University of San Jose – Recoletos

Senior High School Department

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

Most Essential Learning

Distinguish opinion from truth
Competencies

Realize that the methods of Evaluate truth from opinions in

philosophy lead to wisdom and different situations using the
truth methods of philosophizing

“The problem of truth is in a way its easy to state: what truths are, and what
makes them true. But this simple statement masks a great controversy.”

In an evolutionary perspective, human beings are animals that are

considered to be apex predators. Although considering the fact that, in
terms of physical strength or speed,
human beings will be classified as the
weakest or the slowest. A small dog could
easily outrun us, a lion could effortlessly
devour us. But, throughout millions of
years of evolution, human beings haven’t
been extinct or endangered. It’s quite the
opposite, rather – we propagated. This is
all thanks to our ability to think and know.
We may not be the strongest nor the
fastest, we may not have special abilities
like flying or to change our color to
camouflage, but the only thing we have is our ability to think, to be
creative, to possess knowledge. In this lesson, we will tackle the features
of human knowledge that brought us to post-modern advancements and
accomplishments, in a philosophical point of view.

Many of us have had an experience of dreaming while unconscious. We

don’t remember all our dreams. In fact, we tend to forget them as soon
as we regain consciousness.
However, some dreams may
have been recalled, and we
tell its story to our family or
friends, no matter how
absurd. Have you experienced
dreaming of a truly bad
situation? Like your mind is
reminding you of your fears,
and you suddenly wake up
with tears in your eyes or
sweat on your body. You just
realized that nothing of those
is real. You feel most relieved,
grateful that you woke up. However, while you were unconscious and
dreaming, you thought that everything that is happening around you is
real. Even your own senses seem to be deceiving you into believing that
everything is true. The question is, how do we know which is true from
what is not? This is a matter of knowing about the human knowledge, its
limitations, and its relation to the Truth and Reality.
  It is a reasonable measure of
the correctness of a statement,
idea, or a belief.

 The first concept of truth is

rooted in ancient Greek philosophy
as "justified, true belief.“

 This concept states that

something is true because you believe it to be true, and that there is
justification for such belief based on objective evidence.
The realm of Truth may contain those arising from mystical convictions,
which are more difficult to justify than those based on observations. So,
Truth is the realm populated by well-justified beliefs. To a certain extent
truth is subjective, although a belief gains greater currency by its wider
acknowledgment.
Truth is not constant. Some beliefs which were held to be true are now
considered false, and some for which truth is now claimed may be
deemed false in the future, and vice versa. Truth is good for helping us
decide how to act, because it serves as a standard for making some sort
of sense of a world populated also by half-truths and untruths.

It states that something is true if it

corresponds to reality or the actual state
of affairs.
This theory assumes a direct relationship
between an idea and reality and that a
statement can be taken as "FACT.“
Example: The dog is barking
 It proposes that something is true
if it makes sense when placed in a
certain situation or context.
 An idea or statement is true
because it has a certain degree of
consistency which renders it
truthful.
 Ex. Democratic society only supports democratic laws.

 Knowledge is shaped by
special forces and influenced by
culture and history.
 Knowledge is gained as a
part of social experience and requires interaction and collaboration.
What is true is shaped by his society and culture.
 Ex. The View Towards Marriage

 It views knowledge as based

on AGREEMENT.
 Something is true if almost
everyone agrees that it is
true.
 Pragmatic Theory
 It holds the view that something is
true if we can put it into practice or
is useful in real life.

 Ideas must be verified using

senses or experience. (EMPIRICISM)

Points to remember:
 These theories provide us varied perspectives in analyzing
truth
 However, not one of these theories can really claim to be
the most accurate measure of truth.
 “In determining the validity and reliability of ideas,
statements, and claims, we need to use a combination of
these theories to arrive at a reliable assesstment of what is
truth.”



Fallacies are natural to us, but there is no excuse for us to just accept
them. In this lesson, we will find the examples of different fallacies and
how they present in an argument.
Argumentum ad Hominem is a Latin phrase that translates to “an
argument to the man” or “an attack to the man”. In an argument, what
we should address is the argument itself. Argumentum ad Hominem
consists of an attack to the person who is speaking the argument rather
than to the argument itself. Here is an example:
Person A: Logic is an extremely important and useful subject.
Person B: You believe that because you're an idiot and you need logic.

 Person B, instead of providing a reason why he thinks Person A is

wrong, resorted to an attack to the character of Person A through
an insult.

Argumentum ad Baculum translates to “an appeal to the stick”. The stick

is used as an instrument to punish a child in order to force him to behave
in ways his parents want him to. Hence, this fallacy appeals to force or
authority – whether physical or economical.
 Here is an example: Richard: Anna, you have to tell the board that
my proposal is the best one. Else, I will fire you. Note here that
Richard is forcing Anna to do as he wishes and threatens her as an
appeal to punishment.

