Introduction To The Philosophy Of Human Person

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN

PERSON
A LEARNING MODULE

MINSU, MAIN
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CORE SUBJECT
UNITS: 4
TEACHER FACILITATOR: HERBERT F CHAVEZ

NAME: __________________

DATE: __________________

TIME FRAME

TO
COURSE OUTLINE WEEK
ACCOMPLISH
PART I: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY BY DOING IT
Module 1: A Holistic Perspective: The Philosopher’s Way 1 ✓
Module 2: What it Means to be a Philosopher? 1 ✓
Module 3: What Makes a Question Philosophical? 2
PART II: TRUTH AND PHILOSOPHY
Module 4: The Domains(Field) of Truth 2
Module 5: Truth and Opinion 3
PART III: THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT
Module 6: The Body as Limitation and Transcendence 3
Module 7: The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit: Ancient
4
and Contemporary Thought
MID-TERMS
PART IV: FREEDOM
Module 8: The Meaning of Freedom 4
Module 9: Freedom and Responsibility 5
PART V: INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Module 10: Meaning of Intersubjectivity 6
Module 11: An intersubjective Relationship across Differences 6
PART VI: THE HUMAN PERSON IN SOCIETY
Module 12: Social Interaction and Society 7
Module 13: The Harmony between Individualism and
7
Collectivism
PART VII: THE HUMAN PERSON AS A BEING UNTO DEATH
Module 14: Death and the Meaning of My Life 8
Module 15: The Human Person is a Being in Need of God and
8
Being-towards-God
FINALS

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CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY BY DOING IT

MODULE 1: A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE (Kabuoang Pagtingin): THE

PHILOSOPHER’S WAY (Ang Pamamaran ng Isang Pilosopo)
I. Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
1. Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point of view.
2. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation from a holistic perspective.

II. Activity:
Read the poem written by John Godfrey Saxe’s on the classic Indian legend of The Six Blind
Men and the Elephant.

It was six men of Indostan Is very like a FAN!”

To earning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
(Though all of them were blind), Said:”E’en the blindest man
That each by observation Can tell what this resembles most:
Might satisfy his mind. Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
The first approach’d the Elephant, Is very like a FAN!”
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, The sixth no sooner had begun
At once began to bawl: About the beast to grope,
“God bless me! But the Elephant Then, seizing on the swinging tail
Is very like a Wall.” That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
The Second, feeling of the tusk, Is very like a ROPE!”
Cried, “! What have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp? And so these men of Indostan
To me ’tis mighty clear Disputed loud and lorg,
This wonder of an Elephant Each in his own opinion
Is very like a SPEAR!” Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly right,
The Third approached the animal. And all were in the wrong!
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his MORAl.
hands, So oft in theologic (religious) wars,
Thus boldly up spake: The disputants, I ween,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Rail on in utter ignorance
Is very like a TREE!” Of what each other mean,
And prate about on Elephant
The forth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee. Rail on in utter ignorance
“What most this wondrouns beast is Of what each other mean,
like And prate about an Elephant
Is mighty plain,” quoth he, Not one of them has seen!
“tis clear enough the Elephant

III. Analysis:
Answer the questions on one whole sheet of paper

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1. Did anyone among the blind men give the correct answer? Why or why not?
2. In the context of the elephant story, what do you think is a holistic perspective
(Pangkabuoang Pagtingin)? What is a partial point of view or perspective (Limitado o
Bahaging Pagtingin)!
3. What is the importance of a holistic perspective as pointed out by the poet John Godfrey
Saxe?
4. In the last stanza, John Godfrey Saxe related to the religious wars during his time. What do
you think is John Godfrey Saxe trying to say in this poem?

IV. Discussion:

Philosophy and its Holistic Approach

A philosopher’s way of thinking can be described as “abstractive.” This means that it rises from
the level of everyday life to a higher level that gives a bird’s eye view of the whole. Try to recall
an experience in which you were able to climb a tower, reach the peak of a high mountain, or
view things from the window of an airplane. The view is certainly different from up there than
from the ground, When you are on the ground, you see roads, buildings, and all that make up the
busy everyday life, one at a time. When you are up there, you not only see the same roads and
buildings from a different perspective, but you see them all at the same time. Moreover, you also
see how they are connected to each other. This is what we mean by seeing things from a holistic
perspective.

