Philosophy Philosophical Movements,

Approaches, and Traditions

 love of wisdom (Greek) o Analytical Philosophy
 Mother of all disciplines - uses linguistic, analytic, and
conceptual analysis
 Earliest philosophers were considered wise
o Phenomenological
because they devoted themselves to asking “big
- uses bracketing of presuppositions or
questions” ex: Does God exist? suspension of judgments
 Experience of asking or seeking to answer o Hermenetics
questions about life, about what we know about - uses different forms of textual analysis
what we ought to do or what we believe in and direct experiential interpretation
 Completely new way of thinking o Marxism
– Karl Marx
o Existentialism
Branches of Philosophy o Feminism

 Logic - studies correct reasoning. How do 4. Regional

we reason? - answers what is the geographical region that
 Epistemology – studies the nature of philosophy occur/originate from
knowledge. How do we know? - kinds of philosophies that are distinguished
 Metaphysics – studies the nature of from each other according to geographical
location in which philosophizing transpires or
existence. What is real?
flourishes
 Aesthetics – studies the nature of beauty. - Western Philosophies - from Europe
What is beauty? - Eastern Philosophies - from Asia
 Moral Philosophy ( ethics ) – studies the
nature of moral judgements. What is 5. Historical
value? - answers what is the time frame of the
philosophical activity
Types of Philosophy - kinds of philosophies that are distinguished
1. Thematic from each other according to the historical
period in which philosophizing occurred
- answers what kind of questions or issues are
being addressed in a philosophy - Western – European
- Branches of philosophy & Disciplinal - Eastern – Oriental
Philosophies
- Disciplinal Philosophies - classified areas to DOING PHLOSOPHY
discipline or areas of learning whose  all about our beliefs and attitudes on ourselves
foundations are being examined and the world around us
 activity of stating, as clearly and as convincingly
2. Positional as possible what we believe in
- answers what kind of answer or solution for a  development of ideas, attempt to work it out
certain question in a philosophical activity with all their implications and complications
*Philosophical Schools of Thought of View  to see connection of ideas and compare them
*Materialism - reality consists of only material with other people’s views
objects
* Dualism - reality has a dual nature (both HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE
material and non-material)  things are viewed as a complex web of
*Philosophical System - addresses a group of connections and relationships
philosophical issues in a coherent manner  “seeing the big picture”

PARTIAL POINT OF VIEW

3. Methodological  only seeing a part of the web
- answers what kind of philosophical methods  often according to one’s convenience
they use
 - search for the truth
FEATURES OF PHILOSOPHY - being wise is knowing when you know the
truth and when you do not know it
1. Articulation - the opposite of falsity
- spelling out your ideas in words and sentences
- primary process of philosophy Bearers of truth
1. Belief
example/s: sitting down to write your ideas or discussing 2. Statements
it with other people 3. Sentences
2. Argument
Statement
- serve the purpose of testing your view
 Proposition according to philosophers
- supporting your ideas with reasons from other ideas,
principles, and observation to establish your conclusions  Linguistic expression whose function is to
and overcome objections advance a claim about the world
 They make claims
3. Analysis Beliefs
- understanding its idea by distinguishing and clarifying  Mental expression of claims
its various components  Do not express linguistically
Sentences
example/s: the idea of “murder” involves three  bearer of truth only if it functions as a statement
component ideas -- kindness, wrongfulness, and
intention Methods of truth
1. General Methods of Truth
4. Synthesis - Theories of Truth
- gathering together different ideas into a single, unified - ways of explaining the truth or what makes a statement
vision or belief true
- known to be the reverse of analysis  Correspondence Theory - examining whether
the statement or belief corresponds to, or
example/s: the Pythagorean notion of the “harmony of represents, a fact in the world
the spheres” synthesizes Mathematics, Music, Physics,
 Coherence Theory - examining whether the
and Astronomy
statement or belief coheres with the rules of a
relevant system
REFLECTION
 Pragmatic Theory - examining the
- philosophy is the first of all reflection
consequences of holding or accepting the
- stepping back, listening to yourself and other people, statement or belief to be true
and trying to understand and evaluate what it is that you
- true results in beneficial consequences
hear, what it is that you believe
2. Particular Method of Truth
- allow us to analyze and critically examine our ideas,
- refer to the specific ways of applying the general
and to synthesize our vision of ourselves
methods of truth
- Socratic Legacy
 Observation - used to check if an empirical
- philosophical reflection is necessary in the life of
statement, a statement about an observable fact
every person
in the world, correctly represents a fact in the
world
Types of Knowledge
 Internal Observation/Introspection
1. Empirical Knowledge
-observation of our own thoughts and
-“a posteriori” knowledge
feelings
- based on experience, observations and/or
experiments  External Observation - observation of
2. “a priori” Knowledge things “outside our mind and
- knowledge that is independent of any particular consciousness” using our five senses
experience and/or observation
3.Reasoning - process of knowing or establishing truth
by means of reason
TRUTH
- philosophy is the search for wisdom
4. Intuition - some philosophers use intuition in the area
of ethics, arguing, for instance, that we immediately 1. Deductive Argument
know what our moral duties are in a given situation - supposed to prove that the truth of the conclusion is
certain
5.Mystical Experience - the truth of some aspects of - general to specific
reality cannot be validated through the usual methods of
observation by our sense organs and reasoning VALID DEDUCTIVE REASONING
- if the premises really prove that the truth of the
6. Appeal to Authority - may take the form of a conclusion is certain
testimony of a reliable eyewitness, information provided * sound – valid that contains premises that are all true
by appropriate expert, and reliable documents * unsound – valid that contains at least one false premise

