Philosophical Inquiry: Attitudes, Modes, and Key Methods

Modes of Philosophical Understanding in Greek Culture

In Greek culture, philosophy is understood in several ways:

• Possession of the Truth about Nature: Nature is the set of all things that exist. Those who seek the truth of nature are often called physicists or physiologists.
• Vision of Being: The philosopher is concerned about what things are. The philosopher is aware of the being of things and how they come to be or cease to be.
• Rational Science of Things: Philosophy is an inquiry intended to understand what each thing is, allowing us to distinguish and differentiate things.
• Rhetoric and Culture: Human reason can teach things to others. There is no knowledge without the ability to articulate, communicate, learn to argue, and teach.

Philosophy and the Philosophical Attitude

The philosophical attitude is a continuous philosophical disquiet that leads us to ask questions. Someone who holds a philosophical attitude does not become accustomed to the world but constantly seeks explanations and answers. The philosophical attitude strives for the meaning of things, trying to grasp what is beyond the immediate.

Philosophy as a Task (A Process of Becoming)

Philosophy as a task (a process of becoming) is a way of humanizing. This task is the philosophy that has been carried out by humans throughout all periods. Although each of us may not share a philosophy of nothingness, philosophy has a tradition and history. The history of philosophy is philosophy because it is a way of thinking about it. Everyone possesses a philosophical attitude, but we often forget that capacity and settle into a natural attitude.

Dimensions of Philosophical Engagement

The philosophical attitude is a "staying awake" to the world and to the human being itself. It is what compels us to seek meaning and become more human. It has two dimensions: knowledge (understanding) and taste (experience).

Descartes' Method: Evidence and Clarity

Descartes' method emphasizes the evidence and clarity of things. These things must be analyzed one by one (from the simplest to the most complex) to reach a final, comprehensive conclusion without omitting any detail.

Key Philosophical Methods and Their Founders

• Maieutic Dialectic (Socrates): Based on knowing things through the question-and-answer process to reach definition and truth. This method is related to the transcendental and hermeneutic methods.
• Physical-Ontological Method (Aristotle): Based on empirical experience (sense data). This is related to the empirical method.
• Rationalism (Descartes): Emphasizes the deductive method, the concept of "being modern" (applying mathematics universally and accepting only what is certain), and absolute confidence in reason.
• Empiricism (John Locke): Applies the Inductive method (crossing experiences to obtain concepts).
• Transcendental Method (Kant): Distinguishes between science and non-science; represents a union of empiricism and rationalism.
• Analytic-Linguistic Method: Focuses on analyzing language correctly.
• Phenomenological Method (Related to Hermeneutics).
• Hermeneutics (Friedrich Nietzsche): Suggests that we can never fully abandon our prejudices.