ACHIEVER’S EDUCATION CONSULTANT

08141710097
SUMMARY OF GST203 WITH PAST QUESTIONS

What is Philosophy?

The unit will focus particularly on the controversial nature of the definition or conception of
philosophy, it will consider both the layman and academics conceptions and understandings of
philosophy.

Unlike other disciplines such as economics, history, political science, biology etc. where students
can give a straight forward definition of their respective discipline, this is not possible with
philosophy. There is no such thing as the exact or univocal definition of
philosophy. Although, this approach may not be correct, because, it is not in all cases that you
need to practice something before you explain or understand it. For instance, someone interested
in the definition of death does not necessarily need to die before he explains or understands it.

Even if the best way to define philosophy is to expose you to the rigours of deep
philosophizing, this remains partial. The problem with a definition of philosophy also arises due
to the various ‘conceptions’ and ‘misconceptions’, understanding and misunderstanding of
philosophy. Because of this, the discipline has been given various meanings or definitions. In
this sense, the word philosophy is often used to characterize a person or a group of persons'
attitudes to life.

When we claim to have a personal philosophy of life, it refers to either or both two senses that
we sometimes refer. Thus, why in the street you often heard people saying, ‘My
philosophy’, ‘His philosophy’, and so on. Whatever cannot be observed or is not subject to
objective verification cannot constitute knowledge. In more recent times, this philosophical
doctrine has come to be known as scientism.

This conception repudiates knowledge that is not based on scientific method of enquiry. This
impression or conception extols the sciences and treats the Humanities like a vast debating
society or subject meant for those without serious academics or professional ambition. This
conception is further a product of a lopsided view of technology. Most people tend to ascribe the
credit for technological achievements to the physical sciences, whereas, in fact, technological
progress is due to a combination of many aspects of human life including
politics, law, education, art, commerce, and philosophy.

This explains why the empirical disciplines cannot answer the question of purpose - why the
universe exists in the first place. Clarification of Concepts In this conception, philosophy is
reduced to the role of clarification of the meaning of words and concepts. To the advocates of
this conception, the function of philosophy is to clarify the meaning of such words. To
them, philosophy is a specialized field serving the sciences and aiding in the clarification of
language rather than a broad field reflecting upon all of life's experiences .

Certainly, this is one function of philosophy and not the main task or the only legitimate function
of philosophy. To see it as the only legitimate function of philosophy is to have a narrow
conception of philosophy and therefore of knowledge. This is because, it would limit what we
call knowledge to statements about observable facts and their interrelations - that is to the
business of the various sciences. But we know that knowledge generally used is not the
prerogative of the sciences.

We know and do have knowledge of ethical and theological principles and other value-laden
theories. However, other connotations of philosophy have been noted. In this vein, philosophy
has been variously conceived to be the Love for Wisdom, the Search for Truth, the Rational
Explanation of Nature, the Search for the Ideal Life, the Concern with Human Experience and
the Reminder of Familiar Facts of Everyday experience. Philosophy as the Love of Wisdom This
connotation of philosophy is derived from the etymological meaning of philosophy.

Etymologically, the word philosophy comes from the Greek words Philos, Philia, Philein which
means friend, love, to love and Sophia which means wisdom. In this sense, it is translated
theoretical wisdom . Wisdom consists in the constant and unwavering disposition to seek the
truth. Philosophy includes both the seeking of wisdom and the wisdom that is sought.

However, wisdom as used here is different from, though not opposed to knowledge in the sense
of amassed information. Wisdom in the philosophical sense is a habit of applying the intellect in
a systematic way as a guide and a beacon in one's activities. A philosopher in this connotation is
therefore one who believes in the efficacy of intellectual effort and who uses whatever
knowledge he or she can command to benefit mankind. Socrates, in his conversation with
Phaedrus, gives his criteria for ascribing wisdom to anyone, namely, an originality of thought
and a critical mind even about his or her own production.

He says, If the work had been done with knowledge of the truth. In the Phaedrus, Socrates goes
further to contrast true lovers of wisdom to those who merely parade themselves as lovers of
wisdom when in actual fact they are mere lovers of words. The type of poetry that Socrates
disparages here is the type that manifests neither a profundity of thought nor a depth of
content. Socrates also excludes from the realm of true philosophers’ certain types of law writers
and speech writers who, in his words, have no other input than the juxtaposition and
rearrangement of words and phrases in existing works.

Philosophy as the Search for Truth

There is no gainsaying the fact that philosophy and indeed philosophers have a penchant for
certain and indubitable knowledge. In his assessment, the best among them all were those who
went as spectators, since their interest in the games is simply to relax and enjoy it - and get the
first-hand information, the nitty gritty of the game. He compared the situation with the situation
in real life where some grow up with servile natures, and others are greedy for fame and
gain. Philosophy consists in the constant and unwavering disposition to seek the truth.
In the light of this, Plato defines philosophy as a man whose passion is to seek the truth, a man
whose heart is fixed on reality'. According to Aristotle, philosophy is rightly called the
knowledge of the truth'. It is not out of place therefore to say that philosophy is synonymous with
truth. Be that as it may, given the various conceptions of philosophy as outlined above, we
submit with Omoregbe that philosophy is a rational search for answers to the questions that arise
in the mind when we reflect on human experience.

It is also a rational search for answers to the basic questions about the ultimate meaning of reality
and of human life. The video is a summary of what you have read 8 in this unit.

Kant’s Critical/Transcendental Method

By method here, we refer to the way by which the act of philosophy can be carried out. Thus, in
this unit, you shall be examining the various ways by which philosophical processes have been
carried out from the time of Socrates.

[...]

Demonstrate philosophical skills in evaluating how philosophers carry out philosophical

activities Socratic Method The Socratic method of philosophical consists in arguing out the
entire process of the subject in question, in the manner of a dialogue. The teacher professes entire
ignorance all the while, finally getting the truth from the mouth of the questioner himself, by the
ingenious method of subtle examination, through the process of questioning and analysis. This
technique of argument is based on a complete knowledge of the fundamental component
elements of the subject of the argument and their relation to the constitution and condition of the
intellect and reason of the opposite party concerned in the discussion. This common ground of
truth among men can be brought out to the surface by careful analysis, argument and
investigation, by question and answer.

This is often called the art of philosophic midwifery. The establishment of correct concepts or
definitions before trying to know their application in life’s instances. Synthetic Dialectic Method
of Plato The analytical method of Socrates was followed by the synthetic dialectic of
Plato, which concerned itself with discovering the causal relation between thought and
being. Plato’s dialectic method mostly consisted in the grouping of scattered particulars into a
single concept or idea and the dissection of this concept or idea into classes, i.e., the
generalisation and arrangement of the idea.

The character of fulfilling the primal interests of man should be the guiding principle in
philosophy. Values are to be judged by results, and the test of truth is workability. Philosophy is
said to have begun with wonder. Descartes started with doubting everything, even the validity of
thought itself.

Later, Kant, too, followed the critical method of enquiry in philosophy. It urges that all
knowledge obtained by the senses is of what is already existent outside themselves and that
reason has its function in carefully judging the nature of the perceptive material provided to it by
the senses. The laws of reason, according to empiricism, are copies of and controlled by
knowledge which is posteriori. No a priori knowledge in the sense of what rationalism contends
to be present in reason is ever possible.

The source of knowledge is sense-experience and not mind or reason. Knowledge cannot be
gained by merely finding that the opposite, which is inconceivable, as rationalism holds, and
truth cannot be established by the fact that to deny it implies, somehow, its reaffirmation. The
point is that things are sometimes not the way they appear to us Sense-precepts have being or
reality only in relation to the constitutions of the respective senses, and never independently. The
method of rationalism takes reason to be the sole means of acquiring philosophical knowledge.

