Learning Competency

Distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial

point of view PPT11/12-Ia-1.1
Recognize human activities that emanated from
deliberate reflection PPT11/12-Ib-1.2
Realize the value of doing philosophy in
obtaining a broader perspective in life
PPT11/12-Ib-1.3
Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete
situation from a holistic perspective
PPT11/12-Ic-1.4
The Elephant and the Six Blind
Men
The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a

village. One day the villagers told them, "Hey,
there is an elephant in the village today."

They had no idea what an elephant is. They

decided, "Even though we would not be able
to see it, let us go and feel it anyway." All of
them went where the elephant was. Everyone
of them touched the elephant.
The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man

who touched his leg.

"Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the second man

who touched the tail.

"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree," said

the third man who touched the trunk of the
elephant.
The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

"It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man

who touched the ear of the elephant.

"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who

touched the belly of the elephant.

"It is like a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who

touched the tusk of the elephant.
The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

They began to argue about the elephant and everyone of them

insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting
agitated. A wise man was passing by and he saw this. He
stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said,
"We cannot agree to what the elephant is like." Each one of
them told what he thought the elephant was like. The wise
man calmly explained to them, "All of you are right. The
reason every one of you is telling it differently because each
one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So,
actually the elephant has all those features what you all
said."

"Oh!" everyone said. There was no more fight. They felt happy
that they were all right.
The Elephant and the Six Blind
Men
The Elephant and the Six Blind
Men
The Elephant and the Six Blind Men

The moral of the story is that there may be some

truth to what someone says. Sometimes we can
see that truth and sometimes not because they
may have different perspective which we may not
agree too. So, rather than arguing like the blind
men, we should say, "Maybe you have your
reasons." This way we don’t get in arguments. It
teaches us to be tolerant towards others for their
viewpoints. This allows us to live in harmony with
the people of different thinking.
The Elephant and the Six Blind
Men
Philosophy
Pythagoras was said to have been the first
man to call himself a philosopher; in fact,
the world is indebted to him for the word
philosopher. It is said that when Leon, the
tyrant of Philius, asked him of who he was,
he said, “a Philosopher” and he likened
the Philosopher to spectators at ancient
games.
Philosophy
Before that time the wise men had called
themselves a sage, which was interpreted to
mean those who know. Pythagoras was more
modest. He coined the word philosopher, which
he defined as one who is attempting to find out.
According to him, men and women of the world
could be classified into 3 groups:
1. lovers of gain
2. lovers of honor and
3. lovers of wisdom
Philosophy
-the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge,
reality, and existence, especially when considered
as an academic discipline.
The original meaning of the
word philosophy comes from the Greek roots
philo- meaning "love" and -sophos, or "wisdom."
When someone studies philosophy they want to
understand how and why people do certain things
and how to live a good life. In other words, they
want to know the meaning of life.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and
fundamental problems, such as those
connected with existence, knowledge,
values, reason, mind, and language.

Philosophy is the rational attempt to

formulate, understand, and answer
fundamental questions.
Meaning of Philosophy
a. Science
-called as science because the investigation is
systematic. It follows certain procedures
-in other words, it is an organized bodyof knowledge
b. Natural light of reason
-investigates things, not by using any laboratory
instrument or investigative tools, neither on the basis
of supernatural revelation; instead philosophy uses
natural capacity to think or simply, human reason
alone or the so called unaided reason.
Meaning of Philosophy
c. Study of all things.
-sciences concern themselves with a
particular object of investigation. ; plants,
animals, chemicals, elements, force and
motion
-philosophy studies human beings, society,
religion, language, God, among other
concerns.
Meaning of Philosophy
d. First cause or higher principle
-a principle is that from which something
proceeds in a manner or whatsoever
1. Principle of Identity
-whatever it is, and whatever it is not;
everything is what it is. Everything is its
own being and not being is not being.
Meaning of Philosophy
d. First cause or higher principle
2. 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.
3. 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 no middle ground possible
Meaning of Philosophy
d. First cause or higher principle
4. Principle of Sufficient reason
-nothing exist without a sufficient reason for
its being and existent.
Meaning of Philosophy
In attaining wisdom, there is a need for
emptying.
-can be intellectual, Taoist considers an empty
cup more useful than a full one. This means
simplicity and humility
-can be spiritual, in Christian philosophy,
poverty in spirit means compassion
-can be physical, Buddhist refrain from misuse
of the senses, thereby emphasizing a unified
whole.
Nature of Philosophy
1. Philosophy is a set of views or beliefs
about life and the universe, which are
often held uncritically.

