Division of City Schools

COMMONWEALTH HIGH SCHOOL

Ecols St. Brgy. Commonwealth,
Quezon City

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

First Semester – SY 2020 – 2021

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

JANNA G. MATILLANO GRADE 12- STEM MENDELEEV
WEEK NO. 2 WORK SHEET NO. 4 QUARTER First Quarter

TOPIC TRUTH AND OPINION

CONTENT STANDARD The learner understands the meaning and process of doing philosophy
PERFORMANCE The learner reflects on a concrete experience in a philosophical way
STANDARD
LEARNING COMPETENCY The learners will able to:
 
1. Distinguish opinion from truth
2. Analyse situations that show the difference between opinion and truth
and
3. Evaluate opinions through methods of philosophy.
.

ACTIVITY 1: 
Read an online news article of a current controversial issue. Turn to comment
section below the article, describe the interaction among the commenters and
the kind of comments they post online.
Suggested issues on:   
 1. No Periodical Exam this school year to prevent distance cheating- DepEd
says.         
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45QZ3RKRZDo
From my point of view, most of the commenters are students. There were
different opinions about the declaration of DepEd that states “No periodical
exam this school year to prevent distance cheating”. The interaction between
the students were approving the DepEd’s declaration but somehow made a fuss
about the ‘cheating’ issue. Just like what one of the commenters said “ Para
saakin bilang studyante saakin wala naman namang nagaganap na cheating sa
online talagang sine search lang yung mga question sa google Kasi hindi natin
maunawaan yung question at tsaka hindi pinaliwanag ng guro ng maayos at
complete so problem yon kaya kailangan maghanap sa google kung may
makikita sagot natutu nadin Tayo so hindi cheating kundi new knowledge” which
means that in this new normal or online learning, students aren’t cheating but
gaining self-knowledge by searching more information on the internet.

2. Senators, Groups Oppose’ No 13th Month Pay Scenario

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrrOE55WWeg&
   From the commenters of this issue, to sum up all their opinions they think
that it is bias due to the fact that not all employers are not given the 13 th Month
Pay. Additionally, the commenters wants a fair treatment and to not let them
hope for nothing.
3. Senate investigates alleged corruption in PhilHealth
PhilHealth's corruption allegations, from "illegal" releases under a
temporary refund mechanism to overpaying the package fee. The Senate and
House of Representatives held marathon hearings to investigate rampant
corruption allegations against the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
(PhilHealth), and the anomalies revealed in these sessions seem endless.
People find this issue a big impact and chaos especially to all who have benefits
from PhilHealth.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:  looking at the issues suggested now you

may answer the following questions on the space provided.
1. Are the arguments reasonable to you?
In my view, every side of the commenters are reasonable to argue
cause of we live in a democratic country and we’re free to state our
opinion. However, arguing with another person’s opinion is unnecessary
especially when this argument can create a misunderstanding and may
lead to a fight.

2.  Do you agree with these arguments?

From my perspective, I agree with some of these arguments
especially on the issue that there will be no examination to avoid students
from cheating. It is due to the fact that in this new style of learning, we-the
students are doing our best to learn and gain knowledge despite the
hindrances and disadvantages of offline classes.

3. Do you think some arguments are downright foolish or simply wrong?

 To my way of thinking, I do think that some arguments are
downright foolish or simply wrong on the grounds that some of the words
in the comment are harsh and may hurt someone’s feelings. Also, some of
the arguments there are just a misunderstanding considering that both of
them don’t know anything yet.

4. What is your criterion for saying that their arguments or issues are a good
one and that arguments are bad?
A good argument is one that is valid or strong, unquestioned, and
has plausible premises related to the conclusion. If an argument is not
valid, it is a bad argument. It is an argument that is intended to provide
convincing support for the conclusion, but cannot.

ACTIVITY 2: 
 1. List down 2 examples of comments for each fallacies discussed: ad
hominen, ad baculum, ad misericordiam, ad populum. You can get
examples from other online news article comment section. Then, which of
the 4 falllacious is the most common? Rank them.

Argumentum ad hominem:
 “All murderers are criminals, but a thief isn’t a murderer, and so can’t be a
criminal.”
 “Well, you’re a thief and a criminal, so there goes your argument.”
Argumentum ad baculum:
 “You should believe God exists because, if you don't, when you die you
will be judged and God will send you to Hell for all of eternity. You don't
want to be tortured in Hell, do you?”
 “We need a strong military in order to deter our enemies. If you don't
support this new spending bill to develop better airplanes, our enemies will
think we are weak and, at some point, will attack us - killing millions. Do
you want to be responsible for the deaths of millions, Senator?”

