INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

OF THE HUMAN PERSON


Prepared by: Ms. Lorie Mae Balalio
 UNIT I: PHILOSOPHY AND THE HUMAN PERSON

LESSON 1:
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
At the end of this module, I can: 
1. Define philosophy through how it is done.
2. Understand the nature of philosophical inquiry.
3. Explain the branches of philosophy.
4. Show an understanding of the history of philosophy.
5. Recognize some significant philosophers in history.
6. Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view.
7. Identify human activities that emanate from deliberate reflection.
 The term philosophy is attributed to
Pythagoras.
 3 classes of people who attend the
ancient Olympic Games as (1) lovers
of gain; (2) lovers of honor; and (3)
lovers of knowledge or wisdom.
 According to Pythagoras, the third
class of people is the best kind who
goes to the games as they are
spectators who seek to arrive at the
truth.
 He called this class of people
philosophers.
 Philosophy comes from
the two Greek words
philos, which means
"love," and sophia, which
What is
means "wisdom; hence, Philosophy?
philosophy literally
means "love of wisdom."
 The Subject Matter of Philosophy

1.

Three Concepts of Philosophy (Armando Bonifacio)

People, though unconsciously, have a philosophy in life:

"The fundamental values or some basic assumptions about things,
persons, institutions, and others which form presuppositions that
influence one's beliefs, decisions, and actions.“
2. The activity of reflecting on and analyzing one's beliefs or reasons
for actions or decisions could be a kind of philosophy as well.
3. Philosophy could also be a reconstructed belief or a value system
which shows a universal and comprehensive character as a result
of reflection and analysis in a more comprehensive and systematic
manner.
 Man has his/her own
philosophy which makes
him analyze and reflect
about life therefore man
is a philosopher.
- Armando Bonifacio
 The Subject Matter of Philosophy
As a Study of Subjects

1.

Philosophical understanding is not making some discovery about
the world, but deciding on how to talk. Talking about subjects
means:
(1) investigating the meaning of concepts or proposal of a new
term in order to advance some area of philosophical inquiry;
(2) critiquing the use of these terms; or
(3) a combination of both.
 The question is, "What subjects can be talked about?"
 The Subject Matter of Philosophy

1.

Two Differences between Philosophical and Nonphilosophical Subjects

The fundamental importance of philosophical subjects to a

reflective person. Hence, what is considered as philosophical
subjects are matters a reflective person believes in, counts as
real, and considers as good which shapes his or her life.
2. The lack of general agreement on how the subjects of concern
may be defined. Philosophers would agree that there is no one
characterization for how a subject may be talked about.
 The Subject Matter of Philosophy

Two Differences between Philosophical and Nonphilosophical Subjects

 There may be one definition which prevails, but so far,

problems in philosophy are still problems because there has
never been one answer yet to questions on philosophical
subjects such as the following:
• What is knowledge?
• What is the nature of the self?
• Does God exist?
• What is the standard of beauty?
• Is there a universal morality?
 The Subject Matter of Philosophy

Two Differences between Philosophical and Nonphilosophical Subjects

 Since philosophers agree that there is a lack of a general

agreement how philosophical subjects are defined, philosophy
becomes an ongoing activity because there may be many and
varied answers to fundamental questions.
The Major Branches of Philosophy

Ethics
Aesthetic
s
Epistemology
Logic
Metaphysics
The Major Branches of Philosophy
Ethics


 Derived from the Greek term ethos, meaning "moral
philosophy," is concerned about human conduct.
As a normative study, it deals with norms or standards of right and
wrong applicable to human behavior.
 It is considered as prescriptive as it prescribes what people ought to do
rather than describes what people do.
 A philosopher engaged in ethics is concerned in finding out what
norms or standards of human behavior lead to ends or goals which are
desirable or undesirable.
 The systematic reflections in ethics will lead to an understanding of
the concept of right and wrong and conceptions about morality which
affects one's actions toward others. Thus, ethics helps people prioritize
their values.
 The Major Branches of Philosophy
Aesthetics

