2) CLASSICAL DEFINITION

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILISOPHY OF THE  The classical definition is expected to be a real definition that is an
HUMAN PERSON essential definition, that is, definition that tells of the very essence or
nature of a thing. Without doubt, a classical definition which all students
WEEK 1 of philosophy should be aware of is the Aristotelico-Thomistic definition
Philosophy begins when human beings start trying to understand the world− popularly formulated as follows:
understand reality and provide answers to basic issues concerning knowledge,  “Philosophy is a science which inquiries into the ultimate causes, reasons,
life, morality, and human nature. The majority of our everyday lives are filled with and principles of all things in the light of pure reason alone.”
activities that keep us busy and preoccupied. However, every now and then, we
find ourselves taking a step back and pondering what it all means. Then we might Under this definition, three things are to be considered:
start asking fundamental questions that we don't typically stop to ask. This may
occur in any part of life. This week’s module should be read with patience and a. Science. It is called science because the investigation is systematic. It
hard effort, for you to completely grasp and integrate the definitions and roots of follows certain steps or it employs certain procedures. In other
philosophy, as well as the concept of value of philosophy. Is that clear? Now, let’s words, it is an organized body of knowledge just like any other
proceed to our activity. sciences.

DOING PHILOSOPHY b. Light of Pure Reason Alone. Philosophy investigates things, not by
using any other laboratory instrument or investigative tools, neither
DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY on the basis of supernatural revelation, otherwise it becomes
It is no exaggeration to say that there are as many views of philosophy as there theology; instead, the philosopher uses his natural capacity to think
are philosophers. This cannot be said of the other disciplines, whose objects of or simply, human reason alone or the so-called unaided reason.
study are quite specific, such as number for mathematics, the heavenly bodies for c. Study of All Things. This sets the distinction between philosophy from
astronomy, the material world for physics, living things for biology, animals for other sciences. All other sciences concern themselves with a
zoology, the human society for sociology, etc. Unique among the disciplines, particular object of investigation. For example, anthropology studies
philosophy’s concerns are borderless. human beings in relation with the society; sociology studies society,
However, there are definitions and explanations of philosophy that our students its form, structures, and functions; botany focuses their attention to
cannot do without. And for purposes of this subject, we propose three such plants; linguistics limits itself from language; theology investigates
views: the etymological definition of Pythagoras, the classical definitions of God; whereas philosophy studies human beings, society, religion,
Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, and the contemporary view of Karl Jaspers. language, and God among other concerns. Thus, philosophy is not a
one dimensional or partial. In short philosophy does not limit itself to
1) ETYMOLOGICAL DEFINITION a particular object of inquiry. It questions almost anything, if not
 An etymological definition is draw from the so-called root words of a everything. It is multidimensional or holistic.
word or concept to be defined. For example, biology is defined as the
study of life or living things as indicated by the two root words, bios 3) CONTEMPORARY DEFINITION
which means life and logos which means study.  This contemporary definition brings us to the present-day definition of
philosophy given by Karl Jaspers a German, who minces no words in
 According to Pythagoras philosophy comes from the two compound regarding philosophy as: “Discipline in which questions are more
Greek words “philos” meaning love and “sophia" meaning wisdom. Thus, important than the answers and where every answer leads to further
philosophy can be etymologically defined as love of wisdom. questions”.
  This explains the never-ending quest of philosophy, the ceaseless toil that conceptualize, analyze, compare, evaluate and understand things. Students
humans go through in a ceaseless process of inquiry. philosophize and become wise. In philosophy as a product, the students are
able to articulate their understanding of the contributions of each
 At this point, you might be overwhelmed by the ideas already presented.
philosopher to philosophical problems relating to knowledge, reality and
What you were introduced to seems to be fragmented. A beginner in
value.
philosophy like you will have an effective understanding only if you can
make sense of the different perspectives, distinguish them from a partial 2. Philosophy helps the student to develop the ability to form opinions and
point of view and develop a holistic perspective to see the whole or beliefs. He thinks, evaluates and decides what could be better or best for him.
bigger picture. This manner will give you the value of philosophizing. 3. Philosophy helps the student to be resilient and philosophically calm in the
 The etymology of philosophy gives you a clue on how to philosophize. face of disorder and doubts, uncertainty, indefiniteness and chaos. By being
When you love, you try to know everything about that which your love is flexible, he is able to preserve and put things in their proper perspective and
directed to. At first, you might be interested in knowing the material or outlook in the face of upheaval.
physical manifestations of that thing, but as your love for it grows deeper, 4. Philosophy deepens the student’s self-awareness. A self-aware student does
you would want to know more about it. Like being a lover, a philosopher not harbor illusions and rationalizations to justify his beliefs and actions.
takes into account every detail – the partial points of views – in order to
make synthesis and develop a holistic perspective. Hence, to philosophize 5. In relation to deepening of self-awareness, philosophy also increases the
is to take part in activities which do not only give you a partial point of student’s self-awareness and awareness of the world. When awareness
view but a holistic perspective emanating from reflections and analysis. increases, he becomes more dynamic, more critical and more discerning of
the significant influence of his life.

