Philosophy of Religion

Chapter 1: Philosophy
1. What is Philosophy?
The word philosophy literally means love of wisdom; philosophy,
having been derived from the words “Philo” which means love and
“Sophia” which means knowledge. This tells us something about the nature
of philosophy, but not much, because many disciplines seek wisdom.
According to other authors it means one’s basic attitudes, beliefs and
concepts- The ABC’s of one’s way of thinking.

2. Explain each Philosophy according to different authors.

There are many schools of thought that defines the word
Philosophy as a discipline. One thing is common in the said definitions; the
word comes from “Philos” and “Sophia” which means love and wisdom
respectively. It has been defined by Bishop Belen, Cual to mention a few.

It has been given by the book that it means basic attitudes, beliefs
and concepts- the ABC’s of one’s way of thinking. In addition, it is also
the criticism of those ABC’s of one’s way of thinking. Furthermore, has been
defined by Cual as having etymological viewpoint, meaning philosophy
must be understood based on the explanation of the origin and history of
the word itself.

3. Explain definability.
In an attempt to uncover the meaning of word “Philosophy”, several
authors have made several measures to define it. First is getting its
meaning from its etymology itself; philosophy, having been derived from
the words “Philo” which means love and “Sophia” which means
knowledge it then means “search for meaning”. It has also been defined
through its pragmatics or how it is used wherever in the field.
Chapter 2: Branches of Philosophy
1. Enumerate the branches of Philosophy. Explain.
a) Logic is the attempt to codify the rules of rational thought.
Logicians explore the structure of arguments that preserve truth or
allow the optimal extraction of knowledge from evidence. Logic is
one of the primary tools philosophers use in their inquiries; the
precision of logic helps philosophers to cope with the subtlety of
philosophical problems and the often misleading nature of
conversational language.

b) Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself. Epistemologists ask,

for instance, what criteria must be satisfied for something we
believe to count as something we know, and even what it means for
a proposition to be true. Two epistemological questions I discuss
elsewhere on this site are the question of how we can know the
future will be like the past, and the question of how we can be sure
about anything at all.

c) Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things. Metaphysicians

ask what kinds of things exist, and what they are like. They reason
about such things as whether or not people have free will, in what
sense abstract objects can be said to exist, how it is that brains are
able to generate minds, and whether or not there is a god.

d) Axiology is an umbrella term for different studies that center upon

the nature of different types of value.6 These different studies
include aesthetics, which investigates the nature of such things as
beauty and art; social philosophy and political philosophy; and,
most prominently, ethics, which investigates both the nature of
right and wrong and the nature of good and evil. Ethics asks
theoretical questions about the foundations of morality, such as
whether right and wrong should be understood in
a consequentialist or deontological way, but also asks practical
questions about the fine details of moral conduct, such as how
much moral consideration one ought to give to non-human
animals.
2. What are the four areas of Epistemology? Explain

Areas of Epistemology are:

a. Agnosticism, (from Greek agnōstos, “unknowable”), strictly

speaking, the doctrine that humans cannot know of the
existence of anything beyond the phenomena of their
experience. The term has come to be equated in popular
parlance with skepticism about religious questions in
general and in particular with the rejection of traditional
Christian beliefs under the impact of modern scientific
thought.

b. Skepticism, which has arisen either in defense of, or in

opposition to, various forms of skepticism. Indeed, one
could classify various theories of knowledge by their
responses to skepticism. For example, rationalists could be
viewed as skeptical about the possibility of empirical
knowledge while not being skeptical with regard to a priori
knowledge, and empiricists could be seen as skeptical about
the possibility of a priori knowledge but not so with regard
to empirical knowledge. In addition, views about many
traditional philosophical problems, e.g., the problem of
other minds or the problem of induction, can be seen as
restricted forms of skepticism that hold that we cannot have
knowledge of any propositions in some particular domain
that is normally thought to be within our ken.

c. Propositional knowledge can be of two types, depending on

its source:

 a priori (or non-empirical), where knowledge is possible

independently of, or prior to, any experience, and requires only
the use of reason (e.g. knowledge of logical truths and of abstract
claims); or
 a posteriori (or empirical), where knowledge is possible only
subsequent, or posterior, to certain sense experiences, in addition
to the use of reason (e.g. knowledge of the color or shape of a
physical object, or knowledge of geographical locations).
3. What are the specific areas of concern of Axiology?

a. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature

and appreciation of art, beauty and good taste. It has also been
defined as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature". The word
"aesthetics" derives from the Greek "aisthetikos",meaning "of sense
perception".
b. Ethics, moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the
conducting of an activity. It tackles the moral code, morals, morality,
values, rights and wrongs, principles, ideals, standards (of behavior),
value system, virtues, dictates of conscience. Therefore, it is the
branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.

4. In Metaphysics, all are being, what are these two studies? Explain.

These are as follows:

a. Cosmology – a central branch of metaphysics, that
studies the origin, fundamental structure, nature, and
dynamics of the universe.
b. Ontology – a central branch of metaphysics. Ontology is
the study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or
reality, as well as the basic categories of being and how
they relate to each other. In simpler terms, ontology
investigates what there is.
c. Philosophy of space and time –
d. Metametaphysics – branch of metaphysics concerned
with the foundations of metaphysics (which is concerned
primarily with the foundations of reality). It asks: "Do the
questions of metaphysics really have answers? If so, are
these answers substantive or just a matter of how we use
words? And what is the best procedure for arriving at
them—common sense? Conceptual analysis? Or
assessing competing hypotheses with quasi-scientific
criteria.
e. Philosophy of religion like:
 1) Philosophical theology – branch of theology and
metaphysics that uses philosophical methods in
developing or analyzing theological concepts.
2) Natural theology – branch of theology and
metaphysics the object of which is the nature of
the gods, or of the one supreme God. In
monotheistic religions, this principally involves
arguments about the attributes or non-attributes
of God, and especially the existence of God -
arguments which are purely philosophical, and
do not involve recourse to any supernatural
revelation.

