Module 1: Doing Philosophy

LEARNING COMPETENCY
Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view. (PPT11/12-Ia-1.1)

What Philosophy is: The meaning of Philosophy

MOTIVATION:
1. What do you know about Philosophy? Is there really a need to study this?
2. How can we distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view by doing
philosophy?
3. When do you Philosophize?

Discussion Proper:

The Nature and Why of Philosophy

It is in the very nature of philosophy that man searches for the meaning of himself and
the world. It can truly be said that philosophy was born the very first time man started
wondering at what he saw around him.

Etymological Definition of Philosophy

The word philosophy is derived from the Greek “philla” meaning “love”, and “sophia", meaning
“wisdom” or “knowledge”. The literal definition of philosophy is therefore, “love of wisdom”.
[Zulueta, 2010].
Wisdom outweighs any wealth. [Sophocles]

Philosophy as a Concept

Philosophy is a system of beliefs about reality. It is one's integrated view of the world. It includes
an understanding of the nature of existence, man, and his role in the world. It is a necessary
product of man’s rational mind.

Philosophy as a Process

Philosophy is employed as a method of inquiry. It is an engagement in the search for the

meaning of life, its value and relevance. It is a process for finding significance in existence.

To live, man must gain knowledge of the world. To understand the world, man must form
conclusions about its very nature. For instance, to gain knowledge of particular objects, man
must recognize that objects have identity. He must recognize that conclusions are possible
because the world does exist, and exists in a particular way.

Philosophy provides the framework for which man can understand the world. It provides the
premises by which man can discover truth and use his mind to support his life. Every man has
an understanding of the world. Every man must have a philosophy, even if it is never made
explicit.
Philosophy as the Foundation of Knowledge

Philosophy is the standard by which ideas are integrated and understood.

It has been regarded as the sum and summit of human knowledge, as the “scientia
scientiarium”—the science of the sciences and the compendium of all learning.

All the branches of learning in fact, sprang from philosophy’s womb, so that she is rightly called
the “mater” and the “matrix” of all knowledge. [Montemayor, 1995]

The Six Branches of Philosophy

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of existence. It is the
foundation of a worldview. It answers the question "What is?" It encompasses everything that
exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. It says whether the world is real, or merely an
illusion. It is a fundamental view of the world around us.

Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy. Without an explanation or an interpretation of the

world around us, we would be helpless to deal with reality. We could not feed ourselves, or act
to preserve our lives. The degree to which our metaphysical worldview is correct is the degree
to which we are able to comprehend the world, and act accordingly. Without this firm
foundation, all knowledge becomes suspect. Any flaw in our view of reality will make it more
difficult to live.

Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of our method of acquiring knowledge. It answers the question, "How
do we know?" It encompasses the nature of concepts, the constructing of concepts, the validity
of the senses, logical reasoning, as well as thoughts, ideas, memories, emotions, and all things
mental. It is concerned with how our minds are related to reality, and whether these
relationships are valid or invalid.

Epistemology is the explanation of how we think. It is required in order to be able to determine

the true from the false, by determining a proper method of evaluation. It is needed in order to
use and obtain knowledge of the world around us. Without epistemology, we could not think.
More specifically, we would have no reason to believe our thinking was productive or correct, as
opposed to random images flashing before our mind. With an incorrect epistemology, we would
not be able to distinguish truth from error. The consequences are obvious. The degree to which
our epistemology is correct is the degree to which we could understand reality, and the degree
to which we could use that knowledge to promote our lives and goals. Flaws in epistemology
will make it harder to accomplish anything.

Ethics

Ethics is the branch of study dealing with what is the proper course of action for man. It answers
the question, "What do I do?" It is the study of right and wrong in human endeavors. At a more
fundamental level, it is the method by which we categorize our values and pursue them. Do we
pursue our own happiness, or do we sacrifice ourselves to a greater cause? Is that foundation
of ethics based on the Bible, or on the very nature of man himself, or neither?

Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action. Without it,
our actions would be random and aimless. There would be no way to work towards a goal
because there would be no way to pick between a limitless number of goals. Even with an
ethical standard, we may be unable to pursue our goals with the possibility of success. To the
degree which a rational ethical standard is taken, we are able to correctly organize our goals
and actions to accomplish our most important values. Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our
ability to be successful in our endeavors.
Politics

Politics is ethics applied to a group of people. Politics tells you how a society must be set up
and how one should act within a society. The requirement for a political system is that the
individuals within that system are allowed to fully function according to their nature. If that's not
the case, they will either rebel, as in Czarist Russia, or the system will eventually collapse, as in
Communist Russia.

Reason is man's prime means of survival. A human being cannot survive in an environment
where reason is ineffective, and will thrive or starve to a degree in proportion to the
effectiveness of reason. This means that the prime goal of a political system must be the
preservation and enabling of the faculty of reason.

Reason does not function under coercion. A man can be forced to act at the point of a gun, but
he cannot be forced to think. Likewise, in an environment where might makes right, reason
cannot function because the fruits of rationality cannot be enjoyed. Why plant crops and
domesticate animals if any raider can come by and take them from you?

A moral political system must ban coercion. Or put another way, a moral political system must
ban the initiation of force, since retaliatory force is both just and necessary. This means there
must be some way to keep one person from killing, threatening, or robbing another. This is
accomplished by bestowing on government a monopoly on retaliatory force and objectifying
laws.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is the study of art. It includes what art consists of, as well as the purpose behind it.
Does art consist of music, literature, and painting? Or does it include a good engineering
solution, or a beautiful sunset? These are the questions that aimed at in esthetics. It also
studies methods of evaluating art, and allows judgments of the art. Is art in the eye of the
beholder? Does anything that appeals to you fit under the umbrella of art? Or does it have a
specific nature? Does it accomplish a goal?

Art has existed through all of recorded human history. It is unique to humans because of our
unique form of thinking. Its importance is based on this nature, specifically, man's ability to
abstract. Art is a little understood tool of man to bring meaning to abstract concept. Aesthetics is
important because it delves into the reason why art has always existed, the burning need of
mankind through the ages to see the world in a different, clear way. It further evaluates art by
the standard of human life, and whether it accomplishes the job of satisfying man's intellectual
needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make worse those needs.

Logic

Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the ''word'', or ''what is spoken'',
but coming to mean thought or reason is most often said to be the study of arguments.

Logic is the study of correct reasoning. However the subject is grounded, the task of the logician
is the same: to advance an account of valid and fallacious inference to allow one to distinguish.

EVALUATION: Kindly write your answer in your notebook!

 Write a short essay entitled Man and Philosophy. Try to answer the following questions in
your
essay:
 Define philosophy in your own words. What is its relevance to the life of the people in the
past and the present day?
 Do you agree with the statement that philosophy raises the quality of man's life? Why or
why
not?
 Who can be a philosopher? How can you be a philosopher and what is your philosophy
in life?

