DOLE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL

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Kalsangi, Polomolok, South Cotabato

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

FIRST QUARTER
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY 11

Module 1
WHAT PHILOSOPHY MEANS?
Lesson 1: What Philosophy Means?

Week: One

OBJECTIVES:
 Explain the meaning of philosophy in terms of:
 how it is commonly understood.
 its etymological definition.
 the kind of questions that it deals with.
 its characteristics being kind of activity.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Book: Making Life Worth Living, An Introduction
to the Philosophy of the Human Person by Mambaquiao

QUESTION TO PONDER!

What comes in your mind when we talk about philosophy?

DISCUSSION

I. SOME COMMON MEANINGS

What are some of the common meaning of philosophy?

Philosophy refers to:

a. Ideas, views, principles, perspectives or beliefs

b. The activity of reasoning

c. An academic course or degree

Page 1 of 15 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Module 1 | Intro to Philo 11

 A. COMMON MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY
i. Philosophy as ideas, views, principles, perspectives
or beliefs,
Meaning: it refers to individual’s beliefs and principles
or philosophy of life

ii. Philosophy as activity of reasoning

Meaning: philosophy is the activity of philosopher,
we call it philosophizing

How about the term “Pilosopo”:

- engages in reasoning just to evade or cover up an obvious
truth (defensive strategy).
- engages in reasoning to simply irritate or annoy somebody
else.
- engaging someone in unwelcome argumentation.

iii. Philosophy as an academic course or degree

- it refers to an academic subject or course that is taught
usually in colleges, universities and seminaries.
- one usually studies reasoning skills and different theories.
- intention of becoming a lawyer, a priest or a teacher
of philosophy.

Do these common meanings of philosophy tell us the true meaning

of philosophy? Yes, but not enough.

B. WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE COMMON MEANINGS

OF PHILOSOPHY?
i. First, philosophy does involve or refer to ideas, beliefs,
principles, and the like but philosophy deals with them
on a certain level, when they serve as frameworks or bases
for interpreting or making judgements about the world.
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ii. Second, philosophy does involve the activity of reasoning,
but it distinguishes between correct and incorrect forms
of reasoning and engages in this activity only for the purpose
of knowing or determining what is true.

iii. Third, philosophy is not confined to the academe

for it is primarily an activity that we can do in various aspects
of our life rather than as a mere set of theories
that we can study.

LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT!

1. What are the some common meanings of philosophy?

2. What can we learn from those common meanings

of philosophy?

3. In addition to the ones that were discussed above, can you

identify other common uses of the word “philosophy”?

* Write your answers in your Philosophy notebook.

Take a photo and send your answers to our Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

II. LOVE OF WISDOM

What does “love of wisdom” mean? Who is a wise person?

A. ETYMOLOGY
Greek words: “philo” – love and “sophia” – wisdom
Philosophy = “Love of Wisdom”
Philosopher is a lover of wisdom or the one who loves wisdom.
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The term “philosopher” was first used by Pythagoras. He preferred
to be called a “philosopher” rather than a “sophist” – literally means
a “wise man” or “one who knows.” Also, both Socrates and Plato
used the term “philosopher.”

B. SOPHISTS VS PHILOSOPHERS

i. Who are sophists?

• a group of intellectuals who taught oratory (public speaking)
for a fee to individuals, aspiring to have a successful career
in politics.
• they believe that all truths are relative where all truths
are determined by or based on human interests.
• there is no truth that holds for all humans.
• Protagoras is the leading sophist.
• “Man is the measure of all things.”

ii. Who are philosophers?

• Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato called themselves
“philosophers” because they did not agree with this view
of the Sophists.
• Certain truths are universal (true to all humans
and objective (independent of human interests).
i.e. in the area of mathematics

C. WHAT THEN IS PHILOSOPHY?

i. Philosophy
• It is a kind of love - one that is directed at wisdom.
• Not purely an intellectual activity, it is also a kind
of attitude and emotion.
• Isn’t just a simple desire to know or to be wise
• Philosopher pursues wisdom with great passion
and seriousness.
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 ii. What is the wisdom that philosophers so desire to attain?

