COLIN ALBERT F16/1316/2010
ELEMENTS OF PHILOSOPHY (LECTURE – NOTES by Dr. Oriare Nyarwath)
21/04/2011
Logic – is a branch of Philosophy that is concerned with the study of reason. i.e. how
humans should reason; not how they actually reason.
Philosophy comes from two Greek words philein meaning love and sophia meaning
wisdom.
Therefore Philosophy can be said to be the love for wisdom.
Wisdom is the wide and sound knowledge of reality that affects a person and the
willingness/commitment to apply that knowledge for the promotion of the general well-
being.
*QUOTE:
“There is nothing as sovereign as the dignity of human life. –Dr Oriare
Nyarwath (21/03/2011)”
25/03/2011
Philosophy as an academic discipline or human activity is concerned with the
examination of fundamental principles of reality (or imaginations).
Plato, using the concept of the Gyges Ring said that most people do things to evade fear.
Suppose one has it (the Gyges Ring) he can do anything without being detected.
Philosophers do not read rules; therefore they are autonomous* beings.
*autonomous-free from control in action and judgment
You should do what is right and stand to defend it.
*QUOTE:
“The age difference between you and your mother is constant! So to her you
will always remain a child.”
Fundamentals of Philosophy
1. Nature
2. Society(search for better conditions of existence than the prevailing ones)
3. Human being(being human)
4. Ultimate reality(God)
,COLIN ALBERT F16/1316/2010
Main/Traditional Branches of Philosophy
1. Logic (deals with reasoning)
2. Epistemology (Theory of knowledge)
3. Metaphysics (Beyond Physics: dealing with realities beyond the physical)
4. Ethics
1. LOGIC
-Logic is a branch of Philosophy that deals with reasoning.
-Reasoning is making a claim and giving justifications for the claim.
-It is a mental process by which the mind makes an inference from certain given
deductions.
List of recommended books:
1. Ndowa J. B. & Kennedy Miencha; CPP101: Introduction to Philosophy
2. Nyarwth O., Traditional Logic: An Introduction(2010)
Meaning of Logic and its Importance
In the process of reasoning, the claims that given in the process of justification of the
other claims are called premise(s).
And the claim whose justification depends on other premises is called conclusion.
Claims are prepositions (statements) or a sentence that is either true or false.
Truth value is the quality of a claim to be either true or false.
A sentence is a group of words that make sense.
Sentences:
1. prepositions
2. questions
3. imperatives/commands
4. exclamations
5. suggestions
In studying reasoning we need to take into consideration 2 things (aspects of reasoning);
i. aspect of matter/content – in correct reasoning individual claims should be
true
ii. aspect of form – refers to a certain type of relationship between a given
premise(s) used to justify conclusion
In conclusion, logic studies principles & structures of reasoning but with the main aim of
distinguishing between correct and incorrect reasoning.
, COLIN ALBERT F16/1316/2010
-Logic, therefore, can also be defined as both a science and an art.
*Science – is a systemized enquiry
-Logic is an art because we make it part of our life.
QUOTE:
“Truth satisfies human curiosity; ignorance is bliss.” –Oriare Nyarwath
Importance of Studying Logic/ Reasoning Well
1) Reasoning makes us more rational than other animals.
-Therefore, the study of Logic helps us to be more humane.
2) When we reason well we are likely to arrive at a justifiable truth.
3) By getting to truth, we acquire knowledge.
-Reasoning well helps us in the acquisition of knowledge.
4) Reasoning helps us to avoid vagueness and ambiguity.
5) Logic enables us to be precise in our expressions and communications and that
saves time.
6) Reasoning well helps us to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
7) Reasoning helps us to communicate logically.
Reasoning as Mental Process
-Reasoning as a process taking place in the mind (i.e. an activity of the brain which deals
with thinking and reasoning) involves certain activities:
1) Simple apprehension:
-grasping the nature of the reality upon which to reason
-gives meanings (defines) certain realities
-abstraction is the process by which the mind separates certain aspects of a reality
from accidental aspects of a reality (i.e. essential attributes)
2) Judgments:
-once we have understood the nature of a reality we can judge it.
-judgment is expressed in form of prepositions.
3) Inference or reasoning
Basic Concepts of Logic:
A. Argument
-Reasoning is technically referred to as an argument.
-An argument is a set of prepositions in which it is claimed that the truth of one of the
prepositions is established or inferred from the truth of the other prepositions is
either necessarily(deductively) or by some probability(inductively).
-The preposition whose truth is claimed to be inferred from the truth the other preposition
is called conclusion while the other prepositions from whose truth the conclusion is
called premises e.g.