4) VALUE OF DOING PHILOSOPHY 6. Philosophy helps the student to be creative. By being creative he develops a
philosophical perspective on problems, issues and concerns that is unique
 The main purpose in the study of the Philosophy of the Human Person is
and distinctive. He engages his life on a deeper level to give meaning to it.
to see human life as a meaningful whole or in its holistic perspective.
Since the study of philosophy is universality, unity and synthesis, the 7. Philosophy helps the student to be imaginative. By being imaginative, he is
Philosophy of the Human Person seeks to obtain a unified and consistent able to deal openly with new possibilities and changes in how he sees things.
world view of the human person. According to Bertrand Russell (1915).
8. Philosophy helps the student to develop clear concepts and value system.
“The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned
in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs 9. Philosophy provides the student with better intellectual perspective and
of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his outlook. He becomes more tolerant, more open minded, less biased and
mind without the cooperation or consent of his deliberate reason.” more sympathetic to views that might even conflict or compete with his own
view.
 We all become philosophers at any crucial moment in life. Our
philosophical reflection is an important part of our self-fulfillment, 10. Philosophy gives the student personal freedom the freedom from the biases,
happiness and our professional growth. prejudices and convictions and tyranny of customs that have grown up his
mind. By being free, he can make suggestions and decisions and act according
SPECIFIC VALUES OF PHILOSOPHY to those decisions. In fact, when the student begins to philosophize, he will
find that even the most everyday things in life may lead to problems to which
1. Philosophy as a subject enables the student to study, learn and master the
very incomplete and unsatisfactory answers can be given.
various branches and divisions of philosophy and the theories and beliefs of
philosophers. Philosophy as an activity enables the student to think,
11. Philosophy helps the student to refine his power of analysis the power to those above) difficult is that people do not really know what they mean.
think critically, reason, evaluate, theorize and justify. The powers of analysis Ludwig Wittgenstein believed this.
are the tools of philosophy. These tools enable him to apply them  Philosophers often use both real and imaginary examples to make a point. For
constructively to his own affairs. example, they may write about a real or fictional person in order to show
12. Lastly, philosophy will not teach the learners how to earn a living, but how to what they think a good person or a bad person is like.
make life worth living.  Some philosophers look for the simplest way to answer a question and say
that is probably the right answer. This is a process called Occam's razor.
OTHER FACTS ABOUT PHILOSOPHY: Others believe that complicated answers to questions can also be right. For
 There are different types of philosophy from different times and places. Some an example of a philosophical problem, see the God paradox.
philosophers came from Ancient Greece, such as Plato and Aristotle. Others  Philosophers use logic to solve problems and answer questions. Logical
came from Asia, such as Confucius or Buddha. Some philosophers are from consistency is a cornerstone of any acceptable theory. Philosophers who
the Middle Ages in Europe, such as William of Ockham or Saint Thomas disagree with a theory will often try to find a logical contradiction in a theory.
Aquinas. If they find a contradiction, this gives them a reason to reject that theory. If
they do not find an inconsistency, the philosopher might show that the theory
WHAT PHILOSOPHERS DO: leads to a conclusion which is either unacceptable or ridiculous. This second
 Philosophers ask questions about ideas (concepts). They try to find answers approach is usually called reductio ad absurdum.
to those questions. Some thinkers find it very hard to find those words that
best describe the ideas they have. When they find answers to some of these OTHER DEFINITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY ACCORDING TO:
questions philosophers often have the same problem that is how to best tell
 Aristotle – "Philosophy is a science which discovers the real nature of
the answers they found to other people. Depending on the meaning of the
supernatural elements".
words they use, the answers change.
 Levison – "Philosophy is mental activity".
 Some philosophers are full-time thinkers (called academics), who work for
universities or colleges. These philosophers write books and articles about  John Dewey – "Philosophy is not a panacea (remedy for all kinds of
philosophy and teach classes about philosophy to university or college diseases/troubles) for the problems of men, but is that which emerges out of
students. the methods employed by them to solve their problems."
 Other philosophers are just "hobby" thinkers who think about philosophy  Aristippus – Thinks that philosophy is "the ability to feel at ease in any
during their free time. A small number of hobby thinkers have thought so society."
much about philosophy that theyare able to write articles for philosophy
 Socrates – "Philosophy is a daily activity".
magazines. Other people approach philosophy from another job. For
example, monks, artists, and scientists may think about philosophical ideas
GENERALIZATION:
and questions.
 Most philosophers work by asking questions and looking for good definitions Philosophy is the rational, abstract, and methodical study of reality as a whole
(meanings) of words to help them understand what a question means. or of basic elements of human life and experience (from Greek, through Latin,
 Some philosophers say the only thing needed to answer a question is to find philosophia, “love of wisdom”). Many civilizations' intellectual histories include
out what it means. The only thing that makes philosophical questions (such as philosophical investigation as a key component
Because the investigation in Philosophy is systematic, it is termed science. It
follows a set of stages or uses a set of processes. In other words, it is a well- capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good.
organized body of information in the same way that other sciences are.
WEEK 2
Philosophy is considered as light of pure reason alone because it investigates
TWO APPROACHES TO PHILOSOPHY (HISTORICAL APPROACH)
things without the use of any other laboratory instruments or investigative
There are two approaches to philosophy, and one who would like to have some
tools, nor on the basis of supernatural revelation, which would turn it into
mastery of it cannot do without either one. The first approach is historical, and
theology; rather, the philosopher uses his natural capacity to think, or simply,
the second one is systematic. As in the case of the other disciplines, perhaps even
human reason alone, or socalled unaided reason.
more any of them, it is imperative that a student of philosophy is equipped with
an adequate understanding of its history.
Because it distinguishes philosophy from other sciences, philosophy is regarded
as the science of all sciences. All other sciences are concerned with a specific
1) HISTORICAL APPROACH
topic of investigation.
The historical study of philosophy traces the
progress of ideas through four periods, based on
This modern definition of philosophy leads us to Karl Jaspers, a German
what Hegel calls zeitgiest which literally means
philosopher, who defines philosophy as follows: “Discipline in which questions
“spirit of the time”: Ancient (c. 600 BC – 600 AD),
are more important than the answers and where every answer leads to further
Medieval (600 – 1600), Modern (1600 – 1900),
questions”. This describes philosophy's never-ending journey, humans' never-
Contemporary or Post-Modern (1900 – present).
ending toil in a never-ending pursuit for knowledge.
The beginning and end of each age is naturally
on an approximation and the exact historical
The etymology of philosophy might help you figure out how to think
division is hardly a thing any historian can aspire
philosophically. When you love someone, you want to learn everything there is
to make.
to know about them. You could be curious about the tangible or physical
manifestations of that item at first, but as your passion for it gets stronger, The Ancient Age is Cosmo centric or world centered; the Medieval Age is
you'll want to learn more about it. theocentric or God-centered; Modern Age is anthropocentric or man-
centered; the Contemporary or PostModern Age is global or borderless. What
A philosopher, like a lover, considers every detail – partial points of view – in is possible in learning the historical development of philosophy is to cite some
order to synthesize and build a comprehensive viewpoint. As a result, to landmark philosophers by which to identify each age.
philosophize is to engage in activities that provide you with a comprehensive
viewpoint derived from thoughts and analyses, rather than just a partial point A. ANCIENT PERIOD – Everything started in Milesia the so-called Greek
of view. miracle happened, when Thales (Father of Philosophy) and the Pre-
Socratics asked the question: What is the world stuff? Thales, reputedly
Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its the first philosopher, said its water! And there was Anaximenes’ air,
questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but Anaximander’s apeiron or infinite, Heraclitus’ fire, Empedocles’ four
rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions elements (earth, water, air and fire), and Democritus’ atom among
enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination others. Others investigates the world by saying, its permanent and
and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against unchanging, Parmenides; comes Heraclitus saying, the world is in
speculation; ; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe constant flux.
which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes
  Thus, the intellectual miracle which the Greeks gave birth to That decline of the age of belief proved to be a Dark Age during which
eventually became the basis for the progress which we ascribe today the mighty Church was perhaps understandably urged to face the
to science and technology. emerging modernity in some way but eventually to decrease
 And it was than here when Ancient is best remembered through the
great triumvirate of Greek Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and C. MODERN PERIOD
Aristotle. Socrates is the icon of a philosopher, the philosopher’s  The Modern Age is the “Age of Geniuses”, the “Age of
philosopher, and yet he wrote nothing and what we now of him is Enlightenment”, the “Age of the emergence of mathematics and the
largely thanks to his great pupil, Plato having wrote about him. other sciences.” It is the revival of the glorious achievement of the
 Philosophy, says Plato is nothing if it does not teach man how to live Greeks; thus, the Renaissance which literally means re-birth. This
and how to die. His great pupil, Aristotle, disagrees with him in that, transition period to modernity is made exciting by the numerous
as a scientist, he refuses to go beyond the world hic et nunc. inventions and discoveries that help in the shaking of the Western
cultural foundations. The Renaissance ideal man of the man is
 This is why it is commonly said that the great divide among humans
personified by Leonardo da Vince, who is everything one can think of,
makes us all either a Platonist or Aristotelian. We either confine the
a universal man, who is an artist, scientist, philosopher, and
world to this physical one thus, the Aristotelian or live in the hope of
theologian all at once.
a more perfect world beyond thus, the Platonist.
 The most important name to remember here is that of the
B. MEDIEVAL PERIOD – Medieval philosophy refers to philosophy in
Frenchman Rene Descartes, who now is widely remembered as the
Western Europe during the medieval period, the so-called Middle Ages. It
Father of Modern Thought, thanks to his universal methodic doubt.
is the Age of Belief, the golden age of the Christian Church. No wonder
the greatest philosophers of this age are religious and saints, of which the
most important are St. Thomas Aquinas the Catholic Philosopher (The  Descartes was impressed by the progress of the sciences and
Angelic Doctor) and St. Augustine (The Doctor of Grace). The former is an mathematics of his time. He wanted to achieve the same advance in
Aristotelian and the later a Platonist. Philosophy during this time is used philosophy using his universal methodical doubt, to doubt of all
as an intellectual support for the Church’s own self-reflection, a things as far as possible in order to arrive at certitude.
handmaid of theology.
 For Descartes everything was doubtable, even his own body, all
 Philosophy became the search for the ultimate causes of all things, except for one fact that he was doubting. He could not doubt that he
eventually leading to the truth about God. It was theistic because was doubting; and doubting being a mode of thinking, brought him to
what happened in life took a back-stage to the divine drama, as his famous philosophy, “cogito ergo sum”.
mediated by the Roman Catholic Church. And it was also static
because people largely accepted their station in society. A limited  The Modern Age also made the remarkable split from the same
amount of inventive thinking and a passive acceptance of fate Cartesian source of two contentious schools of thought: Rationalism
hampered the solving of many problems. and Empiricism. Rationalism is the view that regards reason as the
 The 13th century is the highest point of the Medieval Age, after chief source and test of knowledge whereas Empiricism is the view
which came its decline. This decline was induced by various schisms, that all concepts originate in experience.
great and small, and the eventual displacement of feudalism by the
new and adventurous breed of young money-makers, the capitalists.
  The rationalist’s group of philosophers are Rene Descartes Gottfried “Thoughts without contents are empty, and intuitions without
Wilhelm von Leibniz, and Benedict de Spinoza who teach us the concepts are blind.” Enough to say that Kant makes possible the
grand work of reason. paradigm shift but the unending attempt to salvage science continues
until Edmund Husserl, comes Karl Marx, then Martin Heidegger to
 The empiricist’s group of philosophers are John Locke, George Marshall McLuhan and Allan Turing among others.
Berkley, and David Hume who refuse to give reason the highest
authority and instead reduce all source of knowledge to experience.
D. CONTEMPORARY PERIOD or POST-MODERNITY Some additional facts about some greatest Philosophers of all time:
 By most accounts we have entered a new intellectual age. We are  The list of the greatest philosophers is incomplete without Aristotle. He
now into Postmodernity. Leading intellectuals tell us that modernity was a Greek Philosophers and the founder of the Lyceum and the
has died, and that a revolutionary era is upon us, an era liberated Peripatetic school of philosophy and Aristotelian tradition. Aristotle is
from the oppressive structures of the past, but at the same time called the “Father of Western Philosophy”.
disquieted by its expectations for the future.
 This Greek philosopher was multi-talented as he wrote on almost every
 Ours is an age global and borderless. Gone are the days when whole subject such as physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics,
world was dominated by Europe and the West. Now the playing field aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics,
has gone flat, and Asia and Africa can no longer be ignored. The study economics, politics and government.
of philosophy can no longer be complete without the great
philosophies of India and China. And even small countries like the  Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher, who is known for arguing that
Philippines have a chance to join the competitive game. space, time, and causation are mere sensibilities; “things-in-themselves”
exist, but their nature is unknowable.
 The postmodern position is borderless. It is open to meanings and its
authority is open to the other schools of thought and ideologies.
 John Locke was an English physician and philosopher. Locke is known as
Hence the heart of postmodernity is the view that reality cannot be
one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and the “Father of
known nor described objectively.
Liberalism”. He is regarded as the first British empiricists, after the
 It is at this historical juncture that Modernity came to its conclusion tradition of Sir Francis Bacon. His works widely affected by the
with Immanuel Kant, the Father of Post-modernity. Kant is regarded development of epistemology and political philosophy. John Locke’s
as the father of postmodernity because he was the oldest among his writing influenced several Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and
contemporaries during 17th and 18th centuries who effected the Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
paradigm shift.
 Plato is widely known as a teacher of Aristotle and student of greatest
 His famous philosophical landmark, the Critique of Pure Reason, philosophers Socrates. He is one of the founders of Western religion and
marks the end of modern philosophy. His critique is the completion of spirituality. Plato was the inventor of the written dialogue and dialectic
the Universal Methodical Doubt of Descartes; likewise, he reconciled forms in philosophy.
the two opposing philosophical thoughts of rationalism and
empiricism. He famously said, “Although all our knowledge begins  Confucius is one of the most popular Chinese philosopher and politician.
with experience, it does not follow that it arises from experience”. He emphasized personal and governmental morality, the correctness of
Hence, Kant summarized the nature of knowledge by saying, social relationships, justice and sincerity. Following the victory of Han
 over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius’s thoughts received official spanned the 17 and eighteenth century and was particularly lively. Most
sanction and were further developed into a system known in the West as historians consider the era to begin with Rene Descartes' Meditationes de
Neo-Confucianism, and later New Confucianism (Modern Neo- Prima Philosophiae, published in Paris in 1641, and to conclude with the full
Confucianism). work of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, published in the 1780s.