Like the elephant, the different parts may be seen as separate and different from each other. Only
when the blind men learn to perceive the elephant as a whole would they appreciate how each
part makes up one thing. Not all of the blind men was able to give a correct answer. We come
closer to the truth about a thing or someone when we look at that thing or person from various
perspectives.

The first noted philosophers in western history is Thales (c. 624-545 BC). He was a thinker who
loved to gaze at the star. By sensing the harmony in the movements of the heavenly bodies, he
deduced the relationship of things in the universe, He said that everything is related to each other
because everything that exist contains water (in other words, the universe is composed of water) .

Today, Thales’ answer to the question “What makes us one?” would be regarded as silly or
outdated. But it is not our purpose here to defend the answer of the first philosopher. Our aim is
to understand how a philosophical insight means being able to see with the mind. This means
that to be able to think philosophically, you must learn to look beyond what is immediately before
you, Moreover, you must learn to and see how a thing is related to everything else. This is the
mark of a holistic perspective.

Highlights/Points to Remember:
To understand philosophy is to engage in it. This entails opening ourselves up to the
experience of questioning our own established beliefs, of looking with the mind beyond
what we “see” with our senses. If philosophy has a “basic requirement” before one can
engage in it, that would be courage to break open our partial perspective in order to have a
glimpse of a broader truth. Doing philosophy entails a holistic rather than a partial
perspective. With a holistic perspective (, we are able to see the connectedness of parts to
see a meaningful whole, having a glimpse of the whole allows us to see the meaning of
the activities that we do everyday – from rising to working to sleeping. This meaning that
we get through this approach is what we call the philosophical insight, “seeing with the
mind.”

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V. Assessment:
Write down your answer in one whole sheet of paper.
A. Comprehension Ability
1. He is considered as the first philosopher in the western world.
2. According to the first philosopher, water is what the universe made of because
__________ .
3. Philosophical insight is not seeing what is in front of us through our eyes but seeing
through our_________ .
4. An act of mind in which a person after experiencing things through our senses then
proceed to see the meanings that bind them all.
5. An act of mind that sticks to individual sense experience in making a judgement for a
whole reality.

B. Application
Recall an experience where you made a judgment on something based on seeing only the one
side of a situation or you just focused on a part of the whole experience, and later, you
became aware of the other sides and instances, thus ended up realizing that you were wrong
about it. Write it on a sheet of paper with the title, Partial and Holistic Perspectives:

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Module 2: What it Means to be a Philosopher

I. Learning objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to discuss the meaning of what it means to be a
philosopher.

II. Activity:
Write down in one whole sheet of paper:
1 Recall the moment when you were called by someone “pilosopo,”
2 Describe the character of Pilosopo Tasyo in Jose Rizal’s novel, the Noli Me Tangere

III. Analysis:
Continue answering on the same paper.
1. How do you feel when somene called you “pilosopo” why do you fee that way?
2. What essential characteristics Don Anastacio has do you think that make Rizal calls him
Pilosopo Tasyo?
3. With what should be the word “pilosopo” be associated? Why?

IV. Discussion:

The Essential Meaning of Philosophy

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Before you entered this subject, you must have heard or used a number of jokes about
philosophers. Philosophers have been the object of laughter for as long as the world can
remember. Thales himself was known to have been laughed at one day when he was busily
gazing up the heavens, and fell into a cistern. Another Greek philosopher, Socrates, was
comically portrayed by the comedian Aristophanes. He said that Socrates, and all the other
philosophers, are ugly and unkempt because they have no time to bathe. They have a “big
tongue” and they teach the young rebellious thoughts that encourage them to beat their
fathers (Nussbaum 1997).