5. State the different areas of concern of Logic?

a. Deduction: an argument whose premises are claimed to provide

conclusive evidence for the truth of its conclusion. (This definition
is a bit of a kludge since we want to retain a meaning to the phrase
"invalid deductive argument" which might be, in some cases, a
correct inductive argument.) In the beginning, it's probably best to
think of a good or valid deductive argument as one in which the
conclusion follows from the premises with logical necessity.

b. Induction: arguments that establish the truth of the conclusion as

probable or probably true. So, informally at least, an inductive
argument claims its conclusion follows with some degree of
probability. The word "claims" is included in this version of the
definition if we want to use the meaningful phrase "incorrect
inductive argument.
Chapter 3: Philosophy in Sociology
1. What is sociology?
Sociology is the study of human social relationships and
institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to
religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and social
class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social stability
to radical change in whole societies. Unifying the study of these diverse
subjects of study is sociology’s purpose of understanding how human
action and consciousness both shape and are shaped by surrounding
cultural and social structures.

Sociology is an exciting and illuminating field of study that

analyzes and explains important matters in our personal lives, our
communities, and the world. At the personal level, sociology investigates
the social causes and consequences of such things as romantic love, racial
and gender identity, family conflict, deviant behavior, aging, and religious
faith. At the societal level, sociology examines and explains matters like crime
and law, poverty and wealth, prejudice and discrimination, schools and
education, business firms, urban community, and social movements. At
the global level, sociology studies such phenomena as population growth
and migration, war and peace, and economic development.

2. Explain Social and Moral Philosophy?

Social philosophy explores philosophical questions about social

issues and social behavior. Social philosophy deals with a broad range of
subjects. Common examples of ideas in social philosophy include social
contract theory, cultural criticism, and individualism. Major themes in
social philosophy include the self, social entities, and the relationship
between them. Individualism often comes up in social philosophy,
including questions regarding the separation, or lack thereof, of
individual persons from society and each other. In addition, Social
philosophy often mixes with sociology, cognitive anthropology, and
psychology. In that those fields offer the science and experimentation that
social philosophers can then study and contemplate. Any given discussion
or theory may often have elements of social philosophy as well as social
sciences.
 Major parts of social philosophy do overlap with political
philosophy, especially in regards to authority, revolution, property, and rights.
However, social philosophy also deals with more subtle forms of social
interaction, authority, and conflict. For example, while legal philosophy
addresses issues of formal government and formal law, social philosophy
addresses more informal issues such as the social structure of
voluntarily formed groups, such as the social power of a celebrity. In this way,
we can contrast legal power, such as that of a governor, with social power,
such as that of a popular high-school student.

Moral philosophy is the area of philosophy concerned with theories

of ethics, with how we ought to live our lives. It is divided into three
areas:

1) Metaethics is the most abstract area of moral philosophy. It

deals with questions about the nature of morality, about
what morality is and what moral language means. This
section of the site contains material on cognitivism and
noncognitivism, and on moral relativism.
2) Normative Ethics

While metaethics treats the most abstract questions of

moral philosophy, normative ethics is more concerned with
providing a moral framework that can be used in order to
work out what kinds of action are good and bad, right and
wrong. There are three main traditions in normative ethics:
virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism.

3) Applied Ethics

The most down to earth area of moral philosophy is

applied ethics. This seeks to apply normative ethical theories
to specific cases to tell us what is right and what is wrong. In
this section, various thorny ethical issues are discussed like
abortion, animal rights, and punishment.

3. State the roles of Social Philosophy.

As said above, Social philosophy explores philosophical

questions about social issues and social behavior. Social philosophy deals
with a broad range of subjects. Common examples of ideas in social
philosophy include social contract theory, cultural criticism, and
individualism. It also deals with the various topics in social philosophy cross
over between many other philosophical categories, including epistemology,
metaphysics, philosophy of politics, morality, and so on.

4. Explain the nature of Religion.

As a general knowledge, the word religion comes from the word
Religare, re meaning again and Ligare meaning to tie. It is generally
intended to tie back the lost relationship between man and his creator
when he has sinned against the said Supreme Being. It also gives the
person a meaning of existence and to conquer his or her feelings of
weakness and fragmentations of existence in life.

5. What is the general relationship of religious education to Philosophy?

Religion is an offshoot of Philosophy if we are to gauge it from the
book per se. According to numerous authors, it is a branch of sociology;
sociology being the science of human behavior has included the study of
human’s tendency to cling into the so called “supreme being” for many
purposes with the height of it being the salvation of his soul. Faith being
the foci of this social phenomenon, it tries to explain the unknown using
the tenets and dogmas of known sects in existence today.

6. State the aspects of universal human predicament in religion?

The aspects of the universal human predicament are as follows:

1) The recognition that one must die first before being resurrected
engenders fear of death or dying, and search for hope that will
conquer fear.
2) The threat of the meaninglessness of life in the face of bewildering
contradictions in the struggle for existence and the need for
assurance to overcome the threat.
3) A feeling of weakness in the face of multiple demands of life, and
reaching out for the power that transcends one’s limitations.
4) Awareness of the fragmentations of existence, and a search for an
all-embracing reality that will lend ordered wholeness to slathered
pieces.
7. In your own understanding, what is social Philosophy?
Social Philosophy deals about the norms, accepted tenets and
rules that are being employed by man in the society; this in turn fosters
order in the world and serving as a generally accepted rule for the
common benefit of humankind