general studies Notes

Form 5 General Studies (GS) – PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

msomimaktaba,


DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS

(a) The Ancient philosophers

(i) Socrates

A Greek philosopher who lived in 470BC-399BC. He developed the philosophical idea of rational (critical thinking as the only way and method of attaining knowledge). Socrates disnglish-swahili/courage” target=”_blank”>couraged empiricism and suggested questioning and dialogue development or debated (Asking what) to give a good room of knowledge and understanding an idea or reality of something the advanced ideas were like;

–  There is only one good knowledge and one bad ignorance.

– To attain knowledge one should consider himself ignorant first.

– No man does evils willingly.

NB: Socrates believed on education, free will knowledge and virtue.

(ii)  Plato

He was a Greek Philosopher student of Socrates and writer of Socrates philosophical ideas. He developed the idealism philosophy suggesting that only ideas are real and all other things reflect the idea. Plato emphasized on the idea of real education suggestion that “A strong, just and civilized society will only be built where there is existence of a real idea of education. By Plato the Idea of real education was the bases of any developed society which is strong and civilized.

Plato classified the society to have three groups of people having different ranges in the perception and reality of education and its yields as follows:

(i) Golden boys
The group of people who are bright, having a good perception of idea of real education and its products. This group identifies all educated people, so suggest them to hold administrative positions like governors, rulers ,planners, policy makers, diplomats etc.

(ii)  Silver boys
This is the group of less bright people who can only catch some training; these can be trained to become defenders of the national interests like, soldiers, watchmen.

(iii)  Iron boys
This is group of less intellectual having poor understanding ability. These are to be trained for manual works and unskilled duties. Plato emphasized on dialogue as the better method of arriving to a good conclusion. He also suggested that it is better to suffer than committing injustice. Plato also suggested “it is only punishment that will change people who commit injustice”

(iii) ARISTOTLE
The Greek philosopher Plato’s student, he developed the philosophy of using intelligence and principle to arrive a goal.
Aristotle inverted the idea of science philosophy so separated it from the rational thinking philosophy. This branch of philosophy focusing on principles, he called it metaphysics. By Aristotle, the equation of knowledge is connected to some principles and it starts from what we know or think then asking what, How and why, he also suggested the following ideas:

–  Good does not change.
–  Ethics the politics are the bases of people who are living happy .
–   Logical reasoning is important in the changing nature.

(II) THE MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHIES
This time is identified by philosophers who attempted to put into practice, the ancient philosophical ideas and their modifications to see the validity, these are

(i)  St Thomas Aquinas
His argument was that, everything that exists has a cause. But since there could not be an infinite chain of causes back in to the past there must have been an uncaused first cause. “This is God”

(ii)St Augustine
Suggested the following religious ideas as

–    God exist in soil of very human being

–    People cannot change their sinful ways. Unless by the help of god’s grace

(iii) PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS OF KARL MARKS AND LENIN

Karl Max was born in Troves London in 5Th May 1818 and died on 14th March 1883
Karl Max ideas on capitalism, scientific socialism and communism (1818-1883AD)

Karl Max theory of capitalism, scientific socialism and Communism can be understood by looking at his fundamental doctrines which are analyzed below as follows 

(i) The economic interpretation of history
(ii) Dialectical materialism 
(iii) The class struggle
(iv) The doctrine  of surplus value
(v) The theory of the socialist evolution

PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS OF LENIN (1870 – 1924 AD)
Lenin was a Russian revolutionary thinker born on the 22nd April 1870 and died in Jan 21st 1924
Lenin’s ideas on capitalism, scientific socialism and Communism.

IDEAS ON IMPERIALISM
Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism
According to him, this stage had characteristics which would finally destroy itself. These include; 

(i) Dominance of export of capital not goods
(ii) Concentration and centralization of production by the big enterprises 
(iii) The merging of Bank capital and industrial Capital to form finance capital in which banks took up new role of lending money for and directing investment
(iv) Dominance of Monopolies in the form of cartel, syndicates and trusts.   
(v) The formation of International monopolistic association which struggle to divide  the world among the capital powers 

LENIN IDEAS OF SOCIALISM
He believed  that socialism in society is always a result of revolution in which working class would take control of  government and means of production 

PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS OF KWAME NKRUMAH (1909 – 1972)
(a) Historical background 
      Kwame Nkrumah was born on September 21st 1909 in Nkroful, Gold coast (Now Ghana) and led his people for the struggle  for independence from Great Britain to independence in 1957. He went on be named as life president of both the nation and his political party, until the army and police in Ghana Seized power in 1966. Where he found asylum in Guinea. He died on 1972.

(b)
Ideas of Nkrumah on Socialism 
Nkrumah was Marxist who with no doubt believed that there were existence of classes and straggle in Africa said
” Nothing is father from the truth. Africa class struggle was been ranging in Africa ……..As in the rest of the world; it is a struggle between the op pressers and the oppressed. According to Nkrumah, revolution is an integral part of the world socialist revolution 

(c) Ideas of Nkrumah on Freedom
Nkrumah political philosophy was based of the need for the freedom and unification of Africa
“For freedom is not a commodity which is given to the enslaved upon demand, it is a precious the shinning trophy of struggle and sacrifice.

(d) Ideas of Nkrumah on Neo Colonialism 
Nkrumah urged that the Neo-colonialism  of today represents imperialism in its final and perhaps its most dangerous stage. He said
“The essence of neo-colonialism is that the state which is subjected to it is in theory independent and has all the outward trapping of international sovereignity. In reality its economic system and  its political policy is directed from outside.  

(e) Ideas of Nkrumah on unity
That Africa must unit was one of his key political ideas. In 1963, he wrote a book “Africa must Unite” In his book he advocated for the political union of African states as the means to safeguard  Africans independence and the soundest foundation of economic, social and cultural achievement.  

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