LESSON 2:

METHODS OF
PHILOSOPHIZING
PREPARED BY: MARILYN R. CALDERON
 OBJECTIVES OF THIS LESSON

1. To distinguish opinion from truth

2. To analyze situations that show the difference
between truth and opinion
3. To realize that the methods of philosophy lead
to wisdom and truth
4. To evaluate opinions
 TOPIC OUTLINE

1 2
INTRODUCTION REALIZATION
METHODS OF METHODS OF
PHILOSOPHIZING PHILOSOPHY LEADS TO
WISDOM

3 4
EVALUATION APPLICATION
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DEBATE
TRUTH AND OPINION
01
INTRODUCTION: Methods of
Philosophizing
Philosophizing is to think or express oneself
in a philosophical manner. It considers or
discusses a (matter) from a philosophical
standpoint.
A.PHENOMENOLOGY: ON
CONSCIOUSNESS

EDMUND
HUSSERL
He founded
phenomenology, which
is essentially a
philosophical method.
This focuses on careful inspection and description of
phenomena or appearances, defined as any object of
conscious experience. that is, that which we are
conscious of (Johnston 2006).
The word "phenomenon" comes directly from the
Greek (parvóμevov, phainómenon), meaning
appearance.
Phenomenology is a philosophy of experience. For
phenomenology the ultimate source of all meaning
and value is the lived experience of human beings.
(Armstrong, 2005)
The task of the philosopher, according to
phenomenology, is to describe the structures of
experience, in particular consciousness, the
imagination, relations with other persons, and the
situatedness of the human subject in society and
history.
B. EXISTENSIALISM: ON FREEDOM

SOREN
KIERKEGAARD
First Existentialist that
insisted authentic self
was the personally
chosen self.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory or
approach which emphasizes the existence of the
individual person as a free and responsible agent
determining their own development through acts of
the will.
It is a philosophical movement that stresses the
individual's unique position as a self- determining
agent responsible for making meaningful,
authentic choices in a universe seen as purposeless
or irrational. It is the view that meaning in life, and
try to make rational decisions universe.
 It focuses on the question of human existence, and
the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation
at the core of existence. Existentialism is a
philosophy that emphasizes individual existence,
freedom and choice.
C. POSTMODERNISM: ON
CULTURES

RICHARD RORTY
An American
philosopher notably for
his wide-ranging
critique of modern
concept of philosophy
Postmodernism says that there is no real truth. It
says that knowledge is always made or invented and
not discovered. Because knowledge is made by
people, a person cannot know something with
certainty - all ideas and facts are 'believed' instead of
'known'.
People believe that they know what the truth is, but
they will think that the truth is something different
later. This is the opposite of 'objectivity', which says
that the truth is always there and people have to
discover it.
Since postmodernism says that the truth is just a
thing that people invent, people can believe
different things and think it is the truth and all be
right. Postmodernism says that one person should
not try to make another person believe what he
believes, because it means nothing to say that one
belief is right and the other is wrong.
 Postmodernism says that if somebody has a belief
and tries to make somebody else believe it also, it
means that they are just trying to have power over
them.
D. ANALYTIC TRADITION

LUDWIG
WITTGENSTEIN
Considered by some to be
the greatest philosopher of
the 20th century, Ludwig
Wittgenstein played a
central, if controversial, role
in 20th-century analytic
philosophy
Analytic philosophy, also called linguistic
philosophy, a loosely related set of approaches to
philosophical problems, dominant in Anglo-
American philosophy from the early 20th century,
that emphasizes the study of language and the
logical analysis of concepts.
"Can language objectively describe truth?" For the
philosophers of this tradition, language cannot
objectively describe truth. For Ludwig Wittgenstein, an
analytic philosopher, language is socially conditioned.
We understand the world solely in terms of our
language games-that is, our linguistic, social
constructs. Truth, as we perceive it, is itself socially
constructed.
E. LOGIC AND CRITICAL
THINKING:
TOOLS IN REASONING
Logic is centered in the analysis and construction
of arguments. Logic and critical thinking serve as
paths to freedom from half-truths and deceptions.
Critical thinking is distinguishing facts and
opinions or personal feelings.
In making rational choices, first, we suspend
beliefs and judgment until all facts have been
gathered and considered.
In general, there are two basic types of
reasoning: deductive and inductive.
1. Deductive reasoning draws conclusion from
usually one broad judgment or definition and one
more specific assertion, often an inference.
(General to specific)
2. Inductive reasoning is based from observations in
order to make generalizations. This reasoning is
often applied in prediction, forecasting, or behavior.
(Specific to general)
DEDUCTIVE REASONING
INDUCTIVE REASONING
F. FALLACIES
A fallacy is a defect in an argument other than its
having false premises. To detect fallacies, it is
required to examine the argument's content. There
are some usually committed errors in reasoning
and thus, coming up with false conclusion and
worse, distorting the truth.
A fallacy is a defect in an argument other than its
having false premises. To detect fallacies, it is
required to examine the argument's content. There
are some usually committed errors in reasoning
and thus, coming up with false conclusion and
worse, distorting the truth.
COMMON FALLACIES
 COMMON FALLACIES

