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Doing Philosophy

Doing philosophy involves reflecting on important questions that do not have definite answers. A philosophical question addresses a universal problem of human existence, such as "Why do I exist?". Philosophical questions are difficult to answer and pertain to the whole of reality rather than just particular parts. The value of philosophy is not finding definitive answers but opening perspectives to avoid dogmatism. An example of holism, the idea that a system cannot be fully understood just by its parts, is a team that can work together more efficiently than individuals alone.

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405 views10 pages

Doing Philosophy

Doing philosophy involves reflecting on important questions that do not have definite answers. A philosophical question addresses a universal problem of human existence, such as "Why do I exist?". Philosophical questions are difficult to answer and pertain to the whole of reality rather than just particular parts. The value of philosophy is not finding definitive answers but opening perspectives to avoid dogmatism. An example of holism, the idea that a system cannot be fully understood just by its parts, is a team that can work together more efficiently than individuals alone.

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JCls
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Doing Philosophy

Write 5 actions you can think of and what must be done


before performing these actions.
Philosophy is not for Philosophers. Every person has the
capacity to find the value of philosophy in his/her own life.

Discovering Philosophical Reflection

To reflect philosophically is to think about an important


question that does not have a definite or ready answer.
A philosophical question always contain a bigger problem.
For example, “Why am I here?” , the person that is
inquiring is actually concerned with the bigger or universal
problem of human existence. It is similar to asking “ Why
do I exist?” and “What am I here for?”
Thus, a philosophical question is not an ordinary
question but as truly difficult one.

Write 5 philosophical questions.


The Universal and the Particular

One of the simpler ways of distinguishing one from the


other is by saying that the particular refers to a part of
the whole, while the universal pertains to the whole.

For the German philosopher, Martin Heidegger, a scientific


question is always confined to the particular, whereas a
philosophical question “leads into the totality of beings”
and “inquires into the whole” (Heidegger 2002, The Essence
of Human Freedom)

1. What is a living thing?


2. What is life?
The Value of Philosophy

The value of philosophy is not measured by its ability of


arriving at definitive answers, but in uncertainty and in
enabling a person to widen his or her perspectives to avoid
dogmatism.

Engaging in philosophy is contemplation, a reflective activity


where you renounce who you are, your beliefs, and your
values. Holding on to your beliefs is closing yourself to the
possibilities of other perspectives(EXPLAIN).
DOGMATISM
1: the expression of an opinion or belief as if it were a fact : positiveness in
assertion of opinion especially when unwarranted or arrogant
2: a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufficiently examined premises
Holism in general terms (whether in science, sociology,
economics, linguistics or philosophy) is the idea that all the
properties of a given system cannot be determined or
explained by its component parts alone, but the system
as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.

In philosophy, the principle of Holism (which comes from the


Greek "holos" meaning "all" or "total") was concisely summarized
by Aristotle in his "Metaphysics": "The whole is more than the
sum of its parts". However, the term "holism" was only introduced
into the language by the South African statesman Jan Smuts as
recently as 1926.
Give Example.
So for instance, a team working together on a product. If you
figure out what each person can do individually, say Bob can
produce 3 units in 3 hours, George can produce 4 units in 3
hours, and Sally can produce 3 units in 3 hours. Together in three
hours, they should be able to produce 10 units, but using
teamwork, they can work together, and they can encourage each
other to have more energy, so maybe the team together can
produce those 10 units in just 2 hours. This is synergy. The
individuals coming together producing more than what they
could on their own.
This applies to many things, not just people, obviously.
Synergism has applications in physics, chemistry, biology,
engineering, agriculture, business, and on and on and on.

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