Introduction to the Philosophy

of the Human Person

COURSE MATERIAL NO. 1

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 ?

This module has been designed to

help you:

• Demonstrate profound
understanding of Philosophy.

• Familiarize the different

branches of Philosophy.

• Trace the history of

Philosophy related to
Philosophy of Man.

• Ask philosophical questions.

• Appreciate the importance of

Philosophy in life.

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 Definition of Philosophy
Origin:
Branches of Philosophy
Philosophy and
   = Philos = “Love” or “Friend”
 = Sophia = “Wisdom” Philosophers
Importance of Philosophy
Philosopher = lover of wisdom

▪ WISDOM
= beyond knowledge
= essence
= purpose

Philosophy = love of wisdom

• Philosophy studies all things”; thus, all aspects of reality
can be the object of a philosophical study.
• knowledge of all things through their ultimate causes,
acquired through the use of reason. ▪ What is Philosophy?
What is Philosophy of the
through their ultimate causes”; seeking the deepest
Human Person?
explanations regarding the existence and nature of
beings.
acquired through the use of reason; seeking the When did Philosophy
originate? Who were the
ultimate explanations that can be arrived at by
proponents?
applying reasoning to facts supplied by experience.
What are the branches of
Nature of Philosophy
• an attempt to arrive at a rational conception of the reality. Philosophy?
• enquires into the nature of the universe, the nature of the
human soul, and its destiny, and the nature of God or the What philosophical
Absolute, and their relation to one another. question do I have?
• enquires into the nature of matter, time, space, causality,
evolution, life, and mind, and their relation to one another.
• the art of thinking all things logically, systematically, and
persistently.
• the art of thinking rationally and systematically of the
reality as a whole.

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It is the nature of man to ask, inquire,
reason.  Discourse
 Logia (or study)
Anthropos about
= Man/ = discourse
Humanity
Humanity or study

________________________________ Discourse About Humanity

________________________________
▪ Essence: What makes ME human?
________________________________
________________________________ : What makes Human beings, Human
beings?
▪ Purpose: Why are there humans?
: What is my purpose?

Branches of Philosophy

Human beings are #______________. 1. Epistemology (theory of knowledge)

======================================
COMMON QUESTIONS
▪ Epistemology
a. what is knowledge?
b. How can we acquire knowledge?
▪ Metaphysics
a. How did mankind come to be?
b. How can we prove the existence of
something?
▪ Logic
a. What is valid reasoning?
b. How can you distinguish between a
good argument and a bad argument?
▪ Ethics
a. How should we act?
b. What do we mean by virtue?
- delves into the definition, scope, and parameters
of knowledge and knowledge formation.
- seeks to explain how we acquire knowledge, how
knowledge relates to notions like justification,
truth, and belief, and how and where it falls in the
spectrum of certainty and error.
2. Metaphysics
- studies and asks questions about the essence and
existence of being, reality, the physical world, and
the universe.
3. Logic
- studies and concerned with “reasoning” or truth.
- teaches the difference between good and
bad reasoning and how to construct valid
arguments.
4. Ethics/ Axiology (moral philosophy)
- study of morality.
- seeks to address questions about how we should
live our lives, define proper conduct, and meaning
of good life.
- teaches what the virtuous life is like and how we
can put these virtues into practice.

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 5. Aesthetics
- study of everything related to beauty, art, ▪ Aesthetics
and good taste. a. What is art?
- includes how we define art, how we feel when b. Is art and morality connected?
viewing art or witnessing beauty, how we judge
works of art, and how we form our taste.

6. Political Philosophy
▪ Political
- examines various concepts related to politics,
a. What makes a government work?
government, laws, liberty, justice, rights, b. What is the extent of the power of
authority, state, and even ethics (ethical ruling). the government?
- discusses how states should be built and run, and
how its constituents should act.

