INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY EXAM (FE 1002): QUESTIONS AND

CONSULTATION TEXTS

1.Compare the origins of Eastern and Pre-Socratic Western Philosophy.

Eastern Philosophy :

Persians : Zoroastrianism : Zoroaster failed to understand that God is the

sole supreme principle and the source of everything which exists, and that
evil is only the privation of something without positive existence, and
that thus no creature is evil by nature. This error led him into dualism and
taught the existence of two uncreated and co-eternal principles : the
principle of Good and of Evil.

India : when the original religion of the Vedas couldn’t satisfy the
intellectual demands and social needs of the Indian civilisation,
philosophical notions appeared among the sacerdotal caste and took
possession of the priesthood. These priests would then also worship the
secret forces of the universe. This resulted in brahmanism or hinduism;
which is a philosophical, and metaphysical work of human speculation
that has been mixed up with religion. For instance, metaphysics were
divinised by brahmanism. This system, taught that the First Principle of
the world, named Brahma constitutes in himself the intimate reality of
everything which truly exists, necessarily causing pantheism. This is the
chief error of oriental philosophies : pantheism.

The problem of evil dominates the entire speculations of the Persian

sages and of the Indian metaphysicians. The Hindus, thought it were
better for all things to not exist, leading them into pessimism. The
brahmans believed in metempsychosis, the reincarnation of the soul into
other bodies and that evil men would be punished by undergoing a series
of reincarnations and thus the pain of individual existence. Brahmans
tried to attain God and perfection only through knowledge without grace;
this was another chief error.

During the 6th century BC, appeared Buddha. Buddhism may be

regarded as the corruption and di solution of the Brahman philosophy. In
buddhism, evil is existence itself, to be is evil and the origin of all
suffering. Buddhism is an agnostic and even atheistic philosophy which
usurps the social and ritual functions of a religion.
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 Indian thought never achieved a rational and autonomous philosophy.
Even before philosophy took shape as an independent discipline, most of
the greatest philosophical errors had already been formulated : the
problem of evil, the problem of being, the problem of the becoming and
flux of things. Dualism of Zoroaster and the pessimism of the Hindu, the
pantheism and idealism of the Brahmans, the atheistic evolutionism of
Buddha, and the illusory wisdom of Lao-Tse.

Pre-socratic Western philosophy :

It was in Greece alone that philosophy achieved her autonomy and was
explicitly distinguished from religion. In the 8th century bc, in the pre-
philosophical greek culture, there were some major poets such as Homer
and Hesiod. However, these Greeks cannot yet be considered as
philosophers. They only wrote poems and myths. Greek philosophy
began with Thales of Miletus in the 7th century BC. He embarked on
scienti c speculation. Greek philosophy was from the very rst distinct
from religion and was manifestly the product of pure reasoning. It is
during the period of Thales and Aristotle that philosophy took its de nite
shape. This development can be divided into 3 epochs : the period of
formation (the pre-Socratic philosophers), the period of crisis (the
Sophists and Socrates), the period of fruitful maturity (Plato and
Aristotle).

The Greeks started philosophy by seeking the principles of the natural

world. The naturalists, the ionians searched the original matter of which
all things are made = the Archè, with uncreated principles and visible
things. They wanted to nd the origin of reality. The naturalists searched
for the original matter of which all things are made, in other words, the
archè. Some philosophers identi ed it with matter : for Thales = water,
for Anaximenes = air, for Heraclitus = Fire. While matter was considered
as the material cause, some philosophers considered mathematical
numbers as the immaterial cause. So we can see, that for some the archè
was material while for others, it was immaterial.

Persians started philosophy with deep philosophical problems such as the

problem of evil, which led them into error. Evil is the mere absence of
goodness, evil (moral or natural) only exists in a subject. It is only a
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certain lacking of a perfection in a subject. Thus, the error of the Persians
was to separate evil from the subject. This led them to think that evil
existed in itself and that creatures were evil by nature. This is called
dualism. It is the belief that there are 2 co-eternal and uncreated
principles : that of Good and of Evil. Consequently, evil ended up by
being considered as existence itself.

We can also look at the reaction that evil and suffering produced. The
Orientals couldn’t stand evil, they were completely demoralised by it and
they became pessimistic. On the other hand, the Greeks accepted
suffering and some tried to explain its origin. For instance, Heraclitus
thought that strife is caused by a discord of the opposites. And some other
greek philosophers taught resilience toward suffering. That is a big
difference between the Greeks and the Persians.
As a conclusion we can say that Philosophy appeared in the 8th century
BC. The impulse of philosophy in Greece, in the west succeeded in
achieving an independent scientific discipline distinct from religion.
Whereas, the Eastern philosophy penetrated religion and was confused
with it. The greeks started with what was obvious to their senses while
the Orientals entangled themselves in deep and complicated metaphysical
problems from the very beginning leading them into certain error.
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2.What are the key developments of Western Philosophy from the Sophists to
Aristotle. Be sure to include the definition of Philosophy.

