WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
DOING PHILOSOPHY
Learning Objectives:
At the end of week 1, students should:
1. Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view.
2. Realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective on life.
3. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic perspective.
“Life is suffering.”
- Gautama Buddha
1. What do you notice from the picture?
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2. Did anyone get the correct answer? Why or why not?
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3. What does this picture imply about our effort to understand the realities of life or
answer our perennial problems?
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DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY
Traditionally, Philosophy is defined as love of wisdom
because it came from two Greek words philos (love) and
sophia (wisdom). You might find it strange to connect love to
philosophy. You might think of philosophy as a purely
intellectual discipline which has nothing to do with love. You
might believe love is romance, poetry, intense passion in
which you are willing to lay down your life. But you will see
that philosophy can also be pursued passionately. In fact
some people like Socrates died for truth. It is this centrality of
love to philosophy that we call people who engages in
philosophy as philosophers (lovers of wisdom).
The moment someone starts asking anything about his/her
environment, himself/herself, and his/her society, this
person is already philosophizing.
It is in the nature of philosophy that a person inquires for
the meaning of himself/herself and the world around
him/her.
It inquires about the entire breadth of reality, and gives a
purely rational explanation of its totality.
THREE GENERAL STATEMENTS that attempt to explain
what philosophy is all about.
1. Philosophy integrates itself with other disciplines to achieve
a comprehensive and coherent world view.
Philosophy as a discipline is encompassing. It never confines
itself to a portion of human experience or to a certain aspect
of human phenomenon. Philosophy enables a person to
understand the various intricacies of all disciplines and paves
the way for his/her understanding of reality.
THREE GENERAL STATEMENTS that attempt to explain
what philosophy is all about.
2. Philosophy analyzes the very foundations of other disciplines.
Philosophy concerns itself with the roots of disciplines such
as art, science, and even religion. It explores and examines
all their underpinnings.
THREE GENERAL STATEMENTS that attempt to explain
what philosophy is all about.
3. Philosophy analyzes and criticizes treasured beliefs and
traditions.
Philosophy is always on the lookout in putting things to their
proper perspectives. It always has this gift of logical
consistencies where it forces to see the importance of one’s
beliefs, attitudes, and traditions. It weeds out all the
insignificant traces of inconsistency, superstition, and
irrationality.
Cognitive branches Normative branches
Metaphysics Ethics
Epistemology Aesthetics
- This branch provides the - Concerned with the standard
description of being knowing
of the good or bad
- They are foundations of
- Concerned with what is
understanding any
philosophical system ought to be?
- Concerned with what is?
COGNITIVE BRANCHES
METAPHYSICS
From the Greek word meta – meaning beyond
Physikon means nature
Metaphysics is considered as the science of ultimate
reality as it seeks to present what is absolutely real in
contrast to what is perceived by the naked eyes;
hence, it aims to draw the demarcation line between
appearance and reality.
METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of
existence and reality.
It answers the question "What is?"
It encompasses everything that exists, as well as the nature of
existence itself.
It says whether the world is real, or merely an illusion.
It is a fundamental view of the world around us.
Questions: What is real?
What is reality?
What is reality like
EPISTEMOLOGY
Derived from two Greek words episteme (knowledge) and logos (to
study)
The source and origin of knowledge and truth is important so this
discipline that discusses about truth and knowledge obtained
through senses, those formed in the mind and those related to
feelings.
It investigates the acquisition of knowledge - encompassing the
nature and construction of concepts, logical reasoning, and even the
validity of the perception of the senses
Epistemology explains :
How we know what we claim to know How we can find out what we wish to know
How we can differentiate truth from falsehood
EPISTEMOLOGY
There are two significant domains of epistemology:
1. RATIONALISM
Views reason as the chief source of knowledge and the most
important element in the acquisition of knowledge.
The main source of knowledge is deductive reasoning based
on self evident principles or actions
The popular proponent of this view was Rene Descartes who
was well-known for the quote “Cogito, ergo sum - I think,
therefore I am.”
EPISTEMOLOGY
2. EMPIRICISM
Asserts that all of a person’s knowledge comes from his/her
five senses
The chief proponent of this view was John Locke who
conceived the concept of mind being a tabula rasa (empty
tablet/blank sheet) upon which one could write and store
his/her ideas based on experiences and learn out of those
experiences.