 Rene Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. The philosophers of the time confronted one of history's most difficult
He lived 20- years of his life in the Dutch Republic after service for a while intellectual challenges: combining conventional Aristotelian philosophy and
in the Dutch States Army of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and the Christian faith with the dramatic scientific advances that followed Copernicus
Stadtholder of the United Provinces. He is widely known as one of the and Galileo (and the succeeding Newtonian revolution).
founders of modern philosophy.
In Western philosophy, postmodernism is a late twentieth-century movement
 Socrates was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher, who has a credit to characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general
be one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is also considered to suspicion of reason; and a keen awareness of the role of ideology in
be the first moral philosopher belonging to the Western ethical tradition establishing and maintaining political and economic power.
of thought. He is said to have taught Plato and Xenophon.
PHILOQUEST:
GENERALIZATION:
Philosophy has unquestionably influenced the course of history. Philosophers
Philosophy from antiquity, or before the fall of the Roman Empire, is known as from all around the world have challenged nearly everything we see around us,
ancient philosophy. It typically relates to Greek philosophy from antiquity. whether it be science or politics. The finest philosophers in history have been
Other intellectual traditions, such as Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, recognized for their talent and the philosophy that underpins their study.
and Iranian philosophy, can also be included. Above all these contributions of philosophy to the body of knowledge, the real
question here is how does the study of philosophy influence your life and
Religious traditions are typically firmly entrenched in ancient ideas. As a result, strengthen your faith as Louisian students?
ancient philosophies have a broader perspective than modern or contemporary
philosophies, which have more focused techniques and areas of concentration. We need philosophy because we need to explore such reasons, reasons for
studying, reasons for universities’ existence, even (especially) reasons for your
Medieval philosophy refers to the philosophy of Western Europe between the own existence. Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and Reason are like two
years 400 and 1400, around the time of the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. wings of the human spirit by which is soars to the truth.” Philosophy can lead
Although medieval philosophers are the historical predecessors of antiquity's you to God, and theology can lead you further into God. God is the source of all
philosophers, they are only tangentially related to them. truth, goodness, and beauty, in other words, everything we value. God is the
source of all truth. When you love your neighbor or your fellow Louisans, you
Christianity has been the most major non-philosophical effect on medieval are responding to divine grace. When you make something beautiful, you are
philosophy throughout its thousand-year history. Christianity's scriptures and utilizing the image of God in his soul, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, and
concepts provide abundant subject matter for philosophical thought, and partaking in God's creative power. Thus, Philosophy is a necessity if you want
Christian institutions maintain medieval intellectual activity. to understand our world and your faith in God.

Modern philosophy refers to an era in Western European philosophy that

 "Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared world exist outside the mind? How can the incorporeal mind affect the
with the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, physical body? If things exist, what is their objective nature?
as bad and as good. Let us therefore study the incidents in this as philosophy to
learn wisdom from and none of them as wrongs to be avenged." B. THEODICY
– Abraham Lincoln  The branch of philosophy that deals with
the study of God. It is a term that Leibniz
coined from the Greek words theos (God)
and dike (righteous).
WEEK 3  Theodicy attempts to justify or defend God
TWO APPROACHES TO PHILOSOPHY (SYSTEMATIC APPROACH) in the face of evil.

2) SYSTEMATIC APPROACH – consists in the discussion of the classical  Theodicy asks the questions like: If God is all good and all powerful
disciplines or branches of philosophy: why does evil exist? Is God the creator of evil in this world?

A. METAPHYSICS C. COSMOLOGY
 The branch of philosophy concerned with the  The branch of philosophy that deals with
nature of existence, being and the world. the principles that govern the processes
Originally comes from the Greek word in nature or the universe. Cosmology is
“metaphysika” which literally means “beyond close to science since it looks for answers
physical”. in the form of empirical understanding by
observation and rational explanation.
 Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy:
Aristotle calls it first philosophy and says it is  Thus, theories about cosmology operate
the subject that deals with first causes and the principles of things. with a tension between a philosophical
urge for simplicity and a wish to include all the Universe's features
Aristotle splits metaphysics into three main sections and these remain the versus the total complexity of it all.
main branches of metaphysics:
 Cosmology asks the questions: What came before the Big Bang? Is the
 Ontology: The study of being and existence, including the definition Universe really infinite or just really big? When will the world end?
and classification of entities, physical or mental, the nature of their
properties, and the nature of change. D. PSYCHOLOGY OR RATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 Natural Theology: The study of God, including the nature of religion  The branch of philosophy that studies the
and the world, existence of the divine, questions about the creation, life principle of living things specifically
and the various other religious or spiritual issues. that of man.
 Universal Science: The study of first principles of logic and reasoning,  The word “psychology” is derived from
such as the law of non-contradiction. the Greek terms’ “psyche” and “logos”.
Respectively, these mean “soul” and
Metaphysics asks the questions: What is the nature of reality? How does “study”. Therefore, psychology means the
the world exist and what is its origin or source of creation? Does the study of the soul. In a simple way, we could say that psychology is the
science responsible for the study of the human mind and behavior.
  Psychology asks the questions: What is the nature of man? Is the soul  The branch of philosophy concerned with
immortal? When is the end of man? questions of how people ought to act and
the search for a definition of right
E. EPISTEMOLOGY conduct (identified as the one causing the
 The branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of greatest good) and the good life (in the
knowledge and justified belief. It analyzes the nature of knowledge sense of a life worth living or a life that is
and how it relates to similar notions such as truth, belief and satisfying or happy)?
justification.  The word ethics is derived from the Greek
 It also deals with the means of production of knowledge, as well as “ethos: (meaning “custom” or “habit”).
skepticism about different knowledge claims. It is essentially about  Ethics differs from morals or morality. Ethics denotes the theory of
issues having to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge right action and the greater good, while morals indicate their
in particular areas of inquiry. practice.
 Epistemology asks questions: What is knowledge? How is knowledge  Ethics is not limited to specific acts and defined moral codes but
acquired? What do people know? What makes justified beliefs encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviors, a person's
justified? How do we understand the concept of justification? Is philosophy of life.
justification internal or external to one's own mind?
 Ethics asks the questions: How should people act? What do people
think what is right? How do we take moral knowledge and put it into
F. LOGIC
practice? What does “right” mean?
 The branch of philosophy that studies
about reason. It is the science and art of
H. OTHER BRANCHES
correct thinking. Logic comes from the
 Aesthetics, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Law, Philosophy of
Greek term "logos", which has a variety
Science, Philosophy of Technology, Social Philosophy, Political
of meanings including (word, thought,
Philosophy, and Hermeneutics among others.
idea, argument, account, reason or
principle) is the study of reasoning, or
Here are some questions maybe you haven’t encountered about Philosophy! So,
the study of the principles and criteria of
fire up your brains Philogems!
valid inference and demonstration. It
attempts to distinguish good reasoning from bad reasoning. Question Answer
 Aristotle defined logic as "new and necessary reasoning", "new"
By what name are the collected sayings of Confucius and his
because it allows us to learn what we do not know, and "necessary" followers known? Analects
because its conclusions are inescapable. Who described life as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and Thomas Hobbes
short"?
 Logic asks the questions: What is correct reasoning? What
distinguishes a good argument from a bad one? How can we detect a What philosophical "blade" encourages one to prefer simple Occam's
fallacy in reasoning? explanations when they fit the evidence? Razor
What philosopher wrote the famous work "On Liberty"? John Stuart Mill
G. ETHICS What "dismal" thinker believed that human populations Thomas Robert
inevitably outstrip food supplies? Malthus
What Greek philosopher known for his triangle-related Pythagoras
"Theorem" had numericallyobsessed followers? given that we have only the one data point (one universe) and we cannot
What 17th-century philosopher said "Without God nothing Benedict De conduct classic experiments on it.
can be conceived"? Spinoza
What medieval philosopher fell in love with and secretly Peter Abelard  Epistemology is the theory of knowledge. It is concerned with the mind’s
married his student, Heloise? relation to reality. What is it for this relation to be one of knowledge? Do
Who wrote "Critique of Pure Reason"? Immanuel Kant we know things? And if we do, how and when do we know things? These
What philosophical "-ism" is closely associated with writer Objectivism questions, and so the field of epistemology, is as old as philosophy itself.
Ayn Rand? Answering these questions requires considering the relationship between
knowledge, truth, belief, reason, evidence and reliability.

GENERALIZATION:  Rational psychology attempts to address problems in the client using logic
to understand the principles of the workings of the mind.
 The systematic approach gives an abstract and theoretical explanation of
philosophy. This approach explains philosophy at an abstract level. It does  The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending,
not concern social, economic, political, or historical factors. and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

