Introduction to Philosophy

GODFREY OKOYE UNIVERSITY, ENUGU

FACULTY OF ART

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

PHI 101: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

 

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

To understand philosophy is one of the embarrassing tasks in the study of philosophy. This because there is no precise definition to the concept of philosophy. There is no definitive conclusion on the agreed definition of philosophy. Philosophy means many things to as many as there are philosophers; it also has nuances of meaning to as many thinkers as possible. This is why we can talk of philosophy both from the philosophers' perspectives as well as philosophy from lay-thinkers' point of view.

A lay-man's conception of philosophy could be any thinking endeavour/enterprise. Philosophy can just mean any elevation of the spirit or inclination of thinking or how one 'takes what appears to one. In this popular bend, philosophy becomes a practical way of life; thus any person could be called a philosopher in this loose sense. This is why any person can say "This is my philosophy of life," thereby meaning one's practical way of life or one's practical orientation or ideology of life. But this is a banal understanding of philosophy.

On a more classical tone, philosophy has a deeper conception beyond the popular, layman's knowledge of it. Philosophers have variously defined philosophy, and this is why it has no conclusive definition even among philosophers.   The vagaries of definition or descriptions of philosophy that has made the precise definition of philosophy elusive is what some philosophers have called The Scandal of Philosophy.  This  is  so called  because  it is scandalous  to  an  alien  who  on  first  encounter discovers that the noble art of philosophy runs a seeming "babelous" kind of thinking - forum. The fact  is  that philosophers  do  not agree  on  one definition to the question of what is philosophy is it really a point of scandal. However, beyond these multiple   philosophical   stances,   there   is   still   a perennial notion of philosophy which stands out objectively.

Philosophy is a field of inquiry – the pursuit of wisdom; the predecessor and complement of science, developing the issues which underlie science and pondering those questions which are beyond the scope of science.  In ancient times a lover of wisdom could be related to any area where intelligence was expressed. This could be in business, politics, human relations, or carpentry and other skills.

ETYMOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is etymologically derived from two Greek, terms;

a.     philo-love/desire.

b.   Sophia - wisdom /knowledge.

Philosophy etymologically means love or desire for wisdom. Thus,    the    classical knowledge of philosophy tells us that philosophy is the desire, the inclination and the love to know.  It is the loving penchant to wisdom through reflective approach. This is why the Pythagoreans described philosophy as the tendency to move from ignorance towards knowledge.  Dr. Jude Uwalaka held that "philosophy is    seeking    wisdom    and    knowledge    through reasoning." It is man's quest through reason to critically answer some fundamental questions which his existence poses for him. Having established these, let us look at other nuances of definition of philosophy.

 

 

VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

Just as earlier stated, philosophy has as many definitions as there are many philosophers. But we shall look at some of the mainstream conceptions of philosophy by renowned and classical philosophers themselves.

Plato defined philosophy as the "passion or desire to seek the truth. It is the activity of the soul in seeking/desiring the truth. The philosopher for him is the man who has the passion to seek the truth." Aristotle held that philosophy is "the knowledge of the truth." For Epicurus, it is the activity of the soul that creates happiness through polemics and discussion. It is the attitude of "thinking on a universal bend i.e. on generalities and not on unique or specific elements of nature (William James). Martin Heidegger said that philosophy is the effort in the realization that man is a being for death. It is in the above dimension of definitional polarities that the definition of philosophy is almost elusive and seems unknown. No wonder Socrates said that philosophy is the knowledge that we know not.

CLASSICAL DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

Without prejudice to the scandal of philosophy orchestrated by cacophony of definitions of philosophy by philosophers, some classical definitions could be sieved from these various definitions. The knowledge and the course of philosophy give us the following classical definitions as follows:

1.    "Philosophy is the attempt to give a rational response to the fundamental questions which the majority of people ask themselves, about themselves   and   about the world."

2.    "Philosophy is a rational search for the answers to the questions that arise in the mind when we reflect on human experience."

3.    "Philosophy is a rational search for answers to the basic questions about the ultimate meaning of reality as a whole and of human life in particular."

