ETYMOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

• THE WORD PHILOSOPHY IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK WORD “PHILO” (LOVE)
AND SOPHIA (WISDOM) OR SIMPLY MEANS THE LOVE FOR WISDOM

• WE SOMETIMES USE THE TERM PHILOSOPHY TO REFER TO A PERSON’S CODE

OF VALUES OR THE BELIEFS BY WHICH THEY LIVE.
• AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE
• A METHODOLOGY WHICH LIES AT THE ROOT OF ALL SUBJECTS
• THE PRACTICAL ACTIVITY OF RAISING FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS AND
ATTEMPTING TO ANSWER THEM IN THINKING AND WRITING.
ETYMOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY

• TO LIVE WITH SENSE OF PURPOSE AND MEANING. HAVING A

PHILOSOPHY IS A GUIDE AND PRINCIPLE.
• A CRITICAL SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD, IN
ORDER FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO HAVE A MATERIAL BASIS FOR “LIVING
THE GOOD LIFE”.
• IN HINDUISM PHILOSOPHY WAS CALLED “DARSANA”, THE SEARCH
FOR THE TRUTH AND LIVING THE HIGHEST KIND OF LIFE.
• CAN DEALS ANY SUBJECT UNDER THE SUN.
ETHICS

•STUDY OF ACTION AND MORALITY. PRACTICAL

REASONING.
QUESTIONS

•WHAT OUGHT I DO?

•HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE GOODNESS OR
BADNESS OF HUMAN ACTION OR CONDUCT?
•IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT
AND WRONG A MATTER OF OPINION?
•WHAT REALLY CONSTITUTE THE GOOD LIFE?
 METAPHYSICS

• THE STUDY OF EXISTENCE.

• THE STUDY OF ULTIMATE REALITY
OR HOW THINGS REALLY ARE.
QUESTIONS

•WHAT IS BEING?
•CAN THERE BE A REALITY BESIDES THE
UNIVERSE?
•WHY SHOULD WE HAVE THE IDEA OF REALITY?
•WHY SHOULD WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF
THE UNIVERSE?
EPISTEMOLOGY

• THE STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE

OR HOW TO TELL WHEN WE
REALLY KNOW SOMETHING.
QUESTIONS

•WHAT CAN I KNOW? WHAT CAN WE REALLY KNOW?

•WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE FOR? HOW DO WE HAVE
KNOWLEDGE? IS IT THROUGH EXPERIENCE OR
INTUITION/REASON?
•HOW DO WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE? IS IT THROUGH
EXPERIENCE OR REASON OR INTUITION?
AESTHETICS

•THE STUDY OF ART AND BEAUTY.

QUESTIONS
•WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL? INQUIRIES TO THE NATURE OF
BEAUTY.
•DOES BEAUTY DEPEND ON THE “EYE OF THE BEHOLDER”
OR IN THE NATURE OF THINGS THAT WE PERCEIVE?
•WHAT MAKES FOR BEAUTY? IS THERE ANY STANDARD
FOR MEASURING BEAUTY AND UGLINESS?
•IS BEAUTY ONLY A MATTER OF SIGHT?
LOGIC

•THE STUDY OF THE

RULES OF CORRECT
REASONING.
QUESTIONS

•WHAT IS CORRECT INFERENCE?

•HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE
VALIDITY OF REASONING?
•WHY SHOULD WE HAVE LOGICAL IN
REASONING?
POLITICS

•THE STUDY OF STATE

AND POWER.
DEALS WITH THE BEST
FORM OF
GOVERNMENT.
QUESTIONS

•WHAT MAKES A JUST SOCIETY OR IDEAL STATE?

• IS IT ANARCHISM, LIBERTARIANISM OR
COMMUNITARIANISM?
•WHAT QUALITIES ARE EXPECTED TO A
POLITICAL LEADER?
 ANTHROPOLOGY

•THE STUDY OF MAN.

