INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF
It
THE HUMAN PERSON
“Philosophy is a discipline in which questions are
more important than answers and which every
answer paves the way for another questions.” -
Karl Jaspers
"Philosophy starts through doubt and wonder." -
Socrates
“Two things fill the mind with ever new and
increasing admiration and awe the more often and
steadily we reflect upon them: The starry heavens
above me and the moral law within me. I do not
seek or conjecture either of them as if they were
veiled obscurities or extravagances beyond the
horizon of my vision; I see them before me and
connect them immediately with the consciousness of
my existence.” - Immanuel Kant
Philosophy
 From the greek words, “philos”, which
mean love, and “sophia”, wisdom
 “love of wisdom”
 The term "philosopher" (lover of wisdom),
was first used by Pythagoras of Samos in
contrast with "sophist", (wise man).
Nature and Functions of Philosophy
1. Philosophy integrates itself with other
disciplines to achieve a comprehensive and
coherent world view.
o Philosophy is encompassing. It never
confines itself to a portion of human
experience or to a certain aspect of human
phenomenon. Philosophy enables a person
to understand the various intricacies of all
disciplines and paves the way for his/her
understanding of reality.
2. Philosophy analyzes the very foundations of
other disciplines.
o Philosophy concerns itself with the roots of
disciplines such as art, science, and even
religion. It explores and examines all their
underpinnings.
3. Philosophy analyzes and criticizes treasured
beliefs and traditions.
o Philosophy is always on the lookout in
putting things to their proper perspectives. It
always has this gift of logical consistencies
where it forces to see the importance of
one's beliefs, attitudes, and traditions.
weeds out all of the insignificant traces of
inconsistency, superstition, and irrationality.
Core Branches of Philosophy
1) Metaphysics
Greek word; Metaphysika (Beyond
Physics)
It deals with the true nature of reality. It
focuses on the study of existence.
It answers the question, "What is?"
It is the science of ultimate reality.
Ontology - also known as General Metaphysics. It
deals with the study of being.
Special Metaphysics - Focuses on the freedom of
the will, immortality, and mind-body problem.
Divided into Three Disciplines: Cosmology,
Rational Psychology, and Natural Theology.
2) Epistemology
Greek word; Episteme (Knowledge), Logos
(Meaningful Words)
It deals with the study of the nature and
scope of knowledge and justified beliefs.
Investigates the nature and construction of
concepts and the validity of the perception
of the senses.
Two Domains in Epistemology
a. Rationalism (René Descartes) - Views
reason as the chief source of knowledge and
the most important in the acquisition of
knowledge.
b. Empiricism (John Locke) - Asserts that all
of a person's knowledge comes from his/her
five senses and/or experiences.
3) Ethics
Greek word; Ethos (Custom or Habit)
It aims to synthesize the concepts of right
and wrong behavior.
a) Metaethics - Deals with the origin and
meaning of ethical concepts. It responds to
questions focusing on the meaning of ethical
terms such as "good" and "bad".
b) Normative Ethics - Concerned with setting
of certain standards of what is morally right
and morally wrong. It involves formulation
of set of values or moral norms.
 c) Applied Ethics - Attempts to apply theories
to situations in real life, issues such as
abortion, euthanasia, environmental
concerns, and even animal rights.
4) Aesthetics
Greek word; Aisthetikos (of Sense
Perception)
It deals with the nature and appreciation of
art, beauty, and good taste.
5) Logic
Greek word; Logos (Meaningful Words)
The study of the question "What are the
correct rules for reasoning?" is logic as a
branch of philosophy;
The application of the rules for reasoning to
particular philosophical problems is logic as
an instrument of philosophy (as a tool).
THE VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY
"The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes
through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived
from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his
age or his nation, and from convictions which have
grown up in his mind without the cooperation or
consent of his deliberate reason." - Bertrand
Russell (1915)
Gabriel Marcel: Primary and Secondary
Reflection
a) Primary Reflections – Examines its object by
abstraction, by analytically breaking it down
into its constituent parts. It is concerned with
definitions, essences and technical solutions to
problems.
b) Secondary Reflections – Which recoups the
unity of experience, points the way toward a
fuller understanding of the participation alluded
to in examples of the mysterious. It helps us to
recover the experiences of the mysterious in
human life.
METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING
Determining the Truth
On Truth
o Truth (Gk. Aletheia) means
“unconcealedness" or "disclosure"
Truth, Fact, and Opinion
1) Truth - A proposition believed to be the
absolute reality.
Examples:
o One foot is twelve inches.
o Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the
world.
o Manila is the capital city of Ph.
2) Opinion - A judgment based on personal
convictions, which may or may not be factual,
truthful, or false.
Examples:
o All men are created equal.
o Cheating is wrong.
o We will all succeed in this life.
3) Fact - A piece of information having objective
reality which is acknowledged by the greater
whole.
Examples:
o 1+1 = 2
o 2 is a prime number
o The sum of two odd integers is even.
Theories of Truth
1) Correspondence Theory
o Truth of a preposition
o World = reality
o Example: "Birds can fly."
2) Coherence Theory
o a proposition is true if it is consistent with a
system of other propositions considered true
o Based on his/her statements’ coherence to a
certain set of established beliefs.
o Example: “Pigs are unclean animals” is true
to the Muslim community
o A possibility of different “truths” from
different perspectives.
o Puts premium to the culture of a person and
his/her set of beliefs as imposed by the
society
3) Pragmatic Theory
o A proposition is true if it is useful
o Linked the nature of truth with the principle
of action and the concept of utility
 o Judgment must be continually verified and
validated by having close encounter and
interaction with the world
o Example: Concept of Prayer as beneficial
Reasoning / Inference
Reasoning - The process of knowing or
establishing truth by means of reason.
“Everybody wants him/her to be president; we
should support him/her too.”
5) Appeal to Tradition
 Trying to get someone to accept something
because it has been done or believed for a
long time
Example:

Reasoning / Fallacies “We have been doing this since time immemorial;
therefore this is the right thing to do.”
Fallacies
6) Begging the Question
Errors or mistakes in reasoning  Assuming the thing that you are trying to
prove is true
Informal Fallacies
Example:
A.K.A material fallacies.
Errors in reasoning due solely to an anomaly "I am pretty because my mom said I am pretty, and
or defect in the content (or in the meaning of I believe her.”
words or sentences) of an argument.
1) Ad-hominem 7) Fallacy of Composition
 Attacking the individual person instead of  Assuming that what is true of the part is true
the argument to the whole
Example: Example:
“You are irritatingly ugly, that is why you cannot be “Hydrogen (H) is air. Oxygen (O) is air. Therefore,
promoted.” H2O is air.”
2) Appeal to Force 8) Fallacy of Division
 Telling the hearer that something bad will  Assuming that what is true of the whole is
happen to him/her if s/he does not accept the true for the parts
argument
Example:
Example:
“Her entire family is a family of beauty queens. I’m
“You have to pass this text message to 10 people or sure she will be a beauty queen too.”
else you receive bad luck.”
9) Fallacy of Equivocation
3) Appeal to Pity  Using the same term in an argument in
 Urging the hearer to accept the argument different places but the word has different
based upon an appeal to emotions, meanings.
sympathy, etc.
Example:
Example:
“Her grandmother loves to eat apples, but she is the
“I cannot take the exam. You have to consider my apple of the eye of her grandmother. I’m sure her
dog just died.” grandmother will have a hard time eating her.”
4) Appeal to Popular Opinion THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED
 Urging the hearer to accept a position SPIRIT
because majority of the people hold to it.
The Notion of the Soul
Example:
Pre-Socratic Thought
 Heraclitus believed in the existence of soul as an
infinite part of human being. He believed that
the soul is associated with fire.
Pythagoreans contend that a human being is a
composite of body & soul.
Pythagoreans taught the transmigration &
immortality of the soul.
Socratic Dualism
Soul is the center of moral life.
According to Socrates, knowledge paves the
way for the perfection of soul & enables the
person the achieve the highest form of
happiness
He advocated the concept of self-mastery
which puts premium to the soul over the body.
(Daimonion)
Plato's Dualism
Soul goes through a cycle of reincarnation or
transmigration.
According to Plato, everything that exists has a
corresponding "forms" or idea.
Plato's sense of dualism is anchored on the
relationship between reincarnation & the
means of obtaining knowledge through
recognition of forms.