 The systematic approach is based on theory because from this view, theory  Logic is the study of reasoning, or the study of the principles and criteria of
comes first, and then there is practice. valid inference and demonstration. It attempts to distinguish good
reasoning from bad reasoning.
 Contrary to the systematic approach, the historical approach insists on
practice. It concerns social life, economy, politics, history, etc. It is basically The systemic approach refers to an analysis method; a way to handle a complex
a practical approach to philosophy. system with a global point of view without focalizing on details. It aims for a
better understanding of complexity without simplifying reality too much. For
 The systematic approach tries to establish the principles of reason, example, it avoids dividing systems into independent subsets or isolating a factor
understanding, mind, i.e., the nature of human thought. This approach can as it is usually done with a more analytical approach. It is a way to identify
be seen in Descartes' philosophy or in Kantian philosophy; for example, the emerging properties specific to a level of organization.
Kantian categories are general concepts of understanding.
How can the branches of philosophy empower you as a human being?
 Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of It will transform you by turning your mind to the consideration of the most basic
existence, being and the world. Arguably, metaphysics is the foundation of questions concerning reality, human existence, and God, you open yourself to a
philosophy: Aristotle calls it "first philosophy" (or sometimes just world of possibilities for understanding the world and our place in it. By exercising
"wisdom"), and says it is the subject that deals with "first causes and the your mind in the disciplines of critical and logical thought, you gain the ability to
principles of things". imagine, debate, and clarify the nature of the good life. Philosophy encourages
and empowers you to discover what really is true and good, and to distinguish it
 Theodicy, according to Leibniz, attempted to defend the existence of God, from what merely appears so. As Plato explained long ago, this is liberating.
who was assumed to be good, despite the existence of evil in the world.
When you let go of who you are, you will become who you might be.
 A philosophy of cosmology seeks to discern ways of knowing the universe,
How we learn to think about ourselves and the world have the power to after having a student summarize a case, including relevant legal
transform the way we process our experiences, and consequently the way we will principles associated with the case.
choose to live. The study of Philosophy provides one with the intellectual tools  Professors often manipulate the facts or the legal principles associated
necessary to evaluate different possible lifechoices so that one will be better with the case to demonstrate how the resolution of the case can change
prepared to find a meaningful direction for one’s life. greatly if even one fact changes. The goal is for students to solidify their
Plato likens the philosopher to the navigator on a ship. To the uninitiated knowledge of the case by thinking critically under pressure.
observer, the navigator appears to do nothing but stare upwards at the sky, doing
none of the work necessary to make the ship move. In fact, without the navigator 2) CARTESIAN METHOD/ METHODIC DOUBT
the ship will have no consistent direction. Just so, he thought, in determining the  Cartesian Method was introduced by Rene
direction of one’s life, philosophy can provide indispensable guidance. Descartes the Father of Modern
Philosophy. In his book, Meditations on
First Philosophy he believed that
knowledge can proceed or start from very
few premises or starting points just like
mathematics. He also suggests, “doubt” as
far as you can until what is left is already
beyond doubt”.
WEEK 4
 For him the method of doubt consists of doubting everything until you
METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING arrive at clear and distinct ideas which are non-sensical to doubt. With his
1) SOCRATIC METHOD/ DIALECTIC METHOD method of doubt, he founded his famous maxim cogito ergo sum which
means I think therefore I am.
 The Socratic method is actually is an example  According to Descartes there are four ways to arrive at certitude. First is
of the method of dialectics. It is also known by never accept anything except it is clear and distinct. Second, divided ideas
the Greek as elenchus that means “argument into many parts as needed to solve it. Third, arrange ideas from simplest
of refutation” or “to inquire or to cross to complex. Last, never leave anything in to chance.
examine”, and exchange of ideas through
Socratic questioning. Also known as Midwifery 3) PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHOD
Method or the Art of endless questioning.
 Phenomenology the science of the essence
 The Socratic Method is named after Greek of consciousness, was founded by Edmund
philosopher Socrates who taught students by asking question after Husserl. Husserl is regarded as The Father of
question. Socrates sought to expose contradictions in the students’ Phenomenology and thought of philosophy
thoughts and ideas to then guide them to solid, tenable conclusions. The as rigorous science.
method is still popular in legal classrooms today.
 The aim of Husserl’s Phenomenology is to
 The principle underlying the Socratic Method is that students learn articulate and to describe the immanent
through the use of critical thinking, reasoning, and logic. This technique reality of our lived experiences. This will be
involves finding holes in their own theories and then patching them up. In done by analyzing pure consciousness as the
law school specifically, a professor will ask a series of Socratic questions relation between the self and its objects.
  That is to say Phenomenology helps us to understand the meaning of (or possibly another kind of jar), urinated on guests at a banquet, and made a
people's lived experience. A phenomenological study explores what regular practice of insulting famous figures and lecturing shoppers in the
people experienced and focuses on their experience of a phenomena. marketplace. Plato reportedly called him “a Socrates gone mad".
 Phenomenology has a strong foundation in philosophy, it is  The only thing I know is that I know nothing- The phrase, called the Socratic
recommended that you explore the writings of key thinkers such as paradox is a well-known saying that is derived from Plato's account of the
Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty before embarking on your Greek philosopher Socrates. However, it is not one that Socrates himself is
research. ever recorded as saying.
 Immanuel Kant was German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is
4) SCIENTIFIC METHOD considered the most influential thinker of the Enlightenment era and one of
 It came from the Greek word “Scientia” the greatest Western philosophers of all times.
which means “to produce knowledge.”  Theophrastus is often considered the father of botany for his works on plants.
This method is also known as the The two of his most important books, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes
empirical method. of Plants, constitute the most important contribution to botanical science
 It is a process of determining the truth during antiquity and the Middle Ages as well as the first systemization of the
through investigation and observation, botanical world.
inductive and deductive method and  Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son
hypothetical reasoning. Alexander in 343 BC. Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal
 When conducting research, scientists use the scientific method to collect academy of Macedon and encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest.
measurable, empirical evidence in an experiment related to a hypothesis
(often in the form of an if/then statement), the results aiming to support GENERALIZATION:
or contradict a theory.
 A method of philosophizing is a process of determining the truth or
5) HISTORICAL METHOD drawing a conclusion from a statement using various philosophical
 The term history came from the Greek word methods, such as: Socratic method, cartesian method, phenomenological
“iotopia” that means “to investigate” or “to method, scientific, and historical.
find out.”
 This process involves gathering evidences,  In the process of Socratic method, statements are deconstructed or
examining them and formulating ideas in the questioned to come up with the actual truth that is believed to rest on the
past to come up with present truths. roots of the argument. Conflicting ideas are seen as invalid sources of the
truth, and probing questions are immediately derived from the given
statements.
Here are some additional mind-blowing facts about Philosophy!  There is no particular end goal aside from reaching an absolute truth from
 As Socrates did not write philosophical texts, the knowledge of the man, his probing statements and, in the process, eliminating ideas that are
life, and his philosophy is entirely based on writings by his students and questionable or contradicting. In using the Socratic method, it is important
contemporaries. to analyze expressions and statements that show the differences of
opinion, fact, and truth.
 Diogenes of Sinope was an ancient Greek philosopher and self-proclaimed
"Citizen of the World" who, at different points, allegedly lived in a wine barrel
  Cartesianism is a species of rationalism, because Cartesians hold that to distinguish correct reasoning its validity or correctness, irrespective of whether
knowledge—indeed, certain knowledge—can be derived through reason or not the premises of this reasoning argue with the facts.
from innate ideas.
WEEK 5
 Cartesians were forced to satisfy themselves with uncertainty in science THE NATURE OF TRUTH
because they believed that God is omnipotent and that his will is entirely
free; from this it follows that God could, if he so wished, make any TRUTH – is one of the central
apparent truth a falsehood and any apparent falsehood—even a logical subjects in philosophy. It is also
contradiction—a truth. The human intellect, by contrast, is finite; thus, one of the largest. Truth has
humans can be certain only of what God reveals and of the fact that they been a topic of discussion in its
and God exist. own right for thousands of years.
Moreover, a huge variety of
 Phenomenology is the careful inspection and description of phenomena or issues in philosophy relate to
appearance. No references on explaining in this method but it requires truth, either by relying on theses
experience. It is scientific study of the essential structure of consciousness. about truth, or implying theses
about truth. What is truth, or
 The study of scientific method is the attempt to discern the activities by even a definition of truth, is a tricky concept in philosophy. Philosophers agree
which that success is achieved. Among the activities often identified as that there is no absolute measure of truth. There are, however, various views
characteristic of science are systematic observation and experimentation, which can help us tackle the concepts of knowing and truth, and arrive at a
inductive and deductive reasoning, and the formation and testing of reasonable assessment if a statement, idea, or event is believable.
hypotheses and theories. The classical concept about truth is rooted in an ancient Greek philosophy’s
concept of “knowledge as justified, true belief”. This concept states that
 The historical method is the process of gathering evidences, examining something is true because you believe it to be true, and that there is a
them, and formulating ideas about the past to come up with the present justification for such belief. A belief may be justified by using perception and
truths. senses by appealing to authority or using reasoning. Later philosophers developed
more theories on the nature of knowledge and truth each providing a basis for
How can the different methods of philosophizing help you in attaining the establishing if a statement or an idea is true.
truth?
In this learning undertaking, we tackled the different Methods of Philosophizing The Neo-Classical Theories of Truth
and its’ purpose. Philosophizing is a way to reveal the truth about the various
Much of the contemporary literature on truth takes as its starting point some
stages of life and everything associated with it and to reveal the fulfillment of the
ideas which were prominent in the early part of the 20th century. There were a
purpose for each stage of the life and to express the way for the realization of
number of views of truth under discussion at that time, the most significant for
these things are in a relevant way, in order to obtain the best compromise of all
the contemporary literature being the correspondence, coherence, and
that we face.
pragmatist theories of truth.
Logic is important to our search for truth. It helps us adequately to interpret facts These theories all attempt to directly answer the nature question: what is the
and other people’s perceptions or views it also develops in us the habit of clear nature of truth? They take this question at face value: there are truths, and the
and critical thinking. Moreover, logic is the study of method and principles used question to be answered concerns their nature. In answering this question, each
theory makes the notion of truth part of a more thoroughgoing metaphysics or  This theory proposes that
epistemology. Explaining the nature of truth becomes an application of some something is true if it makes
metaphysical system, and truth inherits significant metaphysical presuppositions sense when placed in a certain
along the way. situation or context. Based on this
perspective, there is a possibility
1) Correspondence Theory of Truth that there will be varied truths
 This theory states that something is true if it corresponds to reality or the from different perspectives. An
actual state of affairs. This theory assumes a direct relationship between idea or statement is true because
an idea and reality and that statement can be taken as fact. it makes sense in its own context,
and that has a certain degree of
 For example, the statement: A mammal is an animal which is warm-
consistency which renders it
blooded, has hair, and feeds its young with milk is considered to be true.
truthfully.
That “dog barks” is also true. The statement pigs can fly, however is false
in reality pigs do not have the capability to fly.  Muslims for instance have a belief
that certain animals like pigs are
 Whenever we look up definitions in the dictionary, we accept these
unclean. For Muslims, this fact prevents them from eating pork and other
definitions primarily because of correspondence. We expect that objects
types of food made from unclean animals. The belief that eating pork will
and concepts are defined as they are in real life.
render them unclean makes sense in the context of Islamic faith. Non-
 According to the correspondence theory as sketched here, what is key to
Muslims, however, do not share this belief and thus do not subscribe to
truth is a relation between propositions and the world, which obtains
this practice of not eating pork.
when the world contains a fact that is structurally similar to the
proposition. Though this is not the theory Moore and Russell held, it  Coherence and consistency are also important in the context of law and
weaves together ideas of theirs with a more modern take on (structured) politics. Laws make sense if they conform to previous laws and to a set of
propositions. We will thus dub it the neo-classical correspondence theory. general principles like justice, democracy, and liberty. Within a
This theory offers us a paradigm example of a correspondence theory of democratic society, only democratic laws and practices are accepted to
truth. be true. If the government tries to introduce undemocratic laws such as
limitations in the freedom of speech, many citizens will oppose that law
 The leading idea of the correspondence theory is familiar. It is a form of
since it is considered in conflict with the democratic ideal and is,
