Question

Define the following terms:

1.      Philosophy

2.      Metaphysics

3.      Epistemology

4.      Logic

5.      Ethics

6.      Political Philosophy

7.      Argument

8.      Fallacy

9.      Socratic Method

10.   Platonic forms

11.   Aristotle’s Prime Mover

12.   Key assumption of the modern period

13.   Dualism

14.   Materialism

15.   Idealism

Answer 1

1. Philosophy is defined as the study of general and fundamental problems that concerns existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is also referred to as the study of knowledge, or "thinking about thinking".The term was probably coined by Pythagoras. The methods that the discipline employs are questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation.

2.Metaphysics is defined as the branch of philosophy that explores the fundamental questions such as the nature of existence, being and the world. Metaphysics is regarded as the foundation of philosophy. Aristotle refers to it as "first philosophy". According to Aristotle, the subject concerns itself with "first causes and the principles of things".It has two branches – cosmology and ontology.

3.Epistemology is defined as the study of nature, scope of knowledge and justified belief. Epistemology is concerned with issues involving creation and dissemination of knowledge. In other words, it analyzes the nature of knowledge and how it relates to truth, belief, and justification.

4.Logic refers to a tool to develop reasonable conclusions based on a given set of data. Since logic is concerned with the principles of correct reasoning so logic is free of emotion and deals very specifically with information in its purest form. The subsets in the study of logic include informal logic, formal logic, symbolic logic, and mathematical logic.