Greek Philosophers
 Thales (624-546 BCE)
 First philosopher to be known the Father of Western Philosophy
 He was also regarded as one of the Seven Sage
 Emphasized natural explanations while minimizing supernatural ones.
 The universe consists of natural substances and is governed by natural
principles.
 Universe is knowable and understandable.
 Thales searched for the one single substance from which all others were
derived- the physis/reality or primary element must be water.
 He believed the SEA was the Father of ALL Things.
 Thales was the first philosopher to assume that the Earth is flat.
 Anaximanders (610-546 B.C.)
 He is the student of Thales
 Physis/reality was a substance that had the capability of becoming anything
called the “boundless” or the “indefinite or apeiron.”
 He is very good in prose writer.
 He claimed that Apeiron has no precise characteristics.
 He believed that the Earth is cylindrical and is suspended in space.
 He was the first philosopher to attempt to draw a map.
 Anaximenes (585 -525 BCE)
 Probably a younger contemporary of Anaximander, whose pupil or friend he is
said to have been.
 He held the Physis/reality to be Air (translates to mist).
 Everything is air at different degrees of density, and under the influence of heat,
which expands, and of cold, which contracts its volume, it gives rise to the
several phases of existence.
 By claiming that the Earth and other Heavenly Bodies for that matter are like
saucers floating in air.
 Pythagoras (582-496 BCE)
 First to use the term philosopher and call himself a philosopher
 Explanation of the universe is found in numbers and numerical relationships
 Applied mathematical principles to human experience
 Numbers and numerical relationships were real and influenced the empirical
world
 He was credited to be the first Pre-Socratic Philosopher to use the term Logos
for his Cosmology
 Famous for his Pythagorean Theorem
 Heraclitus (535-475 BCE)
 He was known for the Mystical Nature of his Philosophy, especially his idea
on changed
 Nature is in a constant state of flux or change.
 Physis is fire because it transforms all things into something else.
 World is always “becoming” – never “is”.
 All things exist between polar opposites – must have opposites.
 He used flames of fire to emphasize the idea of changed.
 Democritus (460-360 B.C.)
 Developed the atomic theory.
 Taught that the universe was formed out of chaos through the joining of atoms
of like shape and size.
 Atoma = indivisible particles.
 “the laughing philosopher”
 Archimedes (287 - 212 B.C.)
 Greek mathematician – Geometry
 War machines and other devices
 Law of the lever
 Archimedean screw
 He invented one of the most fundamental concepts of physic—The center of
gravity
 Parmenides (510-440 BCE)
 a Greek philosopher from the colony of Elea in southern Italy
 He is known as the founder of the Eleatic School of philosophy which taught
a strict Monistic view of reality
  All things are constant; change is an illusion
 One reality: finite, uniform, motionless, and fixed
 Knowledge comes only through reason (rationalism)
 Sensory experience is not real, not to be trusted

The Three Most Famous Philosophers

 Socrates (469 - 399 B.C.)
 He is credited as one of the famou s founders of Western Philosophy.
 Encouraged students to think
 Left no writings – skeptical
 Popular among the youth
 Placed on trial for impiety and corrupting the youth
 Was executed in 399 – drank poison hemlock
 Plato (427 - 347 B.C.)
 One of the famous Greek philosopher, was born in Athen
 Preserved and perpetuated the work of Socrates
 Most important source of info on Socrates
 Founded the Academy
 Wrote dialogues
 Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.)
 Most famous student of Plato
 Most famous teacher of Alexander the Great
 Developed Logic as a field of study
 Devised a complex system of classification
 He was known as the intelligence of school and reader

AFTER READING:
Activity 2: The Allegory of the Cave’ by Plato (Short Coupon Bond)
Description: Students are introduced to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Student work individual to
analyze various parts of the allegory.
Goals: Students will be able to identify situations and issues where they have made changes
and need to make changes, particularly surfacing issues around why we choose to change or
not to change.
Objectives: Students will be able to define philosophy, allegory, and the images in The Allegory
of the Cave as they pertain to their lives.

The Allegory of the Cave’ by Plato

In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato distinguishes between people who mistake sensory
knowledge for the truth and people who really do see the truth. It goes like this:
The Cave
 Imagine a cave, in which there are three prisoners. The prisoners are tied to some rocks,
their arms and legs are bound and their head is tied so that they cannot look at anything
but the stonewall in front of them.
 These prisoners have been here since birth and have never seen outside of the cave.
 Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between them is a raised walkway.
 People outside the cave walk along this walkway carrying things on their head including;
animals, plants, wood and stone.
The Shadows
 So, imagine that you are one of the prisoners. You cannot look at anything behind or to
the side of you – you must look at the wall in front of you.
 When people walk along the walkway, you can see shadows of the objects they are
carrying cast on to the wall.
 If you had never seen the real objects ever before, you would believe that the shadows
of objects were ‘real.’
The Game
 Plato suggests that the prisoners would begin a ‘game’ of guessing which shadow would
appear next.
 If one of the prisoners were to correctly guess, the others would praise him as clever and
say that he were a master of nature.
The Escape
 One of the prisoners then escapes from their bindings and leaves the cave.
 He is shocked at the world he discovers outside the cave and does not believe it can be
 real.
 As he becomes used to his new surroundings, he realizes that his former view of reality
was wrong.
 He begins to understand his new world, and sees that the Sun is the source of life and
goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers beauty and meaning
 He see’s that his former life, and the guessing game they played is useless.

The Return
 He begins to understand his new world, and sees that the Sun is the source of life and
goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers beauty and meaning
 He see’s that his former life, and the guessing game they played is useless.

Module 1.1 Doing Philosophy (Continuation)

Motivation: (Notebook)
Write your insights regarding the meaning of goodness. Choose a topic regarding “good” and
“bad”: for example, the impacts of financial scams and frauds. How were the issues resolved?

Wisdom is the goal of Philosophy as follows:

1. Philosophy is Science
2. Philosophy as Natural Light of Reason
3. Philosophy as Study of All Things

Doing Philosophy
 To ask questions, to reflect, to formulate and evaluate arguments

Importance of Philosophical Reflection

Philosophical reflection
 is the process by which a person undergoes a reflective state or evaluates his or
her experiences first before making any related action.

Two Types of Philosophical Reflection

1. Primary Reflection
 Fragmented and compartmentalized thinking and instrumental thinking
 Is a kind of thinking that calculates, analyses or recounts past events
2. Secondary Reflection
 Integrates the fragmented and compartmentalized experience into a coherent
whole
 Allows us to think holistically

Apply a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic perspective

 Holistic Point of View
 Holism – comes from the Greek word “holos” whch literally means all, entire and
totality
 Refers to a perspective that considers large scale patterns in system
 Looks at all aspects of the given problem or situation
 All aspects are given importance when making conclusions
 All aspects are tied in together to form a general overview of the problem or
situation
 Partial Point of View
 Defined as a way or a method how one sees or perceives the reality or a
phenomenon
 Looks at only limited number of aspects of the given problem or situation
 Conclusions are made based on considering some, but not all, sides of the
problem or situation

The lack of refined tools and the lack of predecessors upon whom to stand;
Nevertheless, Filipinos do have their own Philosophy.
 LOOB : Holistic And Interior Dimension
1. KAGANDAHANG-LOOB, KABUTIHANG LOOB, KALOOBAN - Terms that
shows sharing of one’s self to others or pakikisama
2. Filipino Philosophy Of Time “Gulong Ng Palad” Pakikisama “ Close To
Japanese And Chinese Philosophy Of Living Harmony With Nature India’s
 “Law Of Karma” China’s Yin And Yang
3. Filipino time - is mistakenly interpreted as always delayed in the committed
time of arrival this notion can be misleading since the Filipino farmers are
early risers to go to their field and waste no time for work
4. The concept of SIESTA TIME (POWER NAPS) - is also important for Filipino
Culture that must not be necessarily considered negative
5. BAHALA NA - The pre-Spanish Filipino people believed in a Supreme Being
BATULA OR BATHALA

Fatalism Filipino Thought and Values: Positive And Negative Aspects

 Positive Aspects
1. Utang Na Loob (Indebtedness To Patrons) - is an obligation to
appropriately repay a person who has done one a favor
2. Bayanihan – is a Filipino custom derived from a Filipino word “bayan”,
which means nation, town or community
3. Hospitality - the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of
guests, visitors, or strangers
4. Respectful(mano,po and opo,halik sa kamay) - Some of the most
common words for showing respect in a Filipino household are po and opo
5. Hardworking - working intelligently and vigorously at a given task to
complete it with maximum efficiency
6. Loving and caring - thinking about someone, wishing the best for that
person, doing the best to make him or her happy and well, caring for that
person just as much as if not more than yourself that's what love is

 Negative Aspects
1. We complain a lot
2. Crab mentality - is a way of thinking best described by the phrase if I can't
have it, neither can you
3. Paasa - when someone flirts with someone else and seems interested but
it turns out they had no real intentions with that person
4. Ningas kugon - is actually a Filipino idiom which describes someone who
is only doing well, in whatever it is that they’re doing, during the beginning
5. Padrino system - is the value system where one gains favor, promotion, or
political appointment through family affiliation (nepotism) or friendship
(cronyism), as opposed to one's merit
6. Favoritism - he practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one
person or group at the expense of another
7. Always Late
8. Mañana Habit - means “Mamaya na” or “Do it Later”

