INTRODUCTION TO

THE PHILOSOPHY OF
THE HUMAN PERSON
Part 1 – The Nature and Functions of
Philosophy
Part 2 – Philosophical Tools and Processes
Part 3 – Philosophical Reflection
OBJECTIVES
After going through this module, you are expected to accomplish the following :

1.Distinguish a holistic perspective from a

partial point of view.
2.Realize the value of doing philosophy in
obtaining a broad perspective on life.
3.Do a philosophical reflection on a concrete
situation from a holistic perspective.
the study of the basic ideas about knowledge, truth, right
and wrong, religion, and the nature and meaning of life.
the philosophical teachings or principles of a person or
group.
A personal philosophy is a set of guiding principles that
we live by ; a set of beliefs, values, and principles that
guide your behavior as an individual, including how you
view the world and your place in it, your important
Philosophy comes from the Greek
word philo means (love) and sophia
means (wisdom) and so is defined as
“the love of wisdom”.
 philosophy is the rational, abstract,
and methodical consideration of reality
as a whole or of fundamental
dimensions of human existence and
More than 2500 years ago a sage in South
Asia named Gautama Buddha declared that
“Life is suffering.” This is the first of his Four
Noble Truths. And indeed if you look at your life
you will see that it is a series of challenges that
you have to overcome if you want to survive. It
feels like you are competing in a race in
which you are required to successfully jump
hurdles in order to win. And each challenge in
life is really a question or a bunch of questions
that you have to answer. If you are not feeling well
for example you might ask, Why am I feeling this
 Philosophy, our subject
matter for this course, is really
all about questions and answers.
And since by now you already
asked and answered hundreds of
questions your life experienced
already prepared you to take our
philosophical journey starting
Picture
Analysis
GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. What do you notice from the
picture?
2. Did anyone get the correct
answer? Why or why not?
3. What does this picture imply
about our effort to understand
the realities of life or answer
 I. The Nature and Functions of
Philosophy
• Traditionally philosophy is defined as love of
wisdom because it came from two Greek words
philos (love) and Sophia (wisdom). You might
find it strange to connect love to philosophy. You
might think of philosophy as a purely intellectual
discipline which has nothing to do with love
You might believe love is romance,
poetry, intense passion in which
you are willing to lay down your
life. But you will see that
philosophy can also be pursued
passionately. In fact some people
like Socrates died for truth. It is
this centrality of love to philosophy
that we call people who engages in
 ORIGIN OF PHILOSOPHY
• Greece is the birthplace of philosophy in the West. To
be more precise it is the ancient Greek city of Miletus in
the Western coast of what is now Turkey that gave birth
to philosophy. It is in this city that the first philosopher in
the West, Thales, lived. Thales is the Father of Philosophy
in the Western civilization. He lived between 624 and 546
BCE a contemporary of the Lydian king Croesus and the
statesman Solon (Stumpf and Fieser,2008).
 What made Thales a philosopher is his
desire to know the ultimate stuff that makes
up the different things we perceived. You
see when we look at the world we
encounter different things: people, trees,
clouds, mountains, rivers, etc. Now
Thales believed that despite the different
things we encounter there is one underlying
stuff or substance in which everything is
composed. He believes that there is One in
the Many. Thales was the first individual
 But his explanation of natural
phenomena is devoid of gods and
goddesses of the old religion of
Greece. It is completely rational. It
represents a departure from the
mythological religion of Greece.
Thales approach highlights the
difference between religion and
philosophy. Religion rests on faith
 PHILOSOPHICAL ACTIVITY
• Thales greatest contribution to philosophy is not his
identification of water as the ultimate stuff of the
universe. His greatest contribution is the problem he
posed “What is the ultimate stuff of the universe?”
and his approach in solving that THALES 12 problem.
Studying Thales makes us realize that philosophical
activity is characterized by three things:
 First in terms of scope philosophy involves
the widest generalizations (Rand, 1982). While
people concern themselves with shoes and
clothes, the latest gossip about their favorite
celebrities, their crushes, philosophers concern
themselves with big issues pertaining to the
truth, , the good, the just, the beautiful, and the
existence of practically all things. While scientists
concern themselves with scientific knowledge,
historians with knowledge of the past, economists
with knowledge of supply and demand,
philosophers concern themselves with the nature
 Second philosophy is all about
fundamentals. A fundamental is the root cause
that explains almost everything in a given
context. To understand this imagine that
knowledge is like a building with levels. Now
the higher level depends on the lower levels
(Peikoff, 1991). If somehow the lower level
crumbles then all the higher levels that rest upon
it will collapse. A fundamental is like the lower
floor that supports everything above it. That
kind of support is exactly what philosophy
provides. If somehow philosophical ideas like
consciousness and existence disappear then
 Third philosophy is driven by
the desire to integrate things in to
a one coherent whole. As the
celebrated philosopher Georg
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said
“The true is the Whole (Peikoff,
1991).” If you notice Thales wants
to reduce the multiplicity of things
into a single stuff. He desires to
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
• Since philosophy’s concern is vast, we have
to divide it into different branches. Each
branch will focus on a specific area of
philosophy. To understand the branches of
philosophy let us return to the three
central philosophical questions we
explored earlier.
