Philosophy and its role in society

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Department of Philosophy and Psyhology
Lecturer: PhD, docent
Elena Shevchenko
Philosophy and its role in society
For all specialities

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Lection’s plan
Philosophy and its role in society
The pluralistic nature of philosophical knowledge
Interpretations of Philosophy
Subject of Philosophy
Ontology
Epistemology
Social Philosophy
Philosophical anthropology
Functions of Philosophy
Philosophy and world view
Levels of world view
«Images of the world».
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Requirements for knowledge and skills
Knowledge
Features of the subject of philosophy
The basic functions of Philosophy
Specificity of philosophical knowledge (pluralistic)
Structure of philosophical knowledge
Skills
Be able to describe the relationship between Philosophy and
world view
Be able to orientate in the different levels of the world view
Be able to give a brief description of the images of the world.
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Contents
Philosophy and its role in society
1. Main concepts
2. Academic material
3. Questions for self-examination
4. Recommended books
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Basic concepts
What is Philosophy?
Anthropology
Being
Epistemology
Dialectics
Principle
Idealism
Concept
Logics
Methodology
World view
Philosophy of nature
Ontology
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Academic material
The pluralistic nature of philosophical knowledge
Interpretations of Philosophy.
Philosophy can be defined in terms of the interpretation (Philosophy
as a…)
• The love to wisdom (phileo – love, sofia – wisdom);
• The search of truth (Pythagoras, Heraclitus…)
• Learning wisdom (sophistry) – “philosophize archly”.
• Knowledge of first principles and causes of being (Aristotle)
• Thinking (attention to the sense, the meaning of words).
• “Aletheia” – «remove cover» (thinking about things);
• Theory (speculation), based on the principle and word (Logos).
• Art (reference to ideals)
• «Spiritual work» - “work with consciousness” (М. Mamardashvili)
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Academic material
Subject of Philosophy
Ontology and Social
Philosophy
Epistemology and
philosophical anthropology:
• It is the study of the general
questions of being (ontology:
ontos– existing и logos –
doctrine (theory of being)):
being and no being; material
and ideal existence; and being
of society, nature and human
being.
• It is study of general issues of
functioning and development
of the society (social
philosophy).
• This is the analysis of the
general questions of
knowledge (epistemology:
gnozis – knowledge, logos –
doctrine, theory): whether the
world is knowable, what are
the methods and goals of
knowledge, what is the subject
and object of knowledge?
• It is the study of the general
issues of human being
(philosophical anthropology)
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Academic material
The specificity and function of Philosophy
The specificity of philosophical theory
Categories and principles of philosophical theory are
universal, its apply to both the nature, society and human
thought.
Functions of philosophy
Worldview
Methodological
Predictive
Critical (anti-dogmatic)
Social (explanation of social life and to contribute to its material and
spiritual change).
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Academic material
Worldview
Worldview – is a set of the general views on
the world and human’s place in the world.
The concept of “worldview” is more wide
than the term “philosophy” (the first includes
the second).
Types of worldviews are mythological,
artistic, religious, scientific.
Worldview and Philosophy – are the results
of reflection of the world. There are different
levels of depth of reflection
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Academic material
Levels of worldview
Attitude and view of the world is a reflection on the level of
feelings: fixing some external manifestations of life, the world
of phenomena, but not essence.
In the process of perception of the world and view about
the world there is a whole worldview, indicated the
relationship between processes and phenomena, but
worldview is more limited by sense experience.
World understanding is reflected by means of concepts.
• This is a worldview that can uncover patterns and the nature
of the phenomena and processes.
• Philosophy represents this level
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Academic material
«The picture of the world»
Рисунок
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М. Heidegger:
• Human represent the
world as a picture;
• Human understand the
world as a picture;
• The world turns into a
picture;
• Human conquers the
world as a picture;
• Picture of the world is the
image of the “essence”.
And worldview is the
relation of human to the
“essence”.

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Academic material
Science and naive world view
Science world view – is a way of
Рисунок
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modeling the reality that exists
outside of specifics scientific
disciplines but on its basic. And it
is characterized by universality.
It is the totality of scientific
knowledge about the world as a
result of all special sciences at
this stage of development of
human society.
Naive world view based on the work
of folklorists, ethnographers,
cultural scientists, linguists. The
naïve view of the world is a
system of representations used
by the person regardless of his
knowledge.
• .

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Academic material
Philosophical, artistic and cultural world view
Attitude and worldview (reflection on the level of feelings): it
is the fixation of certain external manifestations of life.It is the
world of phenomena but not the world of essences.
World perception and imagination of the world. It is a
whole picture of the world, denoted the relationship of
processes and phenomena, but worldview is limited by
experience.
Worldview is a reflection by concepts. It can reveal patterns
and nature of the phenomena and processes. Philosophy is
this level.
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Acquired knowledge
Knowledge of the subject of philosophy and its socio-cultural
values
Knowledge of the philosophical concepts and categories.
Knowledge the specific of the philosophy and its function in
society
Knowledge of the structure of philosophical knowledge and
methods of philosophical studies.
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Questions for self-examinations
What is Philosophy and how was the process of formation of
philosophical knowledge?
What are the aim and purpose of Philosophy?
What is the subject of philosophical research?
What is the relation between Philosophy and Science?
What are the parts of philosophical structure?
What is the range of questions of ontology?
What is the main issue of anthropology?
Explain the construction of a modern picture of the world,
based on the function of Philosophy.
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Recommended books
1.Alexeev P.V., Panin A.V. Philosophy. – М., 1997.
2.Introduction to Philosophy: Textbook for higher education. –
М., 2003.
3.Philosophy: Textbook for higher education/Edited by V.N.
Lavrinenko, V.P. Ratnikov. – М., 2001.
4. Ilyin V. History of Philosophy: Textbook for higher education.
– St. Petersburg., 2003.
5. Karatiny R. Introduction to Philosophy. – М., 2003.
6. Modern Philosophical Dictionary. – М., 1998.
7. Plank M. The meaning and limits of exact science. /
Questions of Philosophy, №5, 1996, p.44.
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