Empiricism Vs. Rationalism
Empiricism- Knowledge that is derived from
Experience and Experimentation
Rationalism: Knowledge that is derived from Reason
and Logic
NORMATIVE BRANCHES
ETHICS
From the Greek word ethos means “custom” or “habit”
The study of what is right and what is wrong in human behavior
in the pursuit of beauty and goodness of life
Ethical Questions:
Is an action moral or immoral?
What are human rights and how do we determine them.
Do individual have the right of self- determination?
ETHICS
THREE DOMAINS :
1. Metaethics deals with the origin and meaning of
ethical concepts. It responds to questions focusing
on the meaning of ethical terms such as “good” and
“bad”, issues on the universally accepted truths, and
even people’s justifications of their own judgments.
2. Normative ethics is that part of moral philosophy
concerned with the setting of certain standards of
what is morally right and morally wrong.
ETHICS
THREE DOMAINS :
3. Applied ethics is the domain of moral philosophy that
attempts to apply theories to situations in real life.
The solutions to these problems are being used in
the formulation of public policy.
AESTHETICS
Derived from the Greek word aisthetikos meaning one who is
perceptible things through his sensation, feelings and intuitions.
It is branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and appreciation
of art, beauty, and good taste.
One’s judgment on what is beautiful transcends beyond sensory level,
and includes both emotional and intellectual aspects.
Questions:
What is beauty? Who should judge what is beautiful or artistic?
What is art? How should art and beauty be judged?
What is the value of beauty and art?
Guide Question
1. What is the value of this
decision to human life?
2. Do you have to make
mistakes just to know what's
right?
“The truth will
set you free”
“I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.
John 14:6
Assignment
Search the following Great Philosopher:
1. Socrates
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY
Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the West. To be
more precise it is the ancient Greek city of Miletus in the
Western coast of what is now Turkey that gave birth to
philosophy.
Thales is the Father of Philosophy in the Western civilization.
He lived between 624 and 546 BCE
Thales believed that despite the different things we
encounter there is one underlying stuff or substance in which
everything is composed.
He believes that there is One in the Many.
THALES
Thales was the first individual who tried to reduce the
multiplicity in to a unity (Jones,1969).
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
Three great Greek triumvirate:
SOCRATES, PLATO and ARISTOTLE
- these three had influenced almost, if not
all, philosophical thoughts and schools that
people came to know today
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
SOCRATES
- One of the greatest philosophers who wrote nothing.
- Recognized as the first major philosophers of ethics.
- According to him, the highest possible wisdom came from the
mastery of the self or from fully knowing oneself, and that the
more knowledgeable and wiser person becomes, the closer he/she
is to true and genuine happiness.
- Socratic Method is a dialogue between teacher and students,
instigated by the continual probing questions of the teacher, in a
concerted effort to explore the underlying beliefs that shape the
students views and opinions.
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
PLATO
- Socrates’ best student and perhaps the most popular and highly
influential philosopher of all time.
- Platonic realism Plato’s philosophy was highlighted by his claims
of the existence of the greater realm of reality apart from the
human’s own physical world, making him contend that the world
perceived by the senses (sensible reality) were mere
representations of the pure ideal forms existing elsewhere.
- Plato’s political philosophy “The Republic”, he believed that an
ideal society must be composed of workers and warriors ruled by a
philosopher-king.
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY
ARISTOTLE
- Plato’s student
- He was more of an empiricist compared to Plato and Socrates,
and was known for criticizing Plato’s theory of forms.
- “Father of Logic” as he was the first to formalize a system of
reasoning.
- Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle notes that as a condition to be
held morally responsible, we must have been acting voluntarily.
In particular, two elements must be true: a person must be in
control of their actions and also must be aware of what they're
doing.
LOGIC
It is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of thinking and
reasoning it uses empirical supports and information which are reliable,
valid and objective
It is the science of correct thinking
2 types of Logic
1. Deductive Reasoning
-From a general truth to specific truth or from universal truth to
particular.
2. Inductive Reasoning
-From the specific truth to general truth or particular to universal
VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy enables every person who
pursues it to think outside of the
customary, and challenges the reason of
any law imposed by his/her society.
