Download full-text PDF Join for free Login

Book PDF Available

Introduction to the Philosophy of the

Human Person
December 2020
Publisher: ALETHEIA Printing and Publishing House · ISBN:
978-621-8155-07-7

Authors:

Beljun Enaya
Visayas State University

Al Franjon Mendiola Villaroya

Visayas State University

Errol Fernandez
Visayas State University

Citations (1) References (53)

Abstract

There are eight chapters in this book. The first chapter

highlights how various philosophical traditions do
philosophy, integrating western and eastern thoughts. The
second chapter selects major methods of philosophy and
focuses on how to use the methods. The third chapter
investigates the mystery of the embodied spirit, the non-
material element of the human person. The fourth chapter
explains the relationship between the human person and
the environment while highlighting the responsibility of the
person towards environmental issues. The fifth chapter
explores the freedom of the human person in the hope of
becoming a responsible and authentic person. The sixth
chapter underscores the person who, while recognizes
oneself, in turn, recognizes the other as having a self. The
seventh chapter discusses the social aspect of the person
and illuminates it in a local Filipino community. Finally, the
eighth chapter highlights the meaning of life while
reflecting on the person’s impending death.

Discover the world's research

25+ million members
160+ million publication pages
2.3+ billion citations

Join for free

Advertisement

Public Full-text 1

Content uploaded by Beljun Enaya Author content

Content may be subject to copyright.

INTRODUCTION TO THE
PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON

Al Franjon M. Villaroya
Beljun P. Enaya
Errol C. Fernandez

2020

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

Philippine Copyright © 2020 by Al Franjon M. Villaroya, Beljun P. Enaya
& Errol C. Fernandez

All rights reserved. No part of this work or publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or
by any means, without the prior permission of the authors.

Artist: Prof. Dean Ruffel R. Flandez

Editor: Dr. Jett C. Quebec

ISBN: 978-621-8155-07-7

Published by ALETHEIA Printing and Publishing House

Davao City, Philippines
peterelicor@gmail.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Chapter 1: Doing Philosophy I 1

Chapter 2: Methods of Philosophizing I 14

Chapter 3: The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit I 28

Chapter 4: The Human Person and the Environment I 41

Chapter 5: Freedom of the Human Person I 55

Chapter 6: Intersubjectivity I 66

Chapter 7: The Human Person in the Society I 76

Chapter 8: The Human Person as Oriented Towards

Impending Death I 87

Glossary I 96

References I 98

About the Authors I 104

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life

by what we give.”- Winston Churchill
The authors are profoundly beholden to the benevolence
bestowed, without any expectation of return, and the pure
selflessness to promote education and propagate knowledge.
We sincerely thank the Visayas State University (VSU),
through the leadership of Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin, the Office of
Vice-president for Research, Extension, a nd Innovation
(OVPREI) headed by Dr. Othello B. Capuno, through the
Director of Extension Office Dr. Moises Neil V. Seriño
(former), and to Dr. Antonio P. Abamo (current) for their
unwavering commitment to this endeavor by financing this
extension project: Faculty T raining for the Teaching of the
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. This
learning mat erial is an e xtension project of the Department
of Liberal Arts and Behavioural Sciences.
We a lso extend our gratitude to the senior high school
teachers of Baybay City Division for the steadfast
partnership, the inspiration given contributed greatly t o the
completion of this book, and to Dr. Guiraldo C. Fernandez,
Jr. (t he previous head of DLABS) for encouraging the
extension leaders to write the output of the extension.
Likewise, we thank Dr. Jett C. Quebec (the current head
of DLABS) for valuing and supporting this proje ct by
extending his service as the book editor. We are also grateful
to Assistant Prof. Dean Ruffel Flandez for sharing his artistic
prowess by providing the artworks in this book.
Finally, to Senior High School students, the thought
that this learning material will be part of your academic life
gives the authors extra encouragement and motivation.
Those not mentioned but have sincerely sent their
goodwill and prayers, our sincerest gratitude.