According to it, the objective universe is known, arranged and controlled by the a priori laws of
reason. The universe is considered an expression of the innate rational nature of the knowing
subject. The criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual, rational and deductive. Kant’s
Critical / Transcendental Method The critical or transcendental method of philosophy employed
by Kant takes stock of the arguments of empiricism and rationalism and builds a new system of
tremendous importance in the history of philosophic thought.

He points out that, though the material of our knowledge is supplied by the senses, the
universality and the necessity about it comes from the very nature and constitution of the
understanding, which is the knower of all things in the world. What we know are just empirical
facts or phenomena constructed by precepts and concepts common to all men. The relation
between the thesis and the antithesis implies a reconciliation of these two in a higher synthesis
brought about by the evolving force of the Whole, which transcends the isolated factors of the
existence and the assertion of the thesis and the antithesis. The two again get unified and
transcended in a still higher synthesis.

This process of dialectical unification in higher and higher syntheses continues in various
grades, progressively, until the Absolute is reached, where all contradiction is finally and fully
reconciled.

[...]

"It does not have a straight forward answer, which means no straightforward answer can be
given to that question. " Logic has been variously defined by different scholars. Copi for
instance, defines "logic as the study of the methods and principles used in distinguishing good
from bad reasoning" . On the other hand, Nancy sees Logic "as the science that appraises
reasoning as correct or incorrect" .

Kahane on his part defines logic as "an attempt to distinguish between correct and incorrect
arguments" . Etymologically, logic as a discipline derives from the Greek word Logos, which
means "Reasoned discourse." Its fundamental meaning is speech or statement in the sense that
each speech or statement consists of coherent and rational arrangement of words. It is a tool for
valid reasoning and essential weapon for philosophical reflection and for the separation of
correct reasoning from the incorrect reasoning. You need to know that logic is an instrumental
branch of philosophy.
In point of fact, always remember that logic is the tool of philosophizing. Logic enables
philosophers to make their arguments well stated and persuasive more than other people do. It
also enables philosophers to make their position clear, well-articulated and to properly backed up
their pronouncements rational, their reasoning precise, cogent and coherent. The logician is most
concerned with argument which can be described as a string of statement that can simply be
divided into two parts namely premise and conclusion.

The premise is also known as reason or reasons for the conclusion, while the conclusion is the
claim that is been supported by the reasons. Before we go further, you must note that there two
forms of argument, they are Simple argument and complex argument.

[...]

Consequently, copper conducts electricity You will observe from each of the above
arguments, the claim is inferred from one or more of the premises.

Example: 16

There are two ways of dealing with criminals. Three, there are conflicting methods of
rehabilitation. Four, prisoners seem to be getting too good a lifestyle for what they have done. I
suggest therefore that we should use the other option, that is, punish them .

From this example, you will notice that identifying a complex argument involves a complex
reasoning. But you will notice the following when you compare it with the simple sentence that
you have read earlier.

It has major conclusion, that is major theme or position being defended

What you learn from the above and which you must always remember is that any argument must
have premises and conclusion. For your argument to be good or correct, your premise must
provide support to the conclusion. And the conclusion of any argument must follow or be
inferred from the premises. So, in a way we can say that logic is the study of the criteria of
differentiating correct from incorrect arguments.

Deduction is the process of moving from the general to the specific. Induction is based on
"probability". For instance, when you say, "Most NOUN student are dark in complexion, Yisa is
a NOUN student, therefore Yisa is dark in complexion." Here the word ‘most’ does not entail all
the NOUN students. Therefore, one cannot conclude with certainty that Yisa is dark in
complexion.

Yisa could be among the few NOUN students that is not dark in complexion. Etymologically, it
derives from two Greek words Episteme which means "knowledge" and logos which means
"science of study, discourse or reasoning" Put together, epistemology is the study or the science
of knowledge. In this branch of philosophy, the philosopher wishes to know what knowledge
means. Thus, epistemology tries to discover what knowledge is and how it differs from mere
opinion or belief.

You must know that the recent trends in epistemological discourse have left these traditional
problems of epistemology to the problem of epistemological justification. There are
however, some schools of thoughts in epistemology that you must know. The two school that
will be mentioned here among others are the Sceptics and the foundationalists. The sceptics deny
our ability to know anything for certain while the foundationalists believe on certain foundation
upon which the superstructure of knowledge can be built.

This has been defined as the science of being as being. He used the term to describe Aristotle’s
works which came after the discussions on the physical sciences. It was recorded that Aristotle
wrote a series of books dealing with nature which he himself called "the
physics". However, decades after Aristotle’s death Andronicus decided to sort through his works
and gave them titles.

This simply means that the criterion for settling such question is not empirical possibility, but
freedom from logical contradiction. You should also bear in mind that even if Aristotle is
considered as the founding father of metaphysics as a science of reality he was not the first to
raise metaphysical problems. Ethics is mostly known as "the branch of philosophy which deals
with the morality of human actions in society" . Etymologically ethics derived from the Greek
word Ethos which means "custom" or "character"- it is a customary or acceptable way of acting.

He was the first to claim that "the unexamined life is not worth living". Socrates devoted all his
life to a critical examination of human behaviour. He was the first to confess that "the only thing
I know is that I know nothing". " In his opinion, ethics is also referred to as the science of human
conduct".

Ethics compare what you do and what you ought to do. Ethics is not primarily concerned with
facts or the "is", but rather with the "ought". In other words, ethics is not interested in the ontic
but in the ontological question. *Descriptive Ethics The duty of descriptive ethics is to examine
the moral views held by human beings or the society and to confirm whether these views are
universal or not.

Philosophy and science

Beside the four traditional branches of philosophy that you have learned above, there are other
branches of philosophy which are often referred to as the philosophy of the infrastructure of
disciplines. Bearing in mind that there is no discipline per se that does not stem from philosophy
as parent discipline , the focus in this unit will be specifically on the relationship between
philosophy, the sciences, religion, education and law. By the end of this unit, you will be able to
apply philosophical thoughts in analysing the relationship between
philosophy, science, religion, education and law. Philosophy and Science You should bear in
mind that until late 16 and early 19 centuries all scientific knowledge was within the ambit of
philosophical inquiry.

The romance of the maturing of these offspring of the fecund mother must be left to the history
of science .

The Nature of Scientific Knowledge 22

There is no doubt that science stemmed from philosophy. From the above definition of science, it
should be clear to you that the main purpose of science as discipline is to observe, understand
natural phenomena and then control processes. To any scientist it is assumed that the
universe, the orderly and natural phenomena are predictable and lawful.

Convergences and Divergences between Philosophy and Science

Always remember that it is improper to consider philosophy and science as competitors. Even
though science originated from philosophy as a discipline their subject matter is different. The
scientist main business is to explain natural phenomena, while a philosopher does not intend to
do so. It may be difficult for a scientist to answer philosophical questions.

You can see that none of these questions can find answer in the scientist’s laboratory. Because
both of them are motivated by sheer curiosity and the satisfaction of having knowledge of the
universe purely for the pleasure of the understanding. The purposes of philosophy and religion
are fundamentally opposed. A philosopher is always critical while a religionist is not.

While any serious philosopher begins his investigations from a position of intellectual neutrality
regardless of where his personal sympathies may lie. In philosophy, any known assumption is
subject to critical scrutiny. While in philosophy, knowledge is sought simply for its own sake. In
this branch of philosophy, the philosopher examines the concept of education and what it means
to educate and how best it can be achieved.

He looks at stages involved in education and what the goals of ideal education are. The function
philosophy performs in law is that it studies the nature of law and philosophical principles of law
and justice with reference to the origin and the end of the civil law and the principles that should
govern its formulation.

[...]

This study is to introduce to you the usefulness of philosophy. It is an opportunity for you to
know how useful philosophy is to human kinds and the environment. By the end of this unit, you
will be able to analyse philosophy in terms of its usefulness and concept. The Usefulness of
Philosophy You need to know that those who conceive philosophy as an intellectually complex
and as an abstract contemplation that is far removed from practical living, do not see any
meaningfulness or relevance in philosophical enterprise.