Forms of knowledge INVALID DEDUCTIVE REASONING

1. Knowledge by Acquaintance
- use the word “know” to mean acquaintance or
familiarity 2. Inductive Argument
- the truth of the premises is supposed to prove that the
2. Practical Knowledge truth of the conclusion is merely probable
- use the word “know” to mean knowledge of skills - either strong or weak

3. Propositional Knowledge Strong

- use the word “know” to mean knowledge of a fact - either cogent or uncogent
*Cogent - premises are all correct
Knowledge *Uncogent - one premise is incorrect
 Knowledge is justified true belief – JTB
Account Weak
 The condition of justification is what -hasty generalization
distinguishes knowledge from an opinion or -weak analogy
guess
 “An opinion is an unjustifiable belief that FALLACIES
may turn out to be true” - errors or mistakes in reasoning
Guess 1. Formal Fallacy - error in structure
 a person claims to know something without
any evidence 2. Informal Fallacy - anomaly in content
*Fallacies of Ambiguity- occurrence of ambiguous
CONDITIONS OF KNOWLEDGE terms
1. Disagreement in Beliefs *Fallacies of Relevance - irrelevance of the premise
- disagreement about facts which are properly resolved *Fallacies of Presumption - begin with a false,
by verifying the facts unwanted assumption, and fail to establish a conclusion

