Philosophy Is – The existence of philosophy as a scientific discipline has been questioned since more than 20 years of the last century. Although there are many opinions that explain what philosophy really is, these opinions have not satisfied everyone. In fact, many people think that philosophy is something that is completely secret, mystical, and strange. Did Sinaumed’s ever think like that?
Philosophy is said to be the mother of all knowledge on this earth. Therefore, many people think that philosophy is the most special science and occupies the highest place among all the existing sciences. What’s more, there are many beliefs that philosophy can only be understood by geniuses! Wow, that’s really fantastic!
Then actually, what is philosophy? What are the views contained in this philosophy? How is the development of these disciplines? So, so that Sinaumed’s won’t be confused anymore, let’s look at the following review!
Definition of Philosophy
The term “philosophy” actually comes from the Greek word “philosophia”, which is a combination of the words “philo” and “sophia”. Philo means ‘love in a broad sense’, while sophia means ‘wisdom or cleverness’. So, it can be said that this philosophy is the desire to achieve the ideals of policy.
Many experts define what philosophy is. Poedjawijatna argues that philosophy is a kind of knowledge that tries to find the deepest causes for everything based on mere thoughts. Then according to Hasbullah Bakry, philosophy has a definition in the form of a kind of knowledge that investigates everything in depth, starting from divinity, the universe, to humans so that it can produce knowledge about how it really is as far as can be achieved by human reason. Then there is also the well-known philosopher, Plato, who defines philosophy as knowledge that is interested in reaching the original truth.
So, based on some of the opinions of these experts, it can be concluded that philosophy is a science that seeks to find causes in depth based on human thought and reason. This philosophy can also be a view of the life of a group of people regarding the life they aspire to. However, this philosophy can also be interpreted as an attitude of a person who is aware and mature when thinking about everything in depth and looking at the whole with all relationships.
Greek Philosophy
Mostly, these philosophical figures or philosophers come from Greece because this knowledge is sourced from Ancient Greek thought. These Greek philosophers lived around the century BC. Even though they have been dead for hundreds of years, their thoughts have contributed to this philosophical science. So, here are Greek philosophical figures that Sinaumed’s needs to know about!
1. Socrates
Socrates lived around 469-399 BC. He paid a lot of attention to people and wanted the people on this earth to be able to recognize himself. According to him, the human soul is the most profound foundation of life so that it is related to the essence of man as the determinant of his own life.
Based on his views, he has no intention of forcing others to accept his teachings, instead he prioritizes so that others can express their own views. Therefore, Socrates uses dialectics, namely in the form of dialogue with other people so that other people can express or explain their views and ideas, so that then new views can arise. Even though Socrates never left writings related to his views, his views were reiterated by Plato, who was one of his students.
2. Plato
Sinaumed’s must be familiar with this name, which is even known as a famous philosopher throughout history. Plato, who lived from 427-347 BC, put forward his opinion that the most basic reality or idea.
He believes that the nature that we see is not the actual reality, so there is a world of sensory perception or the real world, and a world of ideas. To enter the world of ideas, a great deal of mental energy is required and for this human beings have to do many things, including abandoning their habitual lives and controlling their passions. He also stated that the human soul consists of three levels, namely reason, feeling or desire, and lust. The mind which is part of the highest level of the soul can be used to perceive ideas and order the “level of the soul” of other parts.
Does Sinaumed’s know that this Plato has left more than 30 literary writings which of course contain beauty and purity in each of his writings. Plato once founded a school and the most famous student was Aristotle.
3. Aristotle
Aristotle lived from 384-322 BC and was Plato’s best student for 20 years. Aristotle loved to travel far and wide to various places and was a teacher from Prince Alexander until he became King Alexander the Great.
Similar to his teacher, Plato, he also founded a school called the Lyceum. Aristotle is known as a critical thinker by doing a lot of research and actively developing knowledge during his lifetime. He paid the most attention to natural sciences and medicine. Before he died, Aristotle had left many writings on science which are still used as theoretical foundations, ranging from natural sciences, society and state, literature, art, to human life.
Aristotle’s most famous writings are those on logic, called analytic. This analysis, if applied today, aims to propose conditions that must be fulfilled by thought so that it is intended to reach the truth.
4. Thales
Thales is a philosopher figure who comes from the Miletus area, Ancient Greece, and is estimated to have lived between 624-548 BC. He is considered the first person to try to find answers to questions about the origin of all things in the universe. He lived on every island and every day looked out over the vast ocean, so that vision arose.
Thales once traveled to Egypt and saw that the water in the Nile River was used by the people, especially for agricultural purposes. Because of that, he thinks that the origin of everything in the world is water. Water that is always moving is seen as the basis of human life. His view is true, isn’t it ? Because it is true that humans cannot live without depending on water.
5. Anaximenes
Unlike Thales, Anaximenes, who lived between 585-528 BC, actually held the view that the basis of life for living things in this universe was air. This view was put forward based on the premise that humans and all living things breathe, that is, they take in the air found in the universe.
Air is indeed the source of life for all living things and without its existence all living things on this earth will die. So, He thought that all the source of life for living beings is air.
6. Phytagoras
If you hear or read his name, Sinaumed’s will always remember the mathematical formula with the same name, right? Well, the originator of the mathematical formula is indeed Pythagoras who is also a famous philosopher. Pythagoras lived between 580-500 BC in the city of Kroton, Southern Italy.