The age in which we live is an age of uncertainty and change, when many of the older beliefs
and the ways of doing things are inadequate. It provides us with the parameters for discernment
and for judging issues and articulating problems intelligently and critically. Philosophy in the
intellectual realm trains one to think clearly, critically and independently. Through, philosophy
one can develop analytical abilities with which one can effectively handle both practical and
abstract issues.

It enables one to distinguish which human behaviour is good, moral, acceptable and
praiseworthy as against those that are bad, immoral, unacceptable and condemnable. It
challenges one to come up with one’s own effective ways of solving problems that do not have
readymade answer.

[...]

References/further reading This study unit introduces you to the different sources and criteria for
knowing. It is an opportunity for you to differentiate between common sense and philosophical
understanding of knowledge, belief and opinion. The different sources of knowledge will be
emphasized. Discuss the common sense and philosophical understanding of knowledge, opinion
and belief.

Difference between Knowledge, Opinion and Belief

Often, the terms knowledge, opinion and belief are used interchangeably and when considered at
the surface level, it ordinarily looks as if there is no difference among them. In the daily life, it is
easy for someone to say he "knows" when he should say he "believes". On the other hand, he
"believes" when he should say he 29 "knows". It is important to know that like philosophy, the
question of knowledge is not an easy one.

It is not easy to align our thoughts with reality. Our mind is always puzzled when it comes to
adjusting our beliefs to the knowledge of things in the world, so that our beliefs become
grounded in evidence.

Common-sense Understanding of Knowledge, Opinion and Belief

What he has in mind is "think" because he might have some authoritative persons saying it that
‘that medicine is good’. They "know" that things will never work well for them. You cannot
know ‘X’ if X is not true. ‘X’ can be true even though neither he nor I nor anyone believes it.

After all, the earth was round even before anyone believed that it was . What matters here is that
knowledge implies being sure, being certain. You should know that it is not because some
customs, beliefs or hereditary affairs are unquestionable that they are synonymous with
knowledge. Some unquestionable beliefs are not well founded or grounded in evidence.

Therefore, they do not constitute knowledge. Always remember that the knower must not only be
able to adduce enough evidence but must also know that he knows his beliefs. For to know is to
know that you know. It must be clear to you now that knowledge is quite different from opinion
or belief.

We have knowledge only when we can provide reasons and evidence for our claims. On the
contrary, belief or opinion is based on inner, personal certainty and conviction. Any serious
rationalist agrees that we cannot acquire knowledge through sense experience without the powers
of reason. For them, it is true that our perceptual experience provides the raw material for
judgments, but without reason, we cannot make judgments at all.

For instance, to reason that the object in front of you is a blackboard you must first of all
recognize it as a blackboard based on certain perceptual characteristics such as
colour, smell, taste, size, shape as they recur in your experience. Then, by way of
abstraction, you can recognize a blackboard when there is a combination of these characteristics.

Sense Experience

The Empiricists are the proponents of sense experience theory. To any empiricist, as far as
knowledge is concerned, only sense experience matters. In other words, empiricism is the
philosophical theory which denies reason while insisting that experience is always the necessary
ingredient in our knowledge claims of the natural world. Isaac Adewole the Minister of Health in
Nigeria said so.

Here, Prof. A man may be an authority in a certain field of knowledge like the
Minister, however, this does not confer certainty on the claim being made even if he claims some
knowledge of it. Aside, it is fallacious to reason this way. " "I know by intuition that President
Mohamadu Buhari will contest in 2019.

Revelation and Faith

This study unit dealt with different sources of knowledge and their criteria for knowing. It also
emphasized the common sense and philosophical understanding of knowledge, belief and
opinion.

Zeno of Elea Socrates and the Classical Age Philosophical movement of the Socratic Age

You need to know that these stages of development in philosophy are sometimes referred to as
an age. So, we shall be 2 talking about ‘The Pre-Socratic Age’, ‘The Mediaeval Age’, ‘Modern
Age’, and so on.

[...]

Growing through these ages, philosophy has gone through various stages of transformations of
moving from the Dark Age, to the age of enlightenment and the contemporary time.

Pre-Socratic

As you are aware, philosophy grew out of wonder and curiosity. Answers to these questions are
always sought through religion and mythology. However, at some point, answers to some of
these questions are 3 considered not rational enough, especially by Thales, Anaximander and
Aneximenes as prominent figures. These group of thinkers were curious to know the ultimate
source of things.
Thales of Miletus He is usually considered the first proper philosopher, although he was just as
concerned with natural philosophy as with philosophy as we know it. Perhaps, you should note
that Thales and most of the other Pre-Socratic philosophers . Also, they were mainly preoccupied
with attempts to identify or establish what reality is without recourse to any kind of supernatural
or mythological explanations. That is, they attempt to identify or establish that the world is made
up of a single underlying item or substance.

Like his master, he held that there must be an original element, a primary stuff of which all
things were made. But he did not think it was water as Thales did. According to him, the primary
source of all things cannot be any of the things we know because all the elements we know
conflict with each other. It must be infinite, boundless, eternal and indeterminate.

You also must know that Anaximander maintained that this world is not the only world that
exist. He believed that there are many worlds and this world of ours is just one of them. He is
said to have made the first map ever in history. He is known to have maintained that the earth is
like a cylinder in shape, a position that differentiate him from those who believed that the world
is flat.

To him, this is Air and not Water. "Just as our soul being air, hold us together, so do breathe and
air encompass the whole world". To Anaximenes, the earth is flat and rests on air.

Other Philosophers in the Pre-Socratic age

Another issue the Pre-Socratics wrestled with was the so-called problem of change, how things
appear to change from one form to another. Some of the philosophers who engaged themselves
in this issue are, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Empedocles, Democritus and
Pythagoras. Heraclitus In seeking for the primary source of all things, like the three Ionians, he
thought that the original stuff from which all things were made is Fire. However, Heraclitus was
more preoccupied with the problem of change in his philosophical enterprise.

He believed in an on-going process of perpetual change, a constant interplay of opposites.

Zeno of Elea 5

He was a student of Parmenedes, and is best known for his famous paradoxes of motion . His
idea of paradoxes of motion helped to lay the foundations for the study of
Logic. However, Zeno’s underlying intention was really to show, like his master Parmenedes and
all other before him, that all belief in plurality and change is mistaken, and that motion is nothing
but an illusion. Democritus later developed the extremely influential idea of Atomism.

Unlike most of the Pre-Socratic philosophers before him, Socrates was more concerned with how
people should behave, and so was perhaps the first major philosopher of Ethics. His
system, sometimes referred to as the Socratic Method, was to break problems down into a series
of questions, the answers to which would gradually distil a solution. He blended
Ethics, Metaphysics , Political Philosophy and Epistemology into an interconnected and
systematic philosophy. He provided the first real opposition to the Materialism of the Pre-
Socratic, and he developed doctrines such as Platonic Realism, Essentialism and
Idealism, including his important and famous theory of Forms and universals.

Plato believed that the world we perceive around us is composed of mere representations or
instances of the pure ideal Forms. The real world to him, had their own existence elsewhere. This
idea of Plato is known as Platonic Realism. He used his theory of World of Form to develop and
explain his epistemology, .

He also identified the soul as having three parts namely, reason, spirit and appetite. This tripartite
distinction of the soul and the society was used to explain his idea of Justice both in the soul and
in the state. Thus, to him, there will be justice in the soul if the three parts of the soul functions
independently of one another and there will be justice in the state if each of the parts that is, the
artisan, the soldier and the ruler operate without any interference. Plato’s Political Philosophy
was developed mainly in his famous book "Republic", where he describes an ideal society
composed of Workers and Warriors, ruled over by wise Philosopher Kings.

