UNIT 2

FUNDAMENTAL
PHILOSOPHICAL
DOMAINS
Presented By : Zenobia Usmani

Semester-2
 INTRODUCTION
Philosophy deals with the most basic issues faced by human beings. The content of philosophy is better
seen as asking questions rather than providing answers. It can even be said that philosophy is the study of
questions. Van Cleve Morris has noted that the crux of the matter is asking the "right" questions. By "right"
he meant questions that are meaningful and relevant- the kind of questions people really want answered
and that will make a difference in how they live and work. Philosophical content has been organized
around three fundamental categories:

Metaphysics
The study of questions concerning the nature of reality or existence,
Typical Metaphysical questions: What is reality?
Does God exist, and if so, can we prove it?
The problem of evil are human actions free, or are they determined by some forces outside of our control?

Epistemology
The study of the nature of knowledge and how these are attained and evaluated
Typical Epistemological questions:
What is knowledge and how does it differ from belief or opinion?
What is truth, and how can we know if a statement is true? 2
What are the sources of knowledge?
 AXIOLOGY
- The study of the question of value. Deals with issues of value in
the following areas:

Ethics Aesthetics
the study of moral principles, the study of the nature and
attempts to establish rational value of works of art and the
grounds for good conduct. aesthetic experience
What is good/bad? What is a work of art?
What is right/wrong? What is artistic creativity
What is the foundation of and how does it differ from
moral principles? scientific creativity?

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 1.EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of
knowledge and is also referred to a "theory of knowledge".

Etymologically the word epistemology has been derived from the Greek words
episteme, meaning knowledge, understanding", and logos, meaning "study of'.
In other words we can say that Epistemology is the study of the nature, source,
and validity of knowledge. It seeks to answer of the basic questions as "What is
true?" and "How do we know?"
Thus epistemology covers two areas: the content of thought and thought itself.
Or in educational terms: curriculum and instruction or content and method.

The study of epistemology deals with issues related to the dependability of

knowledge and the validity of the sources through which we gain information.
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 SOURCES OH HUMAN KNOWLEDGE
Firstly, sensory knowledge is built upon assumption that must be accepted by faith in the
1 dependability of human sensory mechanisms. The advantage of empirical knowledge is that
many sensory experiences and experiments are open to both replication and public
examination.

A second influential source of knowledge has been revelation. Revealed knowledge has been of
2 prime importance in the field of religion. It differs from all other sources of knowledge because it
presupposes transcendent supernatural reality that breaks into the natural order. Believers in
supernatural revelation hold that this form of knowledge has the distinct advantage of being an
omniscient source of information. Some people assert that a major disadvantage of revealed
knowledge is that it must be accepted by faith and cannot be proved or disproved empirically.

3 A third source of human knowledge is authority, Authoritative knowledge is accepted as

tme because it comes from experts or has been sanctified over time as tradition. In the
classroom, the most common source of information is some authority, such as a textbook,
teacher, or reference work

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 A fourth source of human knowledge is reason. The vieW that reasoning, thought,
4 or logic is the central factor knowledge is known as rationalism. The rationalist,
emphasizing humanity's power of thought and the mind.

5 A fifth source of knowledge is intuition - the direct apprehension of knowledge that is not
derived from conscious reasoning or immediate sense perception. In the literature dealing
with intuition, one often finds such expressions as "immediate feeling of certainty."
Intuition occurs beneath the threshold of consciousness and is often experienced as a
sudden flash of insight. In tuition has been claimed under varying circumstances as a
source of both religious and secular knowledge.
The various sources should be seen as complementary rather than antagonistic. It is true,
however, that most people choose one source as being more basic than, or preferable to, the
others.
That most basic source is then used as a benchmark for testing other sources of knowledge.
For example, in the contemporary world, knowledge obtained empirically is generally seen
as the most basic and reliable type.

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 METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the ultimate nature of reality or
existence. It asks questions such as 'What exists?' or 'What is real?' Metaphysicians seek
ap irreducible foundation of reality or 'first principles' from whic absolute knowledge or
truth can be induced and deduced. The term metaphysics is derived from the Greek
words "meta' means ("beyond", "upon" or "after") and physika, mean ("physics"). Literally
it refers 'those things after the physics.