4.    Philosophy is a human knowledge in which everything is seen and studied from the point of human cognition. It is a radical study of realities in a rational way,

5.    Philosophy is the totality of study and research, in attempting to grasp the fundamental and first or ultimate causes, the absolute reality as well as the fundamental human values and problems in the highest degree of generality.

6.    Philosophy is the body of natural knowledge, critically    and    methodically    acquired    and ordered which undertakes an investigation of the     fundamental      problems     concerning knowledge,    being,    nature,    values and endeavours    to    attain    the    fundamental explanation of things.

7.    Philosophy is a science that systematically studies in a reflective manner, the various branches of human and natural dimensions.

THE OBJECTS OF PHILOSOPHY

The object of any endeavour refers to the interest or penchant of that endeavour. In science or philosophy, we can talk of material as well as formal objects. Material object refers to what a science or discipline sets out to study in a general sense, i.e. the generic interest of a course. The formal object on the other hand means the specific area of interest by a course, i.e. the specific point of consideration by any discipline.

The material object of philosophy is the whole reality. Philosophy is generally interested in studying every being: God, man, nature and creation at large. The formal objects of philosophy on the other hand refers to the specific area philosophy is interested in, as it tries to study all realities. Philosophy is interested in the ultimate explanation of all things through reasoning. So the formal object of philosophy is the radical explanation and knowledge of everything via reflective thinking otherwise called -reasoning. But whether the object of philosophy is material or formal, they must be geared to the realization of the goal of philosophy.

 

 

THE GOAL OF PHILOSOPHY

- The goal of philosophy is the truth. The object of philosophy (material or formal) are aimed at arriving at the truth of realities, either generally or specifically. Truth as the goal of philosophy is a conviction of many philosophers.

Socrates constituted himself into a gadfly to his   society,   and   continued   to   sting   them   by questioning so as to make them give birth to the truth. This he achieved through his art of epistemic midwifery otherwise called Socratic Method. Plato followed this same style while on the same terrain; Aristotle   was   much   convinced   that   philosophy should be called knowledge of truth and for the truth as such. Philosophy for him is truth (knowledge) for truth   (knowledge)   sake.   It   is   not for utilitarian purposes. Thus, he held that those who have not satisfied their utilitarian motives ie basic needs like food, shelter, money etc should not come near the "agora" ie the open  Greek public square where philosophers come to philosophize. "Agora" - the place of philosophy is not for those after material gains; it is for those who want the truth and nothing but truth for its sake. The above thesis justifies the famous dictum in philosophy which says; "amicus Plato, amicus Aristotle, magis arnica Veritas" (Plato is  my friend,  Aristotle  is  my friend,  truth  is  my greatest friend).

Truth in philosophy has been approached from various angles which we can broadly compartmentalize into two:

a.     Subjective approach -This is the commencement of the philosophical project from the subject of philosophy. Here the basic provocation to discover the truth   of matters   is   begun   by the philosopher asking questions about himself before reaching to the wider World. The Socratic subjective question "Man know thyself is a clear illustration of this.

 

b.    Objective approach:  Here the philosophical task is begun by one asking questions about the World around himself. The orientation of the early Greek      philosophers:      Thales,      Anaximenes, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Pythagoreans etc has this objective approach in philosophizing to discover the truth. They began by asking questions about the marvels of their environment. Thus, the Aristotelian thesis that philosophy is the child of wonder (about the World).

All the same, these approaches have not helped philosophers .to arrive at one truth or the precise truth of things in philosophy. Hence, the scandal of philosophy. It is this reason that has made philosophy to continue to ask more questions than providing answers. And these questions continue to raise more problems to philosophy than answers. Philosophy has asked so many questions and raised many problems such as:-

·       What can I know? What can I do? What can I hope for? What is man? What is the world? Who is or what is God? etc,

PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY

The above problems of philosophy like what can I know? and so on, are the many thrusts of philosophy. it Is from asking these basic questions and making rational confrontation of these problems that philosophy as a discipline began and grew. When   philosophy   raises   these   problems   and attempts to give them rational answers the art of philosophizing    starts,    flourishes,    widens    and develops, As a matter of consequence, the various branches of philosophy were derived from these basic questions or problems stirred by philosophers. Let-us make some demonstrations:

1.    When philosophy raises problems about the origin    and    destiny   of   man,    it   becomes philosophical anthropology.

