RESEARCH BACK UP

1.0 INTRODUCTION I am sure this has been a breath-taking enterprise for you. You must be wondering when will it end and what actually is the value of all this abstract thinking? I should tell you to relax. This is the last unit of this course. And in this unit we shall try to give a sense of the value of philosophy in your personal life and in the life of the society. You will realize that though philosophy appears to be useless, yet its usefulness cannot really be quantified. 2.0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: demonstrate that philosophical knowledge is more a treasure than it is for utility  discuss philosophy as not only good for life but as necessary for a good life. 3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 The Value of Philosophy You will remember in the introductory sections of this course, we repeatedly said that philosophical knowledge is not a useful knowledge; it is rather a free knowled...

1.0 INTRODUCTION In the above units, we have been discussing what is generally known as the Western Philosophy. According to opinion leaders and thinkers, the Western philosophy had its origins among the Ionians and the Greeks and spread to all parts of the world. We have already known what philosophy is all about: It is a critical reflection on reality as perceived by the Western minds. African Philosophy also has to do with reflection on reality as perceived by the Africans. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The aim of this Unit is not to give you a new philosophy that is different in essence, but a philosophy that is different in practice. But we must warn you that African philosophy is still in its infancy stages. Thus African Philosophy is still developing. 3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 African Philosophy African Philosophy is said to have originated in Egypt which is said to have been the cradle of civilization and the center of all ...

1.0 INTRODUCTION From the previous unit, I want to believe that you can offer your own opinion in discussions about mind and body and you will not lack behind where the problems of universals is discussed. Let us turn our attention to something else. The world as we know it seems to be characterized by change and or movement. There is a tendency therefore to conclude that reality is nothing else but change or movement. In this unit, we are going to look closely at the phenomenon of change or movement with the eyes of philosophy so as to know what the nature of change or movement is. Time also seems to be the greatest illusion of all. What is it? This unit will shed some light on it. 2.0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: analyse the nature of change  identify what motion is   distinguish between time and place.  3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 The Nature of Moveme...

1.0 INTRODUCTION The Ancient Philosophy which we have just finished showed the development and maturity of rational thinking. During the Medieval Period, philosophy was raised to another level as it witnessed a dialogue between itself (philosophy) and the revealed Christian faith. It was however, not a dialogue of conflict it was rather a dialogue of understanding and cooperation that leads to a harmony between them. Medieval philosophy is the kind of philosophy that came out during the Medieval or the Middle Ages which spans between the 4th - 15th Centuries. 2.0 OBJECTIVES At the end of unit you should be able to:  discuss the period in history known as the Medieval Period or Middle Ages; and   identify the type of philosophical speculation distinctive of that period.  3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Patristic Philosophy We must begin by stating a wellknown fact that Christi...

1.0 INTRODUCTION In the foregone unit of Module 2, we have presented you with some of the problems that confront philosophy. We have also made serious effort to highlight the various ways that philosophy approaches those problems. There is no final solution to those problems just as there is no conclusive answer to every question. You should see yourself now as one of the questing minds for the unveiling of the mystery of being. In this Module and its Units, we set out to give you or to acquaint you with the main epochs of philosophical development. Particularly in this Unit you will be led to the first period of philosophical beginnings. That is the Ancient Philosophy, a period which ranges from the 8th Century B.C. to approximately 6th Century A.D. Enjoy the interesting development of philosophy. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The aim of this Unit is to: help you to know the formation years of philosophy from its very beginning. You will also ...

1.0 INTRODUCTION I have the feeling that you are having a sense of relieve from those difficult concepts - I mean the concepts of essence and existence, potency and act, and matter and form. They were quite abstract but not too difficult to grasp if you just do a bit of thinking. In this unit we want to venture intoanother controversial area of philosophy, and these have to do with the mind/body and the problems of universals and particulars. The main questions here are: Is there anything like the mind? If there is; can it be distinguished from the body? Only particular things exist: what do we mean by universals? We believe that these questions will be clarified in this unit. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The aim of this Unit is to help you become more aware of yourself and your activities. It is to help you know that you are not just the organic structure that is visible to the senses, and thus your activities have a superior source. Agai...

1.0 INTRODUCTION Contemporary Philosophy as the terms suggest refers to the philosophical trend that is current within our time. Contemporary philosophy can be understood in two senses: In a narrow sense and in a broad sense. In a narrow sense it means the problems and positions that are at the center of interest and discussion at the present time. In a broader sense, it refers to the major currents active in the 20th and 21st centuries and relevant for continued inquiries. We shall work with the broader meaning since this includes the significant prolongations of previous philosophies as well as the new approaches developed within these centuries. However, we must point out that studying contemporary philosophy presents a problem. First of all the process of selecting what is relevant enough to deserve the attention of philosophy and secondly, contemporary philosophy is still evolving, hence the consequences...

1.0 INTRODUCTION The Modern Period from which Modern Philosophy is derived spans from 1400 to 1900 Centuries. There is however, no clear cut demarcation between a period or Contemporary time. Modern philosophy can be divided into 3 broad phases: The Renaissance 1400 - 1600, Empiricism and Rationalism 1600 - 1800 and Philosophical Reconstruction 1900. Each of these phases made a distinctive contribution to the whole corpus of Modern philosophy. I invite you to read with interest and attention so as to discover the wealth of the modern period. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The aim of this Unit is to give you the highlight of the philosophical trend of thought that characterized what is generally referred to as the Modern Period. 3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Renaissance Philosophy This was the fruit of an apparent disenchantment with the medieval systems, its epistemological uneasiness and its special ...

1.0 INTRODUCTION No one has a final answer to philosophical questions. So we have not heard the last words on the whole idea of change and time. There are other problems that philosophy has to battle with. This time around it is the question of the existence of God. There is no age or generation that the question of God’s existence has not presented itself. But also different generations have always had a way of dealing with it philosophically. Here in this Unit, we shall not involve ourselves with all the polemics. We shall rather present a few philosophical positions on the existence of God. I am sure you have your own reasons to either believe or disbelieve the existence of God. 2.0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: discuss some philosophers who have reflected on the existence of the Absolute Being and who have convinced themselves and their followers that such a being actually exists...

1.0 INTRODUCTION We ended the last Unit of the last section with the note that human reason is a faculty of truth and that it was made to know truth. In this Unit, we shall first of all, try to establish the fact of knowledge and go on to see what truth is. The whole idea of belief, skepticism and dogmatism will be briefly treated here. 2.0 OBJECTIVES The objectives of this Unit are to help you to have a general knowledge of the philosophical understanding of knowledge, truth, belief, skepticism and dogmatism. At the end of this Unit you should be will be able to  demonstrate whether man can really have knowledge, and whether his knowledge is true   analyse the true nature of knowledge   explain: truth, belief, skepticism and dogmatism  3.0 MAIN CONTENT 3.1 Knowledge What is knowledge? It is often not easy to discuss knowledge because it is like a vicious circle. The object to be ...