Evaluation: (Notebook)
A. Check Your Knowledge
Answer the following questions.
1. He invented one of the most fundamental concepts of physic—the center of gravity.
2. He claimed that reality is the infinite or apeiron.
3. According to him, REALITY is water.
4. Philosophy means ___________.
5. Which philosophy deals with human reality and system of human thoughts?
6. Etymologically, what does philo mean?
7. This is a kind of thinking that calculates analyses or recounts past events.
8. He believed that the primary constituents of reality are atoms.
9. According to him, “Just as our soul being air holds us together, so do breathe and air
encompass the whole world”.
10. “Virtual reality vs The Real Thing” is under which philosophy?
11. The First Philosopher who draw the map of the world.
12. Theory or study of morality.
13. The Greek word of Sophia _________.
14. The study of the scope of knowledge. Example what can I know and how? What guarantee
do I have of judgements that are based of memory? It usually called “Theory of Knowledge”.
15. He used flames of fire to emphasize the idea of changed.
16. He is known as the founder of the Eleatic School of philosophy.
17. He was known as the intelligence of school and reader
18. He believed that the primary constituent of reality consists of numbers.
19. This is the process by which a person undergoes a reflective state or evaluates his or her
experiences first before making any related action.
20. One of the famous Greek philosopher and he founded the Academy.

Module 2: Method of Philosophizing

Motivation: (Notebook)
Solve these brainteasers:
1. If you are traveling, how do you ensure your safety? How can you avoid being with someone
who might fool or hurt you?
2. If you are browsing the Internet, how can you determine if the site is secure and safe?

Philosophizing
 Is a way to reveal the truth about various stages of life and everything associated with it
 Is to think or express oneself in a philosophical manner
 It considers or discusses a (matter) from a philosophical standpoint

Truth and Knowledge

 TRUTH
 lies at the heart of any inquiry. it is a fact that has been verified
 KNOWLEDGE
 is simple data that comes from the outside that pass to our senses it must be
truthful to gain validity and acceptance
 PROPOSITIONS
 are statements about the world or reality which may or may not carry truth

HOW CAN PHILOSOPHY GUIDE US IN DISTINGUISHING TRUTH FROM OPINION?

 BELIEFS
 are statements that express convictions that are not easily and clearly explained
by facts

 EXPLANATIONS
 are statements that assume the claim to be true and provide reasons why
statement is true
 ARGUMENTS
 are series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader or listener
that claim or opinion is truthful
 BIASES
 are the personal views of the person presenting it

Distinguishing Between FACT AND OPINION

a) OPINIONS
An opinion is a statement that cannot be proved or checked
It tells what someone thinks, feels, or believes
Clue words for opinion statements are:
think, feel, believe, seem
always, never, all, none, most, least, best, greatest, worst
b) FACTS
Facts are statements that can be checked or proved
We can check facts by conducting some sort of experiment, observation, or by
verifying (checking) the fact with a source document
Facts often contain numbers, dates, or ages
Facts might include specific information about a person, place or thing

Method of Philosophizing are the following:

A. Phenomenology: On Consciousness
 The study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as
a preface to or a part of philosophy.
 comes from the two greek words:
 phainomenon – which means appearance
  logos – which means reason/study
 etymologically speaking: means the study of phenomenon

 Edmund Husserl—founder of forerunner of Modern Phenomenology

 Where the truth is based on the person’s consciousness
 Husserl’s Model Of Phenomenology
1. NATURAL ATTITUDE
 reality is separable from the subjective experience of it.
2. PHENOMENOLOGICAL ATTITUDE
 suspend/bracket the natural attitude

 Husserl’s formulates several phenomenological “reductions” and their shifts.

a) Epoche or “suspension” brackets all the questions of truth and reality and
simply describes the contents of consciousness.
b) Focuses on the essential features the meaning of consciousness

B. Existentialism: On Freedom
Existentialism - is the importance of free individual choice regardless of the power of the
people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions

Common Themes in Existentialism

1. Existence Precedes Essence: Existentialism gets its name from an insistence
that life is only understandable in terms of an individual’s existence, his particular
life experience
2. Dread and Anxiety:
o Dread - is a feeling of general apprehension
o Anxiety - stems from our understanding and recognition of the total
freedom of choice that confronts us every moment, and the individual’s
confrontation with nothingness
3. Absurdity: life is absurd and reason is useless in dealing with the depths of
human life
4. Alienation: The development of science has “separated man from concrete
earthy existence, and forced him to live at a high level of abstraction
5. Encounter with Nothingness and Death: If man is alienated from nature, God,
neighbors, and self, what is left?
6. Freedom: all of these ideas either describe some loss of individuals’ freedom or
some threat to it, and all existentialists of whatever sort are considered to
enlarge the range of human freedom

Some of the Existentialists

 Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
a) Insisted that the authentic self was personally chosen self as opposed to
public or “herd identity”.
b) Father of existentialism.
c) Rejected Plato and Aristotle (the idea that the essence of something
determines what it is “essence before existence.”
 Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
1. Most controversial and most important
2. Looks at life critically
3. Reflects upon the concept of Nihilism (life is senseless and useless), Saw
society heading down a trivial, meaningless path of existence. Anarchy,
terrorism, or other revolutionary activity.
4. Frustrated with the practice of Christianity during his life time… “God is
dead.”
5. There is not one way of looking at human behavior. “Perspectivalism:”
observing life based on your own personal perspective.
 Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
a) French Philosopher who emphasized the importance of free individual
choice regardless of the power of other people to influence and coerce our
desires, beliefs and decisions.

A. Experiential Learning:
 o Share your experiences on the times you did not use reason in your life but rather, you
relied more on emotions or opinions of the other people. What did you learn from the
experience?

B. Check your Knowledge: (Notebook)

Answer the following questions:
1. This is to think or express oneself in a philosophical manner.
2. These are the statements about the world or reality which may or may not carry truth.
3. This is the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a
preface to or a part of philosophy.
4. He rejected Plato and Aristotle (the idea that the essence of something determines what it is
“essence before existence.”
5. Brackets all the questions of truth and reality and simply describes the contents of
consciousness.
6. He was a French Philosopher who emphasized the importance of free individual choice.
7. The development of science has “separated man from concrete earthy existence, and forced
him to live at a high level of abstraction.
8. This is the importance of free individual choice regardless of the power of the people to
influence and coerce our desires, beliefs, and decisions.
9-10. Give me the two Greek words of Phenomenology?

C. Analytic Tradition
 Attempts to clarify, by analysis, the meaning of statements and concepts
 Language
a) Cannot objectively describe truth.
b) The most fruitful source of logical construction.
c) It is by the analysis of language that we are brought to knowledge of reality
beyond it.
 “Analysis” refers to a method; owing a great deal to the pioneers, Bertrand
Russell, G.E., Moore, Wittgenstein an J.L Austin.
 Analytic Philosophers
1. Gottlob Frege (1848-1925)
 Recognized as father of analytic philosophy
 Logicism (reduction of mathematics to pure logic; i.e. no
psychologism or intuition)
 Quantification theory
2. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
 Logicism
 Principia Mathematica 1910-13 with Alfred North Whitehead
 1916 dismissed from Cambridge and imprisoned during Great War
for pacifism
 He thought that the grammar of ordinary language was misleading.
 He thought that the world was composed of atomic facts and that
proposition.
3. Ludwig Wittgenstein
 An analytic philosopher, language is socially conditioned.
 His Tractatus Logico—put forward the picture theory of meaning.
4. Richard Rorty (1931-2007)
 Major critic of analytic philosophy
 Though analytically trained himself
 Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature 1980
5. Gilbert Ryle (1900-76)
 Linguistic philosophy, in the mid-20th century.
 Linguistic philosophers thought many of the traditional problems of
philosophy could be dissolved by the careful study of language as it
is used.

