Lesson 1: Understanding Reality in a Bigger “No one is more hated than he who speaks the

Perspective truth.”

PHILOSOPHICAL -they are questions that matter REASONS - Best tool enables us to deal with
to us for they reflect our desire to understand problems.
or at least make sense of our experiences.
DIALECTICS - Techniques to resolve
PHILOSOPHY - allows us the freedom to ask philosophical questions.
even those questions that others believe to
- Is an art of refutation that dates
already have a definite answer.
back to the ancient Greeks.
METAPHYSICS - one of the main branches of DIALOGUES - Illustrate how dialectics is an
philosophy and deals with the so called “being effective means of examining and evaluating
of beings”. truth claims.

- when we ask about the origin of life SOCRATES

and its destiny, or why a stone can
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know
never be water, it is surely covered
by metaphysics. nothing.”
- ta meta physika (beyond) meta (the • Most noteworthy in his use of dialectics
physical
• His method of question and answer
 UNIVERSAL - pertains to the whole illustrates how views need to be
 PARTICULAR - refers to a part of defended with consistency and clarity.
the whole
KARL MARX & G.W.F. HEGEL
MARTIN HEIDEGGER • Proposed that there is a dialectical
Difference between philosophy from science pattern even in history as reflected in
resolutions of contradictions through
- Scientific question is always time
confined to the particular
- Philosophical question leads into
the totality of beings and inquiries
into the whole
Essence of human freedom

- asking about the essence of man

- essence of the world
- Essence of God
Essence - is that which makes something what it
is.
• The exchange or confrontation between
PLATO
differing positions (one as thesis and
Student of Socrates the other as antithesis) culminates to a
synthesis that is a resolution of
Teacher of Aristotle
opposing views.
KARL MARX terms because of its Western historical
origins.
• Introduced the concept “historical
materialism” which embodies his theory School of Athens in Vatican Museum
that societies rise and fall as a result of
For Plato: Wisdom is innate (from above,
class struggles.
considered as a gift) (common sense, instinct,
Karl Marx and Communism more on science)

Karl Marx, the father of Communism - Rationalism - is knowledge based on

replaced the concept of opposing ideas with idea independent of sense
the concept of opposing economic forces. experience.
Marx felt that Communism was the For Aristotle: Wisdom is grounded (based from
inevitable, natural result of these opposing experience, empirical) (nararanasan muna bago
forces. magconclude)

- Empiricism - is knowledge
originates through experience.
Empirical: verified by observation or experience
rather than theory or pure logic.

Aristotle: Two Kinds of Wisdom

• Theoretical Wisdom: to know necessary

truths and their logical consequences.
Lesson 2: Philosophical Enterprise
• Practical Wisdom: deals with
“One thing I know, is I know nothing” knowledge in the realm of action.

- Socrates He tutored a 13-yr.-old boy who came to be

“philosophy begins in wonder…” known as Alexander the Great.

- Plato Aristotle also put up a school in Athens called

Plato’s School: Academy, and one of his best Lyceum.
students was Aristotle.
Oracle of Delphi
Wonder is the beginning for it stimulates us to
- Arrogance or the belief that one has
venture into philosophy.
figured out everything.
‘philo’ as love Philosophical Thought in Three Views

‘sophia’ as wisdom Cosmocentric: Man was part of the cosmos. The

Greek philosophers studied man in the plane of
Etymology nature, of the cosmos; for them man realizes
• Is not just used in philosophy but in a himself only when he behaves according to the
generic sense when one wants to find laws of nature.
out in the meaning of the word through Theocentric: Man is understood as from the
its origin or its roots. English words view point of God, as a creature of God.
originates from Greek or Latin,
especially if they are philosophical
Anthropocentric: man’s superiority as The choices we make, in turn, creates who we
compared to the animals. “Man is the measure are.
of all things” - Pythagoras
Socratic Method
• Cosmocentric: Pre-Socratic Era
1) to pause (to reflect)
• Theocentric: Medieval Era
• Anthropocentric: Enlightenment Era 2) to really think (to introspect)
Bertrand Russell
3) share our thoughts by conversing (to
• Progress in scientific field made man engage/be open)
realize the practical utility of science as
a technique rather than of a doctrine Virtue is knowledge of good and bad
that explained the nature of the world. Philosophical activity is the only cure to
Lesson 3: The Value of Philosophical Reflection ignorance.

The Reflective Life ‘Pilosopo as a Social Critic’

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the • In Filipino context, we view ‘Pilosopo’
majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” having a negative meaning.

- Mark Twain • Contrary to a lover of wisdom,

When we eventually figure some things out, we ‘pilosopo’ refers to someone who
become less ignorant. reasons poorly.