• Wisdom essentially includes knowledge of the truth

but it is something more.
• The elements of wisdom can be gathered from the traits
that someone would have if he or she is a wise person.

D. Who is the wise person? What would be his or her traits?

i. First
• A wise person is one who is aware of (or who knows)
what he/she knows and what he/she does not know.
He/she is aware of his/her ignorance.
• He/she knows that he/she does not know.
• "I know that I know nothing“ – Socrates

ii. Second
• A wise person holds beliefs that are not only true
but which he/she can also justify.
• Not only he/she must have true beliefs,
he/she also must have strong reasons to have these beliefs.

iii. Third
• A wise person knows a lot about things that are valuable
in life.
• A person may know so many things, but if these things prove
to be of no value or of no use in the practical affairs of life,
this person cannot be said to be a wise person.

iv. Fourth
• A wise person can put his/her knowledge to practical use.
• He/she knows how to apply his/her knowledge to practical
matters.

Page 5 of 15 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Module 1 | Intro to Philo 11

 iii. Fifth
• A wise person does not only know what is true, but also
knows what is good or what is ought to be done in a given
situation and he/she acts accordingly.
• A wise person knows which actions are good,
and he/she performs them.

In summary, based on the traits of a wise person, wisdom consists of:

1) knowing what one knows and what one does not know;

2) having justified true beliefs;

3) knowing things that are valuable in life;

4) having the ability to put knowledge into practice; and

5) knowing what should be done and acting accordingly.

LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT!

1. How do you understand the remark “Man is the measure

of all things?”
2. Do you agree with the Sophists that truth is relative?
Defend your answer.
3. Is there significant difference in saying that a person
is a wise person and saying that a person is a lover of wisdom?
Explain your answer.
4. What are the advantages of one who knows that he/she
does not know over another who does not know that he/she
does not know?

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* Write your answers in your Philosophy notebook.
Take a photo and send your answers in the Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

III. ASKING FRAMEWORK QUESTIONS

What kind of question does philosophy ask?

A. PHILOSOPHY AS QUEEN OF SCIENCES

Philosophy is sometimes called as the umbrella discipline for most,

if not all, of the other disciplines used to be under it.

Philosophy is also sometimes called the queen of the sciences,

for the different sciences, both natural and social,
originated from philosophy.
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What we call “empirical or natural sciences” today used
to be called “natural philosophies.”

What we presently call “scientists” used to be called natural

“philosophers”.

But how is philosophy different from the other areas of learning

or disciplines that it has given birth to?

Answer: Kind of Questions

B. SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS VS. FOUNDATIONAL QUESTION

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B. INTERNAL QUESTION (SCIENTIFIC)
VS. EXTERNAL QUESTION (FRAMEWORK)

“Distinguished between internal and external questions

as framework questions” - Rodolf Carnap (1992)

i. Internal Questions
• Questions that we ask in the course of using or applying
a framework to explain some events.
• Such questions are considered internal to the framework
for they are answerable using the rules and concepts
of the framework.
• Internal questions are not framework questions
and hence are not philosophical questions.

ii. External Questions

• Questions that we ask about the framework itself (like
whether it is a correct or effective framework).
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 • Such questions are regarded as external to the framework
for they are not answerable using the rules and concepts
of the framework.
• External questions are framework questions
and hence are philosophical questions.
“Distinguished questions asked by philosophers from those asked
by nonphilosophers” - Thomas Nagel (1987)
A historian may ask what happened at some time in the past,
but a philosopher will ask, “What is time?” A mathematician
may investigate the relations among numbers, but a philosopher
will ask, “What is a number?” A physicist will ask what atoms are made
of or what explains gravity, but a philosopher will ask how we can know
there is anything outside of our own minds. A psychologist
may investigate how children learn a language, but a philosopher
will ask, “What makes a word mean anything?” Anyone can ask whether
it’s wrong to sneak into a movie without paying, but a philosopher
will ask, “What makes an action right or wrong?”

LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT!

1. Do you think asking framework questions are important?
Why or why not?
2. What philosophical questions are you interested in pursuing
or studying? Why do you consider these questions
important?
3. Do children also ask philosophical questions?
Elaborate your answer.
* Write your answers in your Philosophy notebook.
Take a photo and send your answers in the Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

Module 1 | Intro to Philo 11 DPS PROPERTY Page 10 of 15

IV. PHILOSOPHY AS AN ACTIVITY

Why is philosophy better understood as an activity rather

than as a set of theories?

“Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity.”

- Ludwig Wittgenstein

A. Two ways of understanding the nature of philosophy:

• Philosophy as a collection of theories

• Philosophy as an activity

1. One sees philosophy as a collection of theories.

• to study philosophy is to know various philosophical theories.

• one studies the end product of philosophizing.

2. One sees philosophy as an activity.

• to study philosophy is to engage in the very act

of philosophizing
• one engages in the very process of philosophizing

B. These two ways of studying philosophy can be done

independently of one another.
i. It is possible to know philosophical doctrines without knowing
how they have been formed.
ii. It is possible for us to engage in a philosophical activity without
knowing certain philosophical doctrines.

Ex. When children ask about the “why” and “how” of things.

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C. Philosophy as an activity

D. Philosophy as a collection of theories

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 • Knowing these theories is just a preliminary step.
• These theories can motivate and guide our current philosophical
inquiries.
• But the real work begins when we start doing philosophy
ourselves.

LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT!

1. Can anyone be a philosopher? Explain your answer.

2. How do you understand the idea that learning
is a continuous process?

* Write your answers in your Philosophy notebook.

Take a photo and send your answers in the Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

LET’S EVALUATE!

1. Identify the three common meanings of philosophy

as discussed in the lesson.
2. Explain the etymological meaning of philosophy.
3. Who are the Sophists?
What is their view about the nature of truth?
4. What are some of the traits of a wise person?
5. What do we mean when we say that philosophical questions
are framework questions?
6. What is the difference between internal
and external questions?
7. What are the traits of philosophy when studied
as a kind of activity?

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 BE ENRICHED!

Complete the Concept Map

What Philosophy Means

Asking Philosophy
Framework as an Activity
Questions

Ideas, Pythagoras,
views and Socrates
principles and Plato
vs. the
Sophists

Traits of a External Creative

wise person Questions

Knows one’s
ignorance

has justified
true beliefs

Module 1 | Intro to Philo 11 DPS PROPERTY Page 14 of 15

 * Copy and answer in your Philosophy notebook.
Take a photo and send your answers in the Google Classroom.

PERFORMANCE TASK 1.1: PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY 1

Content: Why is philosophy still relevant to this age and time?
Elaborate your answer.
* Rubric for essay writing will be sent through Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

WHAT TO SUBMIT IN THE GOOGLE CLASSROOM

OR TO SAVE IN FLASH DRIVE?
1. Your answers in LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT, LET’S
EVALUATE and BE ENRICHED! activities.
2. Your PERFORMANCE TASK 1.1.

NOTE/REMINDERS:
1. Power point slides for these lessons are sent in our Google
Classroom or saved in your flash drive.
2. Send all your activities to our Google Classroom.

SUPPLEMENTAL ONLINE VIDEOS

What is Philosophy?: Crash Course Philosophy #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A_CAkYt3GY

MY TAKEAWAY!
In this lesson, I have learned that…
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
* Write your answers in your Philosophy notebook.
Take a photo and send your answers in the Philosophy Google Classroom.

DEADLINE: ______________________

Page 15 of 15 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Module 1 | Intro to Philo 11