There was a gradual development of the philosophical thought.

Philosophy : The science of things by their ultimate principles and causes,

as known by natural reason alone.

Socrates and the Sophists

Sophism : vicious state mind, corruption of philosophy : sophists wanted
to know for the sake of power and money; not for the sake of truth.
They are called the prostitutors of wisdom by Xenophon. They were
threatening philosophical speculation by seeking the advantages
conferred by knowledge without seeking truth. This caused relativism and
the denial of objective truth. They denied the possibility of truth and
knowledge. They were only interested in refutations, in rhetoric. They
didn't philosophise for the sake of philosophy.

Some sophists : Protagoras, Gorgias of Leontini, Prodicos,…

Among those sophists, there is Protagoras who said that « man is the
measure of all things » meaning that everything depends on the person
that experiences something. This « man-measure » statement led to
certain and absolute relativism. He believed that every knowledge
depends on the one who knows. Example of the wind : cold for sb but not
for another. He also believed in the principles of contradictory reasons
which says that we can always argue for both positions and consequently
that truth is subjective.

Another sophist is Gorgias of Leontini. He was an ancient nihilist and

excluded radically the existence of an objective truth for 3 reasons :
-being does not exists (naturalists contradict each other)
-If being would exist it wouldn’t be comprehensible (no correspondence
between thought and reality)
- If being would be comprehensible, it wouldn’t be transmissible (the
same thought cannot be in two subjects simultaneously)
Consequence : power of speech and of persuasion.

Another sophist is Prodicos, who is the first utilitarian. He believed that

virtue is a result of a calculation.

Some sophists introduced nominalism, which says that words are empty
of essences and do not denote anything real.
Sophism created relativism, scepticism, nihilism.

Sophists were selling their knowledge, and Athens was in a state of

degeneracy and corruption. That’s when Socrates arrived.

Socrates : saved Greek thought from the sophists. He searched for the
essences or definitions of things. He was a practitioner, a physician of
souls. He did not construct a system but made men think. In opposition to
the sophists, he made brief speeches and affirmed his own ignorance. Was
diametrically opposed to sophists and professed ignorance. He reformed
philosophic reasoning and directed it to the truth, which is its proper goal.
His method was : exhortation, conversion, purification. With his famous
method of the maieutics, he asked for example : « what is virtue ? »,
« what is courage ? ». He tries to make his interlocutor see the truth
himself with this technique. He was spiritual obstetrician, he helped men
to give birth to truths that already found itself in men.

With Socrates, virtue is the goal of life. Virtue is the perfection of the
soul, it is self-control. Socrates even reduces virtue to knowledge and
science. Therefore, nobody according to him, sinned voluntarily but
always because of ignorance. Had a philosophy of essences. Socrates
safeguarded knowledge, objective truth and philosophy as a whole.

Socrates died in 399 BC and didn’t leave a clear doctrine behind him. (He
didn’t write anything). Therefore, lots of philosophers developed the
Philosophy of Socrates such as the minor socratics. But most importantly
Plato and Aristotle.

Plato and Aristotle

Plato : completed the thought of Socrates by giving it a doctrine and a

system. Was the best student of Socrates. He had a Philosophy of ideas.
According to Plato, things have to participate to a world of ideas to be
real. What is considered reality is the idea of a thing. The ideas are
immaterial, eternal and immutable and thus knowledge is possible.
Whereas the material things are illusory and contingent. According to
Plato, they are innate in men. There is thus a complete separation between
the world of ideas and the sensible world. (Dualism). He believes in the
idea of good and therefore believes in a being that is the supreme good.
Only with this system can man know that which is real. Certitude for man
finds itself in the world of ideas. However, Plato cannot explain change
and his system remains incomplete and flawed. His doctrine was
sometimes made of illusory images and vague. This is what enabled Plato
to not fall to deeply into error and preserve the truth that he discovered.
For example, when he says that material things participate in the world of
ideas, the term participate is completely empty of sense. Therefore
platonism as considered in itself is false but as considered as a way
towards the truth it is a great help.

Aristotle : he was the most brilliant student of Plato, he became his pupil
at 18 and attended all his lectures until his death. He extracted the truth in
Platonism and founded for all time the true philosophy. He severely
criticised Plato’s world of ideas, and his separation between the material
beings and their essences. He continued, corrected and elaborated the
system of Plato and brought it to its logical end. He started with the
material and natural world to explain change. Then, he talked about being
as being (metaphysics). All philosophy relies on Aristotle. He is the
philosopher per excellence. He showed a brilliant mind that would only
be surpassed by the angelic doctor. He took the doctrine of Plato to its
logical and natural conclusion.
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3.Discuss the Relation of Philosophy to the Experimental Sciences and Theology.

Science : certain knowledge of causes.