He created an even more comprehensive system of philosophy than his master Plato. His
philosophical works span across Ethics, Aesthetics, Metaphysics, Logic Politics and Science, and
his work influenced almost all later philosophical thinking, particularly those of the medieval
period. Aristotle was engaged in a system of logic called Deductive Logic, with its emphasis on
syllogism. Syllogism is a system of logic where a conclusion, or synthesis, is 7 inferred from two
other premises, the thesis and antithesis.

This system of logic remained the dominant form of Logic until the 19th Century. Unlike
Plato, Aristotle held that Form and Matter cannot be separated, and cannot exist apart from each
other. Although, he too believed in a kind of Eudemonism, Aristotle saw Ethics as a very
complex concept and that human beings cannot always control our own moral environment. He
believed that happiness could best be achieved by living a balanced life and avoiding excess by
pursuing a golden mean in everything.

This position is like his formula for political stability through steering a middle course between
tyranny and democracy. It should be noted here that in the philosophical history of Ancient
Greece, there were several other schools or movements that also held sway, in addition to
Platonism and Aristotelianism.

[...]

It was largely a religious philosophy which became a strong influence on early Christianity , and
taught the existence of an ineffable and transcendent One, from which the rest of the universe
"emanates" as a sequence of lesser beings. From the above, it is obvious that what started
ordinarily as mere idea in the Pre-Socratic era has at the time of Aristotle become a discipline of
inquiry that borders on human being, his existence and the nature of the cosmos with various
ideas developed by individual philosophers and movements.

Some Islamic philosophers of the Medieval Age Avicenna

This age is called the Medieval or the Middle age. This is because sometimes, drawing
distinction between the era and the medieval is difficult. Moreover, it was the era that is seen to
have restored the philosophical enterprise from the dogmatism of the middle age.

[...]

Justify the role of the renaissance group in liberating philosophy in the middle age. Medieval/
Middle Age This period was around 11th Century, when there was a renewed flowering of
thought, both in Christian Europe and in Muslim and Jewish Middle East. His idea of "tabula
rasa" later influenced British Empiricists like John Locke.

Christian Philosophers

1 St. Augustine He hailed from Tagaste in North Africa. He was the first philosopher who
introduced the problem of evil in the world of utmost important. This problem to Augustine
possesses serious problem to the existence of God, who is said to be good, kind, powerful and
the creator of all things. He known for his concept of time, which he believed to be an elusive
concept.

Thus, to him although we talk about Past, Present and Future, neither the past nor the future
really exists, for the past is gone and the future is not yet, and the present is only a passing
moment. This cause must be God. Also, he argued that the universal conviction of mankind that
God exists is proof of God’s existence. If God does not exist hoe did the whole human race
become convinced of his existence.

St Anselm is often regarded as the first of the Scholastics. He is generally considered the
greatest, and certainly had the greatest influence on the theology of the Catholic Church. Other
important members of the Scholastics included Peter Abelard, Albertus Magnus, John Duns
Scotus and William of Ockham. Each of them contributed slight variations to the same general
beliefs.

It was marked by a movement away from religion and medieval Scholasticism and towards
Humanism and a new sense of critical inquiry. Renaissance Age This age is classified as the
period of revival of classical civilization and learning, which occurred in the 15th and 16th
Century.

Among the major philosophical figures of the Renaissance were

His political ideas has become notorious and has remained controversial among scholars. His
application of inductive reasoning - generalizations based on individual instances - were both
influential in the development of modern scientific methodology. From the above discussion, it
could be said that in the Middle age, philosophy was made to be subservient to religion. The
philosophers of the age were predominantly religious fathers who employed philosophy to teach
religious doctrine.

However, the renaissance philosopher was those who delivered philosophy from the aprons of
the religious father to which it was tied. They gave philosophy its freedom and make rationality
its basis.

References /Further Reading

These ages marked the real beginnings of modern philosophy.

[...]

He was the first figure in the loose movement known as Rationalism, and much of subsequent
Western philosophy can be seen as a response to his ideas. His method was known as
methodological skepticism and its aim was to dispel Skepticism and arrive at certain
knowledge. He saw the human body as a kind of machine that follows the mechanical laws of
physics, while the mind or what he called consciousness was a quite separate entity, not subject
to the laws of physics, which is only able to influence the body and deal with the outside world
by a kind of mysterious two-way interaction. This idea, known as Dualism , set the agenda for
later philosophical discussion of the "mind-body problem".

Despite Descartes' innovation and boldness, he was a product of his times and never abandoned
the traditional idea of a God, which he saw as the one true substance from which everything else
was made. Spinoza happens to be the second great figure of Rationalism. He was a follower of
Descartes in that he believed that humans attain knowledge through ideas or immaterial
representations in the mind. However, he argued that all ideas actually exist only in God, and
that God was the only active power.

British Empiricism

Direct opposition to the continental European Rationalism movement was the equally loose
movement of British Empiricism, which was also represented by three main philosophers, John
Locke, Bishop George Berkeley and David Hume. John Locke He argued that all of our
ideas, whether simple or complex, are ultimately derived from experience, so that the knowledge
of which we are capable is therefore severely limited both in its scope and in its certainty. His
idea represents a kind of modified Skepticism. He believed that the real inner natures of things
derive from what he called their primary qualities which we can never experience and so never
know.

Locke, like Avicenna before him, believed that the mind was a tabula rasa and that people are
born without innate ideas, although he did believe that humans have absolute natural rights
which are inherent in the nature 18 of Ethics. Along with Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jack
Rousseau, he was one of the originators of Social Contract Theory, which formed the theoretical
underpinning for democracy, republicanism, Liberalism and Libertarianism, and his political
views influenced both the American and French Revolutions. The second of the British
Empiricists chronologically was Bishop George Berkeley, although his empiricism was of a
more radical kind, mixed with a twist of Idealism. Using cogent arguments, he developed the
rather counter-intuitive system known as Immaterialism , which held that underlying reality
consists exclusively of minds and their ideas, and that individuals can only directly know these
ideas or perceptions through experience.

Thus, according to Berkeley's theory, an object only really exists if someone is there to see or
sense it , although, he added, the infinite mind of God perceives everything all the time, and so in
this respect the objects continue to exist. Although, he never openly declared himself an
atheist, he found the idea of a God effectively nonsensical, given that there is no way of arriving
at the idea through sensory data. He attacked many of the basic assumptions of religion and gave
many of the classic criticisms of some of the arguments for the existence of God . In his Political
Philosophy, Hume stressed the importance of moderation, and his work contains elements of
both Conservatism and Liberalism.

Some other philosophers of the period

Aside the above discussed philosophers, there were some other "non-aligned" philosophers of
the period and many of were most active in the area of Political Philosophy. Some of them and
ideas of their philosophical discussion are mentioned below.

[...]

Edmund Burke, who was considered as one of the founding fathers of modern Conservatism and
Liberalism, although he also produced perhaps the first serious defence of Anarchism. He was a
German philosopher who appeared towards the end of the Age of Enlightenment. Kant made
another paradigm shift as important as that which was made by Descartes some years earlier, and
in many ways, this marks the shift to Modern philosophy. He sought to move philosophy beyond
the debate between Rationalism and Empiricism and he attempted to combine those two
apparently contradictory doctrines into one overarching system.

A whole movement called Kantianism developed in the wake of his work, and most of the
subsequent history of philosophy can be seen as responses, in one way or another, to his
ideas. According to Kant, Empiricism and Rationalism could be combined. Kant made a great
contribution to Ethics with his theory of the Categorical Imperative. The theory simply state that
we should "act only in such a way that we would want our actions to become a universal
law, applicable to 20 everyone in a similar situation".

This theory is also interpreted as Moral Universalism and that we should treat other individuals
as ends in themselves, not as mere means, which means Moral Absolutism, even if that means
sacrificing the greater good. Let it be stated here also, that the Modern period produced German
Idealist philosophers and Romanticism Movements. Thus, philosophers like Arthur
Schopenhauer whose philosophy was considered very singular and a product of the age. He saw
art as the only way to overcome the fundamentally frustration-filled and painful human
condition.

