Course info

Introduction to Philosophy A (PHIL110)

(Part 1)

This module introduces students of philosophy to the nature of philosophy in the general and particular/professional senses. As the mother of all disciplines, it attempts to define what philosophy is from different aspects – at least to show the difficulty in attempting a generally acceptable definition of the subject-matter and why philosophers rarely agree. To avoid confusion and in the final analysis, it defines philosophy as the critical and rational study of reality, knowledge, the place of man in it, and as a conceptual response to socio-cultural issues of a period.  

The first part of the module concentrates on the conceptual understanding of philosophy, its historical development and relevance to everyday experience. The first six (or seven) weeks of lecture will enable the student to have the knowledge of engaging in the philosophical enterprise, learning from the early set of thinkers and some of the questions that agitated their minds.

Expected Outcomes:

-        Understanding the meaning, etymology and development of philosophy as a discipline;

-        to be aware of the historical development of the course;

-        situating philosophy within regions and peculiar problems/projects of an individual philosopher;  

-        to introduce the student of the similarities and differences between classical Western and Ancient African philosophies.