INTRODUCTION

How do we explain the meaning of human person? With

seemingly complex elements of a human person, we do not
bother to know what a human person is. Sometimes, we even
complain about the difficulty of understanding t he concept
of a human person because of its philosophical framework.
However, the basic challenge might not be on how it is being
explained philosophically but on how interested we are in
understanding the human person.
This book, Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human
Person, seeks to guide the teachers and students to search for
the meaning of human person. It attempts to make it more
understandable to non-philosophy enthusiasts while
maintaining the meaning of the philosophical terms. It also
integrates western and eastern philosophical perspectives in
the Philippine context. Thus, it aims to provide a more
holistic, comprehensible, and locally-contextualized
understanding of the human person.
Along with the intention of the Department of
Education, the authors hope that the students will be able to:
reflect on their daily experiences from a holistic point of
view; acquire cri tical and anal ytical thinking skills; appl y
their critical and analytical t hinking skills to the affairs of
daily life; bec ome truthful, environment-friendly a nd
service-oriented; a ctively committe d to the development of
a more hum ane society; and, articulate their philosophy of
life.
There are eight cha pters in this book. The first chapter
highlights how various philosophica l traditions do
philosophy, integrating western and ea stern thoughts. The
second chapter selects major methods of philosophy and
focuses on how to use the methods. The third chapter
investigates the mystery of the embodied spirit, the non-
material element of the human person. The fourth chapter
explains the relationship between the human person and the

environment while highlighting the person's responsibilit y

towards environmental issues. The fifth chapter explores the
freedom of the human person in the hope of becoming a
responsible and aut hentic pe rson. The sixth c hapter
underscores the person who, while recognizes oneself, in
turn, recognizes the ot her as having a self. The seventh
chapter discusses the social aspect of the person and
illuminates it in a local Filipino community. Finally, the
eighth chapter highlights the meaning of life while reflecting
on the person’s impending death.
This book is a humble service to senior high school
teachers and students. It envisions to ignite the interest of
both teachers and students in engaging the world t hrough
philosophy. Since this book only lays down the fundamental
views of the human person, the readers are invited to
investigate further the reality of the human person.

The Authors

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To distinguish a holistic perspective from a partial point

of view
2. To recognize human ac tivities that emanated from
deliberate reflection
3. To realize the value of doing philosophy in obtaining a
broad perspective in life
4. To be capable of doing a philosophical reflection on a
concrete situation from a holistic perspective

2 Doing Philosophy

INTRODUCTION

What is Philosophy? Any a ttempt to coin an all-

encompassing definition of Philosophy would fail because
humanity never shared a universal idea of what it is (Co,
2009). Although one of our goals in this chapter is to present
a general idea of what Philosophy means, our challenge is to
address a much more important question, that is, “What does
it mean to philosophize?” The assumption he re is that
Philosophy is intimately connected with praxis. In other
words, an idea is useless if it is devoid of any practice. For
the Greeks, Philosophy or philosophia means the “love of
wisdom," but to know the idea of love and wisdom is not
enough if one denies doing it (Kenny, 2004).
This chapter explore s the two major traditions of
philosophy. These traditions, while unique in various ways,
do not necessarily contradict each other. The first is the
Western tradition, which is characterized by its rigorous way
of doing philosophy and presupposes an analytic approach.
The second is the Eastern tradition, which is often used
interchangeably with religion because it treats philosophy as
a way of life.

DISCUSSION

Western Philosophy

We focus on the three most renowned Greek

philosophers, namely; Socrat es, Plato, and Aristotle. These
three prominent names of Western tradition introduced
intricate ideas concerning the rational capacities of man and
how these capacities can be used and developed. The
recognition that a human person is a thinking being
fundamentally supports the idea that we all have the freedom
to explore the world.