Metaphysical questions are the most basic to ask because they provide the foundation
upon which all subsequent inquiry is based. Metaphysical questions may be divided into
four subsets.

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 SUBSETS OF METAPHYSICS
Cosmology (of the Cosmos) Natural Theology (Proofs of Reality of God)
Study of theories about the origin, nature, and That part of religious theory that deals with conceptions of
development of the universe as an orderly system. and about God. "Is there a God? If so, is there one or more
Questions such as these populate the realm of than one? What are the attributes of God? If God is both
cosmology: "How did the universe originate and all good and all powerful, why does evil exist? If God
develop? Did it come about by accident or design? exists, what is His relationship to human beings and the
Does its existence have any purpose?" 'real' world of everyday.

Ontology (of Being and Thought) Anthropology (of the Soul)

Study of the nature of existence, or what it means Anthropology deals with the study of human beings and asks
for anything to exist. Several questions are central to questions like the following: What is the relation between
ontology: mind and body?
"Is basic reality found in matter or physical energy (the Is mind more fundamental than body, with body depending
world we can sense), or is it found in spirit or spiritual on mind, or vice versa? What is humanity's moral status?
energy? Are people born good, evil, or morally neutral?
Is it composed of one element (e.g., matter or spirit), or
two (e.g., matter and spirit),or many?" "Is reality orderly
&lawful?” 8
 3 AXIOLOGY
Axiology, which stems from two Greek words- •"Axios" means "value, worth" and "logos"
means ' 'reason/ theory/ symbol / science/study of". Hence, Axiology is the philosophical
study of value and "value" originally meant the worth of something. Axiology asks the
questions: What is a value? Where do values come from? How do we justify our values?
How do we know what is valuable? What is the relationship between values and
knowledge? What kinds of values exist? Can it be
demonstrated that one value is better than another? Who benefits from values? etc.

The question of values deals with notions of what a person or a society regards as good or
preferable. Axiology, like metaphysics and epistemology, stands at the very foundation of
the educational process.
Axiology has two main branches- ethics and aesthetics.

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 ETHICS
Ethics is the study of moral values and conduct. "How should I behave?" is an ethical question.
Ethical theory seeks to provide right values as. the foundation for right actions. What is good
and evil, right and wrong? Is it ever right to take something that does not belong to you? In
many ways, ethics is the crucial issue of our times. Both as individuals and within societies,
human beings exist in a world in which they cannot avoid meaningful ethical decisions. Thus,
schools must teach ethical concepts to their students

Aesthetics
Aesthetics asks such questions as "What is beautiful?" and 'What should I like?" How do we
recognize a great piece of music? Art? Can there be beauty in destruction? Aesthetics is the
realm of value that searches for the principles governing the creation and appreciation of
beauty and art in both "the higher arts" and the things of daily life, such as school
architecture, television programs, and billboards. Evaluations of beauty and ugliness fall
into the aesthetic realm. 10
 METAPHYSICS & EDUCATION
Even a cursory study of either historical or contemporary societies will reveal the impact of
the cosmological, theological, anthropological, and ontological aspects of metaphysics upon
their social, political, economic, and scientific beliefs and practices. People everywhere
embrace answers to these questions and then live their daily lives in keeping with those
assumptions.
There is no escape from metaphysical decisions.
Education, like other human activities, cannot operate outside the realm of metaphysics.
Metaphysics, or the issue of ultimate reality, is central to any concept of education, because it
is important for the educational program of the school (or family or church) to be based upon
fact and reality rather than fancy, illusion, error, or imagination. Varying metaphysical beliefs
lead to differing educational approaches and even separate systems of
education.