D. Logic and Critical Thinking: Tools in Reasoning

 It is the centered in the analysis and construction of arguments.
 Two Types of Reasoning
 1) Inductive Reasoning (observations in order to make generalizations often
applied in prediction, forecasting or behaviour)
2) Deductive Reasoning (draws conclusion from usually one broad
judgements or definition and one more specific assertion often an
inference)
E. Fallacies
 To detect fallacies it is required to examine the argument’s content.
 Usual errors in reasoning and thus coming up with false conclusion and worse,
distorting the truth.
a) Appeal to pity (Argumentum ad misericordiam)—using emotions such as pity
and sympathy
 Example: You can’t fire me. I have a wife and 12 kids who will go hungry
if I lose this job.
b) Appeal to Ignorance (Argumentum ad ignorantiam)—whatever has not been
proved false must be true and vice versa
 Example: No one can actually prove that God exists; therefore God does
not exist.
c) Equivocation—this is a logical chain of reasoning of a term or a word several
times but giving the particular word a different meaning each time
 Example: Human beings have hands; the clock has hands.
d) Composition—assuming that what is true of a part is true for the whole
 Example: Each brick in that building weighs less than a pound. Therefore
the building weighs less than a pound
e) Division—assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts
 Example: You come from a family of doctors and lawyers! Surely, you
can do better in this course!
f) Against the Person (Argumentum ad Hominem)—attacking the person
instead of the argument itself
 Example: Of course he believes that the government is flawed, he is a
rebel and a Communist.
g) Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad baculum)—using the threat of force or an
undesirable event to advance an argument
 Example: If you do not agree with my political opinions you will receive
flat 70 on your card.
h) Appeal to the people (Argumentum as populum)—an argument that appeals
or exploits people’s vanities, desire for esteem and anchoring on popularity
 Example: I will pray online, why not go to church, who will “tag” my
prayer there.
i) False Cause (Post hoc)—assuming a cause and effect relationship between
unrelated events
 Example: Every time you wear your red scarf, you cry. You should get rid
of it.
j) Hasty Generalization—the generalization is reached too hastily. There are
too few instances or evidences to support such a conclusion.
 Example: You can’t speak French. I can’t speak French. Carla can’t
speak French; therefore, nobody in this school can speak French.
k) Begging the question(petition principia)—assuming that the thing or idea to
be proven is true
 Example: God exists because the bible says so, Why we can trust what
the Bible says? Easy, the Bible is the word of God.

Guided Learning: (Notebook)

 Explain the importance of logic and critical thinking.
 Give five examples of fallacies and how they occur in life. How can we avoid fallacies?
 How can we differentiate truth from opinion? Explain in five sentences.

Evaluation: (Notebook)
Answer the following questions and circle the correct answer.
1. As soon they started to put vitamins and minerals in breakfast cereal, many of my friends
started to die. We obviously shouldn’t mess with natural whole grains, should we? This
passage commits the fallacy of.
a. Begging the questions
 b. False Cause
c. Equivocation
d. Accident
2. The assertion that what is true of the part is true of the whole or assuming that what is
true for the individual is true for the group is an example of.
a. Composition
b. False Cause
c. Equivocation
d. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
3. Being overweight leads to a shortened lifespan because it’s unhealthy.
a. Appeal to Ignorance
b. Against the person
c. Begging the question
d. Appeal to the people
4. Don’t believe what Kim says about global warming, Kim dropped out of college.
a. Appeal to Force
b. Division
c. Against the Person (Argumentum ad hominem)
d. Hasty Generalization
5. You must have graded my exam incorrectly. I studied very hard for weeks specifically
because I know my career depended on getting a good grade. If you give me a falling
grade I’m ruined.
a. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
b. False Cause
c. Equivocation
d. Composition
6. Commercials that show starving children in Africa before asking for donations to feed
them.
a. Division
b. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
c. Equivocation
d. Composition
7. When you did not finish an assignment on time, you tell your teacher about how your
printer was out of ink, but that you didn’t want to ask your mom to go out to the store
because she work nights, doesn’t get much sleep and she was sleeping.
a. Against the person
b. Begging the question
c. Composition
d. Appeal to Pity
8. No one can actually prove that God exists, therefore God does not exist.
a. Appeal to Ignorance
b. Against the person
c. Begging the question
d. Appeal to the people
9. The brick wall is six feet tall, thus, the bricks in the wall are six feet tall.
a. Division
b. Appeal to Pity
c. Equivocation
d. Composition
10. Christine has a terrible experience with a boyfriend. She decides that all boys are mean.
a. Appeal to Ignorance
b. Against the person
c. Hasty Generalization
d. Appeal to the people
11. I have the right to watch “The Real World”. Therefore it’s right for me to watch the show.
So I think I’ll watch this “The Real World” marathon tonight instead of studying for my
exam.
a. Appeal to Ignorance
b. Against the person
c. Begging the question
d. Equivocation
12. I don’t see how you can say you’re an ethical person. It’s so hard to get you to do
anything your work ethic is so bad.
a. Division
b. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
c. Equivocation
d. Composition
13. A friend who means a great deal to you desperately wants to be the top runner in the
school. Before a track meet, your friend says to you, if you don’t let me win the race
makes sense, don’t you think?
a. Begging the question
b. Appeal to Force
c. Composition
d. Division
14. Nine out of ten people in the United States claim this bill is a bad idea therefore this bill is
bad for the people.
a. Appeal to the People
b. Against the Person
c. Appeal to Force
d. Hasty Generalization
15. Because Professional Sports players are paid outrageous salaries, every Professional
Sports player must be rich.
a. Division
b. Appeal to Force
c. Appeal to the People
d. Against the Person
16. A cat who has roamed freely around a house speaks to a mouse that is hiding behind the
wall. Through the hole in the wall the cat says to the mouse, “Come on Out! All the
furniture out here is made of cheese!
a. Against the Person
b. Appeal to Force
c. Hasty Generalization
d. Appeal to Ignorance
17. If you don’t accept that the Sun Orbits the Earth rather than the other way around, then
you’ll be excommunicated from the Church.
a. Appeal to Force
b. Division
c. Appeal to Ignorance
d. Composition
18. It is dark now which makes it very dangerous.
a. Composition
 b. False Cause
c. Equivocation
d. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
19. The Universe has existed for 15 billion years. The Universe is made out of molecules.
Therefore, each of the molecules in the Universe has existed for 15 billion years.
a. Appeal to Ignorance
b. Composition
c. Division
d. Hasty Generalization
20. Watching TV that close will make you go blind so move back!
a. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam)
b. Composition
c. False Cause
d. Equivocation

Module 3: Human Person as an Embodied Spirit

A. Hinduism
 Is a religious or a way of life, widely practiced in the Indian
 one of the largest known organized religions. It is one of the most diverse and
complex having a million of Gods. Hindus have a variety of core beliefs and
exist in many different although is the 3rd largest religion in the world.

Main Texts of Hinduism

 Vedas (considered the most important)
- the large body of texts containing hymns, poems and ceremonial formulas
originating in ancient India. They form the oldest layer of Sanskrit Literature and
the oldest sacred of texts of hinduism
 Upanishads
- are ancient Sanskrit texts that contain some of the central philosophical concepts
and ideas of Hinduism
 The Mahabharata and Ramayana
- These writing contain hyms, incantations, philosophies, rituals, poems, and stories
from which Hindus based on their beliefs.

The Hindu Belief System:

 Liberation or Moksha
 Freedom from rebirth
 Is achieved the moment the individual affairs that the stage of life emancipation
from which inevitably arises a total realization by the individual of spiritual
nature as well as transient character of the body.
 Dharma
 Is the moral force that orders the universe
 Karma
 Is the Hindu belief that a person’s action in life will determine their fate in the next
life

Brahman
 Is derived from the root “brh” which denotes greatness and is therefore applicable to
all objects which nature and qualities.

AUM (OM)
 Is the root of the universe and everything that exists continues to hold everything
together.
According to Hinduism:
 Human beings have a dual nature:
a. One is the spiritual and immortal essence (soul)
b. Empirical Life and Character

Hindus
 Generally believe that the soul is eternal but is bound by the law of KARMA (action)
to the world of matter which it can escape only after spiritual progress through an
endless series of births.

Samsara
 Refers to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth to the passing of the soul from one life
to another.

Transmigration or Metempsychosis
 Is a doctrine that adheres to the belief that a person’s soul passes into some other
creature, human, or animals.