“Knowledge is a virtue, ignorance is a vice” Fallacy (nature of error)

- Memories of Socrates III 9.5 -

Erroneous kind of reasoning,
Xenophon arguments that are meant to
The Value of Philosophical Reflection deceive.
- Wrong belief, a false or mistaken
Wonder vs. Wander idea, quality of being false or
wrong.
Where ignorance is our master, there is no real
Genetic Fallacy – discredits the source or origin
peace.
of an argument instead of the argument itself.
- Dalai Lama Equivocation Fallacy (mislead)
Philosophy emerged out of wonder.
Ex: All trees have barks. Every dog barks.
- Starting form the curiosity
Therefore, every dog is a tree.
Socratic Legacy ‘know thyself’
Red Herring Fallacy (divert)
1. Listen
2. Think Ex:
3. Speak
(listen, look and listen and learn sdjksad sabog) Honey, let’s
Mom, I rush home.
Allegory of the Cave or Plato’s Cave The want that Yummy treat
Republic (to compare ‘the effect of education toy! for you!
and the lack of it on our nature)
Argumentum ad Hominem Lesson 5: Journey to Truth

- parang Poisoning the Well Opinion is not knowledge.

Lesson 4: An Exercise of Truth Making
DOXA EPISTEME
Reality - are the things that appear to us in this Opinion Knowledge
world. Opinion

Science vs. Philosophy ‘We are entitled for our own opinion’

Understanding the World from - No need to justify

Justification - when we claim that our belief is
Physical form to Non-Physical Form true, we are required to explain our reason.
Science: observation through experiments and Lesson 6: Questions of Truth and Opinion
calculations are the data used to arrive at a
conclusion. Correspondence Theory - ‘Oldest model of
truth’
Philosophy: uses phenomenon or raw
experience to form the basis for truth. - Correspond with reality
- ‘to see is to believe’
• Science: narrows its analysis in order to Ex: yung sa bowling ball and feather na sabay
know something, nahulog
• Philosophy: broadens its analysis to
LINGUISTIC TURN - Alfred North Whitehead
arrive at wisdom and truth.
• CONTEXT PRINCIPLE - Bertrand Russell
Epistemology (branch of philo) - Study of
(Father of Mathematical Philosophy)
knowledge.
‘It is only in the context of a sentence that a
• Episteme – Knowledge word has a meaning.’
• Logos – ‘study of’ Sense - To be understood as meaning
(connotation or intention in logic)
Rationalism - Knowledge is acquired through
reason independent of sense experience. - Connotation an idea that a word
(common sense) makes you think about in addition
Empiricism - Knowledge is acquired through to its meaning.
sense experience. Reference – the things we point to by name.

Skepticism - Knowledge is acquired with -

‘referent’ pertains to what is
certainty referred to or the denotation (also
known as extension)
-‘notion of indubitability’ – Miscommunication
inarguable, certainly true
Rene Descartes “Father of Modern Philosophy” Ludwig Wittgenstein

Categorical Imperatives – Immanuel Kant • ‘LANGUAGE-GAME’

• The meaning of language is to be found
UNIVERSALIZABILITY PRINCIPLE
in its use.
Act only according to that maxim, which you
can at the same time and that it should become • ‘Are we in the same page?’
a universal law, without contradiction.
Ex: yung sa sisig, elevator – lift, eraser, rubber
Phenomenology & Existentialism Lesson 7: Unveiling Truth Through Methods
Edmund Husserl
Schools of Thought as Useful Ladders
- Forerunner of Phenomenological
There are two kinds of people in the world:
Movement
Those who manage what they don't know, and
- Consciousness is intentional
don't know what they manage. – Putt’s Law
- ‘Consciousness is consciousness of
something’  Hermeneutical Role
René Descartes Hermeneut - someone who performs
hermeneutics.
- ‘Cartesian Methodic Doubting’
- The most important thing about - When somebody says that he/she
existence is to give importance to ‘understands’ the word in a certain
the things that your mind perceives way and not in any other way it is a
because it proves your existence. cue that an act of interpretation is
involved.
 Philosophical Analysis
George Edward Moore & Bertrand Russell
- The idea is that an analysis of
language reveals thought.
- Analytic philosophers uncovers the
logical structures that underlie our
statements.
“All men are cheaters.”

“Some men are cheaters.”

Essence = Attributes = Meaning = Purpose
• The statement need to be clarified by
Noema - when one sees an object, it will have asking whether we are talking about
an object which in this seeing as meant. some men or all men.
Noesis - the intentional act that presents that Phenomenological-Existential Method
object as you meant it.
From phenomenology, we have learned to bracket
Essentialism – ‘finality of things’ our natural attitude about phenomena in order to
move to a phenomenological attitudethat will make
Natural Attitude & Transcendental Attitude us able to do a reduction of the phenomena in mind.
Natural Attitude - when we are comfortable • Epoche - bracket or suspend the usual
with the things we know. ideas that you know about that thing or
Transcendental Attitude - when we try our best object.
to direct our consciousness to investigate the Existential phenomenology
essence of every phenomenon.
- Investigating every phenomenon as
Existentialism meaningful to the subject who is
“We are our choices.” – J.P. Sartre involved in the situation.
- Not just to look for essences, but to
“Existence precedes essence” look for meaning to the subject who
cannot be a detached spectator.