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 3

Socrates

Socrates was born about 470 B.C. in Athens, Greece. His

appearance wa s frequently descri bed as grotesque. He was
short, thick-set, and ugly. His clothes were old and poor,
which showed that he cared little or nothing for external
appearances. However, these descriptions have something to
do with his philosophy. His looks were the least of his
concern because one’s intellectual activity is far more
important for him. T his is why, despite his undesirable
physical features, many young men would still gather around
him to learn from his intelligent discussions. Indeed, his
philosophy emanated from his way of life, a life that was not
concerned about wealth and worldly goods.
Socrates, as some schola rs would argue, was never
concerned about philosophy in the academic sense. His way
of doing philosophy was by making dial ogues with various
people. Thus, he would spend most of his tim e in the
marketplace and talk to people from different walks of life.
His concern was to discuss with them profound ideas, such
as justice, virtues, morality, life, and death. The philosophy
of Socrates was focused on getting at the answers to the
questions that are important and relevant in everyone’s life.
Consequently, he helped many people examine how they
lived and understood their lives because, for him, “An
unexamined life is not worth living" (Tarrant, 2010).
Unfortunately, Socrates was charged with corrupting the
minds of the youth. It can be said that his manner of doing
philosophy became t he cause of his death. In the end, he
willfully acc epted his death rather than renouncing his
beliefs and practices.

4 Doing Philosophy

Plato

One of the students who gathered around Socra tes was

Plato. He was born on about 42 8 an d d ied ab ou t 34 7 B .C.
It is said that Plato served as a transcriber of the past. This
means that he was the one who wrote down the dialogues of
Socrates and his interlocutors. Contrary to some critics who
argued that Plato merely copied other thinkers' thoughts,
Plato was, of the highest degree , an original thinker. His
appropriations of Socrates's thoughts, Heraclitus and
Parmenides, served as “stepping stones” for him to build his
own original thoughts. Throu gh Plato’s works, t he thoughts
of the past have become ostensible and vibrant in his new
and original principles (Stace, 2010).
One of Plato's famous stories and allegories is called the
"Allegory of the Cave," which can be found in his book The
Republic. The al legory of the Cave explains the two worlds
of Plato, the real world and the unreal. For example, consider
the digital world as the “unreal world,” while the a ctual
world is the “real world”. What appears on social media is
only a picture or a copy of the real; hence, unreal. What is
real then is the one who controls and decides to post
something about myriads of things on social media. In
Facebook, if there are fraudulent cases that go viral, the
authority's primary impulse is to look for the person behind
such actions, not the person that appears on the screen or
device. Although the person's di gital account may be taken
down, the one who would suffer the consequences is the
person responsible, not the copy of himself. Thus, the human
person's real existence in this world is what i s put into
question.
Plato's wa y of doing philosophy sought t o solve the
question of the real and unreal. In other words, it seeks the
truth. One sometimes is tempted to capture a copy of
something since the duplicate may eventually lead one to

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 5

find the real. For Plato, the truth is often forgotten at birth.
However, a recol lection of such truth happens when we
encounter actual objects.

Aristotle

Aristotle was born about 384 B.C. He studied under

Plato, and later on, put up his school called Lyceum. There
were only a few of Aristotle’s works that survived. However,
from his important works, one can sense the depth of his
intellectual pursuits.
Aristotle learned much of Plato’s philosophy but the path
he took was different from his mentor’s interests. For one,
he opposed Plato’s Theory of Forms. He did not reject the
idea of the form itself but cl aims t hat Plato was more
concerned with the abstract, referring to the world of ideas
which can be reached only by thoughts. For Aristotle, the
forms can be achieved through the senses. Thus, he
maintained that things can be known and proven using the
senses and the faculty of reason (S. M. Cohen et al., 2016).
Aristotle put forward the notion that the forms have two
categories, namely, the substance and accidents. A substance
can subsist on its own, while accidents need another thing to
exist. Both are palpable to some degree. Unlike Plato's
theory of forms, the form for Aristotle exists in this world,
which has substance and accidents.
To elucidate Aristotle's ideas, let us take this example: as
a human person, you are composed of body and mind.
Having these two as your substance, it is expected from you
to use your intellectual and physical capacities to the fullest.
What you becom e b y using your capacity would be the
accident of your being; either you bec ome a priest, doct or,
policeman or fireman. But your substance, that is, being a
human person with rational and physical ca pacity, rema ins
the same.

6 Doing Philosophy

Aristotle di d not reject the idea of the form itself.

