Introduction to the

Philosophy of the
Human Pers n
Rev. Fr. Jun-Jun L. Jonatas, STM, EdD
Philosophical Reflection
It is the careful examination of life
situation. This involves the weighing of
several alternatives and using specific
standards to evaluate one’s action through
the use of our INTELLECT.

Why am I here?

What am I here for?

Why love when you only get hurt?

Philosophy is part of being human because it is our nature to ASK PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS

• Why study philosophy?

• Philosophy will enlarge our understanding of the world. It expands
our intellectual horizons and freedom of thought.
• Philosophy raises public awareness and helps in forming engaged
and responsible citizens

• Philosophy can increase our sensitivity for universalistic moral

values and stimulate our readiness to stand up for the principles of
justice and fairness.

• Philosophy can give one self-knowledge, foresight, and a sense of

Why am I here?
direction in life.

Philosophical Questions
What am I here for?

Why love when you only get hurt?

Are all Questions Philosophical?
General Questions Contextualized

The nature of our philosophical questions are

UNIVERSAL & PARTICULAR
in character

Why am I here?

Philosophical Questions
What am I here for?

Why love when you only get hurt?

The particular
refers to a part of
the whole.

The universal
pertains to the
whole.
Why am I here?

What am I here for?

Why love when you only get hurt?

The particular
refers to a part of
the whole.

The universal
pertains to the
whole.
Why am I here?

What am I here for?

Why love when you only get hurt?

Martin Heidegger (1889—1976)
Philosophy is part of being human because it is our nature to ASK PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS

UNIVERSAL
PARTICULAR
How does one proceed to finding answer?
Every person who engages in a philosophical
reflection must recognize that possible answers to
philosophical questions require adequate
justification or rational basis
Interplay in Philosophy
SOCRATES OF ATHENS

Socratic Method

A method that relies on dialogue or

Dialectic between teacher and student,
instigated by the continual probing
questions of the teacher, in a concerted
effort to explore the underlying beliefs that
shape the students views and opinions.

Eros
Philia
Agape
 BECAUSE OF

IN SPITE OF
(Agape)

"Love is blind,
and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit."
SOCRATES OF ATHENS

Socratic Method

A method that relies on dialogue or

Dialectic between teacher and student,
instigated by the continual probing
questions of the teacher, in a concerted
effort to explore the underlying beliefs that
shape the students views and opinions.

Question and Answer

GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL

Hegel’s Dialectics

Like other “dialectical” methods, this relies

on a contradictory process between
opposing sides.
Socrates’ “opposing sides” were people.
The “opposing sides” in Hegel’s work depends
on the subject matter he discusses (IDEAS)
and he presented
this through his:

THESIS ANTITHESIS SYNTHESIS

GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL

Hegel’s Dialectics
 KARL MARX

Dialectical Materialism

He believed that dialectics should deal not

with the mental world of ideas but with "the
material world", the world of production and
other economic activity. He therefore made
use of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis as a
method for the empirical study of social
processes in terms of interrelations,
development, and transformation.

Primitive communism Slavery Feudalism Capitalism Socialism Communism

Dialectics is really an indispensable since it leads us closer to truth. Through this,
philosophical question is clarified by reason and so it contributes to a better
understanding of the question itself (Truth).