INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON

 
INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
A LEARNING MODULE

MINSU, MAIN
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CORE SUBJECT
UNITS: 4
TEACHER FACILITATOR: HERBERT F CHAVEZ

NAME: __________________

DATE: __________________

TIME FRAME
TO
COURSE OUTLINE WEEK
ACCOMPLISH
PART I: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY BY DOING IT
Module 1: A Holistic Perspective: The Philosopher’s Way 1
Module 2: What it Means to be a Philosopher? 2
Module 3: What Makes a Question Philosophical? 3 ✓
PART II: TRUTH AND PHILOSOPHY
Module 4: The Domains(Field) of Truth 4
Module 5: Truth and Opinion 5
PART III: THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED
SPIRIT
Module 6: The Body as Limitation and Transcendence 6
Module 7: The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit:
7
Ancient and Contemporary Thought
MID-TERMS
PART IV: FREEDOM
Module 8: The Meaning of Freedom 8
Module 9: Freedom and Responsibility 9
PART V: INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Module 10: Meaning of Intersubjectivity 10
Module 11: An intersubjective Relationship across
11
Differences
PART VI: THE HUMAN PERSON IN SOCIETY
Module 12: Social Interaction and Society 12
Module 13: The Harmony between Individualism and
13
Collectivism
PART VII: THE HUMAN PERSON AS A BEING UNTO
DEATH
Module 14: Death and the Meaning of My Life 14
Module 15: The Human Person is a Being in Need of God
15
and Being-towards-God
FINALS
   INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
 

MODULE 3: WHAT MAKES A QUESTION PHILOSOPHICAL?

Introduction:
If anyone can be as wise as Socrates, then anyone can philosophize. The truth is
you do not have to be weird-looking or out-of-this-world in order to think philosophically.
Like any of us, a philosopher begins his quest with ordinary questions- what shall I pursue
in when I go to college. These are questions we normally ask ourselves. They are personal
questions, but they are not (yet) philosophical questions.

Once in a while, we find ourselves asking questions that are not so common. These
are moments when we begin to ask further beyond our everyday questions. Let us take
the case of Arielle here. Perhaps you might find that you yourself followed a smear trail
of questioning as she had below.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this module, you are expected:

1. Identify Philosophical questions from non-philosophical questions
2. Formulate philosophical questions

Activity:
Read the story about Arielle below. List down his questions in order.

Arielle looks at her reflection in the mirror for the fourth time this morning. She
was running late for school, but she could not quite decide on what to wear for the day.
She finally decides on this line white shirt and jeans, looks at it on her with a sigh of
resignation, then runs off downstairs where her mother has been yelling about the time.

In the car on the way to school, she starts muttering to herself. “All this trouble of
having to choose what to wear to school everyday. Why does it have to be so difficult?
Why can’t I just wear anything I grab from my closet?”

After she calms down, she moves into a more pensive mode. She begins to ask,
“Why should my clothes or the way I look matter to others anyway? If I think about what
others would say, does that mean I am not free to choose whatever I want? Does this mean
that I am not really free?”

Arielle’s dad pulls over in front of his school. She says goodbye and walks to her
classroom. She continues with her questions. “So if living in society means that I am not
really, does this mean that I will only be free when I live alone? Like live in a desert or in
Mars? But what good would that do? If I live alone, I may be free to do what I want, but
would that be a happy life? Is having the freedom to do what one pleases the opposite of
having a happy life? What is freedom, really? What is a happy life?
   INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
 
She enters her classroom, sets down her bag and shrugs off the question. He goes
to her “barkada” who were squatting in a corner of the room, aimlessly chatting about their
weekend.

Analysis:
Go over your list of Arielle’s questions then, answer the following:
1. Which of questions you would consider personal questions?
2. Which of them would be the examples of philosophical questions?
3. How do personal questions different from philosophical questions?

Abstraction/Content:
Arielle’s shows us that everyday we get visited by moments of unease because of
questions that ask us to take some time to reflect. However, the invitation to think
philosophically is easily shrugged off because of the inconvenience that the unease brings
on us. The French philosopher, Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973, Isang Pilosopong Pranses)
shares that philosophical questioning begins with a metaphysical unease (Metapisikong
Pagkabagabag.) . Simply put, this form of unease is described with as metaphysical
because the scope of the questions we ask cover something broader and deeper than what
is immediately before us, beyond what we physically see. The scope of these questions
point to something that we share with other human beings.

Marcel says that many of us have become less sensitive to this feeling of inner
disturbance because of what our world has become. Our modern world has been so
designed to have an instant answer for everything so that we hardly move beyond practical
everyday concerns. Our questions do not go beyond those immediate personal questions
such as “ What shall I eat today?” The pace of our everyday lives do not give enough room
for moments to think about questions like “what is the meaning of life?” (Marcel, 1960)

When we do take the time to think about these questions, people around us say that
we are “wasting time”. Our world today hardly encourages the asking of philosophical
questions. It is possible that the negative connotation of our term ‘pilosopo’ is related to
this common aversion towards philosophical questions. Asking philosophical questions is
perceived as a waste of time because finding the answers entails a commitment of
openness. And this is the distinguishing mark of a genuine philosopher. We said above
that anyone can be a philosopher, but attached to that statement is a disclaimer. You can
only be philosopher if you have the courage to be open and committed enough to pursue
the questions, no matter how painful or overwhelming it may be. There is no immediate
guarantee that your questions will be answered, which is complete the opposite of our
world of instant gratification. In this world, if the process of questioning does not
immediately satisfy us with favorable result, that process is simply deemed as useless.

Marcel likens philosophical questioning to embarking on a journey. Questions give

birth to more questions, and it takes courage that matches that of Socrates’ to be able to
endure the discomfort of not finding immediate answer. One must understand, however,
   INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN PERSON
 
that accepting the uncertainty that philosophical questions bring is not an empty nor futile
exercise. Philosophical questioning may appear to be “useless” but there is value in
philosophizing.

Things to Remember
Doing philosophy starts when you are confronted with question in which there is no
immediate answer available and you find yourself in the feeling of unease
(pagkabagabag). This is no ordinary unease, but a metaphysical unease (metapisikong
pagkabagabag) for it covers a broad aspect of your life that requires ones commitment
and openness in pursuing the real answer to those questions. This is what characterizes
philosophical questions to which when you dig deeper into simple questions coming
from the common activities that we do, would lead then.

Assessment:
I. Comprehension Skill
1. Distinguish between a personal and a philosophical question.
2. Identify which among the questions are philosophical
a. What is the square root of 64?
b. What days of the week does the garbage collector go to the village?
c. What happens after death?
d. Is it right to impose a dress code to students in Senior High School?
e. What makes an action moral?
f. What is matter?
g. What is the meaning of life?
h. Are you lying?
i. What is truth?

II. Application
1. List down 5 or more philosophical questions you have actually asked yourself.
Have you found answers to these questions? If not, how do you feel with
questions unanswered?
2. Are the following statements dogmatic (hindi maaaring pagdudahan pagkat ito
ay ganap na totoo)? If they are, what are your reasons. If they are not dogmatic,
why did you say so?
a. “Christianity is the only true religion.”
b. Women are inferior to men.
c. The poor deserve their suffering because they are lazy and have no drive to
succeed.
d. You will only be respected by others if you assert your power.