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SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE – QUEZON CITY

NICK M. JOAQUIN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Brgy. Bahay Toro, Project 8, Quezon City

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

LESSON 2
QUARTER First WEEK 2
TOPIC Practical Uses of Philosophy

CONTENT STANDARD PERFORMANCE STANDARD

The learner understands the meaning The learner reflects on a concrete
and process of doing philosophy experience in a philosophical way

LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
1. Realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective in life
2. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation.
e meaning and process of doing philosophy

LEARNING GOALS:
At the end of the module, learners are expected to:
1. Discuss the practical uses of philosophy.
2. Recognize reflection as an important aspect of philosophy.
3. Realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a broad perspective in life
4. Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete situation.

CONTENT

A. Motivation:

Try to answer these questions in your mind

1. What is a fake news?
2. Give examples of fake news.
3. Have you been a victim of fake news?

LET’S PROBE SOME MORE….

1. Why do you think
many people become
victims of fake news?
2. What is lacking with
these people?

B. Discussion

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 PRACTICAL USES OF PHILOSOPHY IN OUR LIVES

As mentioned in the previous lesson, anyone can become a philosopher because every person has the capacity to
think. All people have the potential to philosophize – to think, to doubt, to criticize, to analyse, to reflect and to infer.
However, in many instances people take these potentials for granted. It is in engaging in philosophy that we will be
reminded to utilize these potentials for our own best interest. Specifically, how can philosophy help us?

1. Philosophy helps us solve our problems whether mundane or abstract. Philosophy helps us develop critical
thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe.
Being critical helps us make better decisions. Well – thought decisions and courses of actions are the key to
solving a problem.
2. The practice of philosophy prevents the dogma of others from manipulating us. In becoming reflective and
independent thinkers, we can avoid falling victims of those who take advantage of other’s naiveté.
Philosophy advises you to doubt every claim you encounter until there are evidences that will prove its truth.
It was the French philosopher Descartes who emphasized the significance of doubting in attaining truth.
3. Philosophy awakens the mind. Philosophy starts with asking a question. Allowing yourself to ask simple yet
meaningful questions like ‘why?’, lets your mind run free. If feels good to experience that awe and wonder
about the things in this world. It is that curiosity that ignites our mind to ask more. Philosophy can help us
understand the whys of life. By engaging in reflective thinking we come to understand the meaning behind
our experiences whether these be pleasant or not. We come to appreciate life more through the lessons
that we learn from our experiences.
4. Philosophy helps develop calmness of the mind. While philosophy awakens our mind and lets it run free, it
can also develop calmness. The teachings of Stoicism would tell us that we cannot control what happens to
us, but we can control how to react to what happens to us. Moreover, Epictetus said that what cause
suffering in men are not the events themselves but their attitude towards the events. Philosophy can
provide us perspectives on how to look at things.

WHAT IS REFLECTION?

Philosophy as field of study is also characreized as sitting and thinking. Its practice requires an alone-time to be able
to think back and reflect. Reflection plays a significant role in philosophy. By definition, reflection is concerned with
consciously looking at and thinking about our experiences, actions, feeling and responses, and then interpreting or
analyzing them in order to learn from them. Most of the time, we reflect by asking questions. We ask questions like
“what happened?”, “why it happened?”, “what did I do with what happened?” and “what did I learn from what I
did?”. Doing such reflection allows an individual to understand oneself. It permits a person to identify his/her hidden
beliefs that consistently influence the way he/she does things and why he/she does those things. It also makes it
possible for that person to evaluate such hidden beliefs against the accepted norms and standards of the society.

Take the example of a student who cheated during a major examination. If that student(Allan) is to reflect about the
incident, he should ask himself,
“What happened during the major examinations?”
“Why did I need to cheat?” (Here his belief would come out. If his reason was he was not able to study then
it would seem that he believes that getting a passing mark is more important than how you get it.)
“Did I feel good about myself with what I did?” (If the answer is NO, there must be some pressure – from
peers or from the family, the pressure that getting a failing mark is a shameful. If the answer is YES, this must
be a case of moral failure –the inability of the person to recognize what is truly right.)
Furthermore, he can ask himself,
“Will my family and friends be proud of me upon knowing that I got a passing mark through cheating?” (If
we are to answer this question, for most of us, the answer is NO. Here his belief is evaluated against the
standard of the society.)

Reflection is not an easy task because the person who reflects is put at a center stage. It requires being honest about
oneself and the willingness to accept one’s faults and weaknesses. But if one can overcome those faults and
weaknesses then it could result to a very liberating experience. Hence, philosophy can truly serve its purpose.

