2 Approaches to Philosophy

Approaches in Doing Philosophy

Why do we philosophize? We all have the potential to

philosophize since we have the tendency to wonder and doubt.
A philosopher is a good communicator who can clearly and
adequately present his or her ideas. Doing philosophy can be
applied in day-to-day activities and life perspectives. Because it
involves an evaluative process, doing philosophy allows a person to
make better decisions and act accordingly to situations with the
help of various philosophical skills. On life perspectives, philosophy
enables reflective thinking which greatly influences a person’s view
of life, challenges, and relationships.
In doing philosophy, a holistic perspective on the subject is
always required. Failure to do so or only using a partial point of view
may lead to illogical or incorrect conclusions.
Plato traced man’s need to philosophize to his
sense of wonder. Whenever we are confronted with
an experience, we always wonder how it came
about.
French philosopher
Rene Descartes traced the
need to philosophize to doubt. In life, we
will be faced with several ideas and
arguments which present themselves as
“truths”. A critical and questioning
perspective is necessary to determine if
indeed these ideas or views are correct or
true.
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Swiss-German philosopher Karl Jaspers saw

the need to philosophize because of
experience. These experiences limit situation,
philosophy provides us a means to
understand adverse or challenging
conditions, and to rise above them and gain
new knowledge and perspective.

The need to philosophize is driven by

the love for wisdom. To love wisdom is to have
an insatiable desire for truth.

The following are the branches of philosophy that deals with a

particular aspect of life or phenomena.

Aesthetics is the branch of Philosophy which deals with beauty and

what makes things “beautiful”.
Logic is branch of philosophy which deals with correct reasoning.
Epistemology discusses the nature of knowledge and knowing.
Ethics is the branch which deals with moral questions and
dilemmas.
Political Philosophy studies governments and deals with questions
of justice, power and the rights and obligations of citizens.
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy which deals with questions
regarding reality and existence.

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PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON is an area in philosophy that

understand the human person from a philosophical perspective.
Doing a Philosophical Reflection on a Situation from Holistic
Perspective

Reflection requires a person to be willing to examine one’s thoughts,

feelings, and action and to learn more about one’s life and
experiences.

Human self-reflection is the capacity of humans to exercise

introspection and to attempt to learn more about their
fundamental nature and essence.

Philosophy has an important place in our daily lives. Engaging in

philosophical reflection leads to the development of beneficial
skills that individuals can apply in everyday situations.

Reflection is vital in ensuring that our actions and decisions are well
thought out and are done with due regard for their implications
and consequences on ourselves, others, and our surroundings.
When we reflect, we can judge whether our actions or decisions
are reasonable or not.

The Branches of Philosophy

Metaphysics
Metaphysics is only an extension of the fundamental and
necessary drive in every human being to know what is real. What is
reality, why does reality exist, and how does it exist are just some of
the questions pursued by metaphysics. The question is how to
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account for this unreal thing in terms of what you can accept as
real. Thus, a very big part of a metaphysician's task is to explain that
part of our experience, which we call unreal in terms of what we
call real. This means the concept of thought, idea, existence,
reality, being, and other abstract ideas of lite are understood and
analyzed using what is physically seen in the world and vice versa.
Reality here is referred to in metaphysics as true reality,
meaning, it is the fundamental source and basis of all reality in the
world and in existence. Metaphysics assumes that the reality we
see with our eyes is just a temporary cover of the true reality that
exists beyond what our senses could perceive.
Clouds, for example, or blocks of ice do not look like water, but
they can be explained in terms of water when water evaporates,
it becomes a cloud, and when water freezes, it becomes ice.
Ethics
Is honor with deceit worth attaining? How do we distinguish
good from evil or right from wrong? Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
asked those fundamental questions concerning happiness and the
meaning of life; so, did Du Bois when he confronted the struggles
of African-Americans and advocated equal rights. The news about
a man who set a casino on fire and those who committed suicide
for allegedly losing millions in gambling delved into the complexity
of our judgment, on how our actions affect others. While in I, Robot,
a film about artificial intelligence, machines abilities in discerning
good from bad were explored.
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that explores the nature of
moral virtue and evaluates the morality and virtue of human
actions. Ethicists who study morality from the perspective of
philosophy appeal to logical arguments to justify claims and
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positions involving morality. They use ethical theory in the analysis
and deliberation of issues.
Whereas religion has often helped motivate individuals to
obey the laws and moral code of their society, philosophy is not
content with traditional or habitual ethics but adapts a critical
perspective. It insists that obedience to moral law be given a
rational foundation. In the thought of Socrates, we see the
beginning of a transition from a traditional, religion-based morality
to philosophical ethics (Landsburg, 2009).
Epistemology
Specifically, epistemology deals with the nature, sources,
limitations, and validity of knowledge (Soccio, 2007).
Epistemological questions are basic to all other philosophical
inquiries. Epistemology explains:
(1) how we know what we claim to know; (2) how we can
find out what we wish to know; and 3) how we can differentiate
truth from falsehood. Epistemology addresses varied problems: the
reliability, extent, and kinds of knowledge; truth; language; and
science and scientific knowledge. How do we acquire reliable
knowledge? Human knowledge may be regarded as having wo
parts.
Philosophers have given considerable attention to questions
about the sources of knowledge. Some philosophers think that the
particular things seen, heard, and touched are more important.
They believe that general ideas are formed from the examination
of particular facts. This method is called induction, and
philosophers who feel that knowledge is acquired in this way are
called empiricists (e.g., John Locke).

