Doing Philosophy - ntroduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person Lesson 1.pptx

Lesson 1 - Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person (Doing Philosophy)

1. LESSON 1: PURSUING WISDOM AND FACING CHALLENGES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

2. OBJECTIVES To distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view To recognize human activities that emanated from deliberate reflection To realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective on life To do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic perspective To appreciate Filipino indigenous thoughts

3. SENSITIVITY CHECK 1. Look at the image. What do you think is the message conveyed?

4. 2. Do you know the meaning of this symbol?

5. 3. Brainstorming: What virtues do you value the most? Wisdom? Honesty? Open-mindedness? Beauty? Why?

6. 4. List the positive and negative Filipino values. Defend your answers in class.

7. 5. What is “holism”? Explain.

8. 1. Introduction: Doing Philosophy One of the key elements in many educational reforms is diversity, difference, and choice or other proposals that establish separate curricular routes for different groups or individuals. Diversity is the difference that makes each person unique (i.e., biology, ethnicity and culture, family life, beliefs, geography, experiences, and religion).

9. 1.1 The Meaning of Philosophy Etymologically, the word “philosophy” comes from the two Greek words, philo , meaning “to love”, and sophia , meaning “wisdom”, and in a broad sense, wisdom is still the goal of philosophy. Philosophy is also defined as the science that by natural light of reason studies the first causes or highest principles of all things.

10. Under this definition, four things are to be considered: Science. It is called science because the investigation is systematic. Natural Light of Reason. Philosophy investigates things, not by using any other laboratory instrument or investigative tools, neither on the basis of supernatural revelation, otherwise it becomes theology; instead, the philosopher uses his natural capacity to think or simply, human reason alone or the so-called unaided reason.

11. c. Study of All Things. This sets the distinction between philosophy from other sciences. A philosopher studies human beings, society, religion, language, God, and plants, among other concerns. The reason is that philosophy is not one dimensional or partial . In short, a philosopher does not limit himself to a particular object of inquiry. He questions almost anything, if not everything. It is multidimensional or holistic.

12. d. First Cause or Highest Principle . A principle is that from which something proceeds in any manner whatsoever. The First Principles: Principle of Identity – whatever is is ; and whatever is not is not; everything is what it is. Everything is its own being, and not being is not being. Principle of Non-Contradiction – it is impossible for a thing to be and not to be at the same time, and at the same respect. Principle of Excluded Middle – a thing is either is or is not; everything must be either be or not be; between being and not being, there is not middle ground possible. Principle of Sufficient Reason – nothing exists without a sufficient reason for its being and existence.

13. 1.2 Recognize Human Activities that Emanated from Deliberate Reflection After examining the definitions of philosophy, this section distinguishes its branches from where recognition of various human activities emanated from deliberate reflection and dialogs. Many of the vital issues of philosophy are still disputed and have unsettled questions today.

14. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy Metaphysics Metaphysics is really only an extension of a fundamental and necessary drive in every human being to know what is real. The question is how to account for this unreal thing in terms of what you can accept as real. Thus, a very big part of the metaphysician’s task is to explain that part of our experience, which we call unreal in terms of what we call real.

15. THALES – Greek philosopher “Everything is water.” He claims that everything we experience is water – which we call “reality”. Everything else is “appearance”. We then set out to explain everything else (appearance) in terms of water (reality).

16. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: By What Values Shall I Live in the World Plato Plato seeks to explain the difference between clear intellectual vision and the confused vision of sense perception by an analogy from the sense of sight. Sight, he says, differs from the other senses, since it requires not only the eye and the object, but also light. We clearly see objects on which the sun shines; in twilight, we see confusedly; and in pitch-darkness, not at all. Now the world of ideas is what we see when the sun illuminates the object; while the world of passing things is a confused twilight world. The eye is compared to the soul, and the sun, as the source of light of truth or goodness (Mitchell 2011).

17. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy B. Ethics How do we tell good from evil or right from wrong? Ethics is the branch of philosophy that explores the nature of moral virtue and evaluates human actions. Ethics is generally a study of the nature of moral judgments.

18. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: What Constitutes a Human Person? Plato Socrates Aristotle For Socrates, to be happy, a person has to live a virtuous life. Virtue is not something to be taught or acquired through education, but rather, it is merely an awakening of the seeds of good deeds that lay dormant in the mind and heart of a person. Knowing what is in the mind and heart of a human being is achieved through self-knowledge. Thus, knowledge does not only mean theoretical or speculative, but a practical one. Practical knowledge means that one does not only know the rules of right living, but one lives them.

19. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: What Constitutes a Human Person? Plato Socrates Aristotle Hence, for Socrates, true knowledge means wisdom, which in turn, means virtue. The Greek word arete, which we translate as virtue, seems originally to have been associated with valor in battle and may be connected with the name of the Greek god of war, Ares, whom we know under his Roman name, Mars. Both the Greek word arete and its English equivalent, virtue, have connotations of machismo and manliness. So, when Socrates came to define virtue, he thought of courage as one of its prime components, and he came up with the propositions that courage, therefore, as virtue is also knowledge.

20. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: How Much Freedom Should We Have? Who Should Decide? William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) raised the “problem of the Negro”. He sees himself as part of this problem. His mother was descended from a West African slave. He was an African-American who wanted equal rights for blacks. Du Bois believed that the blacks must assert themselves in the African-American community. He put his ideas into political action and helped organized various initiatives for the advancement of the colored people, published researches, and taught in Atlanta University. He was the first African-American to receive a PhD in Harvard (Rifkin, 2009).

21. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: How Much Freedom Should We Have? Who Should Decide? To understand Du Bois’ philosophy is to understand Hegel’s dialectic. Whenever a thesis of freedom is asserted, it is opposed by an antithesis. These are then both overcome by a synthesis that incorporates the best of both. (Mitchell, 2011) Thesis Antithesis Synthesis (White Oppression) (Black Soul) (Black’s Consciousness of Freedom)

22. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy C. Epistemology Specifically, epistemology deals with nature, sources, limitations, and validity of knowledge ( Soccio , 2007). 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.

23. How do we acquire reliable knowledge? 1. On the one hand, he sees, hears, and touches; on the other hand, he organizes in his mind what he learns through the senses. 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).

24. How do we acquire reliable knowledge? 2. Other philosophers think it is more important to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judged. This method is called deduction; its advocates are called rationalists (e.g. Rene Descartes). For instance, what distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion, in the rationalist view, is that real knowledge is based on the logic, the laws, and the methods that reason develops. The best example of real knowledge, the rationalist holds, is mathematics, a realm of knowledge that is obtained entirely by reason that we use to understand the universe ( Soccio , 2007).

25. A newer school, pragmatism, has third approach to these problems. Pragmatists , such as William James and John Dewey, believe that value in use is the real test of truth and meaning. In other words, the meaning and truth of an idea are tested by its practical consequences.

26. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: Women’s Equal Rights The spirit of modern philosophy is an outburst of discovery. Rationalism (17 th century) and empiricism (18 th century) both relied on human discoveries such as of the world, of thought, and of humanity in all sorts of conditions. Knowledge, however, was male-dominated. Mary Wollstonecraft envisioned an education for women. In her work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Wollstonecraft dictated that women were to be more than just wives and caretakers; they were to educate children, and to act not as slaves to their husbands, but as companions (Rifkin 2009).

27. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: Women’s Equal Rights As technology enters the larger conversation of humanity, students should understand that education is not just simply browsing the Internet but emphasizes the concept of progress, which asserts that human beings are capable of improving their constantly changing environment.

28. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy D. 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 interests to the logician. The term “logic” comes from the Greek word logike and was coined by Zeno, the Stoic (c.340-265BC). 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 subjects.

29. Reflections, Meditations, and Conversations that Rocked the World: Artificial Intelligence Alan Mathison Turing was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formulation of the concepts of “algorithm” and “computations” with the Turing machine, which played a significant role in the creation of the modern computer. Turing is widely considered to be the father of computer science and artificial intelligence (AI) (Carr 2009).

30. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy E. 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.

31. 1.2.1 The Branches of Philosophy As a branch of philosophy, students should consider the importance of aesthetics because of the following: It vitalizes our knowledge. It helps us to live more deeply and richly. It brings us in touch with our culture.

32. 1.3 Why Become a Philosopher? On Attaining a Comprehensive Outlook in Life This section introduces the various viewpoints of philosophy: the western and non-western, with emphasis on our very own Filipino indigenous beliefs and finally, going beyond the logical and the technological imperatives of existence.