In our context, we have used the term “pilosopo” to refer to someone who asks a lot of
questions, many of which are judged as nonsense or out-of-this-world. We often do not take
a “pilosopo” seriously because we think of them as simply trying to get attention by
annoying others. But is this really what a philosopher is?

To answer this question, let us analyze the origin of the word Philosophy. Philosophy is the
joining of two Greek words, Philos or Philein, which means love; and Sophia, which
generally means wisdom. Taken together, this means that philos-sophia is the love of wisdom.
What is the love of wisdom? We can best appreciate this by recalling the story of Socrates,
whose life and death, is a moving picture of this love.

A genuine desire to know begins with this humble admission of one’s own ignorance. Within
this desire comes the outrage to ask questions. Sometimes, we hesitate to ask questions
because we are afraid of being judged as attention-seekers, or we are afraid that our questions
will be taken against us. Socrates (c. 470-399 B.C.) is a shining example of someone who
bravely sought for the truth. This is what it means to be a lover of wisdom. He loved it even
to the point of risking his very own live. When he was put into trial with baseless accusations
hurled against him, he defended himself by only speaking the truth. He knew that speaking
the truth rather than sugarcoating words to serve the pride of his accusers would only provoke
his enemies more to vote for his death. And his enemies indeed succeeded, albeit, by a small
margin. He was then sentenced to death for the charges of disrespecting gods and for
corrupting the minds of the youth. He was killed by being forced to drink the poison
hemlock.

The story of Socrates’ life poses a challenge to all of us. It reminds us of our fundamental
ignorance which we often forget in moments of pride or vainglory. The true meaning of the
message of the gods is this: “Anyone can be as wise as Socrates for as long as he lives the
truth that he does not know anything.” With this constant admission, one will be more open
to learning new thing. This is the beginning of true wisdom.

Pilosopo as Philosopher
In the Philippines, the term “pilosopo” connotes the image of a comical, and sometimes
annoying character. It is often used to describe someone who plays with words, or twists
commonsensical reasonings in order to come across as funny. Sometimes the pilosopo is also
described as “KSP” (kulang sa pansin) because their incessant questioning gives the
impression that they are desperate for attention.
Is a pilosopo what we mean by a philosopher? The answer can either be yes or not.

No, a philosopher is not a pilosopo because he/she does not play with words, or twists
reasoning just for the fun of it.

Yes, a pilosopo is a philosopher, if his/her intention is playing with words and overturning
usual forms of reasoning is in order to view things in a different way. Sometimes, it is when
you try to look at things upside-down or inside-out that you discover things that would give
you a sense of wonder and astonishment.

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No, a philosopher is not a pilosopo if he/she raises questions often with the intention of
showing off that he/she is singularly smart and inquisitive.

Yes, a pilosopo is a philosopher if the questions he/she asks stem from a genuine confusion,
astonishment and wonder. Most important of all, those questions are personal because they
deeply touch on or has a bearing on the philosopher’s understanding of the meaning of life.

Highlights/Points to Remember:

The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words “philos” which means love and
“Sophia” which means wisdom. So philosophy literally means love of wisdom.
Sometimes, however, the term “pilosopo” has a negative connotation like someone who
asks nonsense questions for selfish reasons. The etymological meaning, however, leads
us to the true meaning of ”pilosopo” as someone who asks questions because of a
genuine desire to know and to view things in a different way. His question emanate
from real confusion, astonishment and wonder and from an honest admission that he
does not know. His questions are personal because they deeply touch on his
understanding of the meaning of life.

V. Assessment:
Comprehension Skill

Write down your answer in one whole sheet of paper.

1. Taking the two Greek root words, Philos and Sophia, which mean Love and Wisdom
respectively, philosophy means Love of Wisdom, therefor, those who pursue wisdom
for the sake of wisdom alone may be called _________

2. Why do you think the elements of doubt, questioning, and the humble acceptance that
you do not know constitute the ideal character of a true philosopher?

3. Explain in your own words the negative and the positive connotations (meanings) of
the word “pilosopo”.