We refer to this meaning as the informal

sense of philosophy or “having” a philosophy.
Usually when a person says “my philosophy
is,” he or she is referring to an informal
personal attitude to whatever topic is being
discussed.
Nature of Philosophy
2. Philosophy is a process of reflecting on and
criticizing our most deeply held conceptions and
beliefs.

These two senses of philosophy— “having” and

“doing”—cannot be treated entirely independent of
each other, for if we did not have a philosophy in the
formal, personal sense, then we could not do a
philosophy in the critical, reflective sense.
Nature of Philosophy
3. Philosophy is a rational attempt to look at the
world as a whole.
Philosophy seeks to combine the conclusions of
the various sciences and human experience into
some kind of consistent world view. Philosophers
wish to see life, not with the specialized slant of
the scientist or the businessperson or the artist,
but with the overall view of someone cognizant of
life as a totality.
Nature of Philosophy
4. Philosophy is the logical analysis of language
and the clarification of the meaning of words
and concepts.
. Certainly this is one function of philosophy. In
fact, nearly all philosophers have used methods of
analysis and have sought to clarify the meaning of
terms and the use of language. Some
philosophers see this as the main task of
philosophy, and a few claim this is the only
legitimate function of philosophy.
Nature of Philosophy
5. Philosophy is a group of perennial problems that
interest people and for which philosophers always have
sought answers.
Philosophy presses its inquiry into the deepest problems
of human existence. Some of the philosophical questions
raised in the past have been answered in a manner
satisfactory to the majority of philosophers. Many questions,
however, have been answered only tentatively, and many
problems remain unsolved.
• “What is truth?”
• “What is the distinction between right and wrong?”
• What is life and why am I here?
• Why is there anything at all?
Importance of Philosophy
1. The study of Philosophy enables us to think
carefully and clearly about important issues.
2. In studying Philosophy, we learn to take a step
back from our everyday thinking and to explore
the deeper, bigger question which underpins our
thought.
3. The focus in the study of Philosophy is to learn
not what to believe, but how to think.
4. Studying philosophy sharpens your analytical
abilities, enabling you to identify and evaluate the
strengths and weaknesses in any position.
Importance of Philosophy
5. It hones your ability to construct and
articulate cogent arguments of your own.
6. It prompts you to work across disciplinary
boundaries and to think flexibly and
creatively about problems which do not
present immediate solutions.
7. Because philosophy is an activity as much a
body of knowledge, it also develops your
ability to think and work independently.
Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-philosophical Period
-even before the birth of natural
philosophy, people had already
attempted to explain the origin
of things and the events or
occurrences in nature
-however these are characterized
by religious elements or
supernatural powers and not by
natural or rational explanation.
Brief History of Philosophy
Pre-socratic Period
-Philosophy is said to have begun
around 6th century BC through
Thales of Miletus
-He was regarded as the Father of
Philosophy
He was the first to engage in the
inquiry of searching for causes and
principles of the natural world and
various phenomena without relying
on supernatural explanation and
divine components
Brief History of Philosophy
Pythagoras
-believes that cosmos is a
structured system
ordered by numbers.
-things become knowable
because they are
structured in this way
Brief History of Philosophy
Socrates
-best known for the Socratic method
-a method of question and answer which
aims to provoke the one being asked
to think for himself and to clarify his or
her conceptions about what is asked
a form of cooperative argumentative
dialogue between individuals, based
on asking and answering questions to
stimulate critical thinking and to draw
out ideas and underlying
presumptions
-he also urged self examination
Brief History of Philosophy
Self Examination:
Have you ever
looked in the
mirror and asked
Who am I? Why
am I here/ What
should I do in my
life?
“The Unexamined
life is not worth
living.”
-Socrates
Brief History of Philosophy
Plato
-concluded the concept, or the idea, is
the only true reality
-Philosophy is the science of idea, of the
unconditioned basis of phenomena
-he encourage humanity to seek what is
good, what is true, what is beautiful in
the intellectual realm beyond the
appearances because the senses are
often deceitful
-he also urged humans to detach to what
is corporeal to recognize the eternal
form of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Brief History of Philosophy
Aristotle
-believes that the perceptual and
cognitive faculties of people are
dependable; such belief places
humans in direct contact with
the world which is to be studied
and therefore engaged in
substantive philosophy
-focuses on analyzing phenomena
or experience and proving
credible opinions to arrive at
adequate proof.
Brief History of Philosophy
Aristotle
-he believed that the aim of
Philosophy is truth, and the
endowment of senses will
