What is philosophy?
General Aims of the Department
Module Presentation
Career Opportunities
What is philosophy?
Philosophy can, in a general sense, be described as a conversation spanning over two and a half thousand years. Philosophy is thus also the oldest discipline at the university and is often viewed as the "mother science" of numerous other disciplines practiced at the modern university. Philosophy is a discussion aimed at answering philosophical questions.
Philosophical questions differ markedly from the type of questions put forward within other sciences at the university. One can therefore only begin to understand the nature of Philosophy if you have a firm grip on the nature of philosophical questions.
The sciences focus on the actual phenomena in the field of human experience and try to establish accurately and in a disciplined manner what is the case and what are the relations pertaining among the multitude of phenomena experienced by humans on a daily basis. Philosophy, in contrast, does not concern itself so much with the experiential phenomena themselves, but rather with the instruments of thought by means of which we make sense of the daily field of our experience.
There are mainly two instruments of thought we use to order our field of observation, namely concepts, used to identify and categorize our field of experience, and ideas, used to interpret the contents of our experience, i.e. to discern the relative value or importance of phenomena, either individually or as a whole. Philosophy is therefore reflexion, or thought about thought, evaluation of the instruments employed in and by thought to make sense of the world in which we live and of our own existence within this world.
Philosophical questions - the topic of Philosophy - are thus questions about concepts and ideas. We call these kinds of questions respectively conceptual questions and questions of meaning. Conceptual questions refer to the meaning, implications and mutual connections of the concepts we use. The meanings of some concepts, e.g. "chair", are quite clear and unproblematic. The meanings of other concepts, such as "pornography" and "soul" are much more opaque. Sometimes we assume that we know the meaning of some concepts such as "murder" and "democracy". However, often situations arise in which it becomes evident that these meanings are not at all so clear, e.g. when someone claims that abortion is murder, or that the South Africa before April 1994 was a democracy. It is of crucial importance for daily life that we must get clarity about such difficult concepts. For example, the meaning one attaches to the concept of "pornography", determines the kind of system of censorship (if any) that one endorses; the way one thinks about "murder", determines your attitude towards the death penalty, and medical practices such as abortion and euthanasia.
Reflection about philosophical conceptual questions is therefore a far cry from an "ivory tower" activity; it rather focuses on the most pressing and important questions in life. These problems demand philosophical reflection exactly because no amount of factual information, as provided by the sciences, can be conclusive for one's judgement on the meaning of concepts such as "pornography", "democracy" and "murder".
On the other hand, the philosopher also puts questions of meaning, i.e. questions about ideas as a second kind of thought instrument. These are questions about the value and importance of what we know, do and hope.
All of us entertain certain beliefs that give direction to our lives and help us to interpret the world and our life in it. For example, liberalism is a system of beliefs whereby people attribute meaning to their lives and the world. The philosopher analyses these beliefs and tries to understand their assumptions and implications. (S)he will ask e.g.: What is the assumed anthropology of liberalism? Is there only one kind of liberalism? What kind of freedom is propagated by liberalism? The philosopher does, however, not only analyze. (S)he also asks about the meaning or value of something. (S)he asks e.g.: What is the meaning of scientific practice as such? What value does it have within one's cultural milieu? Or: What is the meaning of religious belief? What is the value and meaning of a university?
General Aims/Mission of the Department
Teaching:
- to equip students with a thorough knowledge of traditional Western Philosophy
- to cultivate an ability for independent philosophical work
- to do justice to the demands presented by our African context
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Research:
- to expand existing expertise about e.g. contemporary continental philosophy and the philosophy of the social sciences
- to continue our research about ethical problems
- to focus the above on interdisciplinary academic work
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Service to the community:
- to assist in cultivating balanced, critical and socially engaged intellectuals
- to make our services available to the whole of the South African society
- to work for the establishment of an open, non-discriminating community and a democratic culture in general
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Module Presentation
Modues are presented in a way that leads students towards independent philosophical reflection. There is a great deal of emphasis on independent research and class discussions. For this purpose, discussions are conducted in smaller groups from the first year onwards. Apart from the normal tests and exams, students regularly have to submit essays and assignments in order to test their skills in independent research and reflection.
Career Opportunities
Nationally and internationally there is a growing recognition of the value of Philosophy as a tool for intellectual development. Philosophy provides an unparalleled opportunity to acquire essential intellectual skills, such as the ability to analyse and apply concepts, the ability to interpret difficult texts, and the ability to think critically and creatively about institutions and a range of issues, including morality, politics, art, science, technology and religion. Employers throughout the world are coming to the realisation that the ideal employee is the person with the ability to think independently, critically and creatively and are placing more emphasis on these skills over and above more specific career requirements. The value of philosophy is further enhanced by a scenario for the next century in which people will change career more often, a context which requires mobility.
A philosophical education is an excellent preparation for any career in which one will encounter problems relating to concepts and ideas (which would be virtually any career). The primary value of Philosophy lies in developing our analytical and critical skills. It is also a valuable tool for those involved in interdisciplinary and methodological research and in ethically oriented reflection. Ex-students of our department currently hold positions in such diverse fields as journalism, business, diplomatic service, law, the church, the SABC, the state information service and as reseachers with institutions involved in social research.
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