CHAPTER 1 

UNDERSTANDING REALITY IN A BIGGER PICTURE

Lesson 1: Revealing the Whole

SOME POINTS TO VIEW THE REALITIES 
A. Different philosophical questions may arise.
B. Difficult questions of the kind that we have been describing are significant. 
C. When we ponder on a philosophical question, we are engaged in a philosophical reflection. 
PHILOSOPHY allows us the FREEDOM to ask even those questions that others believe to
already have a definite answer.

THE UNIVERSAL AND THE PARTICULAR CONCEPTS

Particular Concept refers to a part of the whole, while Universal Concept pertains to the whole. (Example of
Particular Concept: Toyota, Fr. Eugene. Example of Universal Concept: Car, Man)
• The universal and particular concepts are somehow crucial in the field of logic which is concerned with valid
arguments and propositions. 
• The universal and particular are dealt with in a different way. 
• An example of a question that we may encounter: Why am I here? 
Exposition on the question, Why am I here? 
1. It seems a particular question (particular concept) because it is simply one among others that may be
asked. 
2. But when you start thinking about the question, you realise that it is neither confined to just one person nor
to a specific situation.
3. Rather, it is a question that involves many other questions. Philosophical questions cannot be taken up in
isolation that is separate from the very experiences from which they arise. 
4. The question, "Why am I here" is due to some challenges or struggles we encounter daily.
5. If interpreted as a question of purpose for existing, we see how the totality of existence is actually involved. 
6. Thus, to philosophise is to look at life from a holistic perspective. 
DISTINCTION 
SCIENCE VS PHILOSOPHY 

• Martin Heidegger: Science (scientific question) is always confined to the particular while Philosophy
(philosophical question) “leads to the totality of beings" and inquires into the whole.
Exposition: An example of Science (particular) and of Philosophy (totality/universal) from Heidegger's Views:
                          On the Essence of Human Person: When we speak about the essence of human freedom, the
problem is not limited to man and freedom... When we ask philosophically about freedom, we venture into an
inquiry about the whole like we address the question of what he is free from.
Note: What is Essence? 
 Essence is that which makes something what it is.

THE FACETS OF LIFE

A. Physical change 
B. Word Change
C. Technologies Change
D. Informational Change
E. Musical Change

Truth and Dialectics 

• Dialectics is an art of refutation that dates back to the ancient Greeks. 
• Philosophical discovery is seen as the result of collaboration with partners in dialogue or conversation. 
• 1. Socrates: method of question and answer illustrates how views need to be defended with consistency and
clarity. 
• 2. G.W.F. and Karl Marx: Thesis (statement view), Antithesis (opposing views), and Synthesis (a
resolution of opposing views) 
• Dialectics is indispensable since it leads us closer to truth. Finding truth involves a kind of “truth-ing”. 
Philosophy teaches us to be open as we strive to know better.