Unit 4: Philosophical Movements in The Contemporary Period

In this unit, you are going to learn about the various philosophical ideas in the contemporary
time. We shall be talking about Pragmatism, Logical Positivism and the two philosophical
movement trending in the contemporary age, which are Analytic and Continental philosophy.

[...]

Analyse the impacts of philosophical theories on societal development Utilitarianism In

England, the Contemporary age began in the 19th Century. It recorded a very different kind of
philosophy, which grew out of the British Empiricist tradition of the previous century. It was
founded by the social reformer, Jeremy Bentham and was popularized by his even more radical
protegé John Stuart Mill. It holds that the right action is that which would cause "the greatest
happiness of the greatest number".

This theory was refined by Mill to stress the quality not just the quantity of happiness, and
intellectual and moral pleasures over more physical forms. He counselled that coercion in society
is only justifiable either to defend ourselves or to defend others from harm . The most popular
American movement of the late 19th Century was Pragmatism, which was initiated by C.S Peirce
and developed and popularized by William James and John Dewey. The theory of Pragmatism is
based on Peirce's "pragmatic maxim", that the meaning of any concept is really just the same as
its operational or practical consequences.

In other words, it means that something is true only insofar as it works in practice. Peirce also
introduced the idea of Fallibilism, the idea that all truths and "facts" are necessarily
provisional, that they can never be certain but only probable. Furthermore, William James
extended the idea of Pragmatism to serve as a method for analysing philosophic problems and as
a theory of truth. On the other hand, John Dewey's presented his own Pragmatism as
Instrumentalism.

European philosophy was not limited to the German Idealists in the Contemporary period. There
was the French sociologist and philosopher Auguste Comte who founded the influential
Positivism movement around the belief that the only authentic knowledge was scientific
knowledge, based on actual sense experience and strict application of the scientific
method. Comte saw this as the final phase in the evolution of humanity, and even constructed a
non-theistic, pseudo-mystical "positive religion" around the idea. The Logical Positivism which
developed from Auguste Comte’s Positivism campaigned for a systematic reduction of all human
knowledge down to logical and scientific foundations and claimed that a statement can be
meaningful only if it is either purely formal especially, mathematics and logic or if it is capable
of empirical verification.

In the 1930s, A.J Ayer was largely responsible for the spread of this philosophical movement to
Britain, even as its influence was already waning in Europe.

Analytic Philosophy and Continental Philosophy

Logicism attempt to show that some, or even all, of mathematics can be reduced to
Logic. Frege’s work revolutionized modern mathematical Logic. They both wrote a book titled
Principia Mathematica, a ground-breaking and monumental book that was particularly important
milestone. Both Russell and Whitehead went on to develop other philosophies.
Russell's work was mainly in Philosophy of Language and the theory of Logical Atomism. He
pointed out that the term "good", for instance, is in fact indefinable because it lacks natural
properties in the way that the terms "blue", "smooth", etc, have them. 2 Continental
Philosophy. Husserl developed the idea, parts of which date back to Descartes and even
Plato, that what we call reality really consists of objects and events as they are perceived or
understood in the human consciousness, and not of anything independent of human
consciousness .

Martin Heidegger, a formal pupil of Husserl attempted a decline of his master’s philosophy-
Phenomenology in his own philosophy. Jean-Paul Sartre, along with his French
contemporaries, Albert Camus, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Simone de Beauvoir was considered
the main figurehead of the Existentialist movement. This is because of his believe that humans
are thrust into an unfeeling, godless universe against our will, and that we must then establish
meaning for our 26 lives by what we do and how we act. To Sartre, we always have choices and
that, while this freedom is empowering, it also brings with it moral responsibility and an
existential dread .

According to Sartre, genuine human dignity can only be achieved by our active acceptance of
this angst and despair. In addition to Existentialism, three main philosophical schools dominated
Continental Philosophy in the second half of the 20th Century. One of the three schools is
Structuralism, which is the broad belief that all human activity and its products are constructed
and not natural, and that everything has meaning only through the language system in which we
operate. The second school is the Post-Structuralism, which is a reaction to the first school-
Structuralism.

This second school Post-Structuralism stresses the culture and society of the reader over that of
the author. The third school is called Post-Modernism. It is an even less well-defined
field, marked by a kind of "pick'n'mix" openness to a variety of different meanings and
authorities from unexpected places, as well as a willingness to borrow unashamedly from
previous movements or traditions. Michel Foucault the French radical philosopher has been
associated with all of these movements.

Much of his work are on language and, among other things, he has looked at how certain
underlying conditions of truth have constituted what was acceptable at different times in
history, and how the body and sexuality are cultural constructs rather than natural
phenomena. Although sometimes criticized for his lax standards of scholarship, his ideas are
nevertheless frequently cited in a wide variety of different disciplines. Last but not the list that
should also be mentioned is Deconstructionism . This is a method that focuses on literary
criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity and truth, and looks for
the underlying assumptions , as well as the ideas and frameworks, that form the basis for thought
and belief.

The method was developed by the Frenchman Jacques Derrida . His work is highly cerebral and
self-consciously "difficult", and he has been repeatedly accused of pseudo-philosophy and
sophistry. The unit examined some of the most influential philosophical groups or movement
that dominates the philosophical discourse in the 19th and 20th century. Macmillan & Free Press.

Professional Philosophy

Since Africans are a special specie of human race, Africans cannot philosophize, understand or
demonstrate any form of philosophical enterprise. This Unit is therefore an examination of these
Western opinion on African philosophy with a view to show the meaning of African philosophy.

[...]

These thinkers provided valuable answers to issues wide ranging from

morality, government, politics, religion and war. In universities across Nigeria, students are
taught Western Philosophy, but what is fundamentally lacking is an understanding of their own
philosophy. African philosophy can be formally defined as a critical thinking by Africans on
their experiences of reality. Nature of African philosophy African refers to sub-Sahara African
and by simple definition Philosophy is thinking – to think, man requires a language.

Thus, the postulation of early Western sojourners that once leaved in various parts of the African
continent to have restricted to writing as the only means by which thinking is
guaranteed. Writing is not a prerequisite for thinking. As in most Western cultures, thinkers in
Sub-Sahara Africa constituted a special class of people that sought to preserve their works in
various forms and did so mostly through oral tradition. There is multiplicity of ideas that results
from the differences in customs, civilization and tradition but this cannot suggest that there is no
African philosophy.

At the heart of most African Philosophy is the concept of communalism which is not
socialism, communism, capitalism nor the other "isms" of the West. Most of African
philosophies even though not written are encoded in wise sayings, proverbs which in the words
of our fathers are the yam with which words are eaten. It should be noted here that the
disagreement on whether there is African philosophy, or the possibility of its existence also
persist among African scholars as well, until now that we have professional African
Philosophers, who now research and teach African philosophy in African Universities. 2 In the
latter view, African philosophy is any philosophy produced by Africans or by people of African
descent, and others engaged in critiques or analysis of their works.

Ethno- Philosophy

Ethno-philosophy has been used to record the beliefs found in African cultures. The past is not
seen as fundamentally different from the present, but all history is contemporary history . There
is the ethical proverb that emphasis sincerity and the need to keep promise made
- . However, these arguments must be taken with a grain of cultural relativism, as there are so
many cultures in Africa, with patriarchies, matriarchies, monotheists and traditional religionists
among the population, and as such the attitudes of the two-society mentioned above cannot be
taken to represent the whole of Africa.

Leopold Sedar Senghor also embraced this approach. His view in support of his approach is
embodied in his concept Negritude. In the Negritude, he argued that the distinctly African
approach to reality is based on emotion rather than logic, works itself out in participation rather
than analysis, and manifests itself through the arts rather than the sciences. It is important to
know that this approach has been criticised.

