Thinker 03: Socrates

Many historians think that Socrates was a type of philosophy, and not just a philosopher. They say that after he died, philosophy became more important to people and that people started to see it as more of a career.

Philosophy is the love of wisdom. It is the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, and language. At its most basic level, philosophy is a way of thinking about the world, the universe, and society.

Philosophy is understood differently by different...

Philosophy can help you a lot in your research journey, but it's also easy to misunderstand and get lost in all the different schools of thought.

Philosophy is essential, not just for intellectuals in the ivory towers. It can help cure the human spirit's problems.

Heraclitus argued against Parmenides' belief that everything is static. He said that everything is constantly changing and that we need both good and bad things to exist.

The world would not exist without the continual interplay of opposing forces.

Our beliefs, knowledge, and reality are termed paradigms by social scientists.

Example: Let's assume you are in a new country and exploring places. You want to go to a certain location. There are three or more routes to reach the destination

Now, it d...

People used to think that thunder and lightning were caused by Thor and that poems and myths were true stories. But after people began to think more rationally, they realized that natural causes were responsible for these things, not supernatural ones.

The ancient Greeks, l...

Plato was 29 years old when his teacher Socrates died from drinking hemlock. He was taken aback when Athens sentenced its greatest intellectual to death. This event had a lasting impact on his later philosophical career.

According to Plato, the death of Socrates showed that there was a cont...

Plato's thoughts were not only linked to his teacher Socrates but even his student Aristotle.

Throughout the last two millennia, Plato's ideas have been repeatedly discussed and criticized by others. It was Aristotle who began this practice.

Aristotle admired Plato a great deal and sa...

• Episteme (knowledge) + Logy (science) = science of knowledge 
• It is the argument - why this and not that.

Epistemology is the study of knowledge - how we come to know what is real, and what our limitations are.

• Axio (value) + Logy (science) = science of value
• What are values?
• What is good? 
• What is bad? 
• What is acceptable?
• What should be rejected?

Basically, discussion of values within a society....

a) Cosmogony: the study of the universe, space, time, and the origins and evolution of phenomena.

b) Cosmology: the study of the universe, space, and time.

c) Ontology: the philosophical study of existence and reality.

d...

When all the 'ology' is of the same nature, they lead to a certain research methodology. For example, positivism or interpretivism.

• First ontology.
• Second, ontology will decide the epistemology.
• Third, epistemology will...

a) Revealed knowledge: this is true because it is written in religious books. Even what we know from religious books is being studied using scientific knowledge.

b) Scientific knowledge: through a systematic study, the knowledge has been organized into gene...

• Meta (beyond) + Physics (nature) = beyond the nature
• Discussion about reality.
• What is the reality of this universe?
• What is the reality of human beings?
• What is the reality of everything that exists ...

Philosophical assumptions are:

1. Epistemology
2. Meta-physics
3. Axiology

Greek word meaning 'pattern'

Whenever we think of doing research, we get a few thoughts such as:

• 'How do we plan to do this research?'
• 'What will be my approach to the investigation?'
• 'Will I do Qualitative or Quanti...

Parmenides thought that everything in existence was unchanging and that there was no literal transformation. He believed that only "one-ness" is real.

a) Ethics: are the things that people think are the right thing to do. They can change from place to place and from time to time.

b) Aesthetic: is all about personal opinions. What might look pretty to me might look ugly to you.