SHS ABM

PHILO12

INTRODUCTION TO
THEPHILOSOPHYOFTHE
HUMAN PERSON

SIR

MT (3:30 PM - 5:00 PM)

FRI (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM)

Lesson 1: Nature and Functions of Philosophy

What?
Greek words Philos - "to love"
Sohia - "wisdom"

Originally, philosophy means "love of wisdom".

Philosophers - lovers of wisdom.

Philosophy
- it is concerned with all assumptions, foundations, methods, implications
of science, and with the use and merit of science.
- philosophy answers "why?"
- it is not a science because it employs rational tools of logic
- is the strive for the expansion of the fundamental human understanding.

Why?
Intellectual curiosity
interest in cultural and intellectual history
Sharpening thinking skills
Philosophy might affect your future career prospects in a number of
ways
A philosophy concentration is not limiting

Where?
Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the West (ancient Greek City of
Miletus in the Western coast of what is now Turkey). It is in this city that
the first philosopher in the West, Thales (father of Philosophy) lived.
what made him a philosopher is his desire to know the ultimate stuff
that makes us all connected.

Mythos vs. Logos

The Unifying Principle of Diversity

rejected the Pantheon of the Gods
Thought that the world is rational
There is something that unifies everything

Arche - the "unifying principle"

Source of motion
Source of life
Dimension of intelligence
Where?

From their roots in Ancient Greece - thoughts and ideas gained popularity in
many places. The developments that started in ancient Greece brought
about the emergence of Western Philosophy (became more systematic and
specialized in its approach).

Eastern philosophy emerged from the communities and civilizations in Asia

(more fluid and places greater emphasis on social relations, the family and
community).
Different Sub-disciplines of Philosophy
Metaphysics
studies and asks questions about the essence of existence of a being.
Examples:
Is there a God?
What is truth?
Do people have free wills?
What is person? What makes a person the same through time?

Epistemology
studies the nature of knowledge and the rationality of belief; the means
of production of knowledge.
Examples:
What is knowledge?
Do we know anything at all?
How do we know what we know?
Can we be justified in claiming to know?

Value Theory
Ethics/Axiology - concerns the matter of "value/morality"
comes from the greek word "Ethos" means moral philosophy (human
conduct).
Example: What is good? What makes action of people good?
Aesthetics - explores the nature and appreciation of art, beauty and taste;
Greek word "Aisthetikos" means sensitive or perspective.

Logic
"philosopher's toolbox"
concerned with "reasoning" or "truth". What constitutes "good" or "bad"
reasoning?
Doing Philosophy

Holism
(from Greek word meaning all, entire, total) is the idea that all
properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, etc) cannot be
determined or explained by the sum of its component parts alone.
Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the
parts behave.
Aristotle - "The whole is more than the sum of its parts." Aristotle
viewed the organized whole. The whole has a synergy generated by
mutual interactions among constituents, which is more than the simple
sum of parts.
A philosopher's way of thinking can be described as "Abstractive". This
means looking from a bird's eye view.
The first question is from Greek civilization
The first noted philosopher - "Thales" he was a think who loves to gaze
at the stars. By sensing the harmony in the movements of heavenly
bodies, he said that everything is related to each other.
Our aim is to understand philosophical mind moves. We should be able
to think and look beyond what is immediately before us. We must learn
to see and how a thing is related to everything else.

Philosophy and its Holistic Approach.

To understand philosophy is to engage in it.
Doing philosophy entails a holistic rather than a partial perspective.

Major Characteristics of Philosophical Questions

Philosophical questions have answers but the answer remain in dispute.
Philosophical questions cannot be settled by science, common sense or
faith.
Philosophical questions are of perennial intellectual interest to human
beings.

Philosophizing
means to think or express oneself in a philosophical manner. It
considers or discusses a (matter) from a philosophical standpoint.
Methods:
1. Phenomenology (Experience and consciousness)
condition on being conscious: normal state of being awake and able to
understand what is happening around you. (Merriam)
Founded by Edmund Husserl, focuses on careful inspection and
greek word "Phainomenon" meaning "appearance".
Phenomenology - scientific study of essential structures
2. Existentialism (On freedom)
search for truth might be based on one's attitudes or outlook
more of an outlook
human condition, response, freedom, decision, subjectivity of life as
lived
often thought to be anti-religious; nevertheless there has been strong
current of Christian existentialism.
Keirkegaard, first existentialist, he insisted that the authentic self was
the personally chosen self, as opposed to public or "herd" identity.
"persona" - mask (if you feel free, it's your true self)
Sartre, "the importance of free individual choice, regardless of the
power of other people to influence and coerce our desires, beliefs and
decisions." ..... "One is never free of one's situation, but one is always
free to negate that situation and to change it."
One may be shy or assertive, but such behavior is always a choice and
one can always resolve to change.
Socrates, the authenticity of the self - the genuineness of his thoughts
and actions, "the good of his soul"
St. Augustine, spiritual nature of the "true" self as apposed to the
inauthentic demands of desire and the body.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, essential goodness of natural is contrast to
corruption
3. Postmodernism (on cultures)
Postmodernists, humanity should come at truth beyond the rational to
the non-rational elements of human nature, including the spiritual.
4. Analytic Tradition: On Language
conviction that to some significant degree, philosophical problems,
puzzles and errors are rooted in language and can be solved or avoided
by a sound of understanding.
5. Logic and critical thinking: Tools in reasoning
centered on analysis and construction of arguments
about making claims