Lesson 2 “Doing Philosophy”

The act of doing philosophy necessarily involves the act of asking questions, contemplating about the
mystery of life, and constructing arguments and be able to rationally evaluate them in the end. For this
reason, doing philosophy means to ask questions, to reflect, and to formulate and evaluate arguments.

In this way, one does not necessarily have to be a graduate of a philosophy degree in order for one to do
philosophy. Anybody can do philosophy as long as she raises valid or intelligent questions, reflects
meditatively, and argues in a logical manner. If we recall the discussion on the origin of philosophy,
Aristotle, following Socrates, argued that philosophy begins in wonder or in the act of being perplexed.
As we already know, when one is perplexed, as Aristotle would have us believe, one begins to think―in
a sense, one begins to philosophize.

In order to philosophize, one has to master one skill—that is Philosophical Reflection.

Philosophical reflection is one of the important skills that one needs in doing philosophy. It is
appropriated to Gabriel Marcel’s notion of philosophical reflection, which is deeply personal and is
intimately anchored on day-to-day existence. For Marcel, philosophical reflection is first and foremost
the act of giving time to think about the meaning and purpose of life.

There are two types of philosophical reflection according to Marcel, namely, primary reflection and
secondary reflection. Primary reflection is a kind of thinking that calculates, analyzes, or recounts past
events. In this way, primary reflection is a fragmented and compartmentalized thinking. Thus, for
Marcel, primary reflection cannot be a genuine thinking because it failed to make sense of the whole, of
the mystery of life. In other words, primary reflection is selfish thinking because it is instrumental
thinking. As we already know, instrumental thinking is a “means-end” kind of thinking. Applied to
human relations, instrumental thinking thinks only of what it can practically get in a relationship. For
example, one may establish a relationship or friendship with somebody who is rich so that she may be
able to borrow money in times of need.

Secondary reflection, on the other hand, is characterized by the act recapturing the unity of the original
experience by gathering back together what has been separated by primary reflection. Thus, secondary
reflection allows us to think holistically. In this way, secondary reflection enables us to integrate our
fragmented and compartmentalized experience into a coherent whole. This gives us the impression that
secondary reflection for Marcel is genuine or unselfish thinking. Applied to human relations, secondary
reflection does not think of what it can practically get in a relationship. Here, the human person
establishes a relationship with the other not because of what she can get, but is premised on the idea
that the other is a human person that deserves respect, care and love. When Marcel speaks of
“philosophical reflection”, he specifically refers to “secondary reflection”.

What we can infer from the above discussion is that philosophical reflection provides us with a holistic
picture of reality. Thus, philosophical reflection as a tool in doing philosophy enables us to see the
interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples, actions and events, as well as our direct relation
to them. Indeed, philosophical reflection as a tool in doing philosophy allows as to deepen our
understanding of ourselves, as well as our role and place in the world.

Constructing and Evaluating Arguments

Marcel’s notion of primary reflection can be expressed most visibly in our ability to think logically, that
is, in the ability of the mind to construct and evaluate arguments. For this reason, although it may
appear as a kind of selfish thinking when applied to human relations, primary reflection can be
considered as another important tool in doing philosophy.

One important characteristic of doing philosophy properly is the ability to express and support one’s
claim rationally. Thus, if we are not able to justify our views or claims, then we are not doing philosophy.
For this reason, in doing philosophy, we must learn how to construct and evaluate arguments properly
for it is with the use of arguments that we are able to express our thoughts in a clear and logical
manner. In this way, we do not only promote agreement and harmony, but also objective thinking.

Let us consider one of the examples of arguments and evaluate them.

Premise 1: All human beings are mortal.

Premise 2: But the President of the Republic of the Philippines is a human being.
Conclusion: Therefore, the President of the Republic of the Philippines is mortal.

In this argument, we can see that if the premises are assumed to be true, then the conclusion must also
be true. That is, if all human beings are indeed mortal and that the President of the Republic of the
Philippines is a human being, then we have to accept the conclusion that the President of the Republic
of the Philippines is mortal. If we reject the conclusion, then we are making a logical error since it is
what the premise entails. Since the premises of this argument inevitably lead us to this particular
conclusion, then the argument is valid or a sound argument.

Indeed, both philosophical reflection and the construction and evaluation of arguments are some of the
necessary skills that we need in doing philosophy. To reiterate, philosophical reflection, on the one
hand, enables us to look deeper into our experiences and see the bigger picture of reality. On the other
hand, the construction and evaluation of arguments allows us to express our ideas in a systematic and
logical way. Furthermore, the ability to construct and evaluate arguments allows us to examine the
ideas of other people. In the end, these are some of the benefits of being able to do philosophy in a
meaningful way .