Philosophy is a discipline that studies the basic principles of cognition, human being, reality, relations between the world and man. Any subject and method of philosophy is unique in its own way. In principle, this whole science can be called unique and unusual.
What is the subject of philosophy
It refers to a certain range of issues studied by this discipline. The composition of the general structure of the subject traditionally includes:
- ontology;
- person;
- society;
- cognition.
There are a lot of special questions studied by philosophy. It:
- origin of being;
- essence of being;
- nature;
- the spiritual world of man;
- features of knowledge;
- society;
- the relationship of consciousness and matter;
- the unconscious;
- conscious;
- social sphere of society and so on.
The methods of philosophy are also numerous. Note that they mean paths, as well as means that help carry out various kinds of philosophical research.
The basic methods of philosophy
The main methods in this case include:
- dialectic;
- metaphysics;
- dogmatism;
- eclecticism;
- sophistry;
- hermeneutics.
Let us examine these methods of philosophy in more detail.
Dialectics is a method of philosophical research in which phenomena, as well as things, are considered critically, flexibly, very consistently. That is, with such a study, attention is drawn to all the changes that occur. The events that caused the changes that take place are taken into account. A lot of attention is paid to the issue of development.
The method of philosophy, which is the direct opposite of dialectics, is called metaphysics. When it objects are considered:
- Static - that is, changes, as well as development, do not play any role during the study;
- apart, regardless of other things and phenomena;
- unequivocally - that is, when searching for absolute truth, attention is not paid to contradictions.
Methods of philosophy also include dogmatism. Its essence is reduced to the perception of the world through the prism of peculiar dogmas. These dogmas are accepted beliefs, which cannot be deviated from by a single step. They are absolute. Note. That this method was inherent primarily in medieval theological philosophy. Today, almost never used.
Eclecticism, which is part of the methods of philosophy, is based on an arbitrary combination of various, disparate, completely lacking common principles facts, concepts, concepts, as a result of which we can come to superficial, but relatively plausible, seeming reliable conclusions. This method is often used to create private ideas that help change the mass consciousness. These ideas have little in common with reality. Previously, this method was used in religion, but today it is very popular among advertisers.
A method that is based on the deduction of false, submitted under the guise of true, new premises, which logically will be true, but with a distorted meaning. Thoughts embodied in them do not correspond to reality, but are beneficial to individuals using this method. In other words, sophists studied ways to mislead a person during a dialogue. The sophistry was widespread in Ancient Greece. Understanding it was almost invincible in a dispute.
The basic methods of philosophy conclude with hermeneutics. This method is based on the correct reading, as well as the interpretation of the meaning of the texts. Hermeneutics is a science of understanding. The method was widely used in Western philosophy.
There are additional methods of philosophy. They are also its directions. We are talking about materialism, idealism, rationalism, empiricism.