the older idea that true beliefs show the right kind of resemblance to
therefore, unacceptable.
what is believed. In contrast to earlier empiricist theories, the thesis is not
that one’s ideas per se resemble what they are about. Rather, the  The neo-classical correspondence theory seeks to capture the intuition
propositions which give the contents of one’s true beliefs mirror reality, that truth is a content-to-world relation. It captures this in the most
in virtue of entering into correspondence relations to the right pieces of straightforward way, by asking for an object in the world to pair up with a
it. true proposition. The neo-classical coherence theory, in contrast, insists
that truth is not a content-to-world relation at all; rather, it is a contentto-
 In this theory, it is the way the world provides us with appropriately
content, or belief-to-belief, relation. The coherence theory requires some
structured entities that explains truth. Our metaphysics thus explains the
metaphysics which can make the world somehow reflect this, and
nature of truth, by providing the entities needed to enter into
idealism appears to be it.
correspondence relations.
3) Pragmatic Theory of Truth
2) Coherence Theory of Truth
  This theory holds the view that something is true if we can put it into continually tested to confirm their validity
practice or is useful in real life. It also believes that ideas should be
continually tested to confirm their validity. A related theory, WEEK 6
verificationism, considers that ideas must be verified using the senses or
THE FALLACIES
experience. The scientific method, where experiments are designed to
test hypothesis or confirm conclusions, is an example of a pragmatic In determining the truth of any statement or claim, we must be familiar with how
approach in determining truth. ideas are presented. Ideas and claims are often presented in the form of
arguments, and these arguments may be based on faulty reasoning. These kinds
Descartes assumes that true belief is stronger than any doubt. He does not of argument are called fallacies. Some of these fallacies may be intentional, as the
explicitly argue it but it is implied by his definition of truth as 'beyond any person making the claim is desperate to convince you to accept his or her
doubt'. By defining truth in this way, Descartes assumes not only that the argument. The following are group of fallacies and its examples.
doubtful may be false, but also that the true is indubitable.
1) LINGUISTIC MANIPULATION – The group of fallacies that exploit the
GENERALIZATION connotative fluidity of language in order to impress and intimidate, to seduce
and to secure sympathies, or simply to mislead others.
 The classical concept about truth is rooted in an ancient Greek philosophy’s a. Double Talking – The fallacy of double talking, or euphemism. happens
concept of “knowledge as justified, true belief” which implies that whenever we carefully package our unpleasant ideas in nice sounding
something is true because you believe it to be true, and that there is a words.
justification for such belief.
b. Emotional Words – The fallacy of the use of emotional words happens
when one carefully employs words and images that are heavy with
 It can be justified by using perception and senses by appealing to authority
emotional connotations in order to secure the sympathies of others.
or using reasoning. Later philosophers developed more theories on the
nature of knowledge and truth each providing a basis for establishing if a c. Prestige Jargon – means technical and specialized language. When used
statement or an idea is true. among experts and among persons of the same field of practice, who are
 Correspondence theory of truth states that something is true if it all familiar with the denotations of their specialized terminology, jargon is
corresponds to reality or the actual state of affairs. This theory assumes a all right and even helpful for the sake of precision. But when maliciously
direct relationship between an idea and reality and that statement can be used for an audience who are not experts or who belong to other fields of
taken as fact. practice in order to sound impressive and intimidating, the presence of
jargon becomes questionable.
 Coherence theory of truth proposes that something is true if it makes
sense when placed in a certain situation or context. Based on this 2) PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE – Most often, man is not guided by his cognitive
perspective, there is a possibility that there will be varied truths from and intellectual powers but by his sensuousness, emotions and subconscious
different perspectives. An idea or statement is true because it makes sense drives. The fallacies of psychological warfare target these drives and
in its own context, and that has a certain degree of consistency which motivations of man. They will seduce and intimidate man’s sensuousness,
renders it truthfully. emotions and even his sub-conscious.
a. Meaning from Association – The fallacy of meaning from association is
 Pragmatic theory holds the view that something is true if we can put it into perhaps the most abused fallacy in the production of commercial
practice or is useful in real life. It also believes that ideas should be advertisements. Here, the advertised products are put side by side with
 logically unrelated things and ideas, to suggest that if you purchase this or opponent’s evidence, proof, or counter argument, thereby preventing
that product you too get the associated things and ideas. him from employing them.
b. Misuse of Authority – The fallacy of misuse of authority happens  E.g., When your philosophy professor exhorts the class that only lazy
whenever we cite an authority in one given field regarding an issue that is students ask for examinations with open notes, then asks later on
outside his/her field of competence. who wants an examination with an open note he is using the same
ploy.
c. Repeated Assertion - It is a fact that it is easier to accept a lie that one
has heard many times before than to accept truth that one has never
g. Rationalizing – When one’s ego is placed in an unpleasant situation one
heard of. The fallacy of repeated assertion takes advantage of this
can spin untrue, but pleasant, reasons to settle things. If real reasons are
psychological fact. This fallacy repeats or multiplies essentially the same
not available, pleasant reasons can always be made.
assertion with the aim that sooner or later people will accept it as true.
 E.g., Aesop, a 6th century Greek folk hero and teller of animal fables,
d. Attitude Fitting - The fallacy of attitude fitting is done through inserting
had a story about a fox who felt so bad because he could not grab the
into the argument persons, objects, situations or ideas that are known in
hanging bunch of grapes. After some more tries the fox finally gave
advance to be positively or negatively regarded by the intended audience.
up and comforted himself, saying, “Anyway, those grapes are sour.
 E.g., As early as the later part of the ninth century, the Vikings Who would like to eat sour grapes?”
discovered a huge island that is 85% covered with ice. Wanting to
attract more settlers, they named it Greenland. h. Argumentum ad Baculum – This fallacy still bears its classical Latin name.
 At about the same time they also discovered another territory which Baculum means a club or staff, and argumentum ad baculum roughly
was lush and fertile, wanting to keep the island for themselves they means an argument accompanied with a threatening blow of a club. This
called it Iceland. fallacy happens when force or the threat of force is used instead of
 Their strategy of naming in order to attract and repel was an early proper reason.
example of attitude fitting.
i. Argumentum ad Hominem – is another fallacy that still bears its classical
e. Tokenism – This fallacy happens when people are misled to see a token Latin name. It simply means argument against the person. Normally,
gestures as the real thing. Whenever substantial action is needed but arguments attack the opponent’s arguments and counter-arguments. The
performing it would be too expensive, time and effort consuming, and fallacy of argumentum ad hominem attacks the person of the opponent
even distracting to one’s agenda, people often resort to tokenism. himself.
j. Confident Manner – When reasons, evidences, proofs and answers are
 One of the favorite themes, politicians love to print in their campaign unavailable, one can still fool others by using proper gestures, well
posters is their token shot hugging a dirty street urchin here, or calculated intonations and positive language. The fallacy of confident
shaking hands with miserable slum dwellers there, as if to document manner is saying too little or nothing at all in so much impressive words
their love for the poor and the downtrodden who after the elections and body language.
they immediately neglect and abandon.
3) LOGICAL MANEUVER – The group of fallacies that aim to fool the cognitive
f. Poisoning the Well – When one poisons a well all the water that is drawn and intellectual aspect of the human mind. Hence, this group of fallacies
from it becomes poisoned and unpotable. The fallacy of poisoning the require some degree of rhetorical skill and a certain competence in logical
well works similarly. It happens when one discounts in advance the procedures.
a. Fallacy of Composition – The fallacy of composition behaves like an e. The Strawman – This is basically a counterargument. Here, the arguer
inductive argument. From the observation of each particular member of misrepresents the opponent’s position by exaggeration or distortion with
an organized whole it moves to the whole itself. the view of an easier attack. In effect, the arguer is attacking a strawman,
 E.g., If Mark, Jun and Carl are good vocalists, and you assume that an effigy of the enemy, instead of real enemy.
their trio must also be good, you commit this fallacy.
f. Slippery Slope – takes an initial premise and sees it through a chain of
b. Fallacy of Division - An exact opposite of the fallacy of composition is the consequences until you arrive at an unacceptable, undesirable, or
fallacy of division, and this fallacy behaves like a deductive categorical disastrous outcome. Hence, this is a fallacy that suggests taking a minor
argument. From the observation of the organized whole, it moves to each action will lead to major and sometimes absurd consequences.
particular member.
g. Fallacy of Diversion – Perhaps all high school and college students have
 E.g., we know that Philippines is an economically poor country, but it done this fallacy in one of their essay tests or graded recitations before.
is wrong to say that therefore Juan Dela Cruz, who is from Philippines, Diversion means wandering from the main point, or going away from the
is poor. subject matter.
c. False Dilemma - The fallacy of false dilemma, or the black and white  E.g., politicians’ resort to the fallacy of diversion when during a
fallacy, effaces the various alternatives in between two extreme political campaign instead of proving to the people his capabilities, his
alternatives in a particular issue. integrity and sense of leadership, he spends his time talking about
what he thinks the people would like to hear: promises, smear
 Here, he disregarded the other learning alternatives in between campaign, tales about the movie stars, sentimental or flattering
expensive formal education and zero-expense ignorance. stories, and even a vocal duet with his wife.
d. Argument of the Beard - If the fallacy of false dilemma conceals the  Rhetoric, and the skill to move from one topic to another are the key
various shades in the middle ground and leaves us only with the opposite to a persuasive fallacy of diversion.
extremes, the fallacy of the argument of the beard does the opposite
thing by capitalizing the various shades in the middle ground and h. Begging the Question – The fallacy of begging the question assumes the
concealing the differences of the two opposite extremes in the end. thing or idea to be proven is true or where the conclusion is assumed in
one of the premises.
 E.g., a person uses the argument of the beard when he argues that if  E.g., I am confident that God exists because it says so in the Bible.
a car can accommodate five persons, why can't it accommodate one And the Bible contains God's word.
more? And if it can accommodate six, why can’t it accommodate one i. Appeal to Ignorance – The fallacy of the appeal to ignorance occurs when
more, after all one additional load will not make much difference. we assume that in a certain dispute, the failure to prove one side is a
And if it can accommodate seven, why can't it accommodate one ground to conclude the truth of the other side. Claiming that simply
more? because something has not yet disproven that it is already the case.
 And of course, this argument can go on until you will have twenty-five  E.g., the fact that we cannot prove that creatures from the outer
or thirty-five persons seated snugly inside the car, because one more space do not exist, clearly does not mean that we can logically
additional load will not make a big difference. conclude that they exist.
 j. Contradictory Assumption – As suggested by the name itself, this fallacy mislead others.
happens whenever one presents an argument that contains two
assumptions which simultaneously cannot be true.  Logical Maneuver, the group of fallacies that aim to fool the cognitive and
intellectual aspect of the human mind. Hence, this group of fallacies
k. Two Wrongs Make a Right – This fallacy is committed whenever one tries require some degree of rhetorical skill and a certain competence in logical
to justify an admittedly faulty action by charging whoever accuses him procedures.
with a similar wrong. The fallacy of two wrongs makes a right is based on
the assumption that if others are doing a similar thing, our wrong deeds  Psychological warfare targets these drives and motivations of man. They
are justified or made tolerable. will seduce and intimidate man’s sensuousness, emotions and even his
 E.g., If Americans accuse us of the countless human rights violation in sub-conscious.
the country, we think the counter-accusation “How about you? Don’t
you practice abortion?” settles the issue. WEEK 7
THE HUMAN PERSON AS EMBODIED SPIRIT
l. Lifting Out of Context – This fallacy operates when one indiscriminately
cuts a word or groups of words away from their original context, there is Man is an important subject in Philosophy and understanding of the nature and
a possibility that you will end up distorting its meaning or sense. condition of man is the foremost goal of the discipline. The word man is a general
term which is commonly used to refer to the entire human race. Other related
Aristotle does not believe that the purpose of logic is to prove that human terms include humanity, mankind, and humankind. The word human is a
beings can have knowledge. He dismisses excessive skepticism. The aim of logic biological term, refers to man as a species – homo sapiens -sapiens or modern
is the elaboration of a coherent system that allows us to investigate, classify, human beings. Person is a moral term, a much more complex term which
and evaluate good and bad forms of reasoning. generally refers to a human being granted recognition of certain rights,
responsibilities, and values.
GENERALIZATION: As with any major philosophical question, the concepts of man and human nature
are much discussed and highly debated among philosophers and scientists. From
 Ideas and claims are often presented in the form of arguments, and these these discussions and debates, various perspectives have emerged regarding the
arguments may be based on faulty reasoning. These kinds of argument are nature of man.
called fallacies. Some of these fallacies may be intentional, as the person
making the claim is desperate to convince you to accept his or her A) THE CONCEPT OF THE HUMAN PERSON
argument. The following are group of fallacies and its examples.
What is Man? What qualifies man as man? Who is man?
 Fallacies are faulty arguments, common errors in reasoning that will
undermine the logic of your argument.  Man is a being, a creature, whose destiny is to live in two worlds:

 Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are a. The spiritual world – Man is destined to live in the spiritual world
often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim. because he is summoned by God to live with Him in His kingdom.
b. Physical world or material world – Man is destined to live in the
 There are three groups of fallacy. Linguistic Manipulation the group of physical world since he is part of the world and, besides, he lives
fallacies that exploit the connotative fluidity of language in order to among entities in the world, viz: plants, minerals, animals, etc.
impress and intimidate, to seduce and to secure sympathies, or simply to
  If man is destined to live in a spiritual world and a material world,  Anaximander – posits that man is being that has evolved from
then man is the only creature who is the recipient of a substantial animals of another species. He applies evolution to the gradual
unity of a material body and a spiritual soul. mutation of life from simple to complex until it reaches human life.
Anaximander, indeed, can be called the first evolutionist though his
THREE-FOLD LEVEL OF HUMAN NATURE evolutionary theory being crude and incomplete.
a. Somatic Level – refers to the body, substance, constitution, or stuff of Pythagoras - Pythagoras’ view of man resembles those of later
man and secondarily (or accidentally) to the bodily structure and thinkers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Epicureans
color of man which are conditioned by man’s culture and down to the contemporary thoughts as it will be seen later. Depicted
environment. in the Pythagorean view is that soul is immortal, divine, and is
subjected to metempsychosis.
b. Behavioral Level – refers to the mode of acting of every man. Both in
the abstract and concrete nuances, man has a universal way of acting  Protagoras – “man is the measure of all things, of all things that are
or conducting himself properly. that they are, and of things that are not that they are not”. As the
c. Attitudinal Level – refers to the mental reaction of every man to measure of everything, man for Protagoras is the ultimate criterion of
given stimulus or the position of every individual mart concerning his truth.
opinion, feeling, or mood. This level is universal yet not static It is  Socrates – the greatest philosopher in the western civilization,
universal since every man has attitudes. It is not subjectively static maintains that man is a being who thinks and wills. He gives more
because it is dependent on human individually or uniqueness. This value to the human soul rather than the body. Human soul should be
level lies at the heart of every man’s uniqueness. nurtured properly through its acquisition of knowledge, wisdom, and
virtue. Man should discover truth, truth about good life, for it
B) THEORIES OF HUMAN NATURE knowing the good life that man can act correctly. Man’s attitude
1. ANCIENT towards life therefore should be oriented towards knowledge.
Knowledge is literally taken by Socrates as the ultimate criterion of
 Thales – His argument finds truth in the somatic level of human action.
nature since it is a scientific knowledge that the human brain contains
80% water and the human body 70%.  Plato – The nature of man is seen in the metaphysical dichotomy
between body and soul. The body is material; it cannot live and move
 Anaximenes – contends that air is the world-stuff. To this apart from the soul; it is mutable and destructible. On the contrary,
philosopher, air undergoes two processes, namely: condensation and the soul is immaterial; it can exist apart from the body; it is mmutable
rarefaction. The former is the source of cold; while the latter of heat. and indestructible. The soul is a substance because it exists and can
In the light of understanding man as body and soul, its rarefied air. exist independently of the body; nevertheless, it is temporarily
incarcerated in the body.
 Heraclitus – this philosopher maintains that everything is in constant
change. “You can’t step twice in the same river”. In his consciousness THREE PARTS OF SOUL:
of change, he believes that fire makes the world stuff. Evidently, 37°C
temperature of the semantic level of human nature us a conviction a. Rational Part – this part is located in the head, specifically in the
that man is grounded in the world. brain. The soul that enables man to think, to reflect, to draw
conclusion, and to analyze. This way prompts Plato to say that this
part of the soul is the most important and the highest.
 b. Appetitive Part – this part is located in the abdomen. The soul that  He claimed that man is the substantial unity of body and soul.
drives man to experience hunger, thirst, and other physical wants. Man is the point of convergence between the corporeal and
c. Spiritual Part – this part is located in the chest. The soul that enables spiritual substances.
man to experience happiness, contentment, and loneliness.  For Aquinas, man is an embodied soul, not a soul using a body, as
Plato asserted. Soul is a substance, while the body is actual. The
 Aristotle – known as the famous student of Plato and tutor of mere existence of a body makes a body complete, perfect, and
Alexander the Great. Man is a rational animal is his famous dictum. To actual. To Aquinas, when animation happens, the two become
understand Aristotle’s concept of human nature one must look unto one.
one of his most important works, “De Anima” literally means on the  The soul the animator of the human body, is a substance, it is a
soul. De Anima is considered as the first professional textbook in substance because it exists by itself; it is on corporeal. Soul is a
psychology. According to Aristotle’s De Anima, “the soul is the substance because it acts, it wills, it thinks, it knows.
animating principle which enables living being to move on their own,
 A soul cannot have perception in the absence of the body
and perform activities such growth, nutrition, and reproduction. Body
because perception means sensation. Aquinas explains, is meant
and soul are in state of unity. In this unity, soul acts as the perfect or
that the soul is the body’s principle of activity.
full realization of the body while the body is a material entity which
has a potentially for life. The body has no life, it can only possess life
3. MODERN
when it is united with the soul. He speaks of a man as a single essence
composed of body and soul.  Rene Descartes – His view of man is founded on his idea of
substance. By substance he means anything that exists independently
2. MEDIEVAL of other other’s existence. Descartes is saying that substance exists by
itself. He draws the distinction between God as the infinite substance
 St. Augustine – Medieval Philosophy was started by Augustine. He is and man as the finite substance Descartes calls thinking substance
the first great Christian philosopher and the main authority in the Res Cogitans and extended substance Res Extensa.
Medieval period. According to him “God is Absolute spirit, Absolute
will, Absolute Intelligence, Absolute Freedom, Absolute good,  Res Extensa- The term refers to the body of man. By body,
Absolute power, Absolute holiness, cannot will evil, no beginning and Descartes means anything that has a figure; it is confined to a
no end and transcendent. particular space and time; it is sensible; it can be touched; kit can
be felt; it has weight; and it has color. Descartes says that the
 For Augustine, God created man in a mortal body with an extension of the body is its essential property.
immortal soul and gave man free will. Man is responsible for the
 Res Cogitans – The term refers to the soul of man. The soul is a
existence of evil, not God for God cannot will it; he is Absolute
spiritual substance which is the first immediate evident fact in the
goodness.
finite substance. For Descartes, the essence or nature of soul is to
 God alone who can redeem man. God’s grace has its locus in the
think because of this, it cannot subscribe to any material fact. For
church. Salvation happens through conversion symbolized by
Descartes, the soul, instead of giving man life, it gives man
one’s submission to the church and its sacrament.
consciousness, thinking becomes the all-embracing reality.
 St. Thomas Aquinas – Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles
4. Contemporary/Post-Modern
are the monumental works of Aquinas. He understands man as a
whole.
  Karl Marx – Marx’s views of human nature lie at his ideas of labor and
society. For Marx the nature of man is equivalent to labor my means  Man is an important subject in Philosophy and understanding of the nature
of his subsistence. Man becomes man only in the context of labor; and condition of man is the foremost goal of the discipline. The word man
hence man is intertwined with practical activity. is a general term which is commonly used to refer to the entire human
race. Other related terms include humanity, mankind, and humankind.