Liberation or Moksha
 Is achieved the moment the individual affairs that the stage of life emancipation from
which inevitably arises a total realization by the individual of spiritual nature as well
as transient character of the body

Upanishads
 The ideas are about the spiritual core of Hindus
 Referred as Vedanta

ATMAN
 Means “soul” or “individual soul”
 refers to the essence of each individual living thing-its soul or primary living energy.
Is not the body, body is not eternal

The Three Triumvirates of Hinduism

1. Lord Brahma - Creator God
2. Lord Vishnu - The Protector/Preserver
3. Lord Shiva - The Destroyer

B. BUDDHISM: From Tears to Enlightenment

Buddhism
 Another major Eastern tradition

Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha

 Later known as Buddha, was a prince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal in approximately
566 BC.
 He began searching for answers to the riddle of life’s sufferings, disease, and old
age death.

Dharma or Law of Salvation

 A simple presentation of the gospel of inner cultivation of right spiritual attitudes,
coupled with a self-imposed discipline whereby bodily desires would be
channelled in the right directions.

The Four Noble Truths, Gautama taught:

 1. Life is full of suffering
2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, cravings
3. Only as these are obliterated will suffering cease
4. Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the Eightfold
Path of earnest endeavour

“Eightfold Path”
1) Right belief in and acceptance of the “Fourfold Path”
2) Right aspiration for one’s self and for others
3) Right speech that harms no one
4) Right conduct, motivated by good will toward all human beings
5) Right means livelihood or earning one’s living by honourable means
6) Right endeavour or effort to direct one’s energies toward wise ends
7) Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought
8) Right meditation or concentration to the point of complete absorption in mystic
ecstasy

Lotus Flower
 A symbol of purity and goodness
 A lotus begins life in the mud at the bottom of a pond and rises to the surface of to
blossom

Three Jewels of Buddhism

 Buddha (Yellow)
 Dharma (Blue)
 Sangha (Red)

C. Biblical God and Humanity

5th Century (St. Augustine)
 Is considered to be the most influential in the early medieval period.
 Affirms the absolute unity and the spirituality of the human soul.

The Three Faculties by St. Augustine

 Intellective Memory
 Intelligence
 Will

The Three Kinds of Evil

 Metaphysical evil
 Is the lack of a perfection not due to a given nature
 Physical evil
 Consists in the privation of perfection due to nature
 Moral evil
 The only true evil or sin

Theistic hypothesis
 They treat that “God exists” as a hypothesis

Religious people definitely do not treat God’s existence as a hypothesis for God is constant
presence, rather than being whose existence is accepted as the best explanation of
available evidence.

For The Biblical Writers

  Proving God’s existence would be as pointless as trying to prove the existence of
the air we breathe.

According to St. Thomas, God is being, God is existence. God is not something among all
the other things in this world. Rather, the world is, instead, “within” God, so to speak.

The Five Ways of proving God are these:

 The Way of Motion: Things move and change. Things are put into motion by something
else. There cannot be an infinite regress; therefore there must have been an initial
unmoved mover. This we call God.
 The Way of Causation: All things have an immediate or efficient cause. The efficient
causes cannot go back infinitely, so there must be a first, uncaused cause. This we call
God.
 The Way of Contingency: It is not necessary for any particular thing to exist; they are,
rather, contingent things. All possible things at one point did not exist. If all things are
merely contingent, then at one time things did not exist. There must be a necessary
essence that caused all contingent things to be. This we call God.
 The Way of Goodness: Things have degrees of perfection—larger or smaller, heavier or
lighter, warmer or colder. Degrees imply the existence of a maximum of perfection. This
maximum perfection we call God.
 The Way of Design: Things in this world are ordered to particular ends. Even
unintelligent things are predisposed to this and not that. This order inherent in even
inanimate things necessitates an intelligence to direct it. This intelligence we call God.
That unity is infinite, and contains within it intrinsically all perfection—all truth, beauty,
goodness, life, justice, wisdom, and all the perfections there are, which, when brought to
their infinite fullness are all one, and are God.

Checking your Understanding (Notebook)

1. Choose a hero/heroine. It could be based on a film you have watched. What qualities do you
admire from your hero or heroine? Why? Jot down memorable lines you find meaningful in the
film.
2. Based on the eight fold path, which is the most applicable to cultivate in your family and
friends?
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 111/12

Lesson 4: The Human Person in the Environment

Human Person
 Is a living being that contains a real and existing direct to its development
toward fulfilment through perfect, unconditional, and infinite, love goodness,
beauty and unity and will do so if all the proper conditions are met.
 Has a human body but there are 3 non bodily human components that a human
person has:
 Spirit
 Mind
 Soul

Environment
 The sum total of all surroundings of a living organism including natural forces
and other living things which provide conditional development and growth as
well as of danger and damage.

Sustainable Development
 the concept of “needs” in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor and
the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social
organization on the environment’s.

Three Important Principles Of Sustainability

1. Environmental Integrity - refers to maintaining the state of the environment
2. Environmental Ethics - the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral
relationship of human beings to and also the value and moral status
3. Equity - demands that we use our natural resources in such a manner that these
are conserved

Learning Activity 1:
Poster-Making with a theme: “Save Mother Earth”
Using a long coupon bond and coloring materials, make a draw/sketch creatively the output
about environment/nature.

Views On The Attribution Of Moral Consideration:

 Anthropocentric Model
 Humans are the superior and the central of the universe, thus it is human
centered.
 Sometimes human adopt an the exploitive attitude whenever nature is
merely considered as an instruments for one’s profit and gain.
 It follows that human arrogance toward nature is justifiable in order to
satisfy human interest.

Some Effects of Anthropocentric Model

 Earth Pollution
 Soil Erosion
 Famine
 Stronger Typhoons
 Illegal Logging of Trees
 Oil Spill

 Ecocentric Model
 This concept believes that ecology is the central and most significant part of
the earth.
 Nature centered view of the earth
 The environment is the most important and should be well catered for humans
for their own sake.
 It devoted to preserving the totality of the earth biodiversity and the functioning
of its life supporting system.
Three Theories about the Ecocentric Model

o Deep Ecology
 Is an ecological crisis is an outcome of anthropocentrism
 The controlling attitude of humankind is extended to nature when infact
humanity is part of nature
 Arne Naess
 He is a Norwegian philosopher that develop the deep ecology
 For him, asserting that all life forms have an equal right to exist and
human needs and desires have no priority over those of other
organisms
 He believes that the living environment should be respected and
regarded as having the rights to flourish, independent of its utility to
humans
 He was the founder of deep ecology
 Deep ecologists encourage humanity to shift away from anthropocentrism
to ecocentrism

o Social Ecology
 Is an ecological crisis results from authoritarian social structures
 Destroying nature is a reflection wherein few people overpower others
while exploiting the environment for profit and self interest
 Social ecologists call for small-scale societies which recognize that
humanity is linked with the well-being of the natural world in which human
life depends
 Murray Bookchin
 He is American Anarchist and Libertarian Socialist Author founded
the critical social theory called Social Ecology
 He conceptualized as a critique of current social, political and anti-
ecological trends, it espouses a reconstructive, ecological,
communitarian and ethical approach to society
 He was the proponent of social ecology

o Ecofeminism
 This theory argues that ecological crisis is a consequence of male
dominance.
 It is also called ecological feminism, branch of feminism that examines the
connections between women and nature
 Its name was coined by French Feminist Mary Wollstonecraft
 A philosophical idea that combines feminism and ecology concerns,
emphasizing that both suffer from their treatment by a male
dominated society
 Comes from the idea that women and nature have significant
connection since women most often have a close association with
nature in many societies due to the nature of their traditional roles

Eight Carbon Footprints:

1) Construction
2) Shelter
3) Food
4) Clothing
5) Mobility
6) Manufactured Goods
7) Services
8) Trade

