Philosophy
Lesson 1: Philosophy
Philosophy
❖ It comes from the Greek words,
philo, meaning “to love,” and
sophia, meaning “wisdom.” ❖ It
originally meant, “love of
wisdom.”
❖ It is also defined as the attitude of
the mind that by natural light of
reason studies the first cause or
the highest principles of all things.
❖ The four things are to be
considered: scientific approach,
natural light of reason, study of all
things and first cause or the highest
principle
Four things to be considered:
1. Scientific Approach
2. Natural Light of Reason
3. Study of all things
4. First Cause or the highest Principle
Scientific Approach It uses scientific
approach because the investigation is
systematic. It follows certain steps or
it employs certain procedures.
Natural Light of Reason The
philosopher uses his natural
capacity to think or observe the
world and the people.
Study of All Things ❖ This sets the
distinction between philosophy and
other sciences. ❖ All other sciences
concern themselves with a particular
object of investigation, whereas, a
philosopher studies human beings,
society, religion, language, God and
plants, among other concerns. ❖
Philosophy is not one-dimensional or
partial. Rather, philosophy is
multidimensional or holistic. In other
words, philosopher does not limit
himself to a particular object of
inquiry. He questions almost
anything, if not, everything.
First Cause/The Highest Principle ❖
An idea which means something is
the main and first cause why an
event or situation took place. It is a
principle because everything in the
world and every situation has starting
point or a beginning. ❖ The first
principles are: principle of identity,
principle of noncontradiction,
principle of excluded middle and
principle of sufficient reason.
The first principles are:
❖ Principle of identity
❖ Principle of noncontradiction
❖ Principle of excluded middle
❖ Principle of sufficient reason
❖ Principle of Identity- whatever is
is; and whatever is not is not;
everything is what it is.
❖ Principle of Noncontradiction- it is
impossible for a thing to be and
not to be at the same time, and at
the same respect.
B.
C.
D.
E.
❖ 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.
Metaphysics
❖ It is an extension of a fundamental
and necessary drive in every
human being to know what is real.
❖ "True reality" means it is the
fundamental source and basis of
all reality in the world.
❖ Principle of Sufficient
Reasonnothing exists without a
sufficient reason for its being and
existence.
❖ Finally, in attaining wisdom, there
is a need for emptying. Emptying is
suspending one’s judgment and
conclusion about a matter and
mentally exploring the pros and
cons, the characteristics, and the
purpose of an idea or situation. ❖
Without the virtue of emptying,
students will only learn partial
philosophy that is knowledgebased without becoming holistic
(acquiring wisdom through various
dimensions of being human
including the psychological, social,
emotional, and moral aspects.
Lesson 2: BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Branches of Philosophy
A. Metaphysics
Ethics
Epistemology
Logic
Aesthetic
The Big Metaphysical Questions
❖ What is the meaning of life?
❖ What is our place in the universe?
❖ Does the world really exist?
❖ Do we have free will? ❖ Does God
exist?
Plato
❖ Nothing we experience in the
physical world with our five senses
is real.
❖ Plato calls these realities as ideas
of forms.
Ethics
❖ Is the branch of philosophy that
explore the nature of moral virtue
and evaluates the morality and
virtue of human actions. ❖
Logical arguments to justify claims
and positions involving morality.
❖ Motivate individuals to obey
the laws and moral code of their
society.
Ethics has five main frameworks:
1. Divine command
2. Consequentialism or utilitarianism
3. Deontological ethics
4. Virtue ethics
5. Relativism
1. Divine command ❖ What does
GOD ordain us to do? ❖ GOD
commands is good while anything
he forbids is bad.
2. Consequentialism or utilitarianism
❖ What has the desirable
consequences? What is good
for the greatest number of people
is the best choice and the moral
choice.
3. Deontological ethics
❖ A person has a moral duty to do
what is right regardless of what the
person thinks or feels about that
situation.
4. Virtue Ethics
What kind of person I ought to be?
This ethical theory ignores the
consequences, duties, and social
contrast. Instead, it focuses on
character development of individuals
and their acquisition of good virtue
ethics.
Socrates
❖ To be happy is to live a virtuous
life.
❖ Virtuous means having high
moral standards (always tell the
truth; do not cheat; do not judge etc.)
5. Relativism- What does my culture
or society think I ought to do?
Personal religious beliefs and spiritual
attitudes are specifically important
personal commitments that are
relevant to personal and profesional
lives. Such religious and spiritual
beliefs include cultural
appropriateness, openess,
stewardship, harmony, justice, caring,
and trustworthiness.