2.    The philosophical problems on the origin and destiny of the universe give us the branch of philosophy called Cosmology. i.    The philosophical problems around the nature and manner of human knowledge give birth to epistemology.

The   philosophical   problems   around   human behaviour results to Ethics.

From  these,  we  can   make  a   more  graphic presentation of the parts or branches of philosophy.

THE BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY.

This can otherwise be called the divisions of philosophy. Aristotle in this regard classically divided philosophy into two:

a.    The Speculative/Contemplative/Theoretical: Here we have such branches of philosophy in their ascending order of intellection as 1. Physics 2.   Mathematics 3. Meta   physics. They    are    leaned     on     the    theoretical discussions.

b.    The Practical/Deliberative:    Here we have such practical preoccupations of philosophy such as ethics, political philosophy and even the empirical    sciences like economics, psychology, physics, biology, history, Chemistry, astronomy and any other productive sciences.

We can list the branches of philosophy and their brief explanations thus:

1.    Metaphysics:   It is the ultimate study of being as such. It is beyond physical evaluation and consideration in both approach to study and object of study.

2.    Epistemology:  It is a philosophical theory of human knowledge.

3.    Ethics; This branch of philosophy deals with the study of human behaviour; the rightness or wrongness of human actions.

4.    Cosmology: it is philosophical study of the World / the Cosmos.

5.    Logic: It is a formal branch of philosophy, dealing on the science of correct reasoning. It studies pure reason.

6.    We have such allied branches like theodicy (natural study of God - natural theology), axiology (study of values), ethnology (study of the society), political philosophy, philosophy of history and history of philosophy etc.

Apart from the branches of philosophy we also have many schools of philosophy such as:

1.         Existentialism:  school of thought based on man and the vicissitudes of his existence.

2.         Empiricism - those that hold that only things of experience have value.

3.         Rationalism   -   those   anchored   on   human rationality

4.         Others include Platonism, analytic philosophy, positivists, stoicism, communism, determinism, Indeterminism and any other valid "...isms" of philosophy.

 

CLASSIFICATION OF PHILOSOPHY

Sequel to the above discussions, philosophy is   essentially a reflective   activity   in   search   of meaning and answers to the marvels and questions we see in the world. It is a rational enterprise in desiring to know, by efforts to unravel the meaning of a seeming mysterious World. This certainly is possible by,   and open   to any man of rational competence without racial/ cultural or political /social prejudices. That is to say that philosophy is not a monopoly    of    any    race,    culture,    nationality, geography or even a particular period of history.

In this light, we can say that philosophy has been shown in history to be a rational endeavour exercised by people of all shades and at all times. Philosophy crosses across time and peoples. Our classification of philosophy here will show this. We shall classify it in such manner that it touches all times and peoples, yet retaining their specificities.

On periodization based on time (chronology), philosophers of many perspectives have classified philosophy as belonging to different stages of history of man's development; or different periods in history. According to this classification, we talk of philosophy as ancient, medieval, modern or contemporary. On a   different   classification,   philosophy   has   been classified on geo-regional / continental grounds with their reflected cultural modes and manners that distinguished their philosophical thoughts. On this bend of classification, we can talk of philosophy in ethnological terms. We can classify them into such nomenclatural distinctions as Occidental philosophy (Western), Oriental philosophy (Eastern) and African philosophy. Added to this other minor distinctions are such ones as Spanish philosophy, American philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Jewish philosophy, Arabian philosophy, Greek philosophy, etc. but they all fall within the first three above. To highlight on the above thesis, let us briefly look at these classifications beginning with the chronological classification.

A.   CHRONOLOGICAL    CLASSIFICATION     OF (WESTERN) PHILOSOPHY.

i.                ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: (6BC - 2AD).

Though philosophers are not agreed on the precise dates to be described as ancient, we can, bye and large streamline the various opinions of many philosophers to situate ancient' philosophy between 6th Century BC to 2nd Century AD. The philosophical whirlpool of this period interspersed the various branches of philosophy. But the main thrusts of philosophical activities of this era were materialism and ethics. The salient philosophical bend of this period were cosmology, ethics, and metaphysics.