DEALS WITH THE
QUESTION OF MAN’S
ORIGIN, NATURE AND
DESTINY.
QUESTIONS
•WHAT MAKES MAN TRULY HUMAN?
•IS MAN CREATED BY GOD OR A PRODUCT OF
EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION?
• DOES MAN HAS THE SOUL THAT SURVIVES AFTER
DEATH OR IS THE BELIEF IN IMMORTALITY BUT A
MATTER OF WISHFUL THINKING?
• WHAT SHOULD MAN LIVE FOR?
TWO CONTRASTING WORLD
OUTLOOKS IN PHILOSOPHY
IDEALISM
(MENTAL PICTURE, CONCERNING HUMAN PERCEPTION) HAS THREE VARIANTS

• OBJECTIVE IDEALISM-WHATEVER EXIST IN THE MATERIAL WORLD IS BUT A DIM

REPLICA OF THE WORLD OF EXTERNAL FORMS (REFLECTIONS) (PLATO)
EXTERNALIZATION OF ABSOLUTE SPIRIT (HEGEL) HAS NO EXISTENCE ON ITS
OWN. –KNOWLEDGE GAIN THROUGH THE SENSES.
• SUBJECTIVE IDEALISM- EVERYTHING THAT EXIST IS A MENTAL CONSTRUCT SO
THAT THE MATERIAL WORLD ONLY EXISTS WHEN IT IS PERCEIVED.
• DUALISM- REALITY BOTH SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL
 • IS THE TRUEST FORM OF REALITY. BASED
ON THE MIND, SOUL SPIRIT. THE MOST
IMPORTANT PART OF THE PERSON IS THE
MIND AND SHOULD NOURISHED AND
DEVELOPED. . IDEALIST BELIEVED THAT
IDEAS CAN CHANGE LIVES. ONLY IDEAS CAN
BE KNOWN OR HAVE ANY REALITY. OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY REFLECTS ON
THE WORKINGS OF OUR MIND.

