The Philosophical

Enterprise--
John Kavanaugh
The Philosophical Enterprise

The very tone of the word Philosophy calls to mind a vast

spectrum of meanings, most of which seem dark, remote, and
even unworthy of considerations.

We might picture an isolated thinker, within the walls of his

room, trying to save the appearances of a world which he does
not understand or more immediately, we might conceive lists of
philosophical courses imposed upon us by the academicians
who seem to have little contact at all with the demands of the
present.
The Philosophical Enterprise
As we are in the subject of philosophy of man, first and foremost
we should make sure that we first know why we are driven to
philosophy as a sheer human exigency.

Why do we question at all?

What is involved in the act of questioning? And
What are the primordial question that we ask? …..

Philosophy is at root the preeminently personal affair of

question-asking.
The Philosophical Enterprise

World of Philosophizing
Three Disciplines of Philosophy

(1) Discipline of Questioning,

(2) Discipline of Liberation, and
(3) Discipline of Personhood.
The Philosophical Enterprise

Values of

TRUTH WISDOM
Objectives
• To instill in the minds of the students the value of
questioning in order to arrive at the Truth.

• To increase the students’ self-understanding and self-

awareness by evaluating the forces (external or internal)
which have shaped them to become who they are
presently.

• To make personal decisions which will result to a positive

and meaningful difference in their present life.
Discipline of Questioning
The act of questioning, of wanting to know,
is the initiation to philosophy.
Asking a question like
“I want to know who and what I am”
Wanting to know and understanding our
identity is what we might call the
beginnings of a philosophy of man.
 Discipline of Liberation

We are liberated from the chains of unquestioning

acceptance of whatever is at hand and you began
to resist the currents which pull you toward
thoughtless conformity.
 Discipline of Personhood

If I am to be a philosopher, then it is I who must

philosophize.
If we look at ourselves or listen to the testimony of
other men, we can see that the human person is
driven by his very personhood, to know and to do
something about himself.
Every man wants to know himself and do something about
himself.

“man’s search for meaning” – Viktor Frankl

“man’s search for himself” – Rollo May
Disciplines of Philosophy
(1) Discipline of Questioning,
(2) Discipline of Liberation, and
(3) Discipline of Personhood.

To philosophize means to view life in diversity rather than

conformity. It is through the ability of questioning that
students are liberated from ignorance and conformity,
thereby encouraging them to live a more meaningful
life.