33. A. Expanding Our Philosophical Frames: Western and Non-Western Traditions Many philosophers hold that there are three great original centers of philosophy in the world – Greek (or Western), Indian and Chinese. Historically speaking, Asian classics of the Indians and the Chinese predate the oldest of Western classics. From the time of the Greek triumvirate (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), there was reversal.

34. Three Attitudinal Imperatives: West think in a linear manner, that is, in terms of beginning and ending in a straight line. Oriental thought runs in a circular manner in which the end conjoins the beginning in a cyclic style. East does not make a rigorous distinction between religion and philosophy. Life for Orientals is a translation of thoughts: it is philosophy in action. Acceptance of the validity of intuition and mysticism, the readiness to revert to extra logical, if not illogical modes of thinking. The West has but to theorize and speculate; no application to life is necessary.

35. As Quito (1991) remarked: “The concept of all-at-once-ness which is the hallmark of the mind of Asia is annoying to the Western mind which cannot shake off its structural mode of thinking in terms of beginning and end.”

36. B. Filipino Thinking: From Local to Global This section draws out elements or draw sketches of the general lines of Filipino philosophy. The three dimensions of Filipino thought are: Loob , Filipino philosophy of Time, and Bahala Na.

37. Loob: Holistic and Interior Dimensions Kagandahang-loob , kabutihang-loob , and kalooban are terms that show sharing of one’s self to others. Loob puts one in touch with his fellow beings. The Filipino generally believes in the innate goodness of the human beings.

38. 2. Filipino Philosophy of Time Believes in the gulong ng palad (literally, “wheel of fortune”) Time is considered cyclic. Filipino time – delayed in the committed time of arrival. Concept of “siesta time” or “power naps” is also important for Filipino culture that must not be necessarily considered negative.

39. 3. Bahala Na One of the most outstanding Filipino virtues. Seen as fatalistic, sort of leaving everything to God or to chances – such is the uncertainty of life. The bahala na philosophy puts complete trust in the Divine Providence.

40. 4. Filipino Thought and Values: Positive and Negative Values Utang na Loob Bayanihan

41. On nationalist challenge, Gripaldo (2000) believes four important items: Replacing colonial consciousness with a nationalist consciousness thereby doing away with colonial and crab mentality; Creation of super industrial society; Utilization of education as the means of realizing the image of the future as super industrial society; and Choosing not just for one’s self but for all humanity, for the nation as a whole.

42. B. Philosophy: Transcending and Aiming for a Life of Abundance Abundance comes from the Latin term, “ abundare ” (Aguilar 2010) meaning “to overflow nonstop”. Abundance is out flowing than incoming with others, ourselves and with nature. Our very life belongs to God. (Aguilar 2010)

43. Abundance is not what we gather but what we scatter . Abundance is equated with materialism, but it is when we raise our empty hands and surrender, when we do not grab, when we are unattached to anything or anyone, when we offer oneself – all these things are abundance. Only if we have empty hands can we receive full blessings.

44. Abundance is not what we keep but what we give away . To live an abundant life, one must pursue one’s desires and inner self. One must go after what fulfills, before making more money. To be able to have, we must first let go. To be able to acquire, we must first control ourselves. There is karma in our thoughts, words and actions.

45. Abundance is not what we hold but what we share . Money should not matter much, for every moment is a blessing. Abundance comes to the one who has money and heart , money and values , money and relationships , money and deeper happiness . Abundance is more than our ambitions; there are more precious things such as people that matter.

46. Abundance is a choice . Abundance is more of an effort of the heart than the mind alone (Aguilar 2010). Abundance, therefore, is a choice which translates to commitment, determination and perseverance. According to “The Secret”, our dreams come true because we attract them.

47. Abundance is to evolve into a higher being. Covers both external and internal life We cannot truly live without material considerations, but external are not all there are; values, for instance, matter. E volving into a higher being

48. ACTIVITY Happiest Times List the activities, people, locations, and conditions in your life you were most happy. Worst Times List the activities, people, locations, and conditions in your life when you felt dissatisfied. What did you learn about your purpose? 1. 2. 3. What did you learn about your purpose? 1. 2. 3.