 Philosophers and scholars tend to talk human nature based on major  Man is a being, a creature, whose destiny is to live in two worlds: (1) Man is
schools of thought from human history. Some religion scholars argue that destined to live in the spiritual world because he is summoned by God to
spiritual or religious natures are the key trait in human nature. For live with Him in His kingdom (The spiritual world); (2) Man is destined to
example, Judeo-Christian belief presents humans as creations of God that live in the physical world since he is part of the world and, besides, he lives
have free will, which provides them both dignity and ethical dangers. among entities in the world, viz: plants, minerals, animals, etc. (Physical
Buddhists think that to be human is to be aware (conscious) and to desire. world or material world)

 Three-fold of human nature: (1) Somatic Level (body, substance,

 More broadly, in Western cultures, the discussions usually begin with Plato constitution, or stuff of man and secondarily to the bodily structure and
and Aristotle in classical Greece. Plato thought that humans were rational, color of man which are conditioned by man’s culture and environment); (2)
social animals, and he connected our nature with our souls and ability to Behavioral Level (mode of acting of every man); (3) Attitudinal Level
reason rather than our bodies. Aristotle differed primarily in his belief that (mental reaction of every man to given stimulus or the position of every
both body and soul contributed to our human identity. These theories are individual mart concerning his opinion, feeling, or mood)
not mutually exclusive, but have been built upon each other and adapted
over time.  Theories of Human Nature: Ancient: Thales (water); Anaximenes (air is the
world-stuff); Heraclitus (everything is in constant change); Anaximander
(man is being that has evolved from animals of another species);
 Other ideas about human nature have been discussed by historically Pythagoras (soul is immortal, divine, and is subjected to metempsychosis);
important figures including Rene Descartes, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Protagoras (everything, man for Protagoras is the ultimate criterion of
Sigmund Freud. The following items represent changes in theories from the truth); Socrates (man is a being who thinks and wills); Plato (man is seen in
1500s to the 20th century. the metaphysical dichotomy between body and soul); Aristotle (man is a
rational animal is his famous dictum)

 Descartes (1596-1650) expanded Plato's ideas, describing people as  Medieval: St. Augustine (Medieval Philosophy was started by Augustine
thinking spirits. He was later critiqued by Gilbert Ryle, who, like Aristotle, and the first great Christian philosopher and the main authority in the
could not completely separate human mental processes from physical Medieval period); St. Thomas Aquinas (He understands man as a whole and
ones. By way of example, Aristotle and Ryle would agree that the action of claimed that man is the substantial unity of body and soul)
hammering a nail when building a house inherently weaves mind and body
together.  Modern: Rene Descartes (by substance, anything that exists independently
of other’s existence)

GENERALIZATION  Contemporary/Post-Modern: Karl Marx (nature of man is equivalent to

 labor my means of his subsistence)  Recognizes duties towards the environment—instead of dominion
over nature, we are mere stewards responsible for keeping the
balance and beauty in nature.
2) PANTHOCENTRICISM
WEEK 8  Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher;
THE HUMAN PERSON AND HIS ENVIRONMENT “Animal Liberation”, the realm of being
morally considerable must extended to
ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY – is the branch of philosophy that is concerned higher forms of animals or intelligent
with the natural environment and humanity’s place within it. The major issues animals like dogs and chimpanzees, who are
tackled by environmental philosophers are humanity’s role in the natural world, sentient—have the capacity to feel pain.
the interaction between nature and human activities, and humanity’s response to
environmental challenges. Most views on environmental philosophy emphasize  “To give preference to the life of a being,
the role humans play in causing environmental changes. Other views, however, simply because that being is a member of our species would put us in the
recognize that changes in the environment are part of a larger interplay among same position as racists who give preference to those who are members
organisms and ecosystems on the planet. of their race”. Two Arguments/Reasons why animals have moral
consideration
APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS  They are sentient being and they could feel pain – Singer argues, “all
the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard
1) ANTHROPOCENTRISM
fact; in the animals are our equals.
 Traditional views consider human beings as the center of moral
consideration from Judeo-Christian Tradition (Genesis 1:26-29)  They possess inherent or intrinsic
value. They are an end in themselves –
 The Earth and other natural resources as an instrument for man to
should not be regarded as a means of
explore and conquer and to make use of it for the benefit of man.
man’s selfish ends.
 Plato and Aristotle viewed man as superior because of his/her unique
capacity as a rational being. 3) BIOCENTRISM
 Protagoras claimed that man is the measure of all things. Therefore, only  Viewed that not only humans and animals,
human beings are moral due to his special ability towards self- but also plants should be morally
consciousness and deliberation. considerable.
 Barbara Mackinnon in her book; “Ethics: theory and Contemporary  Preservation of biodiversity with its plants
Issues” and animals.
 “Our own good requires that we have due and wise regard for  Protection for all living organism including
animals and environment”. protection for all living organism including animal rights.
 This good need not be defined narrowly in terms of the satisfaction of  Paul Taylor, in his book “Ethics of Respect for Nature” says “all living
individual interests of a limited sources—prudential things should be considered as “teleogical centers of life”— each and
anthropocentrism. every living organism has its own telos, or goal or purpose to fulfill in this
world.
\
  Kenneth Goodpaster, “On Being Morally Considerable”—being sentient is  Murray Bookchin – “until human beings cease to live in societies that are
just a means of attaining a living organism’s goal of being alive or having structured around hierarchies as well as economic classes, we shall never
life. be free of domination”— the very notion of the domination of nature by
man stems from the very real domination of human by human”.
 Believes that ecological problems rooted from social problem: Political:
4) ECOCENTRICISM has to do with power relations in society brought about by capitalism as
 Regard ecosystem as holistic entities that well by social class domination.
should be given moral consideration.
7) ECOFEMINISM
 Leopold’s Land Ethic, “a thing is right when
it tends to preserve the integrity, stability  A reaction against male domination and the corresponding women
and beauty of the biotic community. It is oppression.
wrong when it tends to do otherwise”.  Believed that in our relationship with the environment is rooted on male-
 Callicott, “The Conceptual Foundations of centered viewed in nature.
the Land Ethic” says that the land ethic  They are also against to the existing patriarchal relations as well as
morality is the next stage of man’s ethical capitalist system supporting exploitative economic structures to the
evolutionary development—moving towards seeing things less detriment of women and nature.
individualistically, but in a more holistically. “Environmental ethics is not a  It serves as a social and political agenda for the benefit of both women
muddle; it is an invitation to moral development” and nature—believes that a society characterized by a mentality that
 All ethics seeks appropriate respect for life, but respect for human life is tolerates the oppression of women is directly linked with its tendency to
only a subset of respect for all life. tolerate the abuse of the environment and degradation of nature.

5) DEEP ECOLOGY MILETUS: THE PLACE WHERE THE QUEST ON NATURE AND COSMOS STARTED.
 Against the traditional and conventional view of the environment. Miletus was a city state on the coast of the Aegean Sea in Ionia (modern day
Turkey) which had served as the center of the Ionian rebellion that sought
 An environmental approach emerged which assumes that all living things
freedom from the Persian Empire. The first ancient Greek philosophers, Thales,
possess equal value and intrinsic worth regardless of their usefulness or
Anaximander and Anaximenes, were all from Miletus, and so they are known as
utility to other beings.
the Milesian School. They were primarily invested in cosmology, the order and
 Arne Naess – human being should look at the self as an extension of interaction of the elements, and observation of nature. In the ancient world,
nature, where the human ego would be identified with nature. Respect cosmology and science were primarily passive observation. As the Chinese,
and care for self is tantamount to respect and care for nature—self- Muslims and then Europeans developed the mechanics and mathematics of the
realization. modern world, science was increasingly driven by active experimentation.

6) SOCIAL ECOLOGY GENERALIZATION

 An offshoot of the movement against domination of existing hierarchical
structures in society that pre-empt the full development of the full nature  No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a
of an individual, from his/her first (biotic nature-man’s evolutionary part of the main” (John Donne). This means that as human person, we
history) and second nature. interact not only with our fellow human beings, but also with other living
 and non-living elements in our environment. address and eliminate all forms of domination while recognizing and
embracing the interdependence and connection humans have with the
earth.
 Humankind is a part of the world, and we significantly affect our
environment in the same way that changes in our environment affect us.  Philosophical view that believes maintaining order in the environment will
Environment philosophy is the discipline that studies the moral relationship bring out the natural beauty of the surroundings and contribute to the
of human beings with the environment and its non-human contents. well-being of the people and other organisms living in it. The appreciation
Philosophers believe that the human person has the ability to change the of natural beauty brings about the concern for the environment and helps
environment to suit his purposes. people relate more effectively with nature.

 It is in an orderly environment where human persons thrive best. Disorders  This is a moral approach that analyzes the relationship between humans
give rise to several problems and challenges for humankind. As a rational and the environment. It also discusses environmental problems caused by
being, the person is not only capable of transforming the world, but also of human activities and social issues that impact the environment. It serves as
understanding the laws which govern nature. It can be said that the world a basis for reflecting on how our actions show our regard for nature. It also
is a text which the person can read and understand in order to live a better guides us in upholding the welfare of the environment and everything in it.
life. As persons, it is our responsibility to start with our own actions and how
they affect our immediate surroundings
 Anthropocentrism believes that humans are the most important species on
the planet and they are free to transform nature and use its resources.  As human persons, it is our responsibility to treat with respect not only our
Panthocentrism as a philosophical stance, there are several varied opinions fellow humans, but also everything in our world. Upholding
and positions taken on the question as to whether humans and animals environmentalism and sustainability will enable us to take the first steps in
suffer pain differently and whether that is due to differences in mental addressing environmental issues and contribute to solving the greater
capacity and sentience (awareness of things). environmental challenge of climate change.