Ancient Thinkers
1) Anaximander
 A Pre-Socratic Philosopher and Scientist said about the Creation-Destruction
 For him, he sketch the genesis of the world through Cosmology
 The evolution of the world begins
with the generation of opposites
 in a certain region of Nature
 Nature is indeterminate or boundless in the sense that no boundaries between
warm and moist or the moist and dry regions are originally present within.
2) Pythagoras
 According to him, universe is a living embodiment of nature order, harmony and
beauty
 He sees our relationship with the universe involving:
1) Biophilia – love of other living things
2) Cosmophilia – love of other living beings
3) Chinese Cosmic Conception
 Based on the assumption that all happen to the universe is a continuous whole
like a chain of natural consequences
 The universe follow the primeval pair, the yang and the yin
 Yin – is the emblem or the shady side and its characteristics
- the side mountain it is dark, cool and moist
- a Female and it occupies the lower
 Yang – is the emblem or the sunny side and its qualities
- the side mountain it is brightful, dry and warm
- a Male and it occupies the higher

Modern Thinkers
1) Immanuel Kant
 For him, Beauty is ultimately a symbol of morality (goodness)
 He believes that the orderliness of nature and the harmony of nature with our
faculties guide us toward a deeper religious perspective
 We must ignore any practical motive or inclinations that we have and instead
contemplate the object without being distracted by our desires
2) Herbert Marcuse
 He is a German American, Sociologist and Politician
 He said about the power of humans over nature
3) George Herbert Mead
 He is a American, Sociologist and Psychologist
 He tackled about our duties and responsibilities
4) Erich Fromm
 He is a Psychoanalyst and Social Philosopher, studied the emotional
problems common in the societies
 He incorporated the effects that economics and social factors have on human
behaviour.

Prudence
 Is defined as the ability to have a good judgement that allows avoidance of dangers
and risks

Frugality
 Is the act of using money or other resources wisely and practically

Signs that may easily point to Environmental Disorganization

1. Lack of Resources: the environment is both a producer and consumer for all species.
The unavailability of a particular local by product may imply excessive disturbance that is
not at par with its reproduction.
2. Things are not in place: the environment exhibits a sense of chaos or confusion. It does
not create a place of comfort and warmth.

Performance Task 1: Travelogue Project

Instruct individual to research about some beautiful tourist spots in our country. Ask the student
to make a “TRAVELOGUE” or a brochure which contains the following information:
1. Route Map
2. Short History
3. Pictures and descriptions of the tourist spots in the place
4. Foods and Delicacies
Passed on the date: November 22, 2019
Quiz 1: (25pts)
Situational Analysis:
Read and answer the following questions:
A self-supporting college student works part-time as a service crew to beable to fund his
education. He earns php 2,000.00 more than what he needs to pay for monthly expenses. With
this extra money, he could have bought the expensive watch he always wanted. Thinking
practically, he decided to save his money in the bank instead.

Guide Questions:
1. How will you describe this college student? (5pts)
2. What qualities does he possess regarding handling his money? (10pts)
3. How can you relate his behaviour to current environmental trends? (10pts)

Lesson 5: Freedom of the Human Person

Sensitivity Check: Place in a coupon bond

Concept Mapping: Write your concepts about FREEDOM.

Human Acts
 are actions done intentionally, free and deliberate of a person
 these are actions that a man properly master for he does them with full knowledge
and of his own will

 Essential Attributes Of Human Acts

1. Knowledge - an act is done knowingly, when the doer is conscious (all
senses are active, sensory-perception is functional) and aware of the reason
and the consequences on his actions.
2. Freedom - an act is done when doer acts by his own initiative and choice
without being forced to do so by another person or situation.
3. Voluntariness - an act is done willfully when the doer consents to the acts,
accepting it as his own and assumes accountability for its consequences.

Acts Of A Man
 are instinctive such as physiological in nature
 these are actions done under the circumstances of ignorance, passion, fear,
violence and habits.

 Actions Are Done Under The Circumstances Of:

1. Ignorance - in general, it is lack of knowledge regarding a certain thing
2. Fear - is a mental agitation brought on by the apprehension of some present
or imminent danger
3. Passion – considered as mental responses, either tendencies towards
desirable objects or tendencies away from undesirable objects
4. Habits – is a constant disposition that tends to influence one to perform
repeatedly similar actions
5. Violence - is a force exerted on a person by another in order to compel him to
perform a certain actions against his will

Freedom

 Stands For Something Greater Than Just The Right To Act

 Is Doing What You Want Without Being Controlled Or Manipulated
 Is The Right Or Power To Speak, Act And Think Without Restraint

I Choose
 Stands For Serving To Everyone An Equal Opportunity For Life, Liberty And The
Pursuit Of Happiness

Realize That “ All Actions Have Consequences”

A. Aristotle
  Most Famous Student Of Plato
 He Developed The Logic As A Field Of Study
 He Was Known As The Intelligence Of School And Reader
 For Him, All Actions Have Consequences
 He Believes That Every Individual Has A Freedom To Exercise His/Her Own Will
Aristotle Cycle Of Intelligence Freedom
 Will – Is Very Important Because It Is The Driving Force Of Every Individual To
Show And Parts Into Action All That He/She Wants To Do As Dictated By His/Her
Thought
 Action – If Reason Is Good And Will Is Present This May Result To A Good Action
 Reason – Is A Divine Characteristics And Humans Have The Spark Of The Divine

B. St. Thomas Aquinas (Love Is Freedom)

 He Came From A Noble Family From Naples
 He Joined The Dominican Order Against His Family Wishes
 He Stands At The Top Group Of Thinkers Known As Scholastics
 He Is Also Known As The Greatest Christian Medieval Theologian Philosopher
 His Friends Playfully Called Him “Dumb Ox”
 For Him, Love Is Freedom
 He Also Considers The Human Being As An Moral Agent
 Aquinas Gives A Fourfold Classification Of Law
 Eternal Law - Is A Decree Of God That Governs All Creation. It Is That
Law Which Is Supreme Reason Cannot Be Understood To Be Otherwise
Than Unchangeable And Eternal
 Natural Law- Is The Human “Participation” In The Eternal Law And Is
Discovered By Reason
 Divine Law – The Sacred Text And Teaching Of The Church Which Are
Made Known Through
 Human Law – Are Basically Socio-Economic Contracts Divided Two
Categories:
1. Criminal Law – Provides Punishment For Illegal Crimes
2. Civil Law – Determines The Rights

C. St. Thomas Aquinas:

Spiritual Freedom
 He Establishes The Existence Of God As A First Cause
 Of All God’s Creations, Human Beings Have The Unique Power To Change
Themselves And Things Around Them For The Better.
 As A Human We Are Both Material And Spiritual
 We Have A Conscience Because Our Spirituality
 God Is Love And Love Is Our Destiny

D. Jean Paul Sartre: Individual Freedom

 An Existentialist Philosopher Of The Contemporary Period
 For Him, The Fullest Realization Of One’s Manhood Is Found In The Recognition
That One’s Very Activity Is Freedom Itself
 Man Is Actually Free And Indeterminate Because There Is No God To Conceive Man
As A Definable Essence Rather Than Being An Essence, Man Is The Structureless
Phenomenon Of Consciousness In The World
 Sartre’s Philosophy Is Considered To Be The Representative Of Existentialism
 For Him, Human Person Is The Desire To Be God, The Desire To Exist As A Being
Which Has Its Sufficient Ground In Itself
 The Human Person Builds The Road To The Destiny Of His/Her Choosing And
He/She Is The Creator
 Sartre’s Existentialism Stems From This Principle: Existence Precedes Essence
 According To Sartre, He Emphasizes The Importance Of Free Individual Choice
Regardless Of The Power Of The Other People To Influence And Coerce Our
Desires, Beliefs And Decisions.

Guided Learning:
Critique
1. Explain Sartre’s belief: “Human being is free, human being is freedom”.
 2. Can the world, with all its power, grandeur, and glory, satisfy to the fullest measure our
desire for perfect and everlasting happiness? Explain your answer.