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FOCUS QUESTIONS.
1. Enumerate the practical uses of philosophy.
-General Problem Solving.
-Communication Skills.
-Persuasive Powers.
-Writing Skills.
-Understanding Other Disciplines.
2. Define reflection.
Reflecting on certain decisions always helps since it lets us be mindful for the consequences and think
about how can it affect ourselves and the others around us. Trains our minds to be mindful and improves our
character by asking ourselves will it be beneficial to others if I say or do this.
3. Are the benefits of doing a reflection?
Basically, reflecting in general can benefit each of us since we will be thinking critically and asking
questions to ourselves whether the consequences would be bad or good.
4. Which of the practical uses of philosophy is most applicable to you? Elaborate on your answer.
I would say thinking critically to deal with my personal problems is probably the most practically used.
Using this strategy helped me a lot since I was a very problematic person wherein, I would not be contented
in anything and made a big deal to anything. Until I learned thinking critically that made me realize that I’m
very fortunate on everything that I have and being toxic is was a waste of time that also affects others
without me knowing. Now that I learned it, I applied those in my mindset making my attitude and
perspective improve compared from back then.

5. What do you think will happen to a person who does not know how to reflect or refuses to reflect? Expound
your answer.
Someone who are not open for growth and change is ignorant. Since this kind of mindset affects the
way that a person responds to situations, to not be completely oblivious to mistakes, and to find ways
that a person can deal with situations positively instead of letting them consume our minds. If the
person wasn’t able practice this kind of mindset, It may affect many things like mental health and it will
also be obvious on the physical appearance.
ASSESSMENT
A. Situational Analysis

Think of a situation when you became a victim of fake news or you were made to believe on something
that you later realized was not true. Write a short narrative about that incident and answer the
following questions:

1.   Why do you think you were made to believe such fake news?
I think it's to fool me and to get me wasting my time and also she hated me so it was an automatic
move for her.

2.       What is lacking in you that you became a victim of fake news?

I lacked critical thinking skills since I relied on a one unproven info coming from a person that hates
me.

3.       How can reflection help you in avoiding becoming a victim of fake news?
Reflecting can help me stop and think of the consequences before I decide on doing something I will
eventually regret.

4.       Which of the practical uses of philosophy is applicable to this situation? Explain your answer.
          The study of philosophy enhances our minds to find ways on how to approach a problem   and
eventually solve it with a step by step order of thinking and assessing what not and what to do. It also
enhances on how wide our thinking skills can get and on how we perceive the world and dealing on
everything with such consideration and being meticulously cautious on what to act.

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 ANSWER:
I was victimized by fake news when I was in JHS and it was frustrating. There was a special event
coming in our school and it was said to be on Friday. The next day thursday in the morning I was getting ready
to go to school and I told my mother that there will be no classes on Friday since there will be an event that I
am not involved in. 

             Fast Forward to when I was on my last ride to school since I have to take 3 rides and a 5min walk, I
was feeling very uneasy considering that I saw no schoolmates to all of my rides and I was very sure the event
was on Friday. Therefore, I checked our gc and to my surprise it was today. The event of our school which I am
not involved in is today as I was 80% near to attend school. I quickly shouted “para po” in the middle of the
road and went down laughing and crying at the same time. I later knew that the person I asked to was not
updated resulting into a big mess for me. I was curious if that person was not later informed after giving
misleading info and that person replied with “sinabi sakin pero nakalimutan ko na sabihin sayo hehe”.

              Though it was partly my fault for not searching for more evidence but then I later found out that
that person hated me secretly without me knowing. Until then I promised to myself that before I believe into
something, I should always seek for more proof and will be cautious to incoming new updates.

B. REFLECTION: Scrutinize the picture. Look at it closely and write a reflection about it. Use the questions
below as guide.
1. Is the glass half full or half empty? Explain your answer.

2. Relate the picture to your life as student. Are you half full or half
empty? Elaborate.
3. Which of the practical uses of philosophy will be helpful to you as a
half full/half empty person? Expand your answer by citing
examples.