1. Appeal to pity
(Argumentum ad misericordiam).
It is a specific kind of appeal to emotion in which
someone tries to win support for an argument or
idea by exploiting his or her opponent's feelings
of pity or guilt.
2. Appeal to ignorance
(Argumentum ad ignorantiam).
Whatever has not been proved false must be true,
and vice versa.
3. Equivocation - This is a logical chain of
reasoning of a term or a word several times, but
giving the particular word a different meaning each
time.
4. Composition - This infers that something is
true of the whole from the fact that it is true of
some part of the whole.
5. Division - One reasons logically that
something true of a thing must also be true of
all or some of its parts.
6. Against the Person
(Argumentum ad hominem).
This fallacy attempts to link the validity of a premise
to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating
the premise. However, in some instances, questions of
personal conduct, character, motives, etc., are
legitimate if relevant to the issue.
7. Appeal to force
(Argumentum ad baculum).
An argument where force, coercion, or the
threat of force, is given as a justification for a
conclusion.
8. Appeal to the people
(Argumentum ad populum).
An argument that appeals or exploits people's
vanities, desire for esteem, and anchoring on
popularity.
9. False cause
(post hoc)
Since that event followed this one, that event
must have been caused by this one. This fallacy
is also referred to as coincidental correlation, or
correlation not causation.
10. Hasty generalization- One commits errors if
one reaches an inductive generalization based on
insufficient evidence. The fallacy is commonly
based on a broad conclusion upon the statistics of a
survey of a small group that fails to sufficiently
represent the whole population.
11. Begging the question
(petitio principii)
This is a type of fallacy in which the
proposition to be proven is assumed implicitly
or explicitly in the premise.
02
REALIZE THE METHODS OF
PHILOSOPHY THAT LEAD TO
WISDOM AND TRUTH
The method that philosophers used to
address philosophical questions is critical
thinking.
Critical thinking is the careful, reflective,
rational, and systematic approach to questions
of very general interest. Critical thinking means
understanding of philosophy and refraining
from merely giving claims but through careful
thought, one reasons through argumentations.
For Double (1999), although philosophy is an
organized body of knowledge, the subject
matter of philosophy is questions, which have
three major characteristics:
1. Philosophical questions have answers, but
the answers remain in dispute.
2. Philosophical questions cannot be settled
by science or faith.
3. Philosophical questions are of perennial
intellectual interest to human beings.
For Maboloc and Pascua (2008), critical thinking is a
lifelong process of self-assessment that further
consists of:
● defining, analyzing, and devising solutions; .
● arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions;
● applying understanding and knowledge to new
and different problems;
● willingness to change one point of view;
● continually examining and re-examining ideas;
and
● willingness to say "I don't know."
The attributes of a critical thinker include:

● Looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs

● Adjusts opinions
● Looks for proof
● Examines problem
● Rejects irrelevant and incorrect information
03
EVALUATE OPINIONS
Critical thinking and logic are important
tools to distinguish facts from opinions.
An opinion can be a belief or judgment that
rests on grounds insufficient to produce
complete certainty. It is a personal view,
attitude, or appraisal or personal feelings.
Asking relevant questions, assessing arguments
and statements, looking for evidence to support
assumption and beliefs, and deciding rationally
what to believe or, not are important to evaluate
opinions.
An opinion is person’s statement of judgment
about something in the world and about life.
Opinion should be validated and needed
further justification to prove that is true.
 RESOURCES

WEBSITES: BOOK:
http://litguide.press.jhu.edu
Introduction to the Philosophy of
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post the Human Person (First
modernism Edition) by Christine Carmela R.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/anal Ramos, PhD
ytic-philosophy Rex Bookstore, Inc.

https://gillemanalo.wordpress.com/20
16/12/04/methods-of-philosophizing/