the distinction between right
and wrong?
What is life and why am I here?

11.  Metaphysics
 Epistemology
 Ethics
 Aesthetics
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12. Metaphysics
 The word Metaphysics comes from Aristotle
 Greek word – Meta = beyond or after
 Study of Existence of human being
 It answers the question = What is?
 Encompasses everything existing
 Whether the world is real or an illusion
 Concerned with answering the questions about identity and
the world
 Ontology as a part of Metaphysics. It studies concepts
directly related to being, e.g. four elements – Earth, Air,
Water and Fire

13. Ideas of Metaphysics
 Reality is absolute
 The world around us is real
 Understanding reality is the main aim of human
 Everything which is physical has a specific nature
Metaphysical Questions:
 What is the origin of the universe?
 What are the ultimate material components of the universe?
 What is its first cause?
 What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the universe?
 Does it have a purpose?
 How is existence possible?
 What is space? What is time?

14. Epistemology
 An Explanation of How we think
 Philosophers called it the original philosophy
 Study of Knowledge - How to acquire knowledge
 Deals with production of knowledge as well as Skepticism
 Which are the means of knowledge/information
 It includes concepts, logical reasoning, thoughts, ideas,
memories, emotions and all mental things.
 It is concerned with how our mind is related to reality and
whether this relationship is valid or invalid.

15.  Without Epistemology, we cannot think. By determining a
proper method of evaluation we determine the truth from
false
 Our senses are valid and it is the only way to gain
information about the world. Reason is our only method of
gaining knowledge and acquiring understanding
 Logic is our method of maintaining consistency within our
set of knowledge.
 Objectivity is our means of associating knowledge with
reality to determine its validity.
 Questions in Epistemology: What is knowledge? How is
knowledge acquired? What do people know? What is the
structure of knowledge and what are its limits?

16. Ethics (Moral Philosophy)
 Greed word : ethikos means character (moral nature)
 Study of Right and Wrong; good and evil; virtue and vice;
justice and crime – What I do?
 It deals with what is the proper course of action for man
 Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of
deciding a course of action. Without it, our actions would be
random and aimless.
 Questions: Is an action moral or immoral? What are human
rights and how do we determine them? How should people
act? What do people think is right? How do we take moral
knowledge and put it into practice?

17. Aesthetics
 Greek word – aisthetikos = a sense of perception
 Study of Art. It includes what art consists of, as well as the
purpose behind it.
 It deals with the nature and appreciation of Art, Beauty and
Good Taste.
 In very general terms, it examines what makes
something beautiful, sublime, disgusting, fun, cute,
silly, entertaining, pretentious, discordant,
harmonious, boring, humorous or tragic.
 Questions: What is a work of art? What makes a work of art
successful? Why do we find certain things beautiful?

18. Relationship between Education
and Philosophy
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19. Education and Philosophy
“Education without Philosophy is blind and Philosophy
without Education is invalid.”
 Education is an application of philosophy. It is the
application of philosophy to study the problems of
education.
 According to Dewey, “Philosophy may be defined as the
theory of education in its most general phase.”
 According to Ross, “Philosophy and education are like two
sides of a coin, presenting different views of the same thing.”
 Philosophy answers all the ultimate questions of education.

20.  Education and philosophy are two sides of the same coin.
Actually, Education is the dynamic side of philosophy.
 The basic relationship between philosophy and education
can be analyzed as follows. It is philosophy, that provides the
purpose or the aim and it is education which makes it
practical.
 Philosophy shows the way and education moves on in that
direction. When we define education as the modification or
behaviour, the direction in which, modification to be carried
out is determined by philosophy.
 Philosophy deals with the end and education with the
means. In fact, we can observe that the great philosophers of
all times have been also great educators. For example,
Socretes and Plato, the great philosophers, were also famous
educators.

21.  Education is a laboratory where philosophic theories and
speculations are tested and made concrete. Education may,
therefore, be rightly called applied philosophy.
 Philosophy is wisdom; education transmits that wisdom from
one generation to the other.
 Philosophy is in reality the theory of education. In other
words, education is the dynamic side of philosophy, or
application of the fundamental principles of philosophy.
 Philosophy formulates the method, education its process.
Philosophy gives ideals, values and principles, those ideals,
values and principles.