Apart from being a philosopher who holds the view that humans must carry out spiritual cleansing so that their soul can gain happiness, he is also known as a mathematician. Therefore, he always taught his students that everything in nature comes from numbers or numbers. His view of the universe is centered on numbers.
Views in Philosophy
In its development, views or schools emerge that become the basis or basis for humans when they want to take an action. Until now, these views are still practiced in any field of science. Well, here are the views of the philosophy.
1. Idealism
The term ‘Idealism’ was put forward by Plato about 2400 years ago. Sinaumed’s must have known that Plato had the idea that the most fundamental reality and reality that is visible to the human senses is an idea. The emphasis in this view is natural idealism which is spiritual.
People who follow this view tend to respect culture and traditions, because they have the view that these life values have a level that goes beyond the knowledge of individual groups.
2. Humanism
In fact, from ancient times until the mid-4th century AD, education in Greece and Rome had the goal of forming humans so that they could become good citizens and be useful for the state and nation. Then later, in Europe in the 5th to 14th centuries there was also education that aimed to achieve eternal life happiness and overcome worldly needs.
This view of humanism actually has two directions, namely individual humanism and social humanism. In individual humanism, it prioritizes freedom of thought, expressing opinions, and various activities that demand creativity. Typically, these thoughts are channeled through art, literature, music, and technology. Meanwhile, social humanism prioritizes education for society as a whole for social welfare and human relations.
3. Rationalism
Rationalism is a view whose source of knowledge comes from human reason (reason). Rene Descartes is known as the father of rationalism as well as a modern philosopher. Besides that, there is also the character John Locke who holds the view that there is a tabula rasa , meaning that every human being is created equal, like a blank slate. Thus, these humans must be trained and given education so that they can reason and not remain blank slate forever.
4. Empiricism
Empiricism is a view whose source of knowledge is experience, because experience always provides certainty taken from the real world. This view also argues that a statement that cannot be proven through experience is meaningless.
5. Criticism
In the 18th century, there was a philosopher named Emmanuel Kant who succeeded in bridging two views, namely rationalism and empiricism, so that it became a critical view. In short, this view argues that truth does not need to be tested because it already has its own boundaries between rationalism and empiricism.
6. Constructivism
This view was put forward by Giambattista Vico in 1710, who stated that a person’s knowledge is the result of the construction of the individual himself, through interaction with objects, phenomena, experiences and their environment. Another character named E. Von Galsersfelf who came from the University of Massachusetts argued that a person’s knowledge is formed by the individual as a result of interaction with his environment.
Philosophy Branch
The existence of this philosophy is not just static, but dynamic which develops in such a way as to become more rational and systematic. What’s more, as time progresses, the human mindset also evolves. So, here are 6 branches of philosophy.
1. Epistemology
Epistemology comes from the Greek words episteme (knowledge) and logos (word, thought or knowledge). So it can be concluded that this epistemology is a branch of philosophy that discusses knowledge. In epistemology, the main issue is related to the origin, nature, character and type of knowledge.
2. Metaphysics
The term is also derived from the Greek word metaphysika, meaning ” after physics “. This branch of philosophy was introduced by Andronikos and Rhodes from a collection of books written by Aristotle about the nature of the things we see in the real world. It can also be said that this metaphysics is a comprehensive philosophical discussion of all reality or everything that exists. Metaphysics can be divided into two things, namely:
a) General Metaphysics or Ontology
That is discussing everything that exists as a whole and all at once. The discussion is usually carried out by distinguishing and separating the real existence from the appearance of its existence.
b) Special Metaphysics
- Cosmology , namely the discussion of the world or nature with the most fundamental order of all reality.
- Metaphysical theology , namely the discussion of religious beliefs. Usually discusses the existence of God.
- Philosophy of Anthropology , namely that which discusses what is the nature of humans and how the relationship between nature and each other. So, it can be said that this branch seeks to find answers to questions related to their existence, status, and relations.
3. Logic
According to Rapar (1996), Logic is a branch or part of philosophy that compiles, develops, and discusses principles, formal rules, and normative procedures, as well as valid criteria for reasoning and inference in order to reach truths that can be accounted for rationally. . In short, this branch of philosophy seeks to balance reason or thoughts expressed through words or (verbal) language.
4. Ethics
This branch of philosophy is also called moral philosophy because it discusses the good and bad of human behavior. In short, this branch of philosophy looks at humans in terms of their behavior. Even in the time of Socrates, ethics was very influential on the life of amnusia. Ethics is the science of morality, which determines how human beings should live in society. Ethics also does not question what or who the human is, but how the human should do and act.
5. Aesthetics
This branch of philosophy questions art and beauty . The things that are discussed about beauty are the true nature and principles of beauty, for example examining beauty with human feelings and thoughts. Although basically, this aesthetic has been studied since 2500 years ago in various regions, for example Babylon, India, Egypt, China, to Greece.
6. Philosophy of Science
This branch of philosophy deals with the nature of knowledge. Its application is usually in an effort to find the root of the problem and find the reality principle that is being questioned by the field of science so that it is clearer and more certain. As with other disciplines, this branch of philosophy also has its own division of knowledge, for example philosophy of law, philosophy of history, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mathematics.
So, that’s a review of what philosophy is and famous figures who are still popular as philosophers of all time. Has Sinaumed’s ever studied the views of any of these philosophers?