Aristotle purport s to convey that Plato was concerned with
the abstract, referring to the world of ideas that can only be
reached by thoughts. However, the forms can be achieved by
the use of the senses. Aristotle introduced his ideas about
empirical evidence or things that can be achieved and proven
by using the senses. Centuries later, this was picked up by
St. Thomas Aquinas who said, "Nothing is in the intellect
that was not first in the senses." Thus, by using one's senses,
one can gain knowledge. Unli ke Plato, Aristotle did not
subscribe to innate ideas. (S. M. Cohen et al., 2016)
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle believed that human beings
are endowed with reason. This rational capacity facilitates a
person to discover his/her t rue potentials. As students, you
dream of becoming a better version of yourself and a
successful human person someday. You know for a fact that
if you use your intelligence and capacity to learn new things,
it will e ventually bring you some where in the world. For
instance, if you want to become a doctor of medicine, you
know you have to feed yourself with relevant knowledge,
and acquire the necessary skills rela ted to the practice of
medicine.

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

Eastern Philosophies are centered on finding the answers

to the question “who and what am I?” They focus on
searching for the meaning of being human. The goal of their
respective philosophical enterprises is not only to understand
human nature, but most importantly, to practice how to truly
live as a human person.
It m ay be noted tha t eastern phil osophy is often
understood interchangeably with religion. Buddhism, for
one, belongs to the top major religions of the world. For this
reason, these philosophies are actively practiced by its

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 7

followers. For them, philosophy and re ligion are intimately

connected.

Confucianism

Being one of the greatest traditions in ancient China,

Confucianism started by Kon gzi or Confucius over 250 0
years ago. He was born about 551 B.C. in Tuo, and died
about 479 B.C. in Qufu. Confucianism inc ludes a wider
scope of subjects, including morality, so ciety, philosoph y
and religion, and practices and values (Littlejohn, 2010).
Confucianism attempts to craft a philosophy of peace that
could conceivably reach every corner of the world, guided
by the aim to restore peace among men and nations.
Confucius be lieved that if a leader sets a good example
to his constituents, to his fa mily, and pe ople with whom he
would have a rel ationship, they, in turn, will do the same.
This, for him, could prevent wars and solve many social
problems. For thi s reason, Confucianism is considered a
social philosophy that is grounded on the a ssumption that
proper social and political behavior is cultivated in the
family. For him, the love and relati onship with one's famil y
are paramount (Liu, 2006). This philosophy is connected to
the common idea today, which says that peace starts at home.
Confucianism has similarities with the Filipinos’ concept
and experience of family. Filipinos have cl ose family ties.
Even if there’s a feud within the family, a Filipino will insist
that blood is thicker t han water. Confucius had these same
thoughts with the aim of promoting a certain societal order.
Real changes should start from the top, from t he
brightest, and the ruling class to realize societal reforms.
Moreover, for Confucius, a good ruler should ha ve perfect
virtue. If a ruler is like a sage internally, it will also manifest
externally. He wrote three principles that a ruler should abide
by: “First, manifest a clear characte r, second, show conce rn
for the people, and third, aim for the highest good. Under this

8 Doing Philosophy

mode of thinking, morality and politics are inseparable.”

Confucius firmly believed that if a leader emulated himself
a sage king, there would be peace in the world (Liu, 2006).
To know t he human person as a potential leader, one
must go back to the question of character, which presupposes
that a person ha s inculcated in his being some e ssential
virtues. Two notable Confucian virtues are expected from
each and every human being of character. First is J en (ren),
which means human heartedness, whic h denotes a
compassionate person. The second is called Yi, or
righteousness, which c onsists of doing things in the right
manner. Remember that these two virtues are the sources of
other virtues. The Chung Tzu or Junzi means that a
gentleman should possess the virtue of Jen and Yi. In other
words, a human person presupposes a man of character, that
is, a virtuous human person. And since a Chung Tzu or a
gentleman bears the possibility of becoming a leader,
becoming a superior is not because of one’s status i n the
social hierarchy, but because of his knowledge of the virtues
being translated concretely in his life (Richey, 2008).

