Philosophy: Reality, Knowledge, and Existence
Philosophical Conceptions of Reality
Greek philosophy recognizes the existence of a divine realm and a natural realm, i.e., autonomous ambits, since one is not affected by the other. For the ancient Greeks, something is orderly because something in it always stays the same. Nature, in its essence, is an eternal universe. There is a permanent law governing the process of production and destruction of natural things. The essence remains; the natural produces and destroys some types of things kept in their immutable characteristic features in individual time, through its transformations.
Philosophy is rational, justified, and pertains to everything that can be discussed. Argumentation must be logically coherent and universal because it reflects on the whole, trying to understand reality from its root. A valid and ultimate argument offers an explanation beyond which you cannot go because it explains things from their root. Philosophy approaches the gods with a desire for rational comprehension and not with eagerness for devotion. It attempts to explain how we live individually and collectively.
Philosophy and its Specialties
- Metaphysics is concerned with giving us a description of all reality.
- Gnoseology studies the foundation of knowledge.
- Ethics is about the life that is good for the individual.
- Politics is the part of philosophy that deals with good relations between people.
- Aesthetics deals with art and beauty.
- Philosophical Anthropology is the part of philosophy that reflects on man.
Philosophy is not Science
Philosophy is based on the broad spectrum of human experience. Philosophy describes this reality, and all other knowledge finds its anchorage in it. Philosophy tends to give a global, systemic view of reality, while science tends toward specialization and fragmentation of the object of study. Science progresses through the development of technological experimentation, with experiments playing an increasingly important role as they allow for the discovery of the unknown. Philosophy is essentially reflective; its strength lies in considering itself. Philosophy has a practical purpose; it is intended to be a learning that gives us good advice for life, something that science cannot do, as it merely describes phenomena.
Philosophy is not Religion
Philosophical knowledge differs from religion. In philosophy, there is no place for revealed knowledge. Philosophical knowledge is attained by man through rational reflection on the entire experience of mankind. Philosophy is rational knowledge. In religious knowledge, there is a dimension that is based not on reason but on faith. Religious faith leads to:
- A dogma, the fundamental set of beliefs that a religious option defends.
- A ritual, the ceremonial repertoire with which man expresses the sacred bond.
- A morality, founded on the sacred devotion that is demanded of man.
Medieval Philosophy
Medieval philosophy exercises its task under the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It is no wonder that the medieval view of reality and life is based on the relationship between the created and the creator. This relationship reveals that the fundamental features of created reality are not due to itself but are a gift, a divine gift. Those features that could not have been taken are called quotas in philosophy. Medieval philosophy is based on this fundamental contingency of the created.
Contemporary Philosophy
Contemporary philosophy develops after the work of Friedrich Hegel. It is divided into two phases:
Positivism and Marxism impose confidence in human progress, understood as realization. Reason will free us from superstitions and prejudices, allowing us to finally understand the natural and the social rationally. Nature becomes a servant of man through technology, and through new political institutions, the creation of a just and pacified society is possible.
This confidence is truncated by two tragic experiences: the two world wars and the more recent threat of ecological collapse. Contemporary philosophy cannot be systematized into periods like the previous ones. In the present, old versions of philosophy coexist with newly minted ones.