14 INFORMAL FALLACIES
2. Disagreement in Attitude
FALLACY DEFINITION EXAMPLE
- this can be resolved by persuasion, if not by
I want to have
compromise myself a merry
little Christmas,
example/s: Same-sex marriage should be legalized in the but I refuse to do
country - occurs when a key as the song
term or phrase in an suggests and
1. Fallacy of
3. Verbal Disagreements argument is used in make the yuletide
Equivocation
- arises out of the misunderstanding of the meaning of a an ambiguous gay. I don't think
linguistic expression and is resolved by clarifying the manner sexual preference
should have
meanings of the misunderstood linguistic expressions
anything to do
with enjoying the
REASONING holiday.
- proves the truth of a conclusion by means of the truth 2. Fallacy of - inferring that Each brick in that
of the premises Composition something is true of building weighs
 the whole from the president lays out
fact that it is true of a plan for a new
one appeals to pity
some part of the way to handle
to cause the
whole less than a pound. illegal drug cases
acceptance of a
- opposite of the Therefore, the in the justice
conclusion
fallacy of division building weighs Appeal to Pity system. His
- X is true because
- A is part of B; A less than a pound. opponent says that
person P worked
has property X; no one can trust a
really hard at
therefore B has former pot smoker
making X true.
property X. to be tough on
- inferring that drugs.
something is true of - committed when
I heard that the Mormonism is
one or more of the one appeals to
Catholic Church one of the fastest
parts from the fact general, common,
was involved in a growing sects of
that it is true of the popular, or
sex scandal cover- Christianity today
whole stereotypical
3. Fallacy of up. Therefore, my so that whole
- opposite of the 8. Fallacy of prejudices or beliefs
Division 102-year-old story about Joseph
fallacy of Appeal to to cause the
Catholic neighbor, Smith getting the
composition Popular Will acceptance of some
who frequently golden plates that,
- A is part of B; B population
attends Church, is unfortunately,
has property X; - Everybody is
guilty as well! disappeared back
therefore A has doing X; therefore,
into heaven, must
property X. X must be the right
be true!
- committed when thing to do.
The Pope told me Jordan: Dad, why
one appeals to an
that priests could do I have to spend
authority whose
turn bread and - committed when
4. Fallacy of field of expertise my summer at
wine into Jesus’ one appeals to force,
Appeal to does not include the Jesus camp?
body and blood. often with subtlety,
Inappropriate nature of the Dad: Because if
The Pope is not a 9. Fallacy of to cause the
Authority conclusion you don’t, you
liar. Therefore, Appeal to Force acceptance of a
- Person P makes will spend your
priests really can conclusion
claim X; therefore X entire summer in
do this. - involves the use of
is true. your room with
coercion
- occurs due to lack nothing but your
of knowledge on the Bible!
subject - committed when
- “absence of one asks a question
To this very day, that contains
evidence is not
science has been unproved
evidence of
unable to create assumptions
5. Fallacy of absence”
life from non-life; 10. Fallacy of - a fallacy is How many times
Argument from - X is true because
therefore, life Complex committed when one per day do you
Ignorance there is no evidence
must be a result of Question argues that these beat your wife?
that could prove X
divine assumptions are true
to be false.
intervention. just because an
- X is false because
there is no evidence answer is given to
that could prove X the complex
to be true. question
A candidate for - committed when
- committed when president lays out one attributes a
one evaluates an a plan for a new wrong cause to Every time I go to
argument by means way to handle something which is sleep, the sun
of citing something illegal drug cases often due to a mere goes down.
6. Fallacy of 11. Fallacy of
about the person in the justice temporal succession Therefore, my
Appeal to a False Cause
who asserts the said system. His of two events going to sleep
Person - A is regularly causes the sun to
argument opponent says that
- attacking the no one can trust a associated with B; set.
person instead of the former pot smoker therefore, A causes
argument to be tough on B.
drugs. 12. Fallacy of - committed when Paranormal
7. Fallacy of - committed when A candidate for Begging the reasoning is circular activity is real
 in that the - our “mental states”, such as our thoughts and
because I have
conclusion is emotions, are actually physical states
experienced what
already consumed in  Mind-Brain Identity Theory - what we call
can only be
Question the premises “mind” is nothing but the brain, and our
described as
- Claim X assumes
paranormal “mental states” are nothing but the neural
X is true; therefore,
activity. states of the brain
claim X is true.
- committed when  Behaviorism - emphasized the outward
one applies a general behavioral aspects of thought and dismissed
rule to individual the inward experiential, and sometimes the
cases, which, I believe one inner procedural aspects as well
because of their should never 2. Disembodied Spirit View
special or accidental deliberately hurt - the human person is just his/her spirit
13. Fallacy of
nature, the general another person, - has both body and personality but claims that it is the
Accident
rule does not that’s why I can spirit that defines the human person
properly apply never be a
- X is a common and surgeon.  Substance Dualism
accepted rule; - Descartes “mind”; Plato “soul”
therefore, there are - believed in the immortality of the spirit
no exceptions to X.
- converse accident PLATO
- committed when - “The soul of man is immortal and imperishable.”
one makes a Four out of five - to learn is to remember
generalization from dentists - since the soul is immaterial, it is not composed of parts
14. Fallacy of a special or recommend
Hasty accidental cause, or Happy Glossy
Generalization simply from Smiley toothpaste DESCARTES
insufficient number brand. Therefore, - “Cogito, ergo sum.”
of cases it must be great. - reality is composed of two different types of substance
it is a case of weak - mind (non-physical kind) is conscious, but not
inductive reasoning extended in space and has free will; includes the
imperfect mind and the perfect mind of God
What is a Human Person? - matter (physical kind) is unconscious, extended in
1. Existential Approach space and does not have free will; include plants,
- focuses on the kind of life, or modes of existence that is animals, and the rest of nature
unique to a human person
- examines the essential features of the human way of 3. Embodied Spirit View
life - human person is essentially the unity of his/her body
- “who” of a person and spirit
- the body and spirit cannot exist independently
2. Metaphysical Approach - maintains human freedom
- focuses on the kinds of substances and capacities that - acknowledges the value of the body
uniquely make up a human person
- examines the essential components of a human person ARISTOTLE
- he/she has a body which has certain physical - “The passive state of the soul is inseparable from the
properties, the ones studied in biology natural matter of living things.”
- the soul is what gives life to something
COMPONENTS - non-living things have no soul, living things have souls
1. Soul - emphasizes life-giving function - body and soul are two different aspects of the human
2. Mind - emphasizes consciousness person, body is matter and soul is form
3. Spirit - emphasizes non-bodily, non-biological, or - soul of plants is the vegetative/nutritive soul
non-physical nature - soul of animals is the sensitive soul
- soul of humans is the rational soul
Views on the Human Person
1. Unspirited Body View ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
- the human person is just his/her body and nothing more - “There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and
- humans do not have spiritual component meaning.”
- rational soul of humans has a dual nature