1.1 Distinguish
a
holistic
perspective from a partial
point of view
Lesson Title: Defining the Nature
of Philosophy DAY 1
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.
It investigates the nature and object of
a human knowing. And understanding
of the reality, existence and life.
Socrates says that it is not worth living,
Socrates lived and died teaching the
truth to the youth of Athens.
Socrates taught western civilization
the art of questioning. The Socratic
method is called Elenchus, which is a
way of eliciting the truth by question
and answer.
When
do
we
Philosophize?
begin
to
Wonder: For Plato, the poet and the
Philosopher are alike in that both
begin from wonder. Doubt can
also
impel
man
to
ask
Philosophical
Questions.
Philosophizing here begins from the
inner restlessness which is linked to
the drive of fullness. Philosophical
Questions ultimately can be reduced to
question of “WHO AM I?”
Why do we philosophize?
Philosophy is an activity rooted on
lived experience. Experience is the life
of the self: dynamic interrelation of self
and others, be it things, human being,
the environment, the world grasped
not objectively but from within. Self is
the “I” conscious of itself, present to
itself. Presence to itself entails also
presence to other, not “I”. This
relatedness of the self to the other is
characterized
by
tension,
disequilibrium,
disharmony,
incoherence. Tension calls for inquiry,
questioning, and search.
Benefits of Philosophy
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Critical reflection and revision
Reasoning and argumentation
Creative
and
independent
thinking
Confidence and self-esteem
Cooperation and responsibility
Reading comprehension
Active listener
To philosophize is to wonder about
life, love, loneliness, birth, death,
truth, beauty, freedom among others.
To philosophize is to explore life by
asking questions and wonders why.
For Socrates, such was the beginning
of wisdom. Now, try answering the
questions below
1.2 Realize the value of doing
philosophy in obtaining a
broad perspective on life
Lesson Title: Beginnings of Doing
Philosophy DAY 2
Philosophy is easier to do than to
define. At this stage, we associate
philosophy with thinking. Besides,
crucial element in thinking is insight.
Insight is seeing with the mind. There
are two things to be considered
regarding insight: the insight itself and
what do I do with insight. Abstraction
is one of the tools for analysis of
insights. An abstract thought is a
concept. An analysis by abstraction is a
conceptual analysis. Thus, Insight is
seeing with the mind: only you can do
it. I cannot see it for you but I can help
you see it. There are many ways of
doing with insight. Some insights are
so deep that they cannot be exhausted.
It takes insight to do something with
insight. Insight brings us to the very
heart of reality which the pre-Socratic
and Greek philosophers were trying to
study
Western
Socratic
Philosophers:
Pre-
Thales of Miletus is often credited
with being the first systematic
philosopher of the Western world. He
was the first to reject supernatural
explanations and seek reasons
behind
events.
Thales
rarely
confined his research to a limited area
among available knowledge and was
actively indulged in understanding
various aspects of knowledge such as
philosophy, mathematics, science,
geography and what not. He is also
said to have developed a well-defined
standard to theorize why changes
occur in things. He proposed water as
the basic underlying component of the
world. Thales was highly esteemed
among ancient Greeks and his
hypotheses usually added meaning and
girth into already existing ideas on
nature. Thales is also said to be the
founder
of
school
of
natural
philosophy.
Pythagoras is someone known far
more for his theories and ideas in
mathematics than in philosophy. In
fact, he is best known for the theorem
in geometry that is named after him.
He is one of the most familiar names
from pre-Socratic society, but yet, what
we know about him surprisingly less.
His teachings were not strictly
constricted to what we know as
philosophy, but also included common
issues like „rules on living‟, „daily
food to eat‟ and so on. He regarded
the world as perfect harmony and
aimed his teaching on how to lead a
harmonious life.
Pythagoras thought that no man could
posses wisdom, which is most
comprehensive
and
profound
knowledge of things. Wisdom was
the privileged possession only of
God. Therefore, he said that no man
could justly call himself wise.