This approach wants whatever that will go by the name African philosophy must meet certain
criteria which other philosophies like Western, Chines, Indian, etc. already have. One of such
criteria is not to consider it as a communal enterprise but rather it should be seen as the work of
an individual. This may explain why Odera Oruka the contended that philosophy is never a
community patrimony which, as such, belonged to all members of the society. Philosophy as far
as this 34 approach is concerned is an individual enterprise.

Critics argued further that the problem with both ethno-philosophy and philosophical sagacity is
that there is surely an important distinction between philosophy and the history of
ideas, although other philosophers consider the two topics to be remarkably similar . The
argument is that no matter how interesting the beliefs of a people such as the Akan or the Yoruba
may be to the philosopher, they remain beliefs, not philosophy.

Professional philosophy is usually identified as that produced by African philosophers trained in

the Western philosophical tradition, that embraces a universal view of the methods and concerns
of philosophy. Those philosophers identified in this category often explicitly reject the
assumptions of ethno-philosophy and adopt a Universalist worldview of philosophy that requires
all philosophy to be accessible and applicable to all peoples and cultures in the
world. Professional philosophy insist that ethno-philosophy does not possess the ability to be
critical which, is the most important characteristic of philosophy. To them artifacts of ethno-
philosophy m, myths, proverbs, foklores and indeed all the artifacts of ethno-philosophy are not
criticized.

That even if they entail wisdom such wisdom is not philosophic in nature. It is emphasized by a
member of the group that it is the philosophical texts, that is, writings of these professionally
trained philosophers that can only qualify as African philosophy.

Nationalist and ideological philosophy

Alternatively, it has been considered as a subcategory of professional political philosophy. In

either case, the same sort of problem arises with retaining a distinction between ideology and
philosophy, and also between sets of ideas and a special way of reasoning. The Hermeneutic
Philosophy This is a philosophical current which insists that philosophy in Africa should be
hermeneutic in nature. The emergence of philosophy from non-philosophy is made possible
through the process of hermeneutics, which is interpretation.

Literary/ Artistic Philosophy

These scholars are seen to be critical of the African condition in their works and they try to point
out what existence entails in an ideal African situation. Scholars like Achebe, Soyinka, Okot
p’iBtek and others are therefore recognized as been philosophical. The Historical Trend This
idea was initiated by Oguejiofor he contends that the idea of philosophy has been in existence in
Africa even before the development of the Greek philosophy. The argument then is that it is the
African philosophy, through the Egyptian connection, that influenced the emergence of
philosophy in Greece.

The implication of this argument therefore, is that there would not have been what is called Geek
philosophy today if African philosophy did not exist. First is from the point of the military
invasion of Egypt by the Greeks during which the Egyptians were conquered. The contention of
whether there is African philosophy or not has been laid to rest given the various African
philosophers’ views that have expound in this unit. Although, some positions may be
contestable, however given the level of the growth of African philosophy and its waves in the
contemporary time the philosophy is assuming the same status with the western philosophy.

[...]

By the end of this unit, you will be able to logic in philosophical thoughts.

Definition of logic

Logos is an ‘expression of reason or order in words or things, principle, mathematical

ratio, thought or simply ‘word’ . In the history of philosophy, Parmenides was the first ancient
Greek philosopher that developed some logical principles, and these are the principle of identity
and the principle of non-contradiction. Having discuss a little on the origin of logic, it is
important to point out that unlike philosophy itself, logicians seem to agree on what logic means
or what it is about. Although, logic has been variously defined by different scholars.

But then all this definition points towards the same subject matter of logic. For
instance, Aristotle sees logic as the scientific study of fundamental principles of human thoughts
and the laws that underline valid thought processes and discourse . Copi defines logic as the
study of the methods and principles used in distinguishing good from bad /incorrect
reasoning . Kahane on his part defines logic as "an attempt to distinguish between correct from
incorrect arguments" . For Moses Oke, logic primarily "is the study of methods and principles
used to assess the strength of the evidential link between the premises and conclusion or
arguments" . Basically, 3 you can notice that in the above definitions the words which stand out
clearly are reasoning and argumentation. Therefore, we can say that the study of logic is the
study of correct and incorrect reasoning and arguments or that logic is the science of reasoning.

Simple Apprehension Simple apprehension is the act by which the mind forms the concept of
something without affirming or denying anything about it. This is a simple apprehension because
I have not said anything about the Ship. I have neither affirmed nor denied anything about the
Ship. Some philosophers and logicians have denied the possibility of a simple apprehension.

Judgment in logic
Judgment is known as the act by which the mind affirms or denies something of something
else. For instance, if I proceed to say "look, that ship is big" then I have made a judgment by
affirming the "bigness" of the Ship.

Reasoning and Argument

The Relevance of Logic Logic is of immense relevance so, it is very important to study it. It is
the only discipline that strictly lays down the rules which the mind must follow to arrive at truth
and thereby minimize if not totally eradicate error. In other words, logic works as a guide
through the critical thinking process. As a discipline it will also equip you with the skills needed
for effective and forceful presentation of your views.

It forces people to think about the outcome of propositions before they ask questions. It helps us
to avoid claims for which we do not have enough reasons. This is not true. We all need logic to
communicate and interact in the society.

Even to be illogical presupposes a logical action or decision. There is no way you can determine
correct or incorrect reasoning without constructing arguments. And logic, being that branch of
philosophy that draws the boundary between correct or incorrect reasoning, is very essential to
philosophers. Therefore, it is not even an exaggeration to claim that logic is to philosophy what
mathematics is to the sciences.

Logic is even at the background of mathematics. So long as there is reason for

arguments, classification and ordering of things, logic is always needed. As earlier stated, it is
only logic that can bring light, the general laws and cannons to which reason must conform.

Classification of Logic

Traditionally, logic is divided into two main branches namely formal and informal
logic, however, the study of logic has grown beyond these two to include prepositional
logic, deductive logic, inductive logic, mathematical logic, Boolean logic fuzzy logic, modal
logic, deontic logic and epistemic logic. Formal Logic Formal Logic is the study of inference
with purely formal content, where that content is made explicit. Formal logic is often used as a
synonym for symbolic logic. It is usually described as the logic of symbols and implication.

Mathematical Logic This refers to two important areas of research and they are the application of
the techniques of formal logic to mathematics and mathematical reasoning, and the other one is
in the other direction, the application of mathematical techniques to the representation and
analysis of formal logic.

Deductive logic

An inference is deductively valid if and only if the premise follows from the conclusion or if
there is no reason for us to accept the premises as true and reject the conclusion. In order
words, the conclusion is derived from the premises or that the premises provides adequate
support for the conclusion to hold. Inductive logical evaluation require us to define a reliable
generalization of some set of observations. The process is such that the conclusion in any
inductive reasoning is not supported in absolute term by the series of observations made.

Fuzzy Logic This is related to fuzzy set theory in mathematics. It simply says that truth values
are not limited to truth or falsity.

Modal Logic

Modal logic deals with the phenomenon that sub-parts of a sentence may have their semantics
modified by special verbs or modal particles. For example, "We go to the games" and perharps
"We will go the games". More abstractly, we might say the modality affects the circumstances in
which we take an assertion to be satisfied. These logics help in critical thinking and analysis.

The unit will focus particularly on statement, proposition, premise, conclusion and inference.

[...]

By the end of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate the usage of logic vocabulary in
expressing human behaviour.

Statement and Proposition

To them, even though the two terms are interwoven, they are not actually the same. Any
sentence expressing questions, commands etc. does not qualify as logical statement or
proposition. Basically, a premise refers to that proposition or statement, within an
argument, which provides support for or grounds for asserting the conclusion of that
argument. Conclusion does not necessarily mean the last sentence.