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Empiricism is the view that knowledge can be attained only
through sense experience. According to empiricists, real
knowledge is based on what our sight, hearing, smell, and other
senses tell us is really out there, not what people make up in their
heads. Knowledge for empiricists is based on facts and evidence
that we can see and perceive in the world.
Logic
Reasoning is the concern of the logician. This could be
reasoning in science and medicine, in ethics and law, in politics
and commerce, in sports and games, and in the mundane affairs
of everyday living. Varied kinds of reasoning may be used, and all
are of interest to the logician.
The term "logic" comes from the Greek word “logike” and
was coined by Zeno the Stoic (c. 340-265 BC). Etymologically, it
means a treatise on matters pertaining to the human thought. It is
important to underpin that logic does not provide us knowledge of
the world directly, for logic is considered as a tool, and, therefore,
does not contribute directly to the content of our thoughts. Logic
is, not interested in what we know regarding certain subjects. Its
concern, rather, is the truth or the validity of our arguments
regarding such objects.
Aristotle was the first philosopher to devise a logical method.
He drew upon the emphasis on the "universal" in Socrates, negation
in Parmenides and Plato, and the reduction to the absurd of Zeno
of Elea. His philosophy is also based on claims about propositional
structure and the body o argumentative techniques (e.g., legal
reasoning and geometrical proof).

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Aristotle understood truth to mean the agreement of knowledge with
reality: truth exists when the mind's mental representations, otherwise
known as ideas, correspond with things in the objective world. Logica
reasoning makes us certain that our conclusions are true, and this
provides us with accepted scientific proofs of universally valid
propositions or statements. Since the time of Aristotle, the study of lies
or fallacies has been considered an integral part of logic.
Zeno of Citium was one of the successors of Aristotle. He was
also the founder of a movement known as Stoicism, derived from
the Greek Stoa Poikile (Painted Porch). The Painted Porch referred
to the portico in Athens where the early adherents held their
regular meetings. Other more influential authors of logic then are
Cicero, Porphyry, and Boethius in the later Roman Empire; the
Byzantine scholar, Philoponus; and Alfarabi, Avicenna, and
Averroes in the Arab world.
Aesthetics
When humanity has learned to make something that is useful to
them, they begin to plan and dream how to make it beautiful.
What therefore is beauty? The establishment of criteria of beauty is
the function of aesthetics.
Aesthetics is the science of the beautiful in its various
manifestations including the sublime, comic, tragic, pathetic, and
ugly. To experience aesthetics, therefore, means whatever
experience has relevance to art, whether the experience be that
of the creative artist or of appreciation. As a branch of philosophy,
students should consider the importance of aesthetics because of
the following:

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1. It vitalizes our knowledge. It makes our knowledge of the
world alive and useful. We go through our days picking up a
principle as fact, here and there, and too infrequently see
how they are related. It is the part of a play, a poem, or a
story to give us new insight, to help us see new relationships
between the separated items in our memories.
2. It helps us live more deeply and richly. A work of art-whether
a book, a piece of music, painting, or a television show helps
us rise from purely physical existence into the realm of
intellect and the spirit. As a being of body and soul, a human
being needs nourishment for his higher life as well as his
lower. Art, therefore, is not something merely like craft or
applied arts, but something of weight and significance to
humankind. It is what Schopenhauer meant when he said,
"You must treat a work of art like a great man. Stand before
it and wait patiently until it deigns to speak." (Scruton et al.,
2001)
3. It brings us in touch with our culture. Things about us change
so rapidly nowadays that we forget how much we owe to
the past. We cannot shut ourselves off from the past any
more than we can shut ourselves off geographically from the
rest of the world. It is difficult that the great problems of
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human life have occurred over and over again for
thousands of years. The answers of great minds in the past to
these problems are part of our culture.

Filipino Thinking: From Local to Global

It may sound presumptuous to speak of "Filipino thought” for
the reason that the Philippines could not very well speak of a
tradition such as that of China, India, or Greco-Roman. Yet, for the
Filipino, there has to be "Filipino thought" or none at all. Like any
other people, the Filipino must eventually take consciousness of his
own particular lite and his world, his society and his gods in the light
of truth, and thereby realize his proper being (Reyes, 1990).
However, the pioneering attempts to formulate Filipino philosophy
share the fate of most pioneering works: the lack of refined tools
and predecessors upon whom to stand (Mercado, 1994).
Nevertheless, Filipinos do have their own philosophy. This
section draws out elements or draws sketches of the general lines
of Filipino philosophy. The three dimensions of Filipino thought are
loob, Filipino concept of time, and bahala na. These attitudes and
values constitute the hidden springs of the Filipino mind.
1. Loob: Holistic and Interior Dimensions
Kagandahang-loob, kabutihang-loob, and kalooban are
terms that show sharing of one's self to others. For Mercado (1994),
interiority manifests itself in freedom. Loob puts one in touch with
his fellow beings. Great Philippine values, in fact, are essentially
interpersonal. The use of intermediaries or g0-betweens, the values
of loyalty, hospitality, pakikisama (camaraderie, conformism), and
respect to authority are such values that relate to persons. In short,