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 EPISTEMOLOGY & EDUCATION
Epistemology and education are tacit companions since both
are primarily the act of knowing. Epistemology is the motor of
education in a sense because it drives the educational process.
Zenobia Usmani

Epistemology has a direct impact upon education on a moment-

by-moment basis. For example, assumptions about the
importance of various sources of knowledge will certainly be
reflected in curricular emphases and teaching methodologies.
In fact, the philosophic worldview of the teachers teach in
faith will shape the presentation of every topic they teach. That,
of course, is true for teachers from every philosophic persuasion
and thus constitutes an important argument for educating
youth in schools.
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 AXIOLOGY & EDUCATION
Our contemporary age is an age of great confusion and turmoil. Wars and conflicts
continue unabatedly, and innumerable alarming and tragic . phenomena, including
terrorism, destruction, arson, kidnapping, murder, drug abuse, alcoholism, sexual
immorality, family breakdown, injustice, corruption, oppression, conspiracy, and
slander, are occurring worldwide.
At the vortex of this turmoil, humankind's most valuable assets are now almos
t obliterated. It is referring to the loss of personal human dignity, the loss of time-
honored traditions, the loss of the dignity of life, the loss of mutual trust among people,
the loss of the authority of parents and teachers, and the list goes on. In this context
education plays an important role for inculcating the value (such as- time, beauty and
goodness etc.) and transmitting from one generation to another through its curriculum.
It has been rightly stated that culture is a totality of values created throughout history
and that education is the means of performing culture. This is why axiology requires an
important educational dimension.
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 COMPONENTS OF THIS DIMENSION
First, axiology, by projecting a system of The performance of values requires
1 values, proposes educational aims 2 knowledge and experience, which means the
involvement in this process of education on
under the form of axiological objectives
its two interrelated planes: cognitive and
and ideals.
Zenobia Usmani

emotional.

Axiology comprises both general human or universal and specific values for a
3 determined community, thereby giving it its personality. Education preserves and
transmits values that guarantee the cultural identity of the human community.

As axiology is the horizon of the manifestation of human creativity, education has among
its fundamental functions that of cultivating the creative power of the individual and the
4 human community. Otherwise expressed, though personality is the source of all values, it
is not born, but is developed by education. That is why we estimate nowadays that
education is one Of the fundamental resources for future
social development.
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 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EPISTEMOLOGY AND
METAPHYSICS
Epistemology
It is a branch of philosophy that includes the theory, nature and scope of knowledge. It also
focuses on notions. like rationality of belief, truth, and justification. It also deals with means
of production of knowledge, and skepticism about knowledge claims. This branch of
philosophy addresses questions like, "What is knowledge?", "Are we part of knowledge?" ,
"How it is acquired?" and, "What do people know?". Two main perspectives for knowing in
epistemology are positivism and interpretivism.

Metaphysics
It is a branch of philosophy that emphasizes on structures of reality: time and
eternity, being and nothingness, time hood and personhood, space and time,
freedom and determinism, mind and body, thinghood and personhood, and a
supreme being and nature. It basically encompasses everything that exists,
fundamental concepts and beliefs about them. 15
 THE BRANCHES OF EPISTEMOLOGY

Agnotology Alethiology
The study of ignorance, skeptical A branch of logic that involves the
situations or doubt, particularly study of the truth and evidence
the publication of imprecise or
deceptive scientific data.

Formal epistemology Social epistemology

Makes use of formal methodologies It is the philosophical study that
(knowledge and reasoning) from construes knowledge about social
probability theory, logic, and dimensions of human knowledge as a
computability theory to elucidate collective achievement.
traditional epistemic issues.
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 BRANCHES OF METAPHYSICS
Ontology
It is the philosophical study of the nature of being. It includes studies concepts
and categories that directly associate to being, in particular existence, reality, and
the domain that exhibits properties of being and the relations between them.
Theology
Religious beliefs of the nature of God. It i constituted by a triple aspect: what
does God teach, teachings of God and leads to God. Types of theology
include; Moral theology (Christian ethics and casuistry), Ecclesiology, Pastoral
theology, and Missiology.

Universal science
The study of first principles of reasoning and logic, such as the law of non
contradiction — contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the
same sense at the same time)
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EPISTEMOLOGY VS METAPHYSICS: COMPARISON CHART

Zenobia Usmani
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THANK YOU
Presented By : Zenobia Usmani

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