 Biocentrism believes that humans are not the only significant species on WEEK 9
the planet, and that all other organisms have inherent value and should be
THE HUMAN PERSON AND HIS ENVIRONMENT (2)
protected. Ecocentrism promotes the idea that order and balance in nature
brings about stability and beauty. The influence of humanity on the
Environmental Challenges: Present and Future Challenges on the Environment
environment can be best understood if we consider the individual person \

as a dynamic source of change within his particular environment. Human persons live and survive because of their social and natural environments.
The obligation to take care of the natural environment had been previously
 Deep ecology gives a strong importance to the preservation of the global neglected until humans started to see and feel the consequences of the damages
natural equilibrium, the variety and complexity of living beings, ecosystems that they have done to the environment.
and cultures. Social ecology looks at the ever-changing relationship
between all parts of our society, and how each one has an important role CLIMATE CHANGE: THE PRESENT CHALLENGE
to play in keeping the system healthy and stable. Ecofeminism puts forth  Regarded as one of the major environmental challenges that the world is
the idea that life in nature is maintained through cooperation, mutual care facing today.
and love. It is an activist and academic movement, and its primary aim is to
 A treat to the world’s basic needs, since our key natural resources may affect An analysis of temperature trends and irrigated field experiments at the
our food and water security. International Rice Research Institute shows that grain yield decreased by at
least 10% for each 1°C increase in growing-season minimum temperature in
 Global climate change has already had observable effects on the
the dry season.
environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up
earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.
5. MORE INTENSE DROUGHTS
 Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global Global warming exacerbates the effects of El Niño the most recent of which
climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise was experienced in the country from 2015 to 2016. The Department of
and longer, more intense heat waves. Agriculture estimated that 413,456 farmers have been directly affected by El
 Philippines is the third most vulnerable country to climate change according Niño-associated drought and dry spells during the last El Niño period.
to the 2017 world risk report. Impacts of climate change in the Philippines are
immense, including: annual losses in GDP, changes in rainfall patterns and 6. HIGHER SEA LEVEL RISE
distribution, droughts, threats to biodiversity and food security, sea level rise, Observed sea level rise is remarkably highest at 60 centimeters in the
public health risks, and endangerment of vulnerable groups such as women Philippines, about three times that of the global average of 19 centimeters.
and indigenous people This puts at risk 60% of LGUs covering 64 coastal provinces, 822 coastal
municipalities, 25 major coastal cities, and an estimated 13.6 million Filipinos
SOME CLIMATE CHANGES IMPACTS IN THE PHILIPPINES: that would need relocation.

1. MAJOR RAINFALL CHANGES IN PATTERNS AND DISTRIBUTIONS 7. WATER SCARCITY

A 2011 PAGASA report suggests a decrease in rainfall by 2020 in most parts of Climate change, rapid urbanization, and population growth drives water
the country except Luzon. As far as extreme rainfall is concerned, however, scarcity worldwide. A study conducted by the World Resources Institute
the number of days with heavy rainfall (e.g., greater than 200 mm) is predicts that Philippines will experience a 'high' degree of water shortage by
expected to increase with global warming by the year 2020 and 2050. the year 2040. The country ranked 57th likely most water stressed country in
2040 out of 167 countries. The sector that will bear the brunt of water
2. THREATS TO NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS shortage by that year is agriculture, a major component of the country’s
Approximately 1 million hectares of grasslands in the Philippines are highly economy and which currently employs x% of the country's workforce.
vulnerable to climate change in the future. Most grasslands in the uplands are
prone to fires particularly during extended periods of dryness and lack of PRESERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES: THE CONTINUING CHALLENGE
rainfall during summer.
 A number of species have already been extinct ever since life on Earth began
3. CORAL LOSS as human beings compete with other living things for space, food and water.
The 2016 Low Carbon Monitor Report foresees that 98 percent of coral reefs In which, most cases human beings are at the topmost level of the food chain
in Southeast Asia will die by 2050, practically an extinction by the end of the and they are very successful predators.
century if current global warming trends will continue. The IPCC projects that
by years 2051 to 2060, the maximum fish catch potential of Philippine seas WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO PROTECT SPECIES?
will decrease by as much as 50% compared to 2001-2010 levels. 1. ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE
Healthy ecosystems depend on plant and animal species as their foundations.
4. DECLINING RICE YIELDS When a species becomes endangered, it is a sign that the ecosystem is slowly
 falling apart. Each species that is lost triggers the loss of other species within SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE FUTURE CHALLENGE
its ecosystem. Humans depend on healthy ecosystems to purify our  Developments that meet the needs of the present without compromising the
environment. Without healthy forests, grasslands, rivers, oceans and other ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
ecosystems, we will not have clean air, water, or land. If we allow our
 Peter Wenz emphasized a more primal obligation that we have to recognize;
environment to become contaminated, we risk our own health.
an obligation to protect the environment from oneself.
2. MEDICAL  Our duty is to protect the environment from any and every threat or a duty to
Over 50% of the 150 most prescribed medicines were originally derived from bring aid—we have the moral obligation to do our part.
a plant or other natural product. Unfortunately, only about 5% of known
plant species have been tested for medicinal uses and there are thousands of GLOBAL INITIATIVES
plant species that have yet to be identified. Tens of thousands of Americans  United Nations is a leading proponent if global environment initiatives to
die every year from illnesses for which there is no known cure. The cures for bring about environmental sustainability on a global level.
these diseases may eventually come from plants, therefore, we must protect
all species before they are lost forever from nature’s medicine cabinet. Environmental Program and Protocol formulated:
 Kyoto Protocol (2005) – agreed upon by member nations to reduce their
3. AESTHETIC/RECREATIONAL
carbon dioxide emissions.
The American tourism industry is dependent on plant and animal species and
their ecosystems for their multi-billion-dollar, job-intensive industry. Every  Montreal Protocol (1987) – is a result of the agreement in the Vienna
year, millions of people visit natural areas in the US and participate in wildlife Convention of the Protection of the Ozone Layer, aimed to reduce ozone
related activities. From woodland hikes to beach going, outdoor activities are depletion by phasing out products that contain substances responsible for
the second most popular travel activity (Travel Industry Association of such; CFCs or Chlorofluorocarbons, HCFCs or Hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and
America). HFCs or Hydrofluorocarbons.
 Basel Convention (1989) – treaty signed and ratify by 180 member states and
4. AGRICULTURAL European Union through the initiatives of UN and its UNEP arm—aimed at
Agriculture also plays an important role in the protection of species; farmers controlling ‘transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their
are often seen as the original conservationists. Many farmers set aside disposal’ to protect developing countries to become dumping sites for toxic
portions of their land as wildlife habitat and also work in partnership with waste of developed countries.
groups such as Trout Unlimited to restore river and stream habitats for
endangered and threatened fish and reptiles. In addition, wild relatives of  Global Marshall Plan (1990) – proposed by Albert Gore former US Vice
common crops contain important genetic material needed to maintain these President, envisions the attainment of sustainable development by making
crops. These relatives can be used to ensure crops are disease-resistant while wealthy nations with advanced economies help Third World nations by
providing information for developing new crops that can grow in less than bringing and sharing their advanced green technologies.
adequate lands.
Here are some interesting facts about the environment!
WATER SCARCITY: THE EMERGING CHALLENGE  Only 3% of our planet’s water is drinkable. 97% of it is salt water. More than
half of the Earth’s fresh water can be found frozen in the glaciers. The rest is
 The rising global population combined with economic growth in emerging
markets will trigger growing demand for portable water and food. underground.
 The water in our lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, ponds and other surface water  Plastic is Forever. It doesn’t bio-grade and go back to nature. It photo-
makes up 0.3% of our fresh water resource. degrades into smaller pieces of itself, continually polluting the environment
 25% of the bottled water you buy is really municipal tap water. throughout its life cycle.
 There is more water vapor in the atmosphere than all the combined rivers on  The US throws away enough plastic bottles in a week to encircle the Earth 5
the planet. times! They’re only 5% of our population
 The Niagara Falls process 750,000 gallons of water every second!
GENERALIZATION
More: Amazing Facts on Earth
 Humans have a moral obligation to protect the environment and promote
 Agriculture uses up 70% of our global freshwater. It goes up to 90% in fast
the sustainable development of the planet for future generations.
developing countries.
Environmental degradation is detrimental and is jeopardizing the long-term
 We use 10 billion tons of water worldwide.
health and security of animals, plants and humans.
 The Ozone Layer “Hole” which is 29 million square kilometers, is expected to
be fully healed in the next 55 years. This is due to the worldwide banning of
 Now more than ever, it is important that we understand the impact our
chlorofluorocarbon and hydro fluorocarbon.
actions have on the environment. In order to become more
environmentally aware, we also need to take measures to protect the
More: Facts about Environmental Issues
planet and hopefully undo some of the damage already caused by human
 In the last 170 years, we added 2.4 trillion tons of Carbon Dioxide into our
activity.
atmosphere. Half of this was added in the last 35 to 50 years.
 We have already destroyed 27% of our coral reefs which is home to 25% of
 Behaving in a more environmentally conscious manner can be as simple as
our marine life.
making minor changes to your lifestyle. Individuals affect the environment
 We have explored more of Space than our terrestrial oceans.
in a variety of ways including pollution emission to land, air and water, use
 If you go to the deepest part of our ocean, the pressure can be compared to a
of natural resources, energy consumption and waste.
human being trying to hold 50 jumbo jets!
 The Ice in Antarctica is as much as the water in the Atlantic Ocean.
 There is no doubt that human activity is hugely responsible for damaging
the environment. The fact that concentrations of greenhouse gases have
More: Environmental Awareness Facts
increased by more than a third since the industrial revolution highlights our
 If the entire world’s Ice melted, our sea levels will rise by 66 meters.
impact. Therefore, it is our responsibility to improve our environmental
 Our oceans have an average depth of 12,400 feet. This means that most of
awareness and change our behavior.
the living things on our planet live in total darkness
 The world uses 160,000 plastic bags every second. Plastic bags are now
 The rise in greenhouse gas emissions contributes to the enhanced
banned from supermarkets in most developing countries.
greenhouse effect, which has caused global temperatures to rise. These
gases also cause air, land and water pollution. Pollution affects the quality
 of food, which might cause the ingestion of toxic substances. Poorer air
quality also poses severe risks to human health.

 As we are all responsible for damaging the environment, it is important for

everyone to improve their environmental awareness. It is especially
imperative to teach children about the importance of environmental
awareness, to ensure that the lives of future generations are secure. As
things stand, it's the future generations that will be most affected by our
actions. Therefore, we must equip our children with the tools necessary to
behave in a responsible and informed way towards the environment.