At this period of philosophy, we have such cosmologists/materialists as Thales, Heraclitus, Anaximenes, Anaximander, Democritus and the Atomists. We also have ethicists like Socrates and Plato, who discussed the good lives of man and for man. Metaphysical discussions of Plato and Aristotle also mark this   era.   Such   other groups as the sophists flourished at this time of philosophy, and all contributed in making the philosophical composition and viewpoint that we regard today as- ancient philosophy.

ii.              MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY (2AD - 15AD),

It is in the character of philosophy to tread the path of civilization. This is why we cannot remove the philosophical inspirations and inclinations of the medieval age from the Christian civilization that characterized this era. The medieval or middle age was   the   period   of   Christian   governance   and prevalence over the world. It was the epoch of the -Christiandom. Thus, medieval philosophy is virtually Christian philosophy.

In   medieval philosophy,   the categories of philosophy, especially    those    of the ancient philosophy were used to prove and substantiate some Christian religious beliefs and philosophical propositions and positions, e.g.  Thomas Aquinas "Quin qua viae" ie. The five ways of proving the existence of God were derived from the Aristotelian metaphysics   on   "cause".   A   good   number   of philosophers in the medieval age were Christian philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, St. Albert, St Anselm, St. Augustine, Origen and other Jewish or Arabic   philosophers.    The   medieval    philosophy ranged from 2AD to 1 SAD.

iii.            MODERN PHILOSOPHY: (15AD - 18AD)

The philosophy of modern age was between 15AD - 18AD, and the impetus of philosophy at this time was given by the ideological break-through witnessed at this time. It was the period of intellectual breakthrough of man over several ramifications of human lifestyles. It was the age of renaissance. It was the time of mental rebirth of humanity that found optimal expressions in science, art and culture. It was a period of resurgence of the qualities of ideas and her values in the match of civilization.

Modern philosophy was mainly enshrined around the altar of idea and what idea can achieve. It was bordered on the re-establishment of the capacity of the human mind in knowledge and the expressions of knowledge. The Cartesian philosophy on the knowability of human mind and the absolute Idea" of Hegel marked the peak points of this period of philosophy and her ripples. The projections of the human mind in Feubach and Nietzsche also shaped the philosophy of this era.

iv.            CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY: 18AD till date.

The contemporary philosophy begins and ends with man and his existence. The philosophy of contemporary time which began from the 19th century till date through the existentialist leap into new arc in philosophy began with the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard. He initiated a philosophical movement called existentialism which is the main impulse of philosophical breath today. It is concerned with man, his existence and such attributes of his existence as freedom, work, self -consciousness, knowledge, culture etc. The Champions of this era of thinking include Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.

Another philosophical attitude of this era includes the irrationalist philosophers like the so called    Traditionalist    philosophers    as    Michael Polanyi, Alessandre McIntyre etc. We also have such groups as new-pragmatists and neo-Thomists that also make the philosophical composition of this age.   Other   schools   of   philosophy   like   logical positivists; linguistic analysists, political nationalist philosophers, etc could also be filled unto the above four-ages of philosophy.

B.   GEO-REG10NAI CLASSIFICATION OF PHILOSOPHY

i.      AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY:

Irrespective of arguments for and against the existence or the possibility of the existence of African philosophy; the fact can not be gainsaid that "philosophy was part of the intellective lives of the Africans."1 Its formality as professional/authoritative philosophy could have been warped by the lack of literate and writing tradition among the ancient African civilizations. But this notwithstanding, we have reasons to establish the existence of philosophy in Africa in various   shades. These reasons    account    also    for    the    naming    and composition   of   some   philosophical   activities   as African philosophy.

In the first case, African philosophy of the earliest times were not written down; but were rather couched and transmitted through such other media "as mythology, formulas of wise-sayings; traditional proverbs, .stories and religious tales."2 Through these, philosophical reflections of the ancient Africans were composed, preserved and transmitted from one generation to another. The grave implication of this philosophical system is that it renders the individual philosophers that generated some philosophical thoughts anonymous, while at the same time is unable to give enough reason to establish that such philosophical conclusions were products of philosophical consensus. It creates an unhealthy anonymity in philosophical system which gives room to seeming philosophical irresponsibility and makes the edges of critical evaluation blunt and non - directional.