There are Experimental sciences. Those are concerned with secondary

causes, for example, the cause of a disease is the business of medicine.
On the other hand, philosophy is concerned with primary causes, with the
highest causes (emphasis on efficient and final causes). For example :
does man have a soul ? Is man an animal ? Philosophy has for object
everything which is. The other sciences, on the contrary, have for their
object some particular province of being, of which they investigate only
the secondary causes or proximate principles.

Philosophy is a body of sciences, containing the experimental sciences

which owes its unity and distinction from the other sciences to its formal
standpoint (first causes). The leading member of this body is
metaphysics. Metaphysics is the sovereign science. Therefore, the first
philosophy governs the other sciences. Experimental sciences presuppose
philosophy. All the sciences are ordered by wisdom. Philosophy has the
right and the duty to judge experimental sciences.
This means that if an experimental science contradicts philosophy, it
should listen to philosophy and rework on the conclusion.

The principles of the special sciences are subordinate to the principles of

philosophy, but only indirectly. Philosophy therefore governs the other
sciences, but its government is such that it may be termed constitutional.
(The special sciences are autonomous.) The study of the rst philosophy
(metaphysics) should be undertaken, not at the beginning, but at the end
of intellectual research.
Philosophy is a science. It is the highest human science but also the
hardest. Philosophy seeks universal truths whereas experimental sciences
seek particular truths. Philosophy starts with what is self-evident : the
natural world, philosophy of nature.
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Then, philosophy is the science of things by their ultimate principles and
causes, as known by natural reason alone whereas theology is the science
of God, as known by natural reason illuminated by divine grace.

Theology means the science of God, it is superior to philosophy. Its

object is God known in himself. It is unattainable for natural reason.

Theology has the right and the duty to judge philosophy and all the lower
sciences. It judges philosophy in the same sense that philosophy judges
other sciences. It exceeds philosophy. Theology attains truths that
philosophy cannot. For example, philosophy can know that God exists,
not that He is triune. Therefore, philosophy is the instrument of theology.
That’s the most important role of philosophy. For example, the
theologian, makes use at every turn of philosophic propositions to prove
his own conclusions.

But philosophy is also studied in itself and is autonomous.

As the instrument of theology, philosophy has 3 roles : 1) To support the

foundation of the faith (apologetics) 2) To impart some notion of the
mysteries of faith by the aid of analogies
3) to refute the adversaries of the faith (show the non-opposition with
reason)

Philosophy is protected from error by theology.

Theology, or the science of God so far as He has been made known to us

by revelation, is superior to philosophy. Philosophy is subject to it,
neither in its premisses nor in its method, but in its conclusions, over
which theology exercises a control, thereby constituting itself a negative
rule of philosophy.

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5.What are the main divisions of Philosophy (Logic, Practical & Speculative);
secondly, what are the speculative sciences and how are they divided?
(Mathematics and Philosophy of Nature, Metaphysics).

Philosophy contains 3 main divisions : Logic, speculative/theoretical

philosophy and practical philosophy/ethics
Logic : The study of reason as an instrument of acquiring knowledge or
means of discovering truth. Formal object : conceptual being / second
intentions

Speculative philosophy : theoretical science which seeks to account for

things by their first principles. Formal object : being of things / real
beings

Practical philosophy : practical science which seeks to regulate human

acts by first principles. Formal object : human acts

The practical philosophy is not studied for itself. It is not an end but a
way in order to do something else. For example, here it is ethics.

Then, the speculative sciences appear when we use our reason

scientifically, solely for the pleasure of knowledge. Indeed, the
speculative sciences exist solely for the sake of knowledge.

And so within speculative philosophy we can distinguish : 1)

Metaphysics 2) Mathematics 3) Philosophy of Nature
They are all for their own sake; knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
The more we go up, the more abstract and consequently noble the science
becomes. Therefore, metaphysics is the most abstract and noble of all
sciences.

Metaphysics : contain all beings (material and immaterial). It studies

being as being. Thus being as being is the starting point; and from there it
will investigate the causes. Being is analogical.
Metaphysics is not equal to philosophy of nature. It is more than that. In
fact, it is the broadest of the speculative philosophical sciences.

Mathematics is the science of number. It studies mathematical bodies or

beings. A mathematical body is simply that which possesses three-
dimensional extension.

Philosophy of nature studies natural or physical bodies or beings. In

philosophy of nature, we have an hylomorphic account of nature.
Hylomorphism means that each natural physical body is made of a
substantial form and primary matter. P of N tries to answer the question :
« how to explain change, substantial change ? »
To conclude, philosophy is divided into three principal parts : (i) logic,
which is the introdu tion to philosophy in the strict sense, and which
studies the conceptual being (ens rationis) which directs the mind to truth
; (ii) theoretical philosophy or simply philosophy, which studies the being
of things (real being, ens reale) ; (iii) practical philosophy or ethics,
which studies human acts.

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