Heraclitus is a Greek philosopher of
the late 6th century BCE, Heraclitus
criticizes
his
predecessors
and
contemporaries for their failure to see
the unity in experience. He claims to
announce an everlasting Word
(Logos) according to which all things
are one, in some sense. The world itself
consists of a law-like interchange of
elements, symbolized by fire. Thus the
world is not to be identified with any
particular substance, but rather with
an ongoing process governed by a law
of change.
Ancient Greek Philosophers
Socrates embarked a whole new
perspective of achieving practical
results
through
application
of
philosophy in our daily lives –
something that was largely missing in
the
approach
of
pre-Socratic
philosophy. He openly diverted from
the relentless physical speculations
prior philosophers were so busy
interpreting and assimilating, and
attempted to establish an ethical
system that would be based on human
reasoning rather than various (and
often widely debated) theological
doctrines.
Docta Ignorantia – it is to know
that you do not know. Who Am I? is a
question is not posed, for once a
person ask this questions, the real
journey then begins. Many events of
our lives, we often (What makes you is
you) we carry our burdens and we
become the questions itself that we
intend to answer.
Plato- He was a Socrates‟ student,
and was visibly influenced by the
philosophical approach of his master.
But while Socrates was relentlessly
occupied with interpreting philosophy
based solely on human reasoning,
Plato indulged himself in combining
the two major approaches – preSocratic metaphysics and nature
theology with Socratic ethical theology.
The primary groundwork of Plato‟s
philosophy is a threefold approach –
dialects, ethics and physics, the central
point of unison being the theory of
forms. For him, the highest of forms
was that of the ‘good’, which he took
as the cause of being and knowledge.
Aristotle of Stagira was most
influential among the disciples of
Plato. His interpretation of things were
more based on facts learnt from
experience one would gain in their
lives, an approach that differed from
that of his master who preferred a
perspective that was beyond the
accessibility of physical senses. He
proved to be an imaginative writer and
equally creative polymath, gradually
re-writing pre-established concepts in
almost all areas of knowledge that he
touched.
According to Aristotle, all men by
nature desire to know, the person is
being who is rational. Our desire for
knowledge must a lead to a life long
process, search of practical wisdom
or Phronesis. For the student of
Plato, this wisdom leads us to a life of
real virtue and in the end, to a life of
real happiness or Eudaimonia.
Lesson
Title:Branches
Philosophy:
Theoretical
Practical Day 3
of
and
Benefits of Practical Philosophy:
•
•
•
•
Experience greater happiness
and freedom.
Learn to quiet the overactive
mind.
Gain tools for dealing with
stress and anxiety.
Develop
a
deeper
understanding of yourself
A. Theoretical Philosophy Defined
– studies the principles of human
knowledge, thought, argumentation
and communication, the nature of
language,
consciousness,
and
metaphysics. This philosophy is more
concerned on the origin/theory of
knowledge.
Branches:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Psychology
–
studies
human/animal behavior
Ontology- the theory of being
Epistemology – the theory of
knowledge
Metaphysics – studies beyond
physical realities
Theodicy – God on logical
abstraction
B. Practical Philosophy Defined –
is a discipline that uses philosophical
methods and insights to explore how
people can lead wiser and more
reflective
lives.
Thus,
practical
philosophy focuses more on living a
good life which focuses on the
following concepts: well-being, human
excellence, wisdom, love and personal
relationships, ethics, the Meaning of
Life, and how to develop even more
enlightened values.
Branches:
1. Logic- correct thinking and valid
reasoning
2. Ethics – right living
3. Axiology -study of value
1.3 Do a philosophical reflection
on a concrete situation from a
holistic perspective
Lesson Title: Approaches
Doing Philosophy DAY 4
in
Analytic Philosophy examines and
criticizes
our
fundamental
concepts/ideas,
our
belief,
and
assumptions in our everyday life. In
our everyday lives, we go about our
daily routines without being aware of
the nuances in meaning of the use of
concepts that we use. Often, we take
for granted that we understood what is
being said. Unfortunately, we fail to
realize that there may be some useless
controversies that could have been
avoided if we just know how to analyze
and clarify the use of these concepts
that we take for granted.
Speculative Philosophy – tries to
find an underlying explanation or
general principle that could explain
reality in its entirety. The philosophical
pre-Socratic approaches in explaining
reality is an example of this process