 Comes from the Greek word aisthetikos which
means "sensitive" or "perceptive.“
 The philosopher is concerned with the analysis of aesthetic
experience and the idea of what is beautiful. The analysis is
directed toward the nature of aesthetic judgment, standards of
beauty, and the objectivity of these standards in response to the
questions raised about the meaning of aesthetic experience.
 Philosophers analyze whether beauty is based on utility,
experience, pleasure, or expression.
 The Major Branches of Philosophy
Epistemology

 Comes from the Greek word epistēmē which
means "knowledge"; thus, this branch of
philosophy deals with various problems
concerning knowledge.
 Among the major concerns in epistemology are the origin of
knowledge––whether empiricism (given by experience) or rationalism
(given by the mind prior to experience) ––and the verification or
confirmation of knowledge.
 Other highly specialized problems in this branch of philosophy
include the distinction between belief and knowledge, the nature of
truth, the problems of perception, the external world, and meaning
and other minds.
The Major Branches of Philosophy
Logic

 Came from the Greek word logos, which is sometimes
translated as "sentence", "discourse", "reason", "rule", and
"ratio".
 The branch of philosophy that looks into whether there are rules or
principles that govern reasoning.
 As a study of reasoning, logic incorporates the analysis of the methods
of deduction and induction to provide the rules on how people ought
to think logically.
 Knowing the rules of logic gives a person the techniques to create
sound arguments and avoid fallacious reasoning.
 Logic also increases one's ability to reason correctly and distinguish
irrational reasoning.
 The Major Branches of Philosophy
Metaphysics

 Literally means "after physics." Early Greek
philosophers claimed that it is the study of the
nature of reality.
 Analyzes whether everything is material, and if life, energy and mind
are its different manifestations.
 Metaphysicians reflect on the subject of appearances (how something
looks by how it appears) and reality (that which actually is). Some
examples of specific questions that metaphysicians reflect upon are the
following:
• What is the meaning of life?
• What is the purpose of life?
• Does God exist?
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-philosophical Period

 Even before the birth of natural philosophy, people had the
origin of things and the events or occurrences in nature. Such
attempts are evident in the folklores, myths, and legends that
the ancient peoples the ancient Babylonians, Chinese, Hindus,
Egyptians, and the Greeks most notably believed in.
 However, these stories are characterized by religious elements
or supernatural powers and not by natural or rational
explanation.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Philosophy is said to have begun in the Ionic colonies of
Asia Minor around 6th century BC through Thales of
Miletus.
 Thales, who is known as the first Greek philosopher and
the father of philosophy, is regarded as the first to engage
in the inquiry of searching for causes and principles of
the natural world and various phenomena without
relying on supernatural explanation, and divine
components.
 By observing nature he believed that the earth floats on
water, while it is considered as the first ultimate
substance.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Another Miletian is the philosopher Anaximander
who also wondered about the beginning of the
universe and where it came from.
 Anaximander claimed that the universe was
formed from the boundless (Greek apeiron) which
is both the first principle (arche) the father of
philosophy and the substance (stoicheion) of the
universe.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 On the other hand, Anaximenes another Miletian,
argued that it was the fundamental element.
Through the process of rarefaction or compression,
the air surrounds Earth in a more or less
compressed state.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Heraclitus of Ephesus and Xenophanes of
Colophon
 Heraclitus claimed the "unity of opposites" in
characterizing the cosmos and went further as to
express that to understand these characterizations
is to inquire of the logos (an objective law-like
principle) and be able to speak the language of the
logos.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Xenophanes, on the other hand, claimed that there
is a single god. He did not subscribe to the idea of
an anthropomorphic god, whom many people
believed in his time.
 Xenophanes suggested that if gods are "human-
like," then horses, oxen, and lions would have
equine, bovine, and leonine gods as well.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans


 This group believes that the cosmos is a structured system ordered by numbers.
For them, things become knowable because they are structured in this way, the
structure can apparently be expressed in a numerical ratio. Hence, they believe
that nature can be quantified.
 The pre-Socratics and their points of view expressed a tendency toward
observation and analysis. Since these points of view are devoid of any mythical
notions, they are already somewhat "scientific." Though their main concern is
the nature of phenomena or what constitutes the cosmos, testimonia (reports
from ancient authors about the thinkers' life and thoughts) and fragments
(passages taken to be direct quotations) reveal that they are also concerned with
religious and ethical thought, the nature of understanding, mathematics, and
other areas of concern.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Socrates and the Socratic Schools
 This period was dominated by three famous philosophers
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The philosophers in this period
mainly had to answer the problem of how to save the
intellectual and moral life of the nation, which was threatened
by materialism and skepticism.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Socrates