Buddhism

Buddhism is a living tradition whose roots can be traced

from the life and teachings of Siddharta Gautama, who is
also known as the historical Buddha. Buddhism is anchored
on the ide a that human person lives in suffering and that he
should overcome this. This suffering refers to the deep
dissatisfaction that pervades human experience, and the
thirst for endless desires. Human beings naturally cling to
things that are impermanent and changing due to our self-
centered pursuit of happiness. However, the human person
experiences aging, sickness, and death, which only deepens
suffering.
Buddhism teaches that “all phenomena are conditioned,
transitory, de void of any ‘essence’ or ‘self’ that remains

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 9

unchanged over time.” This means that a person is composed

of different causal patterns rather than having an underlying
essence (Emmanuel, 2013). Our existence, therefore, cannot
be reduced to a single “essence”.
Moreover, Buddhism teaches the Four Noble Truths.
The first noble truth is that human life is pervaded by
suffering. Second, suffering is a result of craving. Third,
there is a state of freedom from suffering - called Nirvana -
that we can all attain by realizing that we are not Selves, thus
abandoning the craving. Fourth, anyone can attain Nirvana
by following the Eightfold Path:

1. Right View: It consists of knowing the noble truths and

Buddha's teaching as a whole.
2. Right Resolve: It consists of the intention to renounce
sexual drive and the intention of non-ill-will, and non-
cruelty.
3. Right Speech: It involves not engaging in speech that
is false, malicious, harsh, or idle.
4. Right Action: It means not killing li ving beings, not
taking what is not given, and avoiding misconduct in
sexual pleasures.
5. Right Livelihood: It consists of the resolve not to earn
one's living in a way that violates the ethical code.
6. Right Effort: It means eliminating and preventing
unwholesome states and develop meditative practice.
7. Right Mindfulness: It includes various contemplations
of the body, feelings, and mind.
8. Right Concent ration: It mea ns the attainment of
progressively higher mental states.

Another fundamental feature of Buddha’s ethical

teaching is “Karma and Rebirth”. “It is said that on the night
of his enlightenment, the Buddha had attained the three kinds
of “true knowledge": First, knowledge of past lives. Second,
the cycle of rebirth is governed by Karma. Third, the four

10 Doing Philosophy

noble truths. Buddha construed tha t karma and rebirth is a

natural causal process in the universe. We have adopted the
word karma in the Filipino (Visayan) language, often with a
bad connotation. Thus, “Makarma pa unta ka” would mean
“may bad things befall on you.” Karma is often used
interchangeably with “gaba” when we sa y “magabaan pa
unta ka”, which also means “may bad things happen to you.”
However, for Buddha, good and bad actions are like seeds
that, if planted, will bear fruits in the future.
This physical world we are living in now is full of
complicated and distinct ideas. Things could be rough, and
some people would be unforgivable to us, especi ally when
we have caused pain and injustices to them. The freedom
from pain and suffering may be so elusive when we lack the
knowledge of easing ourselves from it . As we experience
sadness, sorrow, disappointme nts, heartbreaks, and many
other negative things the world could offer, Buddhism
teaches us something for our emancipation.
Buddhism is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but
rather realistic as it describes life as it is. Yes, life includes
suffering. However, it also teaches that we can attain
freedom from suffering through total non-attachment. In
other words, it teaches us to "let go " of our atta chments in
life. And if one lives a life of goodness, one will be rewarded
with goodness.

Indian Philosophy

Indian philosophy responds to the question, "Who am I?"

This question goes into the deeper meaning of the self. Many
scholars argue that, like Buddhism, Indian Philosophy is
essentially spiritual. It is said that the human person is
conceived as spiritual in nature. This reality enables him/her
to relate to a spiri tual and metaphysical destiny. But this
philosophy is a lso associated with practice in e veryday life.