lead a person in direct
contact with the world, and
therefore allow him to
analyze whether what
appears upon close scrutiny
and analysis is correct.
Medieval Period
-confluence of faith and
reason
-Philosophy is used as
handmaid of theology
Medieval Period
St Thomas Aquinas
-explain his views on the
creation and
government, the origin
of the man, among
others through
Catholic Theology
Modern Period
Modern Period
Rationalism
- Believe that reason is the
sole source of knowledge
- Rene Descartes, Baruch
Spinoza and Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz
- Verification of truth is
limited to analytic or formal
knowledge of mathematics
and knowledge.
Modern Period
Rationalism
- is any view appealing
to intellectual and deductive reason as the
source of knowledge or justification.
- It relies on the idea that reality has a rational
structure in that all aspects of it can be
grasped through mathematical and logical
principles, and not simply through sensory
experience.
Modern Period
Rationalism
- believe that, rather than being a "tabula rasa" to be
imprinted with sense data, the mind is structured by,
and responds to, mathematical methods of
reasoning. Some of our knowledge or
the concepts we employ are part of our innate
rational nature: experiences may trigger a process
by which we bring this knowledge
to consciousness, but the experiences do not
provide us with the knowledge itself, which has in
some way been with us all along.
Modern Period
Empiricism
-believe that aside from
reason, experience is
also a source of
knowledge
-the five senses
connected to the world
can be used to
determine what can be
known.
expounded in particular
by John Locke, George
Berkeley, and David
Hume
Modern Period
Empiricism
- the view that the origin of all knowledge
is sense experience and sensory perception
- The world does not exist on its won,
perceptions do.
- Being is nothing more than being perceived.
Modern Period
Empiricism
- primary qualities exist in the world, and secondary
qualities in the perceiver.
- Solidity, extension, shape, motion, number—these
exist whether they’re perceived or not.
- But attributes like color, sound, and scent exist only
when perceived; there can be no image without an
eye.
- It didn’t reject reason altogether; rather, thought that
knowledge comes from the application of reason to
sensory data.
Modern Period
Immanuel Kant
Kant argued that the human mind
creates the structure of human
experience, that reason is the
source of morality,
that aesthetics arises from a
faculty of disinterested
judgment, that space
and time are forms of our
sensibility, and that the world
as it is ”in-itself” is independent
of our concepts of it.
Modern Period
Immanuel Kant
Kant argues that all philosophy ultimately aims at
answering these three questions: “What can I
know? What should I do? What may I hope?”
At the foundation of Kant’s system is the doctrine
of “transcendental idealism,” which emphasizes
a distinction between what we can experience
(the natural, observable world) and what we
cannot (“supersensible” objects such as God
and the soul).
Contemporary period
Contemporary period
Analytic tradition
-dominated English speaking countries, it is
concentrated on logical analysis of language to solve
problems which beset philosophy.
-philosophers under this tradition espouse a method of
verification which only accepts as meaningful and
true which can be investigated by science.
it is characterized by an emphasis on argumentative
clarity and precision, often making use of formal
logic, conceptual analysis, and, to a lesser degree,
mathematics and the natural sciences.
Contemporary period
Analytic tradition
-Bertrand Russell’s conception involves an analysis of
meaningfulness of descriptions as to the name that
designate or denote a subject
-George Edward Moore said that analysis is decomposing
complex concepts into their simple constituents
-Ludwig Wittgenstein believes that the task of philosophy is to
carefully analyze ordinary language use, known as
linguistic analysis
Contemporary period
Continental Tradition
- generally reject the view that the natural
sciences are the only or most accurate way of
understanding natural phenomena.
- considers conditions of possible experience as
variable: determined at least partly by factors
such as context, space and time, language,
culture, or history.
- Emphasizes metaphysics
Contemporary period
Branches of Philosophy
Ethics
-study about morality of
human conduct
How should we live?
What is good and evil?
What is the best way to
live?
What is Justice?
Is right and wrong the
same everywhere or
different everywhere?
Aesthetics
Explores the nature of
beauty, art, and taste with
the creation and
appreciation of beauty
What is beauty?
What is art?
What is the value of
beauty and art?
Who should judge what is
beautiful or artistic?
How should art and
beauty be judged?
Logic
The systematic
principles (or rules)
for thinking
rationally.
A philosophical
study on the correct
processes of
thinking.
Epistemology
Explores the nature
and limitations of
knowledge
What is knowledge?
How is knowledge
acquired?
How do we know
what we know?
Metaphysics
Explores the
fundamental
nature of reality
and being
What is real?
What is reality?
What is reality
like?
Identify the branch of Philosophy in which each
given question is likely to be asked and answered.

