INTRODUCTION TO THE
PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON
LESSON 1: THE MEANING,
CHARACTERISTICS, AND BRANCHES
OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy can also be
treated as an examination
of a particular area of
knowledge. This means that
the principles of philosophy
can be used as an
examination of other
disciplines or areas of
knowledge. In the long run,
other areas of
specialization may benefit
from the very nature of
philosophy, (Abella 2016).
LASTLY, PHILOSOPHY IN ITSELF IS A
DISTINCT AREA OF KNOWLEDGE. IT
HAS ITS OWN GOALS, CONCERNS,
AND WAYS OF DOING THINGS,
(ABELLA 2016). DEFINITELY,
PHILOSOPHY IS A DISCIPLINE IN
ITSELF.
Philosophy is reflective and reflections arise from our
experiences.
-Man is rich with experiences both good and evil. These
experiences are the starting point of wonder and awe.
Reason leads to reflection and that’s what makes us human.
We are capable of becoming aware of our consciousness
and daily activities.
-Man, by essence is reflective. However, people nowadays
have less time to think and reflect on their experiences. Man
is simply now becoming a contradiction of his own. (Garcia
2016)
AYN RAND: - “Philosophy studies the
fundamental nature of existence, of man,
and of man’s relationship to existence. As
against the special science, which deals only
with particular aspects, philosophy deals with
those aspects of the universe which pertain
to everything that exists. In the realm of
cognition, the special sciences are the trees,
but philosophy is the soil which makes the
forest possible.”
Lesson 2: The Distinction
Between Holistic
Perspective and Partial
Point of View
AT THE END OF THIS LESSON, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO:
1.
DISTINGUISH HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE FROM PARTIAL POINT OF VIEW;
2.
IDENTIFY THE WAYS OF LOOKING AT THINGS; AND
3.
APPRECIATE THE WAYS OF SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY IN LOOKING
AT THINGS.
“The Story of
the Five Blind
Men and an
Elephant”
“The Story of the Five Blind Men and an
Elephant”
One day five blind men agreed to analyze an elephant to
find out what it was. Reaching out, each touched it in a
different spot.
One man touched the side, one, an ear, one a leg, one a
tusk, and one the trunk.
We now know that the elephant is like a wall, said the one
who touched the side.
I believed you are mistaken, sir, said the
one who touched an ear. The elephant is
more like a large fan.
You are both wrong, said the leg man. The
elephant is obviously being like a tree.
A tree? Questioned the tusk toucher. How
can you mistake a spear for a tree?
What? Said the trunk feeler.
A spear is long and round, but anyone
knows it doesn’t move. Couldn’t you feel
the muscles? It is definitely a type of
snake. A blind man could see that said
the fifth blind man.
The argument grew more heated for they
had a misunderstanding regarding the
truth of an elephant.
Holistic thinking refers to a perspective that
considers a large-scale pattern in a system. This is
often described as looking at the “big picture”
when describing and analyzing a situation or a
problem.
A holistic perspective requires an individual to
have an open mindset and the ability to get the
general sense or impression regarding a situation.
Partial thinking, on the other hand, focuses
on the specific aspects of a situation.
The partial view is an important component in
analytical thinking, as an individual focus on
certain areas or aspects of a problem in order to
understand it.
Though partial thinking is useful, Philosophy
utilizes holistic thinking in making sense of
problems and issues related to the human
experience. (Abella 2016)
SCIENCE IS INVESTIGATIVE.
THIS MEANS IT MUST
INVESTIGATE TO DESCRIBE
FACTS AND EVENTS.
SPECIFICALLY, IT GIVES US
KNOWLEDGE OF
PARTICULAR FACTS. THE
METHOD OF SCIENCE IN
PROVIDING DATA IS
BASICALLY OBSERVATION
COUPLED WITH
EXPERIMENTATION. THE
PRODUCT OF SCIENCE IS
SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
Marcelian way of
Philosophical
Reflection
Primary reflection
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
In contrast, secondary
reflection is synthetic;
it unifies rather than
divides. “Roughly, we
can say that where
primary reflection
tends to dissolve the
unity of experience
which is first put
before it, the function
of secondary
reflection is essentially
recuperative; it
reconquers that unity”
‘The Allegory of
the Cave’ by
Plato
The ‘Allegory of The Cave’ is a theory put
forward by Plato, concerning human
perception.
Plato claimed that knowledge gained
through the senses is no more than
opinion and that, in order to have real
knowledge, we must gain it through
philosophical reasoning.
‘The Allegory of the Cave’
by Plato
In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato
distinguishes between people who
mistake sensory knowledge for the
truth and people who really do see
the truth. It goes like this:
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
• He begins to understand his new world and sees that the Sun is the
source of life and goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers
beauty and meaning.
• He sees that his former life and the guessing game they played are
useless.
THE MEANING