Introduction to Philosophy

of the Human Person

Philosophy
Philosophy is “the rational, methodical,
and systematic consideration of topics that are of
greatest importance to men”.
Philosophy came from the Greek words
philia which means love and sophia which means
wisdom. All in all, philosophy means love of
wisdom.
Love is a strong desire to a particular
object while wisdom is the correct application of
knowledge.
Philosophy is the science that studies
beings in their ultimate causes reasons and
principles through the aid of human reason alone.
Those beings are all things that exist;
material and immaterial.
Three Classes of People According to
Pythagoras
1. Lovers Gain – they seek for profit
2. Lovers of Honor – they compete in the
games for honor
3. Lovers of Knowledge and Wisdom –
the best kind who goes to games as they are
spectators who seek to arrive the truth. He called
this class of people philosophers.
The Subject Matter of Philosophy
Atmando Bonifacio explained that
characterizing philosophy can begin with the
common conceptions about it and the three
concepts of philosophy.
Three Concepts of Philosophy:
1. “People through unconsciously, have
philosophy in life. The fundamental values or
some basic assumptions about things, persons,
institutions, and others which form presuppositions
that influence one’s beliefs, decisions, and
actions.”
2. “The activity of reflecting on and
analyzing one’s beliefs or reasons for actions and
decisions could be a kind of philosophy as well”
3. “Philosophy could also be a
reconstructed belief or a value system which
shows a universal and comprehensive character as
a result of reflection and analysis in a more
comprehensive character as a result of reflection
and analysis in a more comprehensive and
systematic manner.
analyze whether beauty is based on utility,
experience, form, pleasure and expression.
3. Epistemology comes from the Greek word
“episteme” which means “knowledge”. It
deals with various problems concerning
knowledge.
Origin of Knowledge
 Empiricism - given by experience
 Rationalism - given by the mind
prior to experience
 Verification - confirmation of
knowledge
4. Logic is the branch of philosophy that looks
into whether there are rules or principles that
govern reasoning. It incorporates the analysis
of the methods of deduction and induction to
provide the rules on how people ought to
think logically. Knowing the rules of logic
gives the person the techniques to create
sound arguments and avoid fallacious
reasoning. It increases one’s ability to reason
correctly and distinguish irrational reasoning.
5. Metaphysics, literally means “after physics”.
Early Greek philosophers claimed that it is
the study of the nature of reality. This branch
of philosophy analyzes whether everything is
material, and if life, energy, and mind are its
different manifestations. Metaphysicians
reflect on the subject of appearances (how
something looks by how it appears) and
reality (that which actually is).

The Major Branches of Philosophy

1. Ethics is derived from the Greek term ethos
meaning “moral philosophy” is concerned
about human conduct. It deals with norms or
standards of right and wrong applicable to
human behavior. It is considered as
prescriptive as it prescribes what people
ought to do rather describe what people do.
The systematic reflections in ethics will lead
to an understanding of the concept of right
and wrong and conceptions about morality
which affects one’s actions toward others.
Thus ethics helps prioritize their values.
2. Aesthetics comes from the Greek word
aisthetikos which means “sensitive” or
“perceptive”. In this branch the philosopher
is concerned with analysis of aesthetic
experience and the idea of what is beautiful.
The analysis is directed toward the nature of
aesthetic judgment, standards of beauty, and
the objectivity of these standards in response
to the questions raised about the meaning of
aesthetic experience. The philosophers