Plato's Four Arguments of Dualism
1) Life & Death (The Cyclical Argument)
o This is the cycle of transmigration or
reincarnation
2) Knowing is Reminiscing (The Recollection
Argument)
o All knowledge is a form of remembrance or
reminiscing on the part of the soul.
3) Incorruptibility of the Soul (The Affinity
Argument)
o Every intellectual substance is incorruptible.
4) The Argument from Opposites
o The body & soul are opposites &
irreconcilable.
In what way can knowledge become a source of
virtue?
Aristotle's View on the Soul
o Soul is part of the body that animates it - the
soul gives life to the body.
o He claimed that the soul is not a substance
but a form that actualizes matter into a
composite being. (Embodied Soul)
St. Thomas Aquinas & the Nature of Soul
o Identified three divisions of soul: The
VEGETATIVE, The SENSITIVE, & The
INTELLECTUAL or RATIONAL SOUL
o Vegetative Soul depends upon matter
Sensitive soul is used for sensation &
locomotion (All animals).
o Rational or Intellectual Soul is responsible
for thinking & reasoning (Humans).
The Human Mind: The Link between the Body &
Soul
Mental Faculty of Perception
Perception is the faculty of apprehension by
the senses. This is sometimes called one's
point of view.
Mental Faculty of Reasoning
It enables a person to form conclusions and
render judgments based from facts and
premises.
Mental Faculty of Imagination
Also known as the ability to visualize. It
refers to the forming of images in the mind.
Mental Faculty of the Will
Also known as willpower. It is defined by
the German Philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche as an internally motivated action.
Mental Faculty of Memory
One's ability to retain, revive, recall, and
recognize information. It is said to be a
two-way process - retaining & recalling
information.
Three Types of Memory
 Sensory Memory
 Short-term Memory
 Long-term Memory
"What is a human person?" – Metaphysical
"Who is a human person?" – Existential Anthropocentric Attitude – Values natures because
of material or physical benefits it can provide for
COMPONENTS OF A HUMAN PERSON humans.
 Body – Physical What is Environmental Ethics?
 Spirit – Non-physical
 Soul - Life-giving Function o Also known as Environmental Philosophy, it
 Mind – Consciousness deals with the ethical relationship between a
1) Disembodied Spirit person and his/ her environment.
o An umbrella term to cover all kinds of moral
"Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum" – RENÉ debate concerning human attitudes toward, and
DESCARTES treatment of, the non-human natural world.
o Developed out of growing awareness of the
Mind-body Dualism
effects of the environment of the factor such as:
Minds - Incorporeal thinking substance
Bodies - physical matters; corporeal 1) Environmental Value System
 Refers to how person sees and values
substance
environmental concerns.
2) Unspirited Body View
Mind-Brain Theory 2) Ecocentrism
 A holistic world view based on the
No Soul/ Spirit
principle that the natural world has
Mental states are but the neural states of
inherent value.
the brain
 Deep Ecology – Attitude of “respect for
o Consciousness (cognition, emotions,
nature” – inquires about a person’s set of
sensation, perception, quasi-
values and lifestyles that cause serious
perception)
environmental problems
o Qualia, Intentionality, Ontological
 Land Ethic – Focus on human
Subjectivity, Privacy
responsibility towards the natural world;
3) Embodied Spirit View
nature-centered. Advocated by Aldo
Aristotle
Leopold (1940)
Soul "Form/ Morphe" -
3) Anthropocentrism
Vegetative/Nutritive soul (Nourishment,
 This viewpoint is human centered
Growth, Reproduction), Sensitive Soul
and believes that the natural world
(+Sensation, Locomotion), Rational Soul
exists for him/her alone.
(+Rationality, Free will)
 Puts human needs and interest to be
Body "Matter/ Hyle" - The material aspect
of highest value and importance
of a human person
 Cornucopian Point of View –
Limitations Claims that environmental
resources are unlimited and the
o Natural Environment rapid increase in human population
o Body does not lead to scarcity in natural
o Other people resources
4) Technocentrism
The Human Person and the Environment  Stresses that the environmental
Care – The process of protecting someone or problems can be solved through
something and providing what that person or thing science and technology, and holds
needs. that technology is a key ingredient
in improving the standard of living.
Environmental Crisis – To describe the sum of the
environmental problems that we face today.