 First the question, Where am I? By the
time we reached adulthood we believe we know
the answer to this question. In fact we believed
that the answer is obvious that we don’t bother
to look closely at the question itself. Where am
I? Well let’s say I’m in Manila. You don’t need
philosophy to answer that one. But if you ask a
series of where questions (Where is Manila?
Where is the Philippines? etc.) which at first
seems childish you eventually end up with the
universe. And here we have to stop asking the
where question (Where is the universe is an
The study of the universe as a
whole is the province of
metaphysics. Metaphysics is
further subdivided into ontology
which studies existence as such and
philosophical anthropology
which deals with the fundamental
and essential characteristics of
human nature (Gotthelf and
 The second question, How do
I know it? concerns the nature of
human knowledge and the way to
obtain it. How do we obtain
knowledge? Do we obtain
knowledge by revelation, intuition,
instinct or reason? Can we achieve
certainty or are we doomed to suffer
perpetual doubt? Is knowledge
This is the concern of
epistemology which can be
defined as the “branch of
philosophy that studies the
nature and means of human
knowledge.” We need
epistemology to guide us in
knowing since we make
The first two branches of
philosophy, metaphysics and
epistemology, are called
cognitive branches. These
branches provide a description
of being (existence) and
knowing. They are the
foundations of understanding
The next three branches of
philosophy (ethics, politics and
aesthetics) can be classified as
the normative branches of
philosophy because they are
concerned with the standard of
the good. If the cognitive branches
are concerned with what “is” the
normative branches are concerned
The most basic normative branch of philosophy is
ethics or morality (I used this two concepts
interchangeably). It is concerned with the last of the
three questions central to philosophy: What should I
do? Ethics can be regarded as the technology of
philosophy because it tells us how human beings
ought to function as a human being. But in order to
describe how human beings ought to act we must
first know what a human being is. These last is
provided by metaphysics and epistemology. (This is
especially true of philosophical anthropology a sub-
branch of metaphysics which studies the
metaphysical nature of man (see discussion above).
What then is ethics or morality?
According to Ayn Rand ethics or
morality is a branch of philosophy that
provides a human being with a “code of
values to guide man’s choices and
actions - the choices and actions that
determine the course of his life (Rand,
1964).” It is concerned with the values
man ought to pursue, the
The last two normative branches of
philosophy, politics and aesthetics, are
derived from ethics. Ethics is concerned
with the good for human being as a human
being. If we apply ethics in a social context
then it becomes politics. The concern
therefore of ethics is broader than politics.
It studies the “good” for human beings in
any setting (whether society is present or
not). An individual who is alone in an island
still has to follow ethical principles if he
So what then is politics? Again
following Rand’s definition politics is a
branch of philosophy “which defines
the principles of a proper social
system.” According to Rand “proper”
means proper for human beings which
presupposes that one knows what a
human being is. Since knowledge
about human being is provided by the
cognitive branches of philosophy, the
The last of the normative
branch, aesthetics studies
the nature of art. It is
concerned with the nature
and the objective
judgement of beauty.
 II. Philosophical Tools and
Processes
• Philosophy as a science is also a systematized
body of knowledge but unlike other sciences
which employs observation and experimentation
to prove their theories, philosophy uses reason to
arrive at a certain knowledge or truth. At the
onset Greek philosophers gave us a hint on how to
use our intellect to understand realities around us.
The tools that they
frequently utilized are the
following:
1.Philosophical
Questions
2.Logical Reasoning
 Philosophical Questions
• Philosophy was born because of ignorance. If one is
ignorant, he asks questions and if he keeps on
questioning the more knowledge he acquires. Once a
person stops questioning, he cease to become a
philosopher. In our daily struggles, one needs to ask
questions simple, serious and deep questions that we
have to grapple with. A philosopher is like a child who
has an inquisitive mind who never stops asking
questions and finding answers.