On another note, in what some philosophers have called the ancient era of the philosophy of Africans in a formal sense, we have some writings, and philosophers that stand out as-proves of the existence of African philosophy. In this regard, it is evident on the history of philosophy that some great Africans passed through the test of being 'called: professional philosophers. North Africa produced such philosophers as Tertulian (160AD); Clement of Alexandra (150 - 21 SAD), Origen (185-254AD) and"' St.   Augustine   (354-430AD); The   North African-metropolis, Egypt was the centre of philosophical activities by many Africans. It is even posited and defended by such authors as Prof. Innocent Onyewuenyi that the African philosophy as carried out in ancient Egyptian castes and castles was the cradle of global philosophical thought including Greek philosophy and civilization.3

The middle age of philosophy in Africa had instances of philosophers in the southern part of Sahara in Africa. But the illiterate civilizations of these people have warped the authoritative stances of most of their   philosophies   as well as their responsibility in nomenclature and "professionality". Africans South of Sahara were struck with wonder about such things as the universe, the sun, life, human finitude, evil, death etc and reflected upon them as philosophers. It is akin to what the Greek cosmologists like Thales, Anaximander etc did. The only difference is the medium of preservation and communication of thought. More still, an African in diaspora   was   also   recorded   as   a   literate   and professional   philosopher in   the modern   age.  A Ghanaian by name Anthony William Amo was "a professor of philosophy in Germany in the first half of the 18th Century. He was born in Ghana in 1703 and died in 1757".4 He taught in three German Universities of Halle, Jena and Wittenberg. He is seen as the symbol of what some current African philosophers have called the modern age of African philosophy.

In the contemporary era, African philosophy is in full flowering time. The contemporary African philosophy like other philosophical trends in any part of the globe had the impulse of existential atmosphere in which it was born and carried out. It flourished at the time when many African nations were yearning for socio-political freedom from the hands of their colonial masters. Thus the contemporary African philosophy was concerned with the existential political issues bordering on African people.

The political background of African philosophy in the contemporary time made it such that the foremost philosophers of this period were also political flag bearers and nationalists of various African countries. We have such contemporary philosophers like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Kwesi Wiredu of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo of Nigeria and many others. They philosophized on such socio-political ideologies and practices as socialism, welfarism, communalism, Negritude, capitalism, communism, social services, and the historical dialectics of the African growth in the light of the new African World.

Besides, there has risen in recent times a barrage of many Africans who have proved their philosophical mettle and shown immense contributions to the -philosophical enterprise Worldwide. Among these "giant African philosophers include Okere Theophilus, Houndtunji, Tshlemaienga, Onyewuenyi Innocent, Ihemalolu Egbujie, Idowu, T. Nwala, J. Omoregbe,"5 etc.

ii.    ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY:

Oriental philosophy or philosophy of the people from the East like India and China is a philosophy that is intertwined with culture and religion of the people. But from these their cultural cum religious lifestyles, one can easily-sieve out or separate the philosophical elements and doctrines that are product of the people. These philosophical doctrines from the East or oriental philosophy shall be discussed under the following headings:-

 

 

a.    HINDUISM:

"Hinduism is the philosophy, religion and the culture of the Indian people"6 (Omoregbe). The philosophical aspect of Hinduism is what they call "Upanishads." It is the teaching of this-that every reality is one and Divine and is exemplified in the one eternal being called the "Brahman." The whole thing we see in the world or think about are but manifestations or expressions of this one reality called the   Brahman. And as mere shadows of Brahman, every   Worldly thing is perishable, transient   and so illusive   without   necessary   or substantial existence. The Brahman therefore is the only real thing as such. This Brahman is identified with the human soul or spirit called "atman". Thus, creating a philosophy of absolute autonomy and integrity of the human soul. This is why Hinduism some-what plays down the absolute superiority of another being, it rather talks of the perfection of the self.                                                   

Besides, the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads also believe in cyclism of events, history and personal lives of people. "This is the truth: As from a fire aflame thousands of sparks come forth, even so from the Creator, an infinity of beings have life and to him return again."7 History for them circulates; and it is the same with human life where one is born, dies and is re-born into another level of being which could be higher or lower depending on the impartial law of cosmic justice called Karma. The only way to avoid the negative implications of this cyclism is by the process of self-perfection via virtue and asceticism.

