Philosophy: Concepts, Arguments, and Reasoning

Philosophy is an activity that reflects on concepts. It involves examining concepts without preconceived notions and responding with arguments or reasoning, similar to Aristotle's approach. According to him, the origin of philosophy lies in the admiration for strange phenomena that we don't understand by nature or because we lack instinctive explanations. Explanations can be:

• Pre-rational: Myths are explanations based on imagination. These fantasy stories tell of supernatural beings and random events.
• Rational: These explanations originated in Miletus (6th century BC) due to its geographical location and commercial activity. The rise of democracy in Miletus contributed to the development of rational reasoning.

Types of Rational Explanations:

• Scientific Explanation:

  • Seeks the causes of phenomena.
  • Utilizes methods: hypothetical-deductive, deductive, and inductive.
  • Science: Specialized knowledge (divided by fields of study).
  • Empirical Sciences: Deal with observable objects and can be verified (natural sciences, human sciences).
  • Formal Sciences: Deal with unobservable entities of a rational form (mathematics and logic).

• Philosophical Explanation:

  • Focuses on the field of reality and knowledge, such as the world and how we know it (theoretical reason).
  • Concentrates on human action and moral conduct, such as how to live in the world and human behavior (practical reason).

Branches of Philosophy

Theoretical Reason:

• Metaphysics - Ontology (study of reality)
• Epistemology (study of knowledge)

Practical Reason:

• Ethics (individual behavior)
• Politics (collective or group behavior)

Philosophy as an Activity

Philosophy is an activity that involves thinking about concepts and ideas whose meaning is often understood or taken for granted. This activity begins with philosophical questions about concepts. The philosopher defends or criticizes a thesis using arguments or reasoning.

Mythical Accounts

A myth is a narrative starring extraordinary beings that explains the creation of some element of nature. These narratives are located outside of historical time. They address questions about the origin of natural phenomena.

Scientific Explanation

Scientific explanations arise from the contemplation of nature. Science attempts to describe the causes of these phenomena. The scientific method is based on:

1. Identifying a problem to be solved.
2. Formulating a hypothesis to explain the causes of the phenomenon.
3. Conducting experiments to test this hypothesis.