❖ Ancient Philosophy of Man

Socrates (teacher of Plato)
(Early 5th Century B.C. To Late 4th Century B.C.)
: Socrates and Aristotle - Believed that circumspect use of
= Focuses on ESSENCE language and endless self-
questioning are crucial in the
quest for wisdom.
- saw philosophy as a way of life,
❖ Medieval Philosophy of Man
the highest calling of a select few.
(Late Fifth Century A.D. to Middle Fifteenth Century)
- believed that the highest good is
: Thomas Aquinas
knowledge.
= Focuses on ESSENCE and INDIVIDUALITY

“An act is good or bad depending on whether it

contributes to or deters us from our proper
human end—the telos or final goal, happiness, at
which all human actions aim.”
(“happiness” is understood in terms of
completion, perfection, or well-being).
Achieving happiness requires a range of
intellectual and moral virtues that enable us to
understand the nature of happiness and motivate
us to seek it in a reliable and consistent way.
Final happiness consists in beatitude, or
supernatural union with God. … we not only need
the virtues, we, also need God to transform our
nature—to perfect or “deify” it—so that we
might be suited to participate in divine beatitude.
Aristotle
- first logician and biologist.
- founded the Lyceum and tutored
Alexander the Great.
- influenced numerous theologians
and philosophers, including St.
Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.
- “the form is what makes matter
what it is (as the soul defines a
living body)”.

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Descartes
- father of modern philosophy.
- the only thing that he couldn't
doubt was himself thinking,
hence cogito ergo sum (“I think,
therefore, I am”)
- made landmark contributions to
mathematics (Cartesian
geometry), to metaphysics (belief
in God and the material
world, acceptance of mind-body
dualism), and to philosophical
methodology (Discourse On
Method).
Rousseau
- believed that people are born
good but that society wields a
corrupting influence on them.
- “The driving force behind society
is the General Will, and it must
be respected. The challenge is
to attain freedom amidst
corruption and worldliness.”
Kierkegaard
- faith in God, who can deliver us
from our forlornness.
Heidegger
- idea of death provokes a
fear of nothingness; people
hide in inauthentic
routines; they seek to
renounce their freedom to
act.
- “We're essentially alone;
we come into the world
alone and exit it alone.
3rd Term, AY 2020-2021 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
❖ Modern Philosophy of Man
(Early 17th Century To 19th Century)
: Rene Descartes, Rousseau and Kant
= Focuses on Individuality and the Others
Kant
- “The world of things-in-themselves is
unknowable; the world of appearance, the
phenomenal world governed by laws, is
knowable.
- believed that causality, necessity, and unity
enable us to have a coherent knowledge of
the world.
- accepted the moral argument for God's
existence and the doctrine of free will
("ought" implies "can," he reasoned).
- “Moral actions can only arise from a sense
of duty (as opposed to, say, the outcome of
actions, which may be pleasurable or
beneficial to someone).”
❖ Contemporary Philosophy of Man
(20th to present)
: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre
= Is there essence? Is there really purpose?
Existentialism
- the view that existence precedes essence,
that there's no meaning or value or truth to
life a priori.
Sartre
- human beings are unique because they
can both act and be aware of it at the
same time.
- Anything we do can be the object of
conscious awareness; deep fear that
others will relate to us as if we were
objects, reduce us to no-thing. There is
no meaning to our life a priori, so the
deepest striving is to define ourselves in
a random and contingent world.
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 ▪ Philosophy comes from two Greek words: philos
(love) and sophia (wisdom) which were used by
ancient Greeks to refer to “love of wisdom” and soon
applied it to the study or discipline that uses human
reason to investigate the ultimate, causes, reasons,
and principles which govern all things Philosophers
are people who engage in philosophy.
▪ Philosophy of Man is a study or discourse about
humanity. It seeks wisdom, essence, and purpose.
▪ Branches of Philosophy includes epistemology,
metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics and political.
▪ It is a human’s nature to ask, inquire and seek
answers. Questions can be in any of these branches.
▪ Philosophy originate din as early as 5th century. Many
Philosophers made their views and beliefs
flourished.
▪ Philosophy became their way of life and so of the
people up to the present.

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 ❖ Philos
❖ Sophia
Rodriguez, A.M. et al. 2018. Doing Philosophy: An Introduction
❖ Wisdom to the Philosophy of the Human Person. Ateneo de Manila
❖ Humanity University Press. Quezon City.

❖ Discourse Dy, Manuel Jr. B. 2019. Philosophy of Man: Selected Readings.

❖ Essence Revised Third Edition. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Quezon City.
❖ Purpose
❖ Reason
❖ Epistemology
❖ Metaphysics http://www.khanacademy.org
https://plato.stanford.edu/
❖ Logic https://iep.utm.edu/
❖ Ethics
❖ Aesthetics
❖ Political
❖ Philosophers

This course material is made possible through the collaboration of the

NU MOA Senior High School Faculty, AY 2020-2021.

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