Philosophy
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
11 STEM
PHILOSOPHY
- philos (love) + sophia (wisdom)
⤷ love of wisdom
- strong desire of of a human person to
possess knowledge and apply it correctly
- uses human reason to investigate ultimate
causes and principles that govern all
things
- a quest for knowledge and truth
Holistic Perspective
- Looks at all aspects of the given problem
or situation
- all aspects are given importance when
making conclusions
- all aspects are tied in together to form a
general overview of the problem
Partial Perspective
- looks only at a limited number of aspects
of the given problem or situation
- Conclusions are made based on
considering some, but not all sides of the
problem.
Origin of Philosophy
Greece
- birthplace of Philosophy
Thales
- “Father of Philosophy” in the western
civilization (between 624 and 546 BCE)
- known in for proposing that water was the
fundamental principles of the universe.
- highlights the di erence between religion
and philosophy
Philosophical Activity is characterized by three
things:
● Involves widest generalization
● It is all about fundamentals
● Philosophy is driven by desire to integrate
things in to a one coherent whole.
Branches of Philosophy
Cognitive Branches (Speculative):
- acquisition of knowledge without any
thought of applying it for any practical
use
● Metaphysics (ques related to being and
existence)
○ Study of facts and reality
○ Deals with the study nature of
being as it tries to answer the
questions like “what is being” and
“what are the fundamental
properties of being”
● Epistemology (ques related to truth and
knowledge)
○ studies the nature and means of
human knowledge
○ Deals with nature, sources,
limitations, and validity of
knowledge (Soccio, 2007)
○ how questions
● Theodicy (ques related to God)
○ science of God
● Cosmology (ques related to universe)
○ science of the universe -
characteristics with regard to
space, time, casuality, and
freedom
● Psychology (ques related to soul)
○ science of soul
○ deals man not only on as a sensing
or thinking subject but also as
being composed of body and soul
Normative Branches (practical):
- use knowledge for practical purposes
● Ethics (morality)
○ Provides a human being with a
“code of values to guide man’s
choice and actions- the choices
and actions that determine the
course of his life (Ayn Rand)
Philosophy
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
11 STEM

● Logic (reasoning) ● Deductive Reasoning

○ studies the laws of thought
○ science of correct reasoning
○ study of simple apprehension and
ideas, judgement, proposition,
reasoning, and arguments
● Axiology (values)
○ science of values
○ study of the origin, nature,
functions, types, and interrelations
of values
● Politics
○ defines the principles of a proper
social system (Ayn Rand)
○ Studies about political government
and the system
● Aesthetics (beauty and taste)
○ science of beauty and art
○ studies the nature of art
○ nature and objective judgment of
beauty
● Semantics (meaning)
○ science of meaning
○ studies natural and artificial
language scientifically
Philosophical Tools and Processes
1. Philosophical Question
- a philosopher is like a child who has an
inquisitive mind who never stops asking
questions and finding answers.
Dialectics
- Invented Zeno of Elea
- method of philosophical argument that
involves some sort of contradictory
process between opposing sides.
- discourse between two or more people
holding di erent points of view about a
subject but wishing to establish the truth
through reasoned arguments
2. Logical Reasoning
- the process of thinking about something in
a logical way in order to form a conclusion
or judgement
○ starts from general statements to
reach a logical conclusions
○ general to specific
○ conclusion has to be true if the
premises are true
● Inductive Reasoning
○ moves from specific observations
to broader generalization
○ specific to general
○ truth of premises does not
necessarily guarantee the truth of
the conclusions
3. Reflection
- activity that requires a person to examine
his or her thoughts, feeling and actions
and learn from experience.
2 Types (Gabriel Marcel):
● Primary Reflection
○ Logically
○ ability of the mind to construct and
evaluate arguments
○ definitions, essences and technical
solutions to problems
● Secondary Reflection
○ enables us to look deeper into our
experiences and see the bigger
picture of reality.
○ integrates the fragmented and
compartmentalized experience
into a whole
○ idea that various systems
(physical, biological, social) should
be viewed as wholes, not merely as
a collection of parts
MORAL THEORY
S - search for facts
T - think, reflect, analyze facts
O - others, how it a ects others
P - pray
All Quadrant All Level (AQAL) by Ken Wilber
Interior, Exteriod,
subjective Objective
aspect aspect
Philosophy
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
11 STEM

Singular, individual

Plural, collective, class

Inside of Outside of Individual

Individual

Collective Collective
Inside Outside

Quadrants as applied to Human Beings:

Mind Body

Culture Society