RUBRICS FOR REFLECTION

CRITERIA DESCRIPTION POINTS POINTS OBTAINED
Reflective Thinking Explains student’s own thinking as well implications for future actions 9
Analysis Shows in-depth analysis of learning experience 8
Making Connections Articulates multiple connections of ideas and concepts 8
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ANSWER:

1. It is half empty since the water did not make it to the mouth of the glass and stopped at the middle of the
glass. 
2.  Human Body contains 60% water. I am a human therefore I have 60%water on my body thus
As a student I am more than half full of water giving me strength and a strong immunity system that helps my
brain respond and react allowing me to do worksheets and obtain information resulting in possible high
grades.
3.  As a more than half full person Philosophy can help me analyze concepts, definitions, arguments and
problems. It also benefits me to organize my ideas and issues, and being able to deal with daily problems of
life through reflecting.
     For example, I was really stressed about how to keep my documents organized because some teachers
prefer it to be submitted in different formats and I can’t keep track of those being in so many places. It was
very confusing at first but then we studied about Philosophy and it helped me think and create an alternative
solution for my problem.
      What I did is to make folders in my google drive on each subject, then I placed corresponding worksheets
and activities in every subject to the folders. Now that my documents are organized, I shared it to the
corresponding teachers in each subject and set them as a commenter and viewer so that they can see that I
did activities and can also give feedback to my work.
      Until then, my documents are well organized and all of them can be viewed by the teachers. Meaning I got
to deal with my problem through critical thinking and overcome it thanks to our Philosophy teacher that
explained it very well that I was able to grasp the concept and was able to apply it to my problem.

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 C. JOURNAL: Write a journal about your LIFE DURING THIS COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Use the questions as your
guide.
1. Describe your life since the country is placed under quarantine because of the COVID-19?
2. Compare your life before the pandemic and now during the pandemic. Cite the differences.
3. What are the major adjustments that you have to make because of the pandemic? How did you
deal with those adjustments – emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually?
4. How do you think can philosophy help you deal with the situation that you are in now? Elaborate
your answer.

RUBRICS FOR JOURNAL

CRITERIA DESCRIPTION POINTS POINTS OBTAINED
Content The content was well-thought of, guide questions were thoroughly 12
followed
Organization The paper was well-written ideas easily conveyed to reader 10
Development Points are thoroughly developed. 13
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ANSWER:

1.  I remained inside of our house and I only go out for my dentist appointment once a month. I was once a
student and converted to be the housekeeper since all of them have something to do and I don’t have
one. Therefore, I used all those free time to clean, organize and take care of our plants.

2. Before lockdown, I was able to go attend school which I have been doing for the past 12 years of
studying so it was my normal routine to commute, go to school and commute back home, but most of the
time after school me and my classmates stopped at fishermall to do fun things since the mall was nearby
our school. I was out for 8 hours or more during the day for 5 days a week.
                  Compared to today, I'm inside the house all the time and wasn't allowed to enter malls unless
the age is 21 and above. My frequent visit to the dentist is the only chance I can get out which happens
once a month. This is my new normal for the past 8 months. It was a bit tiring seeing the same people in
our house everyday and every time. But I am grateful that God provides our basic needs and we are able
to attend school through online class with the provision of fast internet.

3.  One major adjustment is learning how to use technology for the online class and adapting to the new
normal although I already had experienced using google educational apps, It was still a challenge for me
since this kind of system is very hard to adapt to. Being at home where your comfort zone is and
studying where I have to focus and be serious all in the same place is something I never knew I’d do. 

                     Another one is the need to wear a mask and face shield in certain places is one of the
adjustments I have to follow for everyone and myself’s benefit. Fortunately, I have been wearing a mask
before lock down because I want to hide my pimples, so I was already comfortable wearing a mask for a
very long period of time without having problems breathing.

4.    Although being isolated is quite boring, especially in quarantine, philosophy can be helpful to know that
each of us faces a pandemic condition together. And since our lives were affected by the virus, we share
responsibility for one another and refusing to follow safety precautions for prevention of the spread of the
virus makes us responsible for worsening the situation and adding to everyone's stress and problems.
Resulting to our lives and loved ones not being able to have connectivity, work at office or field, and
keeping track of our physical and mental health.

REFERENCES

Abella, Roberto. Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. C&E Publishing: Quezon City. 2016.

Philosophy and Everyday Life

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https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-and-everyday-life

The role of Philosophy in our Lives. https://thoughteconomics.com/the-role-of-philosophy-in-life/

The Uses of Philosophy in Everyday Lives

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texastalkingbooks/2017/11/16/the-uses-of-philosophy-in-everyday-life/#:~:text=It
%20helps%20us%20solve%20our,in%20the%20age%20of%20disinformation).&text=It%20illustrates%20by
%20linking%20influential,to%20the%20gym%20with%20Heidegger.

Using Philosophy in Daily Life

https://www.iuemag.com/november2013/using-philosophy-in-daily-life.php

What is Reflection? http://www.open.edu/openlearn

Prepared by:

JOYCE H. CABIAO