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 11

This is why Indian philosophy is pursued not as an academic

endeavor but rather as a vital guide to one’s life.
The manner of living a life i s the principal priority in
Indian philosophy. It promotes a reflective approach to
reality. The ph ysical world is not as important as the
knowledge of the inner self. Thus, the common the me of all
schools of Indian Philosophy is to “see t he self”. The
realization of the hi ghest truth is beyond inte llectualization
because truth is a deep and very personal one (Frauwallner,
1973).
The theoretical aspect of living is augmented with the
obvious praxis of li ving. Thus, t he philosophy devoid of
praxis is futile. One needs his mental capabilities to face this
sophisticated world bravely. Still, if one fails to see the value
of his/her inner self, the kind of life he/she pursues is empty
of authenticity.
Each human person has something in his/her mind to
pursue. This idea of something enables the person to direct
himself/herself to a certain goal. A student t rying to cope
with the rapid dynamic change of technology, but lacks the
resources, tends to do undesirable things, like stealing to
provide the caprices or hurting people just to feed one's ego.
Consider a teenager who wants another smartphone but his
parents could not afford it. Since he/she has bec ome so
fixated with the device, he/she insensitively demands his/her
parents to have one. In so doing, he/she forgets the real
situation; he/she re fuses to care about his/her parents'
feelings. The device probably will make him/her happy,
most especially when it has become a ticket for him /her to
be accepted in society. However, a series of que stions will
hunt him/her after pursuing his/her wants, e .g., does having
a thing ultimately make him/her a better person? Does being
attached to the world enable him /her to exami ne
himself/herself? And is it worth it to hurt others, especially
his/her parents, just to feed his c aprices? Indian Philosophy

12 Doing Philosophy

reminds us t hat the physical world i s not as important as

knowing the inner self and the right practices of living.
The brand of philosophizing in Indian philosophy,
making it an essential enterprise, is fundamentally centered
on the notion of the self. For this discipline, the value of the
self is the paramount priority. Consequently, there are two
of the most pivotal issues in Indian Philosophy that one
should encounter in studying their philosophy, namely, the
nature of causation, and t he nature of the self. It has b een
acknowledged in their philosophy that one of the central
metaphysical probl ems is causation. Unlike western
philosophy that focuses muc h on knowing the materialistic
cause of the universe, Indian Philosophy is more concerned
with the importance of the cause (Laine 2016).

CONCLUSION

The two imme nse traditions of Philosophy have taught

us a wider view of doi ng philosophy. In western tradition,
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle believed that the human person
is gifted with reason. And this rationality would ultimately
facilitate the self to discover its true potentials. Socrates' way
of philosophizing was more on a dialectic way of
conversation, delving into the simplest and most
complicated questions the human mind can formulate. Plato
introduced to us the idea of two worlds and innate ideas that
requires recollection to remember them. And finall y,
Aristotle reminded us that the real world refe rs to the things
we have now, the most palpable to the senses. Indeed, the
Socratic philosophers left us with abundant thoughts of the
past that we today keep on footnoting as we em ploy their
works in our day to day living.
The Eastern tradition reminds us that doing philosophy
is more on the practical practice of the different theories of
living. First, Buddhism brou ght us to reflect on the idea of
suffering, and a human person should overcome this deep

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 13

dissatisfaction that pervades human experience. A human

person naturally clings t o impermanent things and self -
centered pursuit of happiness. Second, Indian Philosophy
reiterated the idea that the physical world is not as important
as the knowledge of t he inner self and the right practices of
living. Third, Confucianism taught us the virtues of Jen and
Yi which are deemed essential to a human person, especially
if he/she envisions becoming a leader.
In general, the two great traditions, western and eastern
Philosophy, may have introduced the way of philosophizing,
but the m ethods of doing such are still left to be discovered
in the next chapter.

ASSESSMENT

1. Elucidate the line of Socrates, "An unexamined life is not

worth living.”
2. Compare and contrast the Philosoph y of Plato from
Aristotle.
3. What are the commonalities of Western Philosophy with
Eastern Philosophies?
4. Articulate at least five questions from your ever yday life
that you want to inquire about. How are these questions
connected to the various philosophical ideas presented in
the chapter?
5. As a Filipino, what ki nd of philosophizing you are
inclined to practice, and why?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. To realize that philosophizing will lead to wisdom or

truth
2. To distinguish opinion from truth
3. To use a philosophical method in the search for truth
4. To evaluate situations that demonstrate the difference
between opinion and truth