Epistemology ❖ deals with nature,
sources, limitations, and validity of
knowledge. ❖ Epistemology
explains:How we can find out what
we wish to know?How we can
differentiate truth from falsehood?
Sources of knowledge:
❖ Induction
❖ Deduction
Induction
Some philosophers think that the
particular things seen, heard, and
touched are more important. And
philosophers who feel that
knowledge is aquired in this way are
called empiricism. Empiricism is the
view that knowledge can be attained
only through sense experience.
1. It vitalizes our knowledge. It
makes our knowledge of the world
alive and useful.
Deduction
❖ Other philosophers think it is more
important to find a general law
according to which particular facts
can be understood or judge. ❖
Real knowledge is based on
logic,laws and methods.
2. It helps us to live more deeply
and richly. A work of art helps us to
rise from purely physical existence
into the realm of intellect and the
spirit.
Logic
❖ It comes from the Greek word
logike, coined by Zeno, the Stoic
(c.340–265BC), which means a
treatise on matters pertaining to
the human thought. ❖ It is about
the validity of our arguments
regarding such objects (evaluation
of arguments: T or F).
Aristotle
❖ Father of Logic ❖ Truth means the
agreement of knowledge with
reality. ❖ Logical reasoning makes
us certain that our conclusions are
true.
Aesthetics
❖ The philosopical study of beauty
and taste.
❖ Appreciation of beautiful things.
Aesthetics There are 3 things to be
consider
3. It brings us in touch with our
culture. The answers of great minds
in the past to the great problems of
human life are part of our culture.
Lesson 3: Three Main Spiritual
Philosophies on Transcendence
HINDUISM -BUDDISM- CHRISTIANITY
HINDUISM
❖ Hinduism is a religion with various
Gods and Goddesses. ❖ Sanatana
Dharma is the original name of
Hinduism. ❖ It is the world’s most
ancient culture and the socio,
spiritual and religious tradition of
almost 1billion of the earth’s
inhabitant.
❖ Brahma is supreme in the triad of
great Hindu gods which includes
Shiva and Vishnu.
❖ Brahma is the Hindu god of
creation.
❖ Brahma is often depicted with a
lotus flower. The lotus flower
represents nature and the allencompassing energy of creation.
Vishnu
❖ Protector of Dharma
❖ Represent justice and moral ❖
Symbolism for protection &
patience ❖ Knowledge or
prosperity
Shiva
❖ Destroyer and creator of all
things.
❖ Protector of the Vedas the sacred
texts.
❖ A source of inspiration when trying
to achieve a goal or enduring
hardships in life
The Hindu worldview is grounded in
the doctrines of samsara (the cycle of
rebirth) and karma(the universal law
of cause and effect)
❖ It is mostly practiced in India and
parts of Nepal.
❖ It does not have one holy book,
instead it has sacred writings. The
holiest is the Vedas and epics like
the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
❖ The basic belief is that people
have to follow their Dharma or set
of rules to gain good karma.
BUDDHISM
BUDDHA
SiddharthaGautama
(Buddha)
Nirvana- a place of perfect peace and
happiness.
Buddhism is one of the world’s
largest religions. Buddhists believe
that human life is a cycle of suffering
and rebirth, but that if one achieves a
state of enlightenment (nirvana), it is
possible to escape this cycle forever.
❖ Buddhists believe in a wheel of
rebirth into different bodies. This is
connected to “karma,” which refers
to how a person’s good or bad
actions in the past or in their past
lives can impact them in the future.
❖ Buddhists do not believe in any
kind of god
❖ There are three main schools of
Buddhism: Mahayana, Theravada,
and Vajrayana. China, Taiwan, Japan,
and South Korea. ❖ People can
escape from the suffering of the
world through the Buddha’s teaching.
A tradition that focuses on personal
spiritual development. Develop
wisdom, urges us to practice virtue
and avoid vice, and tells us to
practice meditation.
CHRISTIANITY ❖ Christianity is the
most widely practiced religion in the
world.The Christian faith centers on
beliefs regarding the birth, life,
death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. ❖ Christians are
monotheistic,they believe there’s
only one God, and he created the
heavens and the earth. This divine
Godhead consists of three parts: the
father (God himself), the son (Jesus
Christ) and the Holy Spirit
It comes from the Greek word
“Christos” means “the chosen one.”
❖ It is based on the teachings of
Jesus
Christ who lived in the Holy Land
(Israel) 2,000 years ago. Christians
believe that Jesus was the messiah
(savior) promised in the Old
Testament of the Bible. They also
believe that God sent Jesus to Earth
to save humans from sin.