"There will be light today, because the Vice–chancellor is in school"

Whenever any of the above listed words is used, it simply means that the sentence that follow is
the premise of the argument. You must know that the list of premise locators cannot be
exhausted. Those listed here are just few for you to know how to identify premise or premises in
any argument. In logic, conclusion is that proposition, in an argument, that is arrived at on the
strength or basis of the information provided by the premises.

Simply put, conclusion means to come or brings to an end.

Abuja is in Nigeria Nigeria is in Africa Therefore, Abuja is in Africa

They are arrived at based on the information provided by the first two prepositions, which are the
premises in the respective arguments.

These are generally called CONCLUSION – INDICATORS.

All footballers are strong Ronaldo is a footballer Therefore, Ronaldo is strong

Here you can see that the conclusion "Ronaldo is strong" is inferred from the first and second
premises of the argument, that is it is derived from the first and second premises of the argument.

Unit 3: Logic’s Vocabulary II

It intends to introduce you to some basic concepts logicians use.

[...]

Demonstrate logical skills arguments An argument is a group of propositions that can be

structured into two parts that is premise’, which is also known as ‘reason’ and ‘conclusion’
which can also be known as ‘claim’. The premises which are some of the statements in an
argument is said to provide reason for which the conclusion is affirmed. The conclusion which is
part of the statements in an argument is affirmed based on the other statements, which are called
premises. At least two propositions or statements form an argument otherwise it is not argument.

In the case of two propositions only one must be the premise while the other must be the
conclusion.

All women are caring

Ada is a mother Therefore, Ada is caring You should always remember that no matter how many
premises form an argument, an argument can never have more than one conclusion. Valid and
Invalid Arguments An argument is said to be valid when the conclusion of that argument is
derived from or follows from the premises. In other words, in a valid argument, it is necessary
that if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true.

[...]

"Here you can see that although the second premise is false, the argument is still valid. " Because
when the premises are assumed to be true the conclusion must be true also. In logic proper, an
argument can still be valid when all the premises are false. "However, it is not also advisable to
hastily conclude that an argument is valid simply because its premises are all true. "

Because sometimes, the premises may not support the conclusion in the right way. In logic
proper, validity only preserves truth but cannot preserve falsehood. In all, you must know that a
valid argument is concerned with the structure of the argument and not the content.

Subject or predicate Term

Remember that we can talk either of the subject term of a proposition or the subject term of a
syllogism or of an argument. But always remember that in logic proper, you must talk of the
subject term of a proposition. Syllogism is more than a preposition syllogism is an argument that
contains and must contain three propositions, two of which are called the premises and one the
conclusion.
All Black women are beautiful

Cacy Ngamen is a black woman Therefore, Cacy Ngamen is beautiful In this syllogism "Cacy
Ngamen is beautiful" is known as conclusion and it necessarily follows from the first and second
prepositions, which serve as premises of the syllogism. You can see that a whole syllogism can
neither be asserted nor denied. But the sentence "Cacy Ngamen is beautiful" which stands here
as a preposition can be asserted or denied. As the subject of the proposition it is called the
subject term so "Cacy Ngamen is beautiful" is the subject term of the above proposition.

As it is with the subject term, so it is with the predicate term. The logician does not talk of the
predicate term of an argument or syllogism. In conclusion, you should always remember that in
logic proper, subject and predicate term are associated with individual propositions only. You
should always remember also that in logic, the premise containing the major of the syllogism is
referred to as the major premise of that syllogism.

Minor term

In logic, the premise that contains the minor term of the syllogism is called the minor premise of
that syllogism. Thus, in the above example the premise "Etoo is a Cameroonian" which contains
the minor term of the syllogism is called the minor premise because it contains the minor term of
that syllogism.

Middle Term

Always remember that in any syllogism, the term that occurs in both premises but does not occur
in conclusion in called the middle term of that syllogism. Logicians argue with subject or
predicate term with major emphasis on predicate, subject, major, minor and middle terms.

Weak and strong inductive argument

This study unit will also teach you how to define and differentiate between sound and unsound
argument.

[...]

Evaluate arguments in different contexts Inductive argument An inductive argument is that kind
of argument that its premise only support, but do not guarantee its conclusion. Inductive
argument does not claim that their premises, even if true, support their conclusions with
certainty. You can see that in the above example, the conclusion that all Cameroonians are
football players is arrived at by sampling some members of the class of persons who are
Cameroonians. But for some logicians there are also some "cases in which the propositions of an
inductive argument which are used as premises and conclusions may all be either general
propositions or particular prepositions".

Samuel Doe was a dictator and was ruthless

This is because the premises do not support the conclusion. the support offered by the premises
of an inductive arguments to their conclusion is either high or low or none at all.

[...]

Logicians define deductive argument as that kind of argument in which the premises do not only
support but also guarantee the conclusion. In other words, the conclusion is directly inferred
from the premises. It also means that the conclusion does not contain any new information aside
those that we already have in the premises. Like what we have for inductive arguments, we also
have different type of deductive arguments depending on the form the arguments take.

[...]

It should be clear to you then that a valid deductive argument is an argument in which if you
accept the premises to be true, you cannot deny or reject the conclusion. If you do so, you will be
running into contradiction. You should also know that in logic proper, the words "true" or "false"
are used to qualify statements or propositions. While "valid" or "invalid" are used to qualify
arguments.

Invariably, you 21 can accept the premises of the deductive argument to be true and reject the
conclusion without running into any problem.

Weak and strong inductive arguments

In an inductive argument, the words strong and weak are used to indicate the level and strength
of evidence or data used as premises and the degree of certainty contained in the conclusion. Any
inductive argument is based on probability. Therefore, its weakness or strength depends on the
degree of evidence contained in the conclusion.

Sound and Unsound Argument

They are only used to qualify a valid argument. A valid deductive argument is said to be sound if
the premises of that argument as well as the conclusion are all true prepositions. On other hand, a
valid argument is said to be unsound if the premises of that argument are either all false or
contain a mixture of true and false prepositions, notwithstanding the truth value of its
conclusion . Again, in example , the first premises has a true proposition, the second has a false
proposition, while the conclusion is also expressed in a false proposition.

But here again, the argument is valid because despite the falsity of the second premise and the
falsity of the conclusion, the conclusion is validly derived from the combination of the false and
true premises.

Logic and Language

Generally, you need to understand that the definition of logic as the science of laws of thought
imply a mutual relationship between logic and language. The dependency of logic and language
on each other is reciprocal, as thought is believed to be prior to language but its process is made
possible through embodying itself in language. This has made language to be vital to the
development of logic. It is important for you to note that logic is concerned with different forms
of expression in language, but only in so far as they embody differences of type in the process of
thinking.

Aside from what we have said above about logic and its connection with language, it is equally
important for you to know that as a primary tool of reason, language enhances the description
and organization of human numerous experiences and make them to access the experience of
other people. Perhaps one should make you to understand that language is a social product.

From Wittgenstein point of view, the functions of language has been classified into three
headings, that is, Informative, Expressive and Evocative.

Informative Function

Here, the sole purpose of language is to communicate information. ‘Nigeria is a country’ states
nothing else but facts as information is been given about "Politics" and "Nigeria". You should
understand that information could be inform of a proposition or an argument. The information
above can either be true of false, in which case we shall be talking about ‘true and false
proposition’.

It could also be a 26 misinformation and when it is considered in the realm of argument, we shall
be talking about correct and incorrect argument.

