Doing Philosophy

Doing Philosophy
Lesson Objectives
• Recognize human activities that
emanated from deliberate reflection
• Realize the value of doing philosophy
in obtaining a broad perspective on
life
• Do a philosophical reflection on a
concrete situation
Key Questions
What is the importance of
Philosophy?
How does philosophy work in
our daily life?
Meaning of Philosophy
“Philosophy” came from two Greek
words:
Philo which means “to love”
Sophia which means “wisdom”
philosophy originally
meant
love of wisdom
Philosophy is also SCIEN
defined as the science CE
 It is an organized
body of knowledge.
that by natural light  It is systematic.
of reason studies the  It follows certain
first causes or highest steps or employs
principles of all certain procedures.
things.
NATURAL LIGHT OF
It uses aREASON
philosopher’s natural
capacity to think or human
reason or the so-called unaided
reason.
STUDY OF ALL
• THINGS
It makes philosophy
distinct from other
sciences because it is not
one dimensional or
partial.
• A philosopher does not
limit himself to a
particular object of
FIRST CAUSE OR HIGHEST
PRINCIPLE
Principle of Identity
whatever is;
whatever is not is
not. Everything is its
own being, and not
being is not being.
PRINCIPLE
Principle of Non-
it is impossible for a thing
Contradiction
to be and not to be at the
same time.
PRINCIPLE
Principle of Excluded
a thingMiddle
is either is or is
not; between being and
not-being, there is no
middle ground possible.
PRINCIPLE
Principle of Sufficient
nothing exists without
Reason
sufficient reason for its
being and existence.
Early Greek philosophers studied aspects of the natural
and human world that later became separate sciences -
astronomy, physics, psychology, and sociology.
Basic problems like the nature of the universe, the
standard of justice, the validity of knowledge, the
correct application of reason, and the criteria of beauty
have been the domain of philosophy from its beginnings
to the present.
These basic problems are the subject matter of the
metaphysics
ethics
branches
of EPISTEMOLOGY
Philosophy
logic
AESTHETICS
Metaphysics
concerned with the nature
of existence, being and
the world
Metaphysics
It is an extension of a fundamental and necessary
drive in every human being to know what is real.
A metaphysician’s task is to explain that part of our
experience which we call unreal in terms of what we call real
We try to make things comprehensible by simplifying or

reducing the mass of things we call appearance to a
relatively fewer number of things we call reality.
Metaphysics
THALES
He claims that everything we
experience is water (“reality”) and
everything else is “appearance.”
We try to make things comprehensible
by simplifying or reducing the mass of
things we call appearance to a relatively
fewer number of things we call reality.
Metaphysics
IDEALIST AND MATERIALIST
Their theories are based on

unobservable entities: mind and matter.
They explain the observable in terms
of the unobservable.
Metaphysics
Reality is
PLATO unchanging,
eternal,
Plato calls immaterial,
these and can be
realities as detected only
ideas of by the
forms. intellect.
Nothing we experience in the physical
world with our five senses is real.
Ethics
involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending
concepts of right and wrong
conduct
Ethics
It explores the nature of moral virtue and
evaluates human actions.
It is a study of the nature of moral judgments.
Philosophical ethics attempts to provide an
account of our fundamental ethical ideas.
It insists that obedience to moral law be given a
rational foundation.
Ethics
Virtue is an awakening of the seeds of
good deeds that lay dormant in the
mind and heart of a person which can
be achieved through self-knowledge.
To be happy is to live
a virtuous life.
True knowledge = Wisdom = Virtue
Courage as virtue is also knowledge
SOCRATES
Ethics
WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHADT DU BOIS
An African-American who wanted

equal rights for the blacks.
His philosophy uses the same
process as Hegel’s dialectic
(Thesis > Antithesis >
Synthesis)
Epistemology
concerned with the
theory of
knowledge
Epistemology
It deals with nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge.
It explains:
(1) how we know what we It addresses varied
claim to know; problems: the
(2) how we can find out what reliability, extent, and
we wish to know; and kinds of knowledge;
(3) how we can differentiate
truth from falsehood.
truth; language; and
science and scientific
knowledge.
Epistemology
Sources of knowledge
Induction deduction
• gives importance to • gives importance to
particular things seen, general law from which
heard, and touched particular facts are
• forms general ideas understoodadvocates
Rationalist– or judged
of
deduction method
through the
Empiricist examination
– advocates of
of particular
induction methodfacts For a rationalist, real
knowledge is based on the
Empiricism is the view that logic, the laws, and the
knowledge can be attained methods that reason
only through sense develops.
experience. the meaning and truth of an idea are tested
pragmatism by its practical consequences.
Logic
study of reasoning --- the nature
of good (correct) reasoning and
of bad (incorrect) reasoning
Logic
Reasoning is the concern of the logician.
It comes from the Greek word logike, coined by
Zeno, the Stoic (c.340–265BC), which means an
essay on matters pertaining to the human thought.
It does not provide us knowledge of the world
directly and does not contribute directly to the
content of our thoughts.
It is not interested in what we know regarding
certain subjects but in the truth or the validity of
our arguments regarding such objects.
Logic
• First philosopher to devise a
logical method
• Truth means the agreement of
knowledge with reality.
• Logical reasoning makes us
certain that our conclusions are
true.
ARISTOTLE
Logic
Zeno of Citium
• One of the successors of Stoicism
moral philosophy that
Aristotle and founder of emphasizes the discipline
Stoicism and mastery of the
Other influential authors of logic emotions in order to reach
a wiser, rational, and
• Cicero, Porphyry, and peaceful mindset
Boethius
• Philoponus and Al-Farabi,
Avicenna, and Averroes
Aesthetics
deals with the principles of
beauty and artistic taste
Aesthetics
It is the science of the beautiful in its various manifestations –
including the sublime, comic, tragic, pathetic, and ugly.
It is important because of the following:

• It vitalizes our knowledge. It makes our knowledge of the world
alive and useful.
• It helps us to live more deeply and richly. A work of art helps us to
rise from purely physical existence into the realm of intellect and
the spirit.
• It brings us in touch with our culture. The answers of great minds
in the past to the great problems of human life are part of our
culture.
Aesthetics
HANS GEORG GADAMER
• A German philosopher who argues
that our tastes and judgments
regarding beauty work in connection
with one’s own personal experience
and culture.
• Our culture consists of the values and
beliefs of our time and our society.
Brainfeeding
time to feed the mind
Share your concepts about the
importance of philosophy. Give
examples of these in politics,
sports, law, and daily life.
How do you define “happiness”?
Do you support the view of
Socrates: “To become happy, a
person must live a virtuous
life”? Explain
Share in class your views
about what is “right” or
“wrong.” Share your own
experience in class.

Doing Philosophy

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Doing Philosophy

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Doing Philosophy

We try to make things comprehensible by simplifying or

Their theories are based on

An African-American who wanted

It is important because of the following:

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