E. Thomas Hobbes: Theory Of Social Contract

 He Was Born In London In 1588
 He Received His College Education At Oxford University In England, Where He
Studied Classics
 He Was One Of The Founders Of Modern Political Philosophy
 He Travelled To Other European Countries Several Times To Meet With Scientists
And To Study Different Forms Of Government
 Argues In Favour Of Absolute Monarchy
 He Believed That Humans Were Basically Selfish Creatures Who Would Do Anything
To Better Their Position And Left To Themselves, He Thought People Would Act On
Their Evil Impulses
 He Published His Book, The Leviathan, In 1651. In This Book He Gave A Striking
Exposition Of The Theory Of Social Contract
 His Object Was To Defend The Absolute Power Of The Monarch And He Used The
Doctrine Of The Social Contract To Support It
 Believed That Life In The State Of Nature Is “Solitary, Poor, Nasty, Brutish And Short”
 Views On The Social Contract Theory
 When We Came Into Contact With Other People We Entered A
Society
 When We Created State And Government We Entered A Social
Contract
 Views On The State Of Nature
 Is Dangerous Place, And “Life Of Man” Is “Solitary, Poor, Nasty,
Brutish, And Short”
 Characterized As The Pre-Social Phase Of Human Nature
 “The Liberty That Each Man Has To Use His Own Power For The
Preservation Of His Own Nature”.
 Views On The Sovereign
 The Legitimate Head Of State After The Social Contract:
 A Person Or Group Of Persons, Such As Monarch Or A Government
 The People Representing Themselves
 Laws Of Nature – (As Justice, Equity, Modesty, Mercy And In Sum Doing To Others
As We Would Be Done To) Of Themselves, Without The Terror Of Some Powers To
Cause Them To Observed Are Contrary To Our Natural Passions That Carry Us To
Partially, Pride, Revenge And The Like
 First Law Of Nature: That Each Person Should Seek To Live With
Others In Peace
 Second Law Of Nature: That Each Person Should Only Retain The
Right To As Much Liberty As He Or She Is Willing To Allow To Others
 Third Law Of Nature: Natures States That It Is Not Simply To Make
Contracts But That We Are Required To Keep The Contracts We
Make
 Monarchy
 The Preference He Gave More Was On The Monarchic Government
Calling It As A Best Form Of Government
 He Believed The Only Division Of The Power Between Kings, Lords
And Commons Was Responsible Who Could Bring Civil War And Yet
A Source Of Destruction It Was
 It Guarantees Stability And Uniformity Which Actually Helps
Preventing From Falling Into Any Chaotic Situation In Any Type Of
Country Having This Particular Form Of Government
 Commonwealth
 As An “Artificial Person” And As A Body Politic That Mimics The
Human Body

F. Jean Jacques Rousseau: Theory Of Social Contract

 He Was Born In Geneva Switzerland
 He Lost His Mother Only A Few Days Later And His Older Brother (His Only Sibling)
Ran Away From Home While He Was Very Young Child, Leaving Him To Be Raised
 By His Father.
 His Father, Who Had Read The Greek And Roman Tales Had Gotten Into An
Argument With A French Captain
 He Published The Social Contract In 1762
 Government Should Be Based On A Social Contract
 Everyone Must Agree To Be Governed By The General Will, What’s Good For The
People (Foundation For Totalitarian Government)
 Humans Being Were Naturally Good But Corrupted By Society
 Importance On Education And Civic Virtue – Train People How To Be Good Citizens
 People Should Pay More Attention To Emotions And Feelings Instead Of New Ideas –
Seek A Balance-
 Views On Social Contract
 The Agreement Through Which Each Person Enters Into Civil Society
 The Contract Binds People Into A Community That Exists For Mutual
Preservation
 We Sacrifice Physical Freedom To Gain Civil Freedom (Rational
Thought)
 Administration: Two Parts
1. Sovereign – The Voice Of The Law And Absolute Authority Within The
State
- In Rousseau’s Words, The Sovereign Is The People
Speaking Together (General Will)
2. Government – Charged With Application Of The Law Toward
Particular Matters (Particular Wills)
 Views Of Humanity
 He Believed In The Freedom Of The People
 He Also Saw A Divide Between Society And Human Nature And
Believed That Man Was Good In The State Of Nature But Was
Corrupted By The Artificial Society
 Views On Society
 The Belief That Freedom And Civil Liberty Are Essential To A Just
Society
 Society Should Not Be Ruled By Cities But By The General With All Of
The People

Guided Learning: Reaction Paper regarding the presentation

Video Screening: Watch a video presentation of the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Based on the film,
answer the following question: What is a social contract and how was it reflected in the 1986
EDSA Revolution?

G. B.F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederick Skinner)

 He Was Born In Pennsylvania
 His Parents Are Grace And William Skinner (Lawyer)
 He Died On August 18, 1990 At The Age Of 86
 He Attended Hamilton College In New York To Become Writer
 Two Years Later, He Decided To Pursue A New Direction Of His Life, So He Enrolled
At Harvard University To Study Psychology
 He Is Extremely Influential Behavioural Psychologist From Harvard , Is One Of Those
Who Questioned The Very Existence Of Human Freedom
 According To Him, Freedom Is Concerned With The Structure Of Reinforcements, Not
Feelings. There Is Not A Need To Destroy The Society Get A Need To Redesign It
Theory Of Operant Conditioning
 The Idea That Behaviour Is Determined By Its Consequences Be The
Reinforcements Or Punishments Which Make It More Or Less Likely The
Behaviour Will Occur Again
 Reinforcing Events Modify Behaviour If Positively Making It More Likely, If
Negative By Making The Behaviour Less Likely
Punishments
 Aims To Protect People From Their Own Behaviour
 Means Of Controlling Human Behaviour Has Undesirable Effects
 We Should Design A World Of Face Of Punishment In Which People Are
Automatically Good Because Their Environment Make Them So
  The Core Issues Is To Make People Behave Well

H. Yelon
 Accepted That Behavioural Psychology Is At Fault For Having Overanalysed The
Words Reward And Punishment

Check Your Understanding

Learning Journal
Choose a concept and expound
1. “We are not concerned to know what goodness essentially is, but how we are to
become good human persons.”
2. Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for your actions.
3. Do you agree with Mill’s “Liberty consists in doing what one desires”? Why or why not?

Performance Task 2: Mini Garden Project

Create your own mini dream garden using the recycled materials or diy materials. This is the
examples of mini garden. Passed on the date: November 28, 2019

Fairy Garden DIY Fairy Cup Garden Mug Fairy Garden

Prepared By:

Shendy M.Acosta
Subject Teacher
 AFTER READING
Create a poster showing the ancient philosophers and their contributions or concepts
and their importance in our way of thinking in the present day. Write the title of the poster and
the insights on a piece of paper. Display the poster along with the other posters of your
classmate for an exhibit.

Module 2: Doing Philosophy

MOTIVATION:
1. Is there a process of philosophizing?
2. How can we recognize human activities that emanated from deliberate reflection?
3. How can you do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic
perspective?

PRE-READING

Watch the Video Poetry by Marco Antonio R. Rodas. In a piece of paper write what
comes into your mind after watching the presentation. Present your work to the class.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. When does philosophizing starts?
2. What were the concerns of the early philosophers?
3. What are the “classical” and their importance to mankind?
4. According to Blondel, how does philosophy explain and constitute life?
5. What is the importance of studying the philosophers, their life and their works?
Antisipasyon
Marco Antonio R. Rodas

Walang maaaring
makasuway sa pwersa ng
grabidad.

Tulad noong sumusuhay pa

lamang ang aking muwang,
marahil,
sa labis na pagkabigla, nabitiwan
ng aking ama ang iniinom n'yang
kape – nagkapira-piraso ang tasang
porselana dahil sa balita. Tiim
bagang
ang kanyang tugon sa
usisa ng aking paglingon:
“Tanungin mo ang iyong
ina.”

Biglang may kumirot, sugat,

 marahil nga'y batang sugat,

lumaon
hanggan
g
ngayon – hindi maalis-
alis sa aking puso
ang salubsob

Tuwina'yaking pinupulot
ang lahat ng mga nalalaglag – bakasakali,
maipon ko at mabuo ang mga piraso ng porselana:

panyo ng dalagita,
aklat ng kolehiyala,
maluwag na
singsing ng isang
may asawa, belo
ng biyuda…

Kahit na maintidihan ko ang mga

dahilan sa kinatagal-tagalan,
palaging nananaig ang nakaraan.
Pare-parehas lang
sila ng aking ina. Maganda;
may alindog ng palaging pagkalula.

