E.

Some Schools of Thought in Philosophy

1. Empiricism = Belief that all knowledge is ultimately derived from the senses (experience) and
that all ideas can be traced to sense data.
2. Existentialism = Term used to refer to any philosophy that emphasizes fundamental questions
of meaning and choice as they affect existing individuals; existential themes include choice,
freedom, identity, alienation, inauthenticity, despair, and awareness of our own mortality.
3. Idealism = Belief that only ideas (mental states) exist; the material world is a fiction—it does
not exist.
4. Humanism = Name given to any philosophy that emphasizes human welfare and dignity;
belief that human intelligence and effort are capable of improving conditions in the here and
now.
5. Pragmatism = From the Greek for ―deed‖; belief that ideas have meaning or truth value to the
extent that they produce practical results and effectively further our aims; empirically based
philosophy that defines knowledge and truth in terms of practical consequences.
6. Rationalism = The key claim made by rationalist philosophers, and what sets them apart from
empiricist philosophers, is that an important part of what we can know to be real can be known to be real
independently of experience.
7. Realism = In philosophy, the belief that there exists an independent, objective world of things,
facts, and states of affairs that are accessible to us.
8. Relativism = It is usually thought of as a view about truth to the effect that what counts as true
is in some substantive way relative, whether to a socio-economic system, or to a particular agent,
or some other parameter
9. Scholasticism = Christian philosophy dominating medieval Europe from about 1000 to 1300
that stressed logical and linguistic analysis of texts and arguments in order to produce a
systematic statement and defense of Christian beliefs.
10. Phenomenology = Method of philosophical analysis first developed by Husserl that uses
purely descriptive statements to provide a ―descriptive analysis‖ of consciousness
in all its forms; focuses on concrete ―experienced facts‖ rather than abstractions in order to
reveal the ―essence‖ of human consciousness.

II. Logic
Logic is traditionally defined as the ―science and art of correct thinking.‖ As a science,
logic is viewed in three aspects: 1.) It needs a body of data (i.e. terms & propositions); 2.) It
adheres to a certain procedure, system, or method (i. e. logical principles & rules) in drawing out
conclusions; 3.) It aims at arriving at the validity of every argument. Furthermore, as an art, logic
is viewed in relation to the Greek ―techne‖ which means skills, ability or craft. It, then, involves
learned and practiced skills that would direct reason toward distinguishing good and correct
arguments from bad and erroneous arguments.
Logic is classified into two kinds: natural and scientific. On one hand, natural logic refers
to the ―gift of reason‖ endowed to man as a special faculty which enables him to have a sense of
what is logical or reasonable and what is not. On the other hand, scientific logic is a tool to help
us sharpen our reasoning ability. It is through this formal study of logic that our native reason
can be distinguished from those ―minds in the marketplace.‖

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 How significant is logic in the field of philosophy? Logic deals primarily with arguments
while the other branches deal with questions. In Ethics, for example, the question whether man‘s
action is morally right or wrong is the utmost consideration. Every question needs an answer.
However, in arriving at a clear, valid, and consistent answer, the use of valid arguments and
correct reasoning is a must. Inasmuch as reasoning is at the heart of philosophy, so logic has
always been a central concern for philosophers.
The material object of logic includes the three mental operations of simple apprehension,
judgment, and reasoning.

A. Simple Apprehension

Simple Apprehension is the process in which the mind abstracts the sense-data and forms
a concept. Concepts refer to the mental representation of an object in reality. They are made up
of ideas. They area abstract, immaterial and intelligible. They are ideas only in the mind. The
outward expression of a concept is called Term. Terms are the external sign of a concept. They
are concrete, material, and sensible.
We should take note that a term is a word but not all words are terms. Word has a wider
meaning and it includes elements of language like articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, which
do not really represent an object in reality. In Logic, we are concerned with the term, which
carries a meaning that points to an object in reality.