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the Filipino generally believes in the innate goodness of the human

being.
2. Filipino Concept of Time
Moreover, the Filipino-whether llokano (Ti tao kasla
kulintaba, no agtayab, ngumato, bumaba) (Life is like a wheel,
sometimes you are up, and while sometimes you are down.), or
Kapampangan (Bie keti ang yatu, mengari yang ruweda, mibabo,
milalim, ing Dios nung buri na) (A human being is like a bird who
flies up and goes down) proves that he believes in gulong ng palad
(literally, "wheel of fortune") and hence, looks at lite as a series of
ups and downs (Timbreza, 1992). This philosophy of lite makes the
Filipino an unmitigated optimist. When the so-called wheel of life is
on the downtrend, he looks to the future with hope because life’s
wheel cannot stay down forever. When one weeps, one will surely
smile. The Filipino looks upon every event, fortunate or unfortunate,
as fleeting or transitory.
Life may be sorrowful, but precisely because suffering is
ultimately salutary, there is hope beyond suffering (Timbreza, 1996).
3. Bahala Na
The pre-Spanish Filipino people believed in a Supreme Being,
Batula or Bathala. However, in this regard, the originality of Filipino
thought will probably be precisely in his personalistic view of the
universe (Timbreza, 2002). For Filipinos, humans live with cosmic
spirits or presence.
Bathala is not an impersonal entity but rather a personal
being that keeps the balance in the universe. Unlike the Indian and
the Chinese, a human being can forge some personal relationships
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with this deity because Bathala is endowed with personality. The

Filipino puts his entire trust in this Bathala who has evolved into the
Christian God (Mercado, 2000).
The Filipino subconsciously accepts the bahala na attitude
as a part of life. Bahala na literally means to leave everything to
God who is Bathala in the vernacular. The bahala na philosophy
puts complete trust in the divine providence; it contains the
element of resignation. Thus, the Filipino accepts beforehand
whatever the outcome of his problem might be (Mercado, 2000).

Activity No. 2

Directions: Write your answer in a one (1) whole sheet of yellow

paper.

A. Give a brief answer to the following question.

1. How can a person benefit from philosophizing?
2. What are the reasons that compel a person to engage in
philosophical thinking?

B. Write TRUE if the statement is correct otherwise choose FALSE.

__________1. Plato traced man’s need to philosophize to his sense of
wonder.
__________2. The need to philosophize is driven by the love for
wisdom.
__________3. This is an area in philosophy that understand the
human person from a philosophical perspective is holistic thinking.
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__________4. Swiss-German philosopher Karl Jaspers saw the need
to philosophize because of doubt.
__________5. Aesthetics is branch of philosophy which deals with
beauty.
__________6. Ethics is a branch of philosophy which deals with
correct reasoning.
__________7. Logic is a branch of philosophy which discusses the
nature of knowledge and knowing.
__________8. Philosophy of the Human Person is a branch of
philosophy which deals with moral questions and dilemmas.
__________9. Metaphysics is branch of philosophy which deals with
questions regarding reality and existence.
__________10. Political Philosophy is branch of philosophy which
studies governments and deals with questions of justice, power
and the rights and obligations of citizens.

C. Fill in the blanks. Write your answer on the space provided.

Experience Knowledge Greek

Holistic Thinking Partial Thinking Love of Wisdom

1. Philosophy – comes from two ____________________word philos

(love) and sophias (wisdom) is the study of general and
fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values,
reason, mind, and language.
2. Philosophers – or ______________________ people who are
engage in philosophy.

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3. A Approaches to Philosophy
man needs to philosophize because of his sense of wonder,
doubt and ______________________.
4. Philosophy does not limit itself to its own field as it makes sense
of information gathered from various fields of
________________________
(e.g., science, psychology, economics, politics, etc.,)
5. Philosophy of the Human Person is an area in philosophy that
understand the human person from a philosophical
perspective which involves holistic thinking and
_______________________.

D. Draw a timeline. Consider your childhood, formal education,

experiences, and events. Jot down those occurrences in your
life when you experienced success and dissatisfaction in life.
Write down your insights and purpose based on your happiest
and worst times.

Happiest Times Worst Times

Activities, people, locations, Activities, people, locations,
and conditions involved in and conditions involved in
your happiest times: your worst times:
Learning gained about your Learning gained about your
purpose: purpose:
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

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References
Ramos, C. C. (2019). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human
Person Edition. Rex Book Store.
Vinzons, M. P. (2020). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human
Person. Vibal Group Inc. .
DepEd Module

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