Sa kaligta ng Pisika'y
dinuraan ko ang langit – sa
mukha ko pumatak.

Insights
Corazon L. Cruz

… one “sees” into something more than what meets the eye . It is what philosophers
call “insights.”

Insight men have had ever since they used their intelligence and power of reflection.
The history of philosophy shows that men have seen and noticed things around them,
thought and pondered on these, and acted on their reflections.

Father Roque j. Ferriols, S.J., in his article “Insight,” says there are two things to be
considered regarding an insight:
• The insight itself
• What do I do with the insight

I “heard” moonlight in Debussy's “Claire de Lune,” I “saw” moonlight in my mind. I

“thought” of love, I “felt” love, and I wrote a sonnet about it.
 Father Ferriols mentions two techniques, among other techniques, in handling insights:
1. Use of metaphors
2. Use of conceptual analysis

According to Father Ferriols, “abstraction is one of the tools often used in the analysis
of insights. An abstract thought is called a concept and analysis by abstraction is called
conceptual analysis.” He warns, however, that there is a danger here: “ … it can deiccate an
insight.” so, he suggests one should “return to the concrete fullness of the original insight.”

Permit me to refer to one of my personal experience. A few months after my father's

death, I was caught by a typhoon-like winds and rains on my way home. From our
subdivision entrance it was more than five minutes walk to the house. There were no houses
on both sides of the road. I was afraid of being carried away by the wind. In my desperation I
prayed. I asked my father for help, reminding him, “you know how terrified I am of the wind.”
(typhoon Yoling had blown off our entire roof and my father and I almost died.) Suddenly I
was aware: there was no more wind. There was no more rain.

At the gate of our house, my youngest brother was waiting for me. He was apologetic.
“I was really going to fetch you,” he said, but I couldn't because of the strong wind and rain.” I
asked, “When did they stop?” and he said, “Just now.” From that incident, I “saw” two things:
1. The power of prayer
2. The ties that bind the living with their beloved dead.

Insight is only for the aware, for those who have eyes that “see.” It is not for the
insensitive, for the dense. It is for those who stops to listen, who can feel pain, who can cry …
it is insight first that is philosophized. To me it takes a “special” person to philosophize.
“Poetry is for the elite,” … Father Harry Furay told a student once. So is insight. So is
philosophy in its finest hour.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. What are insights?
2. According to Father Ferriols what are the two things to be considered regarding an
insight
3. Give two techniques, among other techniques, in handling insights
4. What is abstraction?
5. What is a concept?
6. What is analysis by abstraction?
7. What should be done to avoid deiccation of insight?

AFTER READING:
A Note on the Text

Insight is seeing not with our eyes (though our eyes often play an important role in it)
but with our powers of thinking. When we want to clarify and deepen our insight or to fix it in
our minds, we do “something” with it.

There are many ways of doing something with an insight. It shows that certain insight
are so rich that they cannot be exhausted by our efforts to clarify them. We may explore them
in many ways and along different levels, but some superabundance of the original insights
always remains beyond the reach of our techniques.
 Insights permeate the process of doing something with an insight. We need insight to
see whether a given conceptual analysis of a given insight does probe deeply into it instead
of merely classifying its superficial aspects.

Thus, we ask: why do certain insights resist all efforts to explore them completely?
Because these insights bring us into the very heart of reality and reality is superabundantly
rich. The richness of these insights then is the richness of reality itself. And the stance of a
human being facing reality has always to be a tension between a sense of knowledge and
sense of ignorance.

EVALUATION:
In your Philosophy journal write your own unforgettable experience/s and the insights
you got from it. How does that experience change your point of view in life? The rubrics for
the entry would be as follows:

 40% Insights
 30% Content
 15% Presentation of Ideas
 15% Coherence

ENRICHMENT:

In small groups share your paper to your classmates.

 Module 3: The Value of Philosophy in Life

MOTIVATION:
1. Can life be connected to philosophy and philosophy to life?
2. How does philosophy broaden our view about life and its real meaning?
3. Is there such thing as “truth” and meaning?

PRE-READING:

Look for the video in YouTube entitled Plato on: The Allegory of the Cave posted by the
School of Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWlUKJIMge4). This video explains the
philosophical inquiries of Plato about the reality.

What is your reaction to the video? Share your reaction to the class.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE:
The theory of knowledge according to Plato can be summed up to his doctrine of the
two worlds: world of matter and the world of forms. The world of matter is the material world
where we are now. While the world of forms is something that is changeless, eternal, and
nonmaterial essences or patterns of which the actual visible objects we see are only poor
copies.
For Plato, knowledge through sense perception is impossible for the reason that the
material things that sorround us are not perfect and real. We can only have real knowledge
through the forms from which these material things are patterned.

Reflections on Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" (blog posted

head to headline, February 22, 2012)

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” the allegory is referring to the false truth
in which man puts his faith. The allegory is a cave of men chained with their
heads forced to remain forward facing toward a wall. Behind them is a fire
serving as a light source to allow for others to create shadow against the wall in
which the prisoners are facing. Like a puppet master pulling the strings of a
marionette, the shadows are created to dance on the wall for the prisoners to
see, leaving them no choice but to name the false image and assert false
truths about the sounds and sights they are shown.
Plato refers to the chained men as prisoners. I don’t believe it is simply
 because they are chained up in a cave but rather that they are being fed lies
and forced to live a life accepting this false reality as truth, a sort of inevitable
self-delusion. They are never allowed to “come into the light” and learn of real
truths. So Plato asserts that prison is one where an individual is not allowed to
learn truth or think and act based on actual reality but rather off false ideals and
incomplete information.
Today we are fed so many misleading truths by multitude of media
streams. TV and News stations have 24 hours to fill, endless money with
countless strings attached, and an agenda to push. With these resources and
goals they are able to build their own publicly asserted “caves” in which we are
the prisoners looking at one false image after another, in this case it isn’t a wall
with shadows but a TV or computer with flashing images leading us down a
thought path that is skewed by their desire to control our thoughts like that of a
puppet master and his puppet.
I will back this up with two examples I had heard a while back that forced
me to examine all information, and sources, from where I was being fed
information. The following link is to a study about the effect of heavy media
coverage of violent crime despite the drop in actual crime. And the excerpt
below is from a paper from a political scientist which finds the same.
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~digger/305/crime_cultivation_theory.pdf

In the age of Facebook, Twitter, live streaming associated press aps for
cell phones and all the other instant information I find it hard to filter the “real
images” from the “shadows”. I have to assert effort to discern the truths from
propaganda that is constantly being spewed at anyone who will listen, or
read. With mass communication evolving so rapidly and allowing less credible
sources to reach literally millions of people we must be very careful about
shackling ourselves and willingly looking at the reflections but must use the
same medium to fact check and ensure we are getting truthful information.

In short, my “Cave” is on of complacency and instant

acceptance. The unwillingness or awareness to fact check things I hear
before making decisions based on the
information. As a prisoner in today’s world I have the choice whether to leave
the chains on and continue to look at the wall or to ascend into the light and
take my whole self from “becoming” to
“being”. (http://headtoheadline.blogspot.com/2012/02/reflections-on-
platos-allegory-of-cave.html)

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. What is the world of matter?
2. What is the world of forms?
3. Can we have an authentic and real knowledge about the reality according to the
philosophy of Plato?
4. For the prisoners in the cave, which holds the true? The shadows that are casted from
the light
 or the objects where the shadows are being casted upon?
5. Like the author, do you consider yourself as a prisoner in a cave?
6. What is your cave that holds you from attaining the truth? Do you intend to go out of it?
7. Does our media play an important role in presenting truths? Can they manipulate it?
How?

AFTER READING:

In a small group, browse over Facebook the status of your friends, newsfeed and
trending topics. Cite some international, national or local issues as examples of the
“shadows” that block persons from having “real” knowledge about the truth.

EVALUATION:

Discuss to the class the outcome of your group and make comparisons with the
outcome of others. Do they connect with the other group? How?

ENRICHMENT:

First, go to YouTube and search for the video entitled What is wrong with the media
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwPdAZPnk7k). Post a Facebook status about the
reality of the Philippine politics and how can the news be inverted and manipulated for the
benefit of some.