b.    BUDDHISM:

Buddism is a philosophy or religious thrust built around an Indian prince, Gautama who through asceticism and practice of virtue attained the level of self-perfection or "enlightenment" known as Buddha. He discovered what he called the "four-fold noble truths" of human suffering which are eventually the core compositions of the Buddhist philosophy. The first noble truth is that there is suffering all over the World. The second is the truth about the cause of universal suffering. The third is that suffering can be stopped. The fourth then is. The truth about how to stop or suppress suffering so as to attain the state of painlessness, enlightenment, self perfection or Buddha.

Comparing the human body with “the conglomeration of the parts that make a chariot which as such is not chariot," he said that there is nothing in the bodily composition of man which is necessary and permanent. The human body is but a conglomeration of many parts that make the so called human body. When the parts dismember, the human body goes or dies. The realization of this impermanence of human body for him should make people not to rely on it or desire to hold on to it and its   desires. It   is   this   desire   to   hold   unto   the illusory/transient body which really causes human suffering. Thus, the only way to escape this desire and suffering   is to suppress the human   bodily desires and only then can one achieve satisfaction, painlessness and eternal happiness. "This suppression or extinction of desire will put an end to suffering and bring man to 'Nirvana' (the Buddhist Paradise)"8

This "Nirvana" can practically be attained by what Buddha calls, "a sacred path with eight branches". The path is that of self-control and self-discipline, while the 8 branches include right views, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right attentiveness and right concentration.

Buddhism is a philosophy/religion of life. Being an offshoot of Hindu civilization and philosophy it has some elements of Hinduism within her philosophical fold. It agrees with Hinduism on such principles as Karma, transmigration of souls (Samsara) and illusion of creation (Maya). But it does not believe in the absolute soul called the Brahman. Buddhism is centered on the act and beliefs of ego-perfection and so does not have a

space for belief in a superior being to man called God. It is an atheistic religion and philosophy that borders on the glorification of the self. A brand of Ego-cult.

c.     TAOISM:

Taoism is a Chinese philosophy/religion that revolves around the idea of Tao. The philosophical tenets of Taoism are contained in the book called "Tao Te Ching" traditionally attributed to have been written by Lao Tzu, who was born around 604BC.

Tao literary means "The Way". It is believed to be the source and essence of all that is. It is the superior and sustaining power to all things. It pervades and prevails over every being. It is the self-generative and self-sustaining principle and power of all the pluralities; and the perfections of all things. It is the sum and summit of all the harmony of creation, and so is the most fundamental power of Greatness and integrity. Everything begins and ends with the "Tao". It is the purest and simplest force of creation. In the "Tao", there is no lack, no potency, no mutability and so it is perfect, immortal and integrate.

Taoist ethics exhausts people to follow the path/way of the elements of Tao. Tao leads or attracts men to perfection and integrity. Taoism admonishes people to follow the way of simplicity, integrity and perfection. It is the way of wholeness or holiness. Taoism thus abhors anything that brings degeneration such as sin, laziness, indolence, violence, war, crime, depravity and profligacy in

FURTHER READING:

ü Aristotle, Metaphysics, 9935, 19.

ü W. James, Some Problems in Philosophy, Oxford: Longman Pub, 1991

ü P. Iroegbu, Metaphysic, The Kpim of Philosophy, Owerri, 1995

ü I. Onyenwuenyi, African Origin of Greek Philosophy, An Exercise on Afrocentrism. Lagos: Joja Press, 2005

ü J. Omoregbe, Knowing Philisophy, Ikeja: Joja Press, 1990.

ü Plato, The Republic. 475, 480

ü Donald Sherer, Peter A. Facione, Thomas Attig, and Fred D. Miller, Introduction to Philosophy, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

ü Joseph Margolis, An Introduction to Philosophical Inquiry, New York: Alfred A. Knopf,

ü Dallas M. Roark, Introduction to Philosophy, New York: Oxford, 2008.

ü Donald Palma, Introduction To Philosophy, London: McGraw Hill, 2000