Argumentum ad missiricordiam:

 "You need to pass me in this course, since I'll lose my scholarship if you
don't."
  "You should not find the defendant guilty of murder, since it would break
his poor mother's heart to see him sent to jail."

Argumentum ad populum:

 ” Our cleaner is preferred two-to-one over the next leading brand.”

 “Over four million people have switched to our insurance company
shouldn't you.”

The most common fallacious is the argumentum ad missiricordiam. Next to it is

the ad hominem, then the ad baculum and to the least common fallacious which
is the ad populum.
2. Compare the statements written in the news section of a newspaper to the
statements written in the editorial or opinion section. What are some indicators in
the statements of opinion writing that show that they are simply expressing their
opinion? What are some indicators in the news item statements that clearly show
that they are not simply stating opinion but facts.

News generally includes factual information reported by journalists. If

they are responsible and well-trained journalists, they will conduct research,
confirm facts, disclose information sources, and draw opinions from those
sources. Comments should complement news articles and provide an
exchange of ideas. Newspapers generally publish two types of comments. One
is "Editorial", which is a statement written on behalf of the newspaper itself.
Different opinion indicators can be distinguished, such as numbers per line,
words, phrases, or verbal statements. "Numbers per line" is used in rating
scales just like words or phrases. Fact can be defined as something that has
happened or is believed to have happened. The reporter must deal with three
facts. There are confirmed facts. facts that have not been proven but are likely
to be true; A fact that can be true even if it appears to be false.

3. “Imposing dress codes in school is a restriction of freedom?- Is this an

expression of opinion or statement of fact. Will your answer in this
question change if you learn that the person who stated this is an
intelligent philosopher? Why do you say so?
As far as I’m concerned, this statement is an expression of
opinion. Basically my answer would not change if I learn that the person
who stated this is an intelligent philosopher. On the grounds that, my
 answer is also an opinion and I did not disagree with the philosopher’s
statement. We’re both on the same page and on the same point of view.

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

1. Identify and differentiate for the following (4) fallacious :

a.  Argumentum ad Hominen (argument against the person)
 This fallacy occurs when, instead of addressing someone's argument or
position, you irrelevantly attack the person or some aspect of the person
who is making the argument. The fallacious attack can also be direct to
membership in a group or institution.
 this fallacy attempts to link the validity of a premise to characteristics or
belief of the person advocating the premise. However, in some instances,
quest of personal conduct, character, motives, etc., are legitimate if
relevant to the issue.
 b. Argumentum ad Baculum (appeal to force)
 The argument is actually an explicit or veiled threat. In effect the arguer
says, "Accept this position, or I'll punish you."
 an judgement where force, coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a
justification for a conclusion.

 c. Argumentum ad Missiricordiam (appeal to pity)

 The argument attempts to persuade by provoking irrelevant feelings of
sympathy.
 It is a specific kind to appeal to emotion in which someone tries to win
support for an argument o idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feeling
of pity or guilt.

 d. Argumentum Ad Populum (Bandwagon Fallacy)

  The bandwagon fallacy is also sometimes called the appeal to common
belief or appeal to the masses because it’s all about getting people to do
or think something because “everyone else is doing it” or “everything else
thinks this.”
 - An argument that appeals or exploits people’s vanities, desire for
esteem, and anchoring on popularity. 

 2.  Check out other fallacious are commonly used today

While some come in the form of loud, glaring inconsistencies, others can
easily fly under the radar, sneaking into everyday meetings and conversations
undetected. The most commonly used fallacious today is the straw man fallacy,
the bandwagon fallacy, the appeal to authority fallacy, the false dilemma fallacy
and the hasty generalization fallacy.

JOURNAL ENTRY:
Cite a detail examples of how fallacies are used in daily life. For example, when
you watch advertisements based on the popularity of endorsers, do you tend to
buy their product? Did you use the fallacies of ad misericordiam or ad hominem
toward others? How?
First of all, humans have a tendency to generalize all the
time. When we draw a conclusion based on “insufficient or
unrepresentative evidence," we are committing a hasty
generalization. In our reading, writing or daily life, we
should not draw conclusions from sparse evidence. For
example, we eat in a restaurant and the food which has
been served was not good. Then, we will think that the
food will always be like that. So we will not go to this
restaurant again. We came to a bad conclusion about this
restaurant after only one visit. Once I have experienced
the ad hominem fallacy. A schoolmate of mine said to me
in our elementary days that “I won’t wear that dress
anymore If I were you because it doesn’t suit your fat body
and ugly face.” I felt so and it’s sad that these fallacies
occur when acceptance or rejection of a concept is
rejected based on its source, not its merit.