Socrates went further not just
asking questions for himself but
posing questions to people which
is the beginning of a series of
questions and responses from
participants. This philosophical
questioning can be best
described from an excerpt from
“…Ngayon, tingnan natin ang bawat bahagi ng
paratang na ito. Sinabi niya na ako’y gumagawa
ng kawalang-katarungan sa pamamagitan ng
pag-corrupt sa mga kabataan. Ngunit ako, mga
mamamayan ng Atenas, ay nagsasabi na si
Meletus ang gumagawa ng kawalang-
katarungan, sapagkat siya’y nagbibiro sa isang
seryosong bagay, madaling inaakusahang tao,
nagpapanggap na seryoso at nagmamalasakit sa
mga bagay na hindi naman niya talaga
pinapahalagahan. Ipapakita ko sa inyo na ito ay
totoo. Ngayon, halika rito, Meletus, sabihin mo;
 His method is called
dialectics.
The dialectical method of apology,
as applied to Plato's dialogues,
particularly in the context of
Socrates' defense in the "Apology,"
involves a form of argumentation
and reasoning used to refute
accusations and clarify
 The key aspects of dialectics
method and
1.Question Answer: Socrates
engages in a back-and-forth dialogue,
asking questions and providing answers to
clarify his position and uncover
contradictions in his accusers' claims. This
Socratic method aims to expose
inconsistencies and lead others to a deeper
understanding.
2.Critical Examination: Socrates
examines the definitions and assumptions
underlying the accusations. For example, he
 The key aspects of dialectics
3. method
Eliciting Truth: Through dialectical
reasoning, Socrates attempts to uncover
the truth. He often employs irony and
rhetorical questioning to guide his
interlocutors toward self-reflection and a
more accurate understanding of
philosophical concepts.
4. Refuting Accusations: Socrates
systematically addresses the accusations
against him by demonstrating the flaws and
weaknesses in the arguments of his
The Socratic Method, also
known as method of elenchus,
elenctic method, or Socratic
debate, is a form of cooperative
argumentative dialogue between
individuals, based on asking and
answering questions to stimulate
critical thinking and to draw out
Aristotle said that it was the pre
Socratic philosopher Zeno of
Elea who invented dialectic, of
which the dialogues of Plato are
the examples of the Socratic
dialectical method. According to
Kant, however, the ancient Greeks
used the word "dialectic" to
signify the logic of false
Dialectics is a term used to
describe a method of philosophical
argument that involves some sort
of contradictory process between
opposing sides. As a dialectical
method, it is a discourse between
two or more people holding
different points of view about a
subject but wishing to establish
18th century philosopher
Georg Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel
expounded dialectics
which later influenced
Karl Marx, the father of
 2. Logical Reasoning
• In philosophy reasoning is the process of
thinking about something in a logical
way to form a conclusion or judgement.
It has been the method institutionalized
by the triumvirate of Greek
philosophers, especially Aristotle.
Philosophy is about
answering questions.
Reasoning is the
method we use in doing
philosophy.
Types of Logical Reasoning

• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Abductive Reasoning
• Analogical Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning: This
involves drawing specific
conclusions from general premises
or principles. If the premises are
true and the reasoning is valid, the
conclusion must also be true. For
example:
•Premise 1: All humans are mortal.
•Premise 2: Socrates is a human.
Inductive Reasoning: This
involves making generalizations
based on specific observations or
evidence. The conclusions drawn
are probable but not guaranteed to
be true.
For example:
•Observation: Every swan I’ve seen
is white.
Abductive Reasoning: This
involves inferring the most likely
explanation from a set of
observations or evidence. It’s often
used when trying to make
educated guesses or form
hypotheses. For example:
•Observation: The lawn is wet.
•Possible Explanation: It rained
Analogical Reasoning: This involves
drawing comparisons between two similar
situations and inferring that what is true in
one case is likely to be true in the other.
For example:
•Situation 1: Car engines require regular
maintenance to function well.
•Situation 2: Airplane engines are similar
to car engines.
•Conclusion: Airplane engines also require
regular maintenance
Logic starts with the origin of
ideas, terms, propositions or
premises, syllogism, etc.
These terms are the basic
structure of an argument.
Unfortunately, this branch of
philosophy is equivalent to a
one-subject requirement in any
 III. Philosophical Reflection
• is the process of deeply contemplating and examining
fundamental questions about existence, knowledge,
values, reason, mind, and language. It involves
critical thinking and analysis to explore and
understand the underlying principles and
assumptions that guide our beliefs and actions.