FBQ1: Directive function of language is also known as ____ function

Answer: Evocative

FBQ2: Complete this argument (which moves from general proposition to a particular
proposition as the conclusion): “All Senators are liars, Tunde Bakare is a Senator, therefore,
_____”
Answer: Tuned Bakare is a liar

FBQ3: According to the law of _____, everything must choose to be either “A” or not “A”
Answer: Excluded middle

FBQ4: The definition of logic as the science of laws of thought implies a mutual relationship
between logic and ___
Answer: Language

FBQ5: The weakness or strength of an inductive argument depends on the degree of --____
contained in the conclusion
Answer: Evidence
FBQ6: The argument: “Janet is a Muslim, all Muslims are traders, therefore Janet is a trader” is
valid but _______
Answer: Unsound

FBQ7: Complete this valid but unsound deductive argument: “All GST 203 Students are
brilliant, the Vice President of Nigeria is a GST 203 Student, therefore ____ “
Answer: The Vice President of Nigeria is brilliant

FBQ8: Complete this sound deductive argument: “Lagos is in Nigeria, Nigeria is in Africa,
therefore ____ .“
Answer: Lagos is in Africa

FBQ9: For a ___, the role of reason is basically one of interpreting and defending the dogma
derived from sources whose authority and truth is dependent on faith.
Answer: Religionist

FBQ10: The field of research directed towards obtaining further knowledge of nature is called
______.
Answer: Science

FBQ11: The branch of philosophy concerned with the morality of human action is called ____.
Answer: Ethics

FBQ12: ________ enables philosophers to make their arguments well stated and persuasive
more than other people do.
Answer: Logic

FBQ13: The ‘Dialectical method’ of Hegel moves from thesis to _____ and synthesis.
Answer: Anti-thesis

FBQ14: In Greek language, the word Sophia means ____.

Answer: Wisdom

FBQ15: The result of the philosophical doctrine, which sees knowledge as exclusively
depending on sense experience is known as ____.
Answer: Master Scientist

FBQ16: In the Under-labourer conception, philosophy characterises a person’s or group of

persons _____.
Answer: Attitude to life

FBQ17: “All politicians are liars” is an example of ___ proposition.

Answer: Universal affirmative

FBQ18: ___ is a form of definition that expresses the meaning of a word based on available
theories in specific discipline.
Answer: Theoretical definition

FBQ19: “You don’t know any of the accused persons, do you?” is an example of _____fallacy.
Answer: Leading question

FBQ20: “My lord, if you send me to prison, my seven children will suffer, there will be no one
to take care of my sick mother and my father will die of heart attack.” is an example of ____
fallacy
Answer: Appeal to Pity

FBQ21: “I look out at you all, and I tell you, I am proud to be here. Proud to belong to a party
that stands for what is good for Nigeria. Proud to cast my lot with the kind of people who make
this nation great. Proud to stand with men and women who can get our nation back on its feet.
Yes, there are those who criticize us, as weak and insensitive. But when I look at you hard-
working people, I know we are right, and the critics are wrong.” This is an example of _____
fallacy
Answer: Appeal to Popular feeling

FBQ22: ___ is another word for recursive definition.

Answer: Induction

FBQ23: In the concept of ‘Definition’ that which is doing the defining is referred to as ____.
Answer: Definien

FBQ24: Ethno-Philosophy sees philosophy as an item of _____ property rather than an activity
of the individual
Answer: Communal

FBQ25: _____ developed the theory of ‘condensation and refraction’ to explain the original stuff
from which all things are made.
Answer: Anaximenes

FBQ26: “Segun is a boy” is an example of ___ proposition

Answer: Particular affirmative

FBQ27: To ___ everything that exists is permanent, indestructible and unchanging.

Answer: Parmenides

FBQ28: A ‘lexical definition’ is identical with a ____ definition of words.

Answer: Dictionary

FBQ29: In the currents of African philosophy, ____ is a sort of individualist version of Ethno-
Philosophy, in which one records the belief of certain special members of the community.
Answer: Sage philosophy
FBQ30: ____ proposed the idea that the sources of all things must be a neutral element, different
from all the elements we know.
Answer: Anaximander

FBQ31: The establishment of the world as being made up of a single underlying item or
substance is referred to as ___
Answer: Monism

FBQ32: ___ is the branch of philosophy that refers to the study of the fundamental principles of
the theory of education as distinguished from the science or art of education.
Answer: Philosophy of education

FBQ33: ___ is the method of philosophy which concerns itself with the establishment of correct
concepts or definitions before trying to know their applications in life’s instances.
Answer: Socratic method

FBQ34: ___is the name of the Greek philosopher and mathematician who likened philosophers
to spectators at the “Ancient Games”.
Answer: Pythagoras

FBQ35: ___ contrasted true lover of wisdom with those who merely parade themselves as lovers
of wisdom when in actual fact they are mere lovers of words.
Answer: Socrates

MCQ1: Who first introduced the concept of “Tabula rasa”?

Answer: Avicenna

MCQ2: The belief that ‘Virtue’ is a kind of knowledge that we need to in order to reach the
ultimate good is called
Answer: Eudemonism

MCQ3: The Renaissance age was marked by the movement away from religion and medieval
scholasticism to
Answer: Humanism

MCQ4: “Ockham Razor”, the methodological principle which states that “one should not
multiply arguments beyond necessary” was developed by
Answer: Ockham

MCQ5: All the following belong to the same AGE of philosophy EXCEPT
Answer: Heidegger

MCQ6: What was Descartes’ philosophical idea that set the agenda for Mind and Body problem?
Answer: Cartesian Dualism
MCQ7: The identification of the soul as having three parts namely Reason, Spirit and Appetite
was done by
Answer: Plato

MCQ8: Who used the theory of Form to develop and explain epistemology?
Answer: Plato

MCQ9: Who among the following is NOT an ancient philosopher?

Answer: Baruch De Spinoza

MCQ10: Fallacy of “Begging the question” is also known as

Answer: Petito pricipii

MCQ11: The kind of definition which describes a special brand of stipulative and précising
definition is known as
Answer: Theoretical definition

MCQ12: ‘Evidence’ or ‘Reason’ in logic is also known as

Answer: Premise

MCQ13: The critical thinking of Africans on their experience of reality is called

Answer: African philosophy

MCQ14: In the Medieval age, philosophy was subservient to

Answer: Religion

MCQ15: The Ontological argument for the existence of God was developed by
Answer: St Anslem

MCQ16: The concept of “Methodic doubt” was part of the philosophies of

Answer: Rene Descartes

MCQ17: Utilitarian ethicists are also known as

Answer: Consequentialists

MCQ18: The idea that there is no absolute truth and that two point of views can be accepted at
the same time is credited to
Answer: Sophism

MCQ19: What type of argument is that in which the conclusion is based on probability?
Answer: Inductive argument

MCQ20: The founder of ‘Scepticism’ is called

Answer: Pyrroh

MCQ21: One value of philosophy is that it enables a person to develop the habit of
Answer: Reflection

MCQ22: The following are members of the age of delivery of philosophy EXCEPT
Answer: Ockham

MCQ23: The scientist’s main business is to explain

Answer: Natural phenomena

MCQ24: The word ‘Epistemology’ means

Answer: Theory of knowledge

MCQ25: The argument that consists of as many arguments as possible with so many premise(s)
and conclusion(s) is
Answer: A complex argument

MCQ26: Who is the proponent of ‘Transcendental’ method of philosophy?

Answer: Immanuel Kant

MCQ27: The method of philosophy that is confined to sense experience is called

Answer: Empiricism

MCQ28: What method of philosophy holds that everything is real when it tends to fruitful
activity and results?
Answer: Pragmatic method

MCQ29: In the Socratic method of philosophy, the assumption of an ignorance of truth by the
teacher is known as
Answer: Socratic Irony

MCQ30: The idea that ‘Motion’ is nothing but an illusion is credited to

Answer: Zeno of Elea

MCQ31: The part of ethics that deals with the logical language of ethical concept and terms is
known as
Answer: Meta-ethics

MCQ32: The type of logic that is concerned with knowledge and belief is called
Answer: Epistemic logic

MCQ33: What kind of logic deals with the basic operations of truth value?
Answer: Boolean logic

MCQ34: The Logic that serves as the study of natural language argument is called
Answer: Informal
MCQ35: What branch of philosophy helps us to avoid claims for which we do not have enough
reasons?
Answer: Logic