ELEMENTS OF PHILOSOPHY (LECTURE – NOTES by Dr. Oriare Nyarwath)
21/04/2011
Logic – is a branch of Philosophy that is concerned with the study of reason. i.e. how
humans should reason; not how they actually reason.
Philosophy comes from two Greek words philein meaning love and sophia meaning
wisdom.
Therefore Philosophy can be said to be the love for wisdom.
Wisdom is the wide and sound knowledge of reality that affects a person and the
willingness/commitment to apply that knowledge for the promotion of the general well-
being.
*QUOTE:
“There is nothing as sovereign as the dignity of human life. –Dr Oriare
Nyarwath (21/03/2011)”
25/03/2011
Philosophy as an academic discipline or human activity is concerned with the
examination of fundamental principles of reality (or imaginations).
Plato, using the concept of the Gyges Ring said that most people do things to evade fear.
Suppose one has it (the Gyges Ring) he can do anything without being detected.
Philosophers do not read rules; therefore they are autonomous* beings.
*autonomous-free from control in action and judgment
You should do what is right and stand to defend it.
*QUOTE:
“The age difference between you and your mother is constant! So to her you
will always remain a child.”
Fundamentals of Philosophy
1. Nature
2. Society(search for better conditions of existence than the prevailing ones)
3. Human being(being human)
4. Ultimate reality(God)
,COLIN ALBERT F16/1316/2010
Main/Traditional Branches of Philosophy
1. Logic (deals with reasoning)
2. Epistemology (Theory of knowledge)
3. Metaphysics (Beyond Physics: dealing with realities beyond the physical)
4. Ethics
1. LOGIC
-Logic is a branch of Philosophy that deals with reasoning.
-Reasoning is making a claim and giving justifications for the claim.
-It is a mental process by which the mind makes an inference from certain given
deductions.
List of recommended books:
1. Ndowa J. B. & Kennedy Miencha; CPP101: Introduction to Philosophy
2. Nyarwth O., Traditional Logic: An Introduction(2010)
Meaning of Logic and its Importance
In the process of reasoning, the claims that given in the process of justification of the
other claims are called premise(s).
And the claim whose justification depends on other premises is called conclusion.
Claims are prepositions (statements) or a sentence that is either true or false.
Truth value is the quality of a claim to be either true or false.
A sentence is a group of words that make sense.
Sentences:
1. prepositions
2. questions
3. imperatives/commands
4. exclamations
5. suggestions
In studying reasoning we need to take into consideration 2 things (aspects of reasoning);
i. aspect of matter/content – in correct reasoning individual claims should be
true
ii. aspect of form – refers to a certain type of relationship between a given
premise(s) used to justify conclusion
In conclusion, logic studies principles & structures of reasoning but with the main aim of
distinguishing between correct and incorrect reasoning.
, COLIN ALBERT F16/1316/2010
-Logic, therefore, can also be defined as both a science and an art.
*Science – is a systemized enquiry
-Logic is an art because we make it part of our life.
QUOTE:
“Truth satisfies human curiosity; ignorance is bliss.” –Oriare Nyarwath
Importance of Studying Logic/ Reasoning Well
1) Reasoning makes us more rational than other animals.
-Therefore, the study of Logic helps us to be more humane.
2) When we reason well we are likely to arrive at a justifiable truth.
3) By getting to truth, we acquire knowledge.
-Reasoning well helps us in the acquisition of knowledge.
4) Reasoning helps us to avoid vagueness and ambiguity.
5) Logic enables us to be precise in our expressions and communications and that
saves time.
6) Reasoning well helps us to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
7) Reasoning helps us to communicate logically.
Reasoning as Mental Process
-Reasoning as a process taking place in the mind (i.e. an activity of the brain which deals
with thinking and reasoning) involves certain activities:
1) Simple apprehension:
-grasping the nature of the reality upon which to reason
-gives meanings (defines) certain realities
-abstraction is the process by which the mind separates certain aspects of a reality
from accidental aspects of a reality (i.e. essential attributes)
2) Judgments:
-once we have understood the nature of a reality we can judge it.
-judgment is expressed in form of prepositions.
3) Inference or reasoning
Basic Concepts of Logic:
A. Argument
-Reasoning is technically referred to as an argument.
-An argument is a set of prepositions in which it is claimed that the truth of one of the
prepositions is established or inferred from the truth of the other prepositions is
either necessarily(deductively) or by some probability(inductively).
-The preposition whose truth is claimed to be inferred from the truth the other preposition
is called conclusion while the other prepositions from whose truth the conclusion is
called premises e.g.