1. What is the nature of reasoning?

2. What is the nature of induction and how is
it similar to or different from scientific
knowledge?
3. What is the nature of death?
4. Is there life after death?
5. Do heaven and hell exist?
6. What is the mind?
Identify the branch of Philosophy in which each
given question is likely to be asked and answered.

7. Is the self possible?

8. Is it good or evil?
9. Can there be an absolute truth?
10. Is it beautiful or not?
11. Is morality relative?
12. Are my reasoning and judgment good?
13. Is abortion ethical?
14. What is the real price of the painting?
15. Did the soldier who threw himself on the grenade
do the right thing?
Identify the branch of Philosophy in which each
given question is likely to be asked and answered.

16. Is art an intellectual or representational

activity?
17. Is artistic value objective?
18. What is spirit?
19. Are you lying?
20. Is the earth round?
Value of Philosophy
-is not measured by its ability of
arriving at definitive answers, but
in uncertainty and in enabling a
person to widen his or her
perspectives to avoid dogmatism
-engaging in philosophy is
contemplation, a reflective activity
where you renounce who you are,
your beliefs and your values.
Holding to your beliefs is closing
yourself to the possibilities of
other perspectives.
Value of Philosophy
Dogmatism
- the tendency to lay down principles as
incontrovertibly true, without consideration of
evidence or the opinions of others.
Example:
1. Christianity is the only true religion.
2. Women are inferior to men.
3. The poor deserve their suffering because they are
lazy and have no drive to succeed.
4. You will only be respected by others if you assert
your power.
Identify which questions are philosophical.

1. What is the square root of 64?

2. What days of the week does the garbage collector
goes to village?
3. What happens after death?
4. Is it right to impose dress code to students in SHS?
5. What makes an action moral?
6. What is matter?
7. What is the lifecycle of a butterfly?
8. Are you lying?
9. What is the meaning of life?
10. What is truth?
Filipino as Philosopher
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.
Also described as “KSP” because
their incessant questioning gives
the impression that they are
desperate for attention.
Filipino Thinking
1. Loob: Holistic and Interior Dimensions
-kagandahang loob, kabutiang loob, and kalooban are terms
that show sharing of one’s self to others.
-the value of hospitality, pakikisama, loyalty, and respect to
authority.
Filipino Thinking
2. Filipino philosophy of time
-makes the Filipino an unmitigated optimist.
-when the so called wheel of life is on the downtrend , he looks to the
future with hope because life’s wheel cannot stay down forever.
-when one weeps, one will surely smile
-often, Filipino Time is mistakenly interpreted as always delayed in the
committed time of arrival. This notion can be misleading since the
farmers are early risers to go to the field and waste no time for work.
Filipino Thinking
3. Bahala Na
-fatalism
-literally means leave everything
to God who is Bathala in
vernacular. Puts complete trust
in the Divine Providence
-filipino accepts beforehand
whatever the outcome of his
problem might be
-perceived as courage to take
risks.
Filipino Thinking
4. Filipino thought and values: positive and Negative
Aspects
Ningas Cogon- the attitude when we start something
with interest and enthusiasm, then after a very short
time, we lose interest and stop whatever it is we are
doing. Leaving things incomplete. Just like a wild
fire burning out quickly.
Padrino system- patronage in the Filipino culture and
politics is the value systemwhere one gains favor,
promotion, or political appointment through family
affiliation (nepotism) or friendship (cronyism), as
opposed to one's merit
Filipino Thinking
4. Filipino thought and values: positive and Negative
Aspects
Utang na loob-is an obligation to appropriately repay a
person who has done one a favor.
Colonial mentality- is the attitude that colonized people
feel themselves to be inferior to their colonizers
based on the fact of colonization.
Mañana Habit- is something that we have learned from
the Spaniards. The word “Mañana” means ‘tomorrow’
or ‘specified future time’. it’s “in the indefinite future
(used to indicate procrastination – the action of
delaying or postponing something)”