A Story of Philosophy and Science

What on earth is "philosophy"? This was a question in my mind since the beginning of my philosophy course. Why would I take this course? Is it just for the sake of earning credits for my degree? For some of us we would know what philosophy is, some may not have any idea at all even if it's used in our daily life. I will take you through a brief history of philosophy and show how life and science is influenced by philosophy.

In the past there hasn't been a clear boundary between philosophy and science. Back in the days, in the school of Athens, there has been a disagreement between Plato and Aristotle relating to philosophy. Plato believed that reasoning from ideas will explain nature. But according to Aristotle, it was compulsory to study nature more systematically in order to understand forces of nature.

This was a stepping stone for science branching from philosophy as a systematic study. Aristotle was the first to systematically classify science. As the days go on science has been growing by forming many branches out of philosophy.

Meaning for philosophy is more than a set of words given by a definition. It literally means "Love for wisdom". As a goal, in academics philosophy aims to understand knowledge. In practical means, this is simply realization of what is good for oneself. As an example, I faced a risk of spilling chemicals during practical classes. Realizing the danger made me consider safety. So as a principle I made it a habit to follow lab precautions and guidelines. Philosophy in action aims to clarify problems and investigate theory. I believe these points will give you an idea of the background of philosophy is.

Next I would like to share what science is, how science is benefitted by philosophy and whether philosophy is useful for us as human beings. As we all know, science is the knowledge we gain by observation and experimentation. It is process of understanding reality in the perspective of mankind via discoveries. When I say"In the perspective of mankind", this itself raises a philosophical question. How do we know if the truth discovered is real? For an example, we believe from science that the Earth is spherical and three dimensional. But are there other dimension in the Earth ? Are we really living in a three dimensional world? Would an extraterrestrial being's vision of Earth would be three dimensional? These questions are from a branch of philosophy known as "Metaphysics". Think of a tree with underground roots. Science is similar to the shoot system and roots are similar to metaphysics which is invisible to the common world. Science is a collection of theories. Theories are accepted , rejected or modified based on critics. Philosophy focuses on lessons learned from past and methods used to approach them. In the past Astrology and Theology were also part of the scientific mosaic. With the help of reasoning and questioning by philosophy these categories are now separated as pseudosciences. Through discussions philosophy sets limits between science and pseudosciences.

We live in a materialistic world where science is constantly improving and making our life comfy and easy. but it is important to take sometime for yourself to read as a goal of gaining knowledge, reason what you learn and think of ways of applying the knowledge gained in practical life. This will help you to expand thoughts and have unbiased judgements on decisions you make. This is the ultimate goal of philosophy, to make yourself unique.