IDEALISM
MATERIALISM
• MATERIALISM DOES NOT RESORT TO RELIGION AND
MYTHOLOGY, OR TO THE WILL OF GOD, BUT TO MATERIAL
CAUSES OR CONDITIONS.
• THAT EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS COMES INTO BEING ON THE
BASIS OF MATERIAL CAUSES, ARISES AND DEVELOPS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF MOTION OF MATTER.
• TEACHES US THAT MATTER IS THE OBJECTIVE REALITY
EXISTING OUTSIDE AND INDEPENDENT OF THE MIND.
EVERYTHING MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL IS THE PRODUCT OF
MATERIAL PROCESS.
EASTERN AND WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY
Have you ever wondered about the
differences between Eastern and
Western?
Apart from geographical
locations, these two parts
of the world have
differences in their way of
life and the approach to
life in general.
THESE WAYS OF LIVING ARE NOT ONLY BROUGHT
ABOUT BY TOPOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT PLAY CRUCIAL FACTORS IN
LIVING, BUT ALSO THE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT THAT
GOVERNS THE MAJOR SOCIETIES IN THE EASTERN
AND WESTERN PART OF THE GLOBE.
LET US TAKE A LOOK FIRST AT WHAT
“PHILOSOPHY” IS IN GENERAL AND
HOW IT AFFECTS AND MAKES
DIFFERENCES ON WESTERN AND
EASTERN SOCIETY.
GENERALLY, “PHILOSOPHY” IS
UNIVERSALLY DEFINED AS “THE
STUDY OF THE WISDOM OR
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE GENERAL
PROBLEMS, FACTS, AND
SITUATIONS CONNECTED WITH
HUMAN EXISTENCE, VALUES,
REASONS, AND GENERAL REALITY.”
IT SEEKS REASONS, ANSWERS,
AND GENERAL EXPLANATIONS TO
LIFE AND ITS FACTORS. THUS, IF
WE TALK ABOUT PHILOSOPHY, WE
TALK ABOUT A SCHOOL OF
THOUGHTS. AND IF WE CONNECT
IT WITH OUR TOPIC, IT DIFFERS
AND COMES WITH THE REALITIES,
PROBLEMS, AND SITUATIONS OF
CERTAIN PEOPLE LIKE, IN THIS
CASE, THE EAST AND THE WEST. A
SET OF IDEAS OR OPINIONS THAT
A GROUP OF PEOPLE SHARE
ABOUT A MATTER.
BASICALLY, WESTERN PHILOSOPHY IS REFERRED TO AS THE SCHOOL OF
THOUGHT FROM GREEK PHILOSOPHY THAT INFLUENCED THE GREATER PART OF
WESTERN CIVILIZATION. IN CONTRARY,
THE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY IS BASED MAINLY IN ASIA, MORE SPECIFICALLY THE
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY. MOREOVER, WESTERN PHILOSOPHY TAKES ITS ROOTS
FROM ROME AND CHRISTIANITY, SPECIFICALLY JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY.
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS FROM CONFUCIANISM,
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM, AND TAOISM. THUS, IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT EASTERN
PHILOSOPHY IS CLASSICAL CHINESE, WHILE WESTERN PHILOSOPHY IS MORE
LATIN IN ITS ROOTS.
THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT OR THE
PHILOSOPHIES OF THE EAST AND WEST ARE THE WEST’S INDIVIDUALISM AND
THE EAST’S COLLECTIVISM.
THE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY IS DRAWN MUCH MORE INTO GROUPS OR SOCIETY
OR PEOPLE’S ACTIONS AND THOUGHTS AS ONE IN ORDER TO FIND MEANING IN
LIFE AS THEY TRY TO GET RID OF THE FALSE “ME” CONCEPT AND FIND MEANING
IN DISCOVERING THE TRUE “ME” IN RELATION TO EVERYTHING AROUND THEM,
OR AS PART OF A BIGGER SCHEME.
IN CONTRAST, THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS MORE INDIVIDUALISTIC, TRYING
TO FIND THE MEANING OF LIFE HERE AND NOW WITH SELF AT THE CENTER AS
IT IS ALREADY GIVEN AND PART OF THE DIVINE.
LET US TAKE A DEEPER LOOK INTO MORE OF THE ASPECTS OR
PROBLEMS OR ISSUES THESE TWO PHILOSOPHIES TRY TO MAKE
SENSE OF. THE MAIN PRINCIPLE OF THE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY IS
UNITY. THIS COSMOLOGICAL UNITY IS THE MAIN POINT IN THE
JOURNEY OF LIFE AS IT GOES TOWARDS THE ETERNAL REALITIES.
LIFE IS ROUND, AND THE RECURRENCE WITH EVERYTHING
AROUND IT IS IMPORTANT.
ETHICS IS BASED ON BEHAVIOR, AND DEPENDENCE IS FROM THE
INSIDE TO THE OUTSIDE. IN ORDER TO BE LIBERATED, THE INNER
SELF MUST BE FREED FIRST IN ACCORDANCE TO THE WORLD
AROUND IT.
 Western philosophy is mainly
used in the Western parts of
the world, such as in the
European countries, while the
Eastern philosophy is
prevalent in Asian countries.
SUMMARY:

Western philosophy deals with

Individualism while Eastern
Philosophy is related to
Collectivism.
SUMMARY:

Western philosophy is mainly

used in the Western parts of
the world, such as in the
European countries, while the
Eastern philosophy is
prevalent in Asian countries.
Western philosophy deals
with Individualism while
Eastern Philosophy is related
to Collectivism.
• BOTH PHILOSOPHIES CENTER ON VIRTUES.
• EASTERN PHILOSOPHY TAKES MORE OF A SPIRITUAL APPROACH
WHILE WESTERN PHILOSOPHY IS MORE HANDS-ON.
REFERENCES:
Books:
Tuibeo, Amable G. An Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person;
Second Edition, FCA Printedhouse
Calano, Mark Joseph PhD, Pasco Marc Oliver PhD. Philosophizing and
Being Human; A textbook for Senior High School., First Edition, Sibs
Publishing House, Inc.

Cite:
Celine. "Differences Between Eastern and Western Philosophy."
DifferenceBetween.net. May 10, 2018 <
http://www.differencebetween.net/science/differences-between-eastern-
and-western-philosophy/ >. Date Retrieved November 9, 2018.