Argumentum ad Misericordiam is “an appeal to misery”. This is usually in

a form of verbal and/or physical crying. It appeals to one’s emotion so the
person will be convinced.
 Here is an example: Person A: You can't have a cigarette now. The
hospital has a rule against smoking when you're in an oxygen tent.
Person B: You've just got to let me have one. You can't believe what
those doctors have done to me. My life the last three days has been
a living nightmare.
Argumentum ad Ignorantiam or “an appeal to ignorance” is a fallacy being
used to argue the non-existence of something due to a lack of knowledge.
 Here is an example: Richard: I did not see Anna’s e-mail in my inbox.
Therefore, she did not send it. In this example, Richard equates his
not seeing Anna’s e-mail to a conclusion that she did not send it.
Although it is possible that it went to a different folder in his e-mail
and a number of other possibilities.

Fallacies of Composition/Division is about the relation between parts and

whole. Fallacy of Composition happens when we mistakenly assume that
what is true for the parts must also be true for the whole. For Fallacy of
Division, it is the other way around – we mistakenly assume that what is
true for the whole must also be true for the parts.
 Here is an example:
o Fallacy of Composition: The dog’s tail is brown, his eyes are
brown, his ears are brown. So, the dog is brown.
o Fallacy of Division: The dog is white. So, his tail is white, his
eyes are white, his paws are white

False Cause Fallacy is committed when two following events occur and we
jump to the conclusion that the first event caused the second event
although no connection between them can be found.
 Here is an example:
Event 1: Richard enters Anna’s hospital room to visit her.
Event 2: Anna gets a migraine.

Person A: You shouldn’t have visited her, Richard, you’re the cause
of her migraines. Person A here committed False Cause Fallacy
because he does not have an evidence of his claim that Richard,
indeed, caused Anna’s migraine.
Argumentum ad populum is a fallacious argument that concludes that a
proposition must be true because many or most people believe it, often
concisely encapsulated as: "If many believe so, it is so"
Appeal to tradition is an argument in which a thesis is deemed correct on
the basis that it is correlated with some past or present tradition. The
appeal takes the form of "this is right because we've always done it this
way.

Slippery Slope Fallacy consists of a sequence of claims that will cause

another event which will cause another event and so on. It is also known
as a “domino theory”.
 Here is an example: If I had a flat tire, I won’t be able to get to work,
which would lead for me to have a sanction, which is bad in my
records. Hence, I won’t be able to get promotion due to a flat tire.

Fallacy of Complex Question happens when we raise a major questions

that has implicit minor questions. And when the major question is answer,
the implied questions is also answered.
 Here is an example: Person A: Richard, how many bottles of rum did
you finish last night? Person A’s question assumes that Richard
drank last night, and that his drink was rum.

These discussed fallacies serve as a way for us to check ourselves when

reasoning out with the people around us. Perhaps, we could even feel
guilty in committing these fallacies. You may have appealed to pity to your
parents when they were pushing you to do your chores. Perhaps, you
have appealed to force to your siblings in order to get them do what you
wanted. You could have committed fallacies in language which led you to
a misunderstanding with your friends. Whatever the situation, we could
easily commit errors in our reasoning, and we have to be vigilant of our
own mind. But, these are only minor situations. When you finish college
and start contributing to your society, you’ll be more involved in and
affected by bigger problems like the taxes you have to pay, or the public
servant you’ll vote. But the point is that we ought to act on these matters
based on correct reasons, well-founded arguments, and in-depth
reflection.

In conclusion:
Methods of Philosophizing allow us to reevaluate our decisions that would
impact our lives and the world we live in. Philosophizing can be both
daunting and annoying. Hence, the general perception is that it is an
irrelevant, impractical pursuit. However as thinking creatures contained
in a finite amount of time in this world, the least we can do is pause,
reflect, and make it more meaningful by asking ourselves questions we
have never asked before.
References:

https://mediacdn.quipper.com/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTgvMDEvMzEvMDkvMDgvMjcvNGJlMDYwNTItZGE
0OS00MTI2LWE4N2EtOTM3YTFmNDgzM2JlL0lQJTIwMDIucGRmIl1d.pdf?sha=ee82df94640f1631

https://mediacdn.quipper.com/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTgvMDEvMzEvMDkvMDgvMjcvNGJlMDYwNTItZGE
0OS00MTI2LWE4N2EtOTM3YTFmNDgzM2JlL0lQJTIwMDIucGRmIl1d.pdf?sha=ee82df94640f1631

https://philosophynow.org/issues/86/What_Is_Truth

https://www.britannica.com/topic/truth-philosophy-and-logic

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