Two kinds of Signs

1. Natural Signs = symbolize natural occurrences (smoke is the sign of fire)
2. Conventional Signs = derive their meaning from human convention (traffic lights)

Terms are conventional signs because they are products of convention and are used in a more or
less the same way. A term could vary in meaning and usage with each culture and group of
people.

The Comprehension and Extension of Terms

A term has twofold elements: comprehension and extension. Comprehension includes the
characteristics, attributes, or qualities that the term implies. On the other hand, extension is the
group of individual objects to which the term may be correctly applied.

The Classification of Terms

Terms according to Quantity

1. Singular term applies to one definite individual.
2. Particular term applies to some portion of a class.
3. Universal term applies to all the members of a class.

Terms according to Quality

1. Univocal term – when it carries exactly the same meaning even if it is predicated of
two or more individuals
2. Equivocal term – when it changes its meaning when it is predicated of different
individuals.

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Terms according to Incompatibility
1. Contradictory terms are absolutely opposed to each other in meaning.
2. Contrary terms are opposed to each other since they represent two extremes in a
particular order or class of nature or reality. As such they are not totally exclusive and a middle
ground or alternative is possible between them.

B. Judgment

Judgment is a mental activity that requires two subject matters to be compared. The
outward or the product of judgment is called proposition.
There are three necessary things for making a judgment:
1. The mind must consider and comprehend the two concepts.
2. The mind should compare these two concepts.
3. The mind must express mentally the agreement and disagreement between the
two concepts.

Take note: All propositions are sentences, but not all sentences are propositions.

Contingent and necessary Propositions

1. Necessary propositions are those propositions having predicate terms whose attributes
are essentially predicated to the subject term.
2. Contingent propositions are those propositions having predicate terms whose
attributes are not essentially predicated to the subject term.

The types of Propositions

1. Single propositions can easily be determined because it consists of only one subject
term and one predicate term.
2. Multiple propositions are those that contain two or more propositions united as one.

Hypothetical proposition is one which does not directly attribute a predicate to its subject, but
asserts the dependence of one proposition on another proposition. There are three types of
hypothetical propositions, namely: conditional, disjunctive, and conjunctive.

Categorical proposition is a proposition that is not compounded with other proposition. It

contains two categories: namely: subject term and the predicate term, and asserts that some or all
of the referents of the subject term are included or excluded from the class designated by the
predicate term.

The Three Basic Elements of Categorical Propositions

1. The subject term is the term designating the concept about which the pronouncement
is made.
2. The predicate term is the term designating the concept which affirmed or denied of
the subject.

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 3. The copula (or the linking verb) is the word expressing the mental act which
pronounces the agreement or disagreement between the subject and predicate terms.

The Quality of Propositions

There are two qualities: affirmative and negative. The copula plays an important role in
determining the quality of proposition. If the copula is ―is‖ or ―are‖ then the proposition is
affirmative, but if the copula is ―is not‖ or ―are not‖, then the proposition is negative.

The Quantity of Propositions

There are also two quantities of the propositions: universal and particular.
1. A proposition is universal when the subject term is also universal.
2. A proposition is particular when its subject term is also particular.
Take note: Singular propositions (when the subject term is singular) are to be treated as
universal.

The Quantity of the Subject and Predicate Terms (You may refer to the table for ―The Four
Standard Form Categorical Propositions‖ on a separate handout.)

The Quantity of Subject Terms

We have already learned that the quantity of subject terms can be known through their
quantifiers (all, some, no) as either universal or particular. There are propositions that their
quantifiers are non-standart (i.e., everyone, anybody, few, most, several, etc.) or even
unexpressed. We need to change or supply these propositions with their standard quantifiers.

The Quantity of Predicate Terms

The quality of the proposition has something to do with the quantity if the predicate term.
If the proposition is affirmative, the quantity of the predicate term is particular, but if the
proposition is negative, the quantity of the predicate term is universal.

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