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 15

INTRODUCTION

There are times that we react to a certain situation

without consciously understanding what we mean to say.
Sadly, when confronted with certain ideas that might be the
opposite of our beliefs, we get hurt and attack the person
instead of the argument. We tend to support only those
aligned with our beliefs, even if it lacks truth-value. Let’s
take a look at the situation below.
On a Sunday night, Juana posted his filtered picture of
her Sunday's best on Facebook with a caption: "I think there
is no class on Monday." Many of her classmates commented
on her post and asked if it was true. One of her close friends,
Pedro, shared the post. Eventually, many of their classmates
believed that there would be no class the following day since
Juana and Pedro were among the top ten students in their
class. Also, Pedro's mother is the principal of the City Senior
High School.
If you saw the post of Juana and you know her too well,
how would you react? Which button would you hit: “haha”,
“like”, “heart”, “angry” or “wow”? Wh y? Would you share
Juana’s post? What would be your comment?
These days, we are bombarded with a lot of information.
In social media, some information being shared and
circulated are true while some are not. How do we know that
something is true? How do we differentiate truth from
opinion? How can philosophy he lp us to arrive at a certain
truth?

16 Methods of Philosophizing

DISCUSSION

OPINION VS. TRUTH

When people engage in a debate and later get tired of

arguing, one of them would perhaps resort to saying, “That's
your opinion!” By saying this, it often settles the conflict of
the opposing sides. One can also observe that when one
expresses an opinion, he/she is confident to say it because
opinions are usually understood as neither ‘right’ nor
‘wrong’. Thus, many netizens would unreflectively post
something about an issue on their social media accounts and
defensively claim that it is just an opinion. Some would even
say that since we are in a democratic country, everyone is
entitled to his/her own opinion.
But what is an opinion? Generally, an opinion is a
personal claim, a belief, or a personal stance on a particular
subject matter. For instance, the statements, "My teacher is
the best!" or "I think there is no c lass on Monday" are
examples of opinions. These opinions are based on personal
experiences and, therefore, relative. However, opinions are
sometimes based on facts. If they are based on facts, do they
equate to the truth?
John Corvino (2015) offers a phil osophical distinction
between an opinion and a fact. For him, a sta tement of fact
has objective content and is wel l-supported by the available
evidence. On the other hand, a statement of opinion is one
whose content is either subjective or not well supported by
the available evidence. In short, an opi nion refers to what a
person thinks about something but is lacking evidence. In
this sense, the criterion of objectivity, which is a necessary
condition of facts, is what separates an opinion from a fact.
Another problem that arises is how to understand truth
statements. Peop le would simply state an opinion using the

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person 17

phrase, “it is true that…”, as if it automatically makes the

statement true. We have to note that not all those who claim
that they are telling the truth are revealing the truth. We see
many people on social media, claiming that their position on
an issue is correct and true. We may be deceived if we do
not verify whether these claims are indeed true or not. What
is essential is to doubt the things we see on social media to
investigate further their veracity.
Truth has been one of the main questions in philosophy,
and many theories have dealt with this question. One of these
theories i s the Correspondence Theory. This theory
maintains that both the knower's mind and the thing being
perceived must correspond to each other. Truth is grasped
when there is conformity between the mind and the thing
outside the mind. However, since our senses may get easily
deceived, it is ne cessary always to inquire if what we have
in mind is not a mere illusion. This is why we need to discern
matters seriously to know the truth. We should consider both
what we think and what the thing reveals to us. Truth is
neither an opinion nor a fact. It is universal, undisputed,
verified through facts, and even transcendent, beyond a
reasonable doubt. In other words, the t ruth will always be
true no matter what a person thinks and says. Truth does not
change; an opinion, however, usually changes through time.
Thus, the truth remains, no matter how convincing an
opinion is. The question thatAdvertisement
remains now is how to seek the
truth.

METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING

The methods of philosophizing are the various ways of

attaining truth or wisdom. Let us not forget the literal
meaning of philosophy: "love of wisdom" or the search for
truth. But there is not only one way of searching for the truth.
In thi s section, we explore several methods used by