• is the process that would aide in understanding the
holistic point of view of what is going on around us.
When we venture into philosophizing
we see the greater perspective of all
things and see the ultimate purpose or
reasons for our existence. Most of us
are so engrossed with individual trees
that we miss the whole forest as the
saying goes. We are always predisposed
to attend to the details of the problem
rather than look at the situation as a
whole. This is true in our understanding
Reflection is an activity that
requires a person to examine his or
her thoughts, feelings and actions
and learn from experience. (Abella,
2016). Philosophers always
search for the essence of things
and the ultimate reasons for our
existence. Its trajectory is to see
the bigger picture about
According to Gabriel Marcel, philosophical reflection is the act of giving time to
think about the meaning and purpose of life. He mentioned two types, namely:
Primary Reflection and Secondary Reflection
 Primary Reflection
• which is the ability to think logically. The
ability of the mind to construct and evaluate
arguments. It examines its object by
abstraction, by analytically breaking it down
into its constituent parts. It is concerned
with definitions, essences and technical
solutions to problems.
 Secondary Reflection
• enables us to look deeper into our
experiences and see the bigger picture of
reality. It integrates the fragmented and
compartmentalized experience into a whole.
It is the idea that various systems (e.g.
physical, biological, social) should be viewed
as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts.
Reflection is not
exclusive for philosophy
in fact it is employed in
any endeavor, research,
or discipline. In research,
it is called the
 Moral theology employs the STOP
sign as guidepost of moral decision
making.
S= Search out the facts.
T=Think, reflect, and analyze
the facts
O= How it affects Others.
P= stands for Pray.
We are human beings with
limitations. If our best efforts are
not enough, then there is no way
but to look up to the divine or God
for enlightenment and guidance.
Praying is a unique tool of
theology which is in the realm of
faith but philosophy’s reasoning
helps in undergoing a theological
St. Thomas Aquinas, one of
the great theologian of the
church quoted in latin the
relationship between philosophy
and theology; ‘philosophia
ancilla theologiae’ or
philosophy is the handmaid of
theology the former is there to
Reason is also important in
theology not just faith.
Whether in philosophy,
sociology, or other sciences,
reflection is very useful in
understanding our daily
experiences to broaden our
In order to reflect
philosophically we need to
use a framework. A
framework is a conceptual
map consisting of our views
and beliefs which affects the
way we view the world
The framework were going to
used is called AQAL. It is an
acronym that stands for All
Quadrants All Levels first
formulated by an American
philosopher/psychologist Ken
Wilber. Wilber first introduced
AQAL to the world in his book
The line above divides space into two sides:
left and right. The left side represents the
interior, subjective, aspect of everything. The
right side represents the exterior, objective,
aspect of everything. The interior (or “loob” in
Filipino) if applied to human beings, includes
one’s values, dreams, ideas, emotions, beliefs.
It basically consists of one’s inner life. It cannot
be seen or measured but can be experienced
directly. The exterior side of everything are the
things that we can see, measure and touch.
They include the physical objects around us
A simple example of this
inside/outside distinction is when a
person smiles at you. You see the big
smile so it is the exterior aspect of an
event. But at the same time there is a
subjective meaning behind that smile:
let’s say the person is happy. This is
the interior, subjective, aspect of the
event. So you see two strands are
interwoven behind any human event:
There are many ways to describe
the quadrants. We can use the
simple location of each of the
quadrant. So the interior of the
individual is the upper left
quadrant (UL), the exterior of the
individual is the upper right
quadrant (UR), the interior of the
collective is the lower left quadrant
But what we are interested is
when we apply this to human
beings. The inside of the
individual becomes the mind, the
outside of the individual becomes
the body, the inside of the
collective becomes culture and
the outside of the collective
Now when we reflect on the nature
of any concrete issue like poverty,
corruption, prostitution, global
warming we can just put the issue
at the center of the quadrant and
analyzed its mental, physical,
cultural and social components.
This is looking at an issue from an
all quadrant, multiple and holistic
Let’s take for example the issue of poverty. How do
we reflect on the issue using the AQAL framework?
Well we know that poverty has a psychological
aspect (UL quadrant) to it. It affects the way we
think, feel and even what we value. But it does not
stop there. Poverty also affects bodies (UR
quadrant). It affects our nutrition, our medication
and immune system. Some children have stunted
growth due to poverty. And who could deny that
poverty also affects the culture such as arts, religion
and even the way we dress. Religious feast such as
the procession of the Black Nazarene is in part
motivated by poverty. And of course it is obvious
Thank
you