 Socrates left no writings at all and yet he has greatly
influenced western philosophical tradition through
Plato's Dialogues.
 Socrates is best known for the elenchus, or the Socratic
method. It is a method of question and answer which
aims to provoke the one being asked to think for himself
or herself and to clarify his or her conceptions about
what is asked.
 Socrates is a regarded as the one who urged self-
examination and claimed that "the unexamined life is no
worth living.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Plato

 Plato's philosophy is a completion and extension
of the philosophy of Socrates. Socrates taught that
knowledge through concepts is the only true
knowledge to which Plato concluded that the
concept, or the idea, is the only true reality.
 Thus, for Plato, philosophy is the science of the
idea, or, as we should say, of the unconditioned
basis of phenomena.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Plato

 Plato's philosophical ideas are found in his
Dialogues which are accounts of what he is
concerned with as influenced by his teacher,
Socrates.
 The Republic one of Plato's most famous works,
discusses his social and political philosophy and
his belief that the Greek city-states, to flourish,
must be led by philosopher kings, and that justice
is best manifested if persons would do what is
suited to each of his or her soul.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Plato

 Plato's works also encourage humanity to seek
what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful in
the intellectual realm beyond the appearances
because the senses are often deceitful. He also
urged that humans detach themselves to what is
corporeal because the soul without the limitation
of the body can better recognize the eternal form
of truth, beauty, and goodness.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Aristotle

 Aristotle's philosophy is often described as an
opposition to the Platonic philosophical tradition
Aristotle believes that the perceptual and cognitive
faculties of people are dependable, such belief
places humans in direct contact with the world
which is to be studied and therefore engaged in
substantive philosophy.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-Socratic Period

 Aristotle

 For Aristotle, human beings philosophize because they
wonder about the world, and as they do, more things of
their experience appear puzzling.
 His method focuses on analyzing phenomena or
experience and proving credible opinions about these
experiences to arrive at adequate proof.
 Aristotle believed that the aim of philosophy is truth, and
the endowment of senses will lead a person in direct
contact with the world, and therefore allow him to
analyze whether what appears upon close scrutiny and
analysis is correct.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Medieval Period: Scholasticism

 The medieval period in the history of philosophy is described
as the confluence of faith and reason. Philosophers in this
period used philosophy as a handmaid of theology. Concerned
with proving God's existence and understanding what is man
in relation with God, scholasticism directed its inquiry on how
reason can be used to provide proofs that God exists. They also
attempted to reconcile Greek philosophy and Christian
theology.
 Brief History of Philosophy
Medieval Period: Scholasticism

 Among the recognized main philosophers during this period
are St. Anselm, who is known for his ontological argument for
the existence of God in Proslogion; St. Augustine, who
promoted "the argument by analogy” against solipsism or the
philosophical idea that only one’s own existence is the only
thing that is real and St. Thomas who is famous for his inflrntial
work Summa Theologica which explains his views on the
creation and government of the universe, the origin and nature
of man, and human destiny, among others, through Catholic
theology.
 Brief History of Philosophy

Modern Period: Rationalism, Empiricism, and Kant's Philosophy

 The modern tradition in the history of philosophy is recognized

to be concerned about problems or issues on knowledge. It is
often described as dominated by two schools of thought-
rationalism and empiricism and ends with the synthesis made
by Immanuel Kant.
 The reflections and analysis are directed toward answering the
questions on the nature of knowledge and the verification and
types of knowledge claims to be known by humans.
 Brief History of Philosophy

Contemporary Period: The Analytic and the Continental Tradition

 The most difficult period to characterize is the philosophical

tradition which dominated western thought in the 20th century.
Because of various conceptions and concerns, historians of
philosophy would often distinguish between the analytic and
the continental tradition in its broadest sense.