INTRODUCTION TO

PHILOSOPHY
 CHAPTER 1:
UNDERSTANDING
PHILOSOPHY BY
DOING IT
Chapter 1: Understanding Philosophy by
Doing it

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3

A Holistic Perspective: The What it means to be a What makes a Question

Philosopher’s way Philosopher Philosophical?
LESSON 2: WHAT IT
MEANS TO BE A
PHILOSOPHER
“This is patently absurd; but
whoever wishes to become a
philosopher must learn not to
be frightened by absurdities”
-Bertrand Russell
Abstraction
• Before you entered this subject, you
must have heard or used a number of
jokes about Philosophers.
• Philosophers have been the object of
laughter for as long as the world can
remember.

But why are they objects of laughter

then? Why do people make fun of them?
 Abstraction
• Thales was known to have been
laughed at one day when he was busily
gazing up the heavens and fell into a
cistern.
• Socrates was comically portrayed by
the comedian Aristophanes. He said that
Socrates and all the other Philosophers
are ugly and unkempt, because they have
no time to bathe. They have a big tongue
and they teach young rebellious thoughts
that encourage them to beat their fathers
(Nussbaum 1997
 Abstraction
In our context, we have used the term
“Pilosopo” to refer to someone who asks
a lot of question, many of which are
judged as nonsense or out-of-this-world.

We often do not take a “Pilosopo”

seriously because we think of them as
simply trying to get attention by
annoying others.

But is this really what a Philosopher is?

Etymology
(Origin) of
Philosophy
• To answer the question
above, let us analyze the
origin of the word
“Philosophy”.
• Philosophy is the joining of
two Greek words, Philos or
Philein, which means Love,
and Sophia which generally
means Wisdom

• Philos-Sophia is the Love of

Wisdom
 But What is the
love of Wisdom?
The story of Socrates whose
life and death, is a moving
picture of this Love of
Wisdom
Socrates
Socrates (c 470-399 B.C. )
of Athens, Greece is known
through the writings of his
student, Plato (427-348
B.C.). In one of Plato’s
writings (Apology),a friend
of Socrates went to a
priestess (an oracle) to ask
who was the wisest man.
The priestess answered that
“there is no man wiser than
Socrates.” When Socrates
heard it, he did not believed
it. He was certain that he did
not know anything.
The Search for Wisdom
For I knew I had no Wisdom. After thinking it over
a long time, I decided that I had to find a man
wiser than myself so I could go back to the god’s
of oracle with this evidence. So I went to see a
Politician who was famous for his wisdom. But
when I questioned him, I realized he was not really
wise although many people-he especially-thought
he was. So I tried to explain to him that although
he thought himself wise, he really was not. But all
that happened was that he came to hate me. And so
did many of his supporters who overheard us. So I
left him thinking to myself as I left that although
neither of us really knew anything about what is
noble and good, still I was better off. For he
knows nothing, and thinks that he knows while I
neither know nor think that I know. And in this
I think I have a slight advantage.
The Search for Wisdom
Then I went to another person who had even
greater pretensions to wisdom. The result was
exactly the same. I made another enemy. In this
way I went to one man after another and made
more and more enemies. I felt bad about this and it
frightened me. But I was compelled to do it
because felt that investigating god’s oracle came
first. I said to myself, I must go to everyone who
seems to be wise so I can find out what the oracle
means” (Plato,2008)
 Socrates
Socrates reputation during his time was that of an
annoying philosopher who would embarrass others
in the process of asking them questions about what
they professed as their expertise. Because of this
humiliation he caused, he created a number of
enemies. His enemies found a way to place charges
against him and put him in a trial.

He was sentenced to death for the charges of

disrespecting the gods and for corrupting the minds
of the youth. He was killed by being forced to
drink the poison hemlock
Let us examine the life of Socrates

What can say about

Socrates and his life?

What is the attitude of

Socrates that showed one of
the characteristics of a true
philosopher?
• There is difference between
asking questions with the
intention of making the other
person look stupid or
ignorant and asking questions
with a Genuine Desire to
Know.

• The latter is one of the

characteristics of a True
Philosopher.

• Socrates wanted to know

the truth behind the
message of the priestess
that is why he went to those
who claimed that they were
wise.
• In the, Socrates understood
the message delivered from
the gods, “no one is wiser
than Socrates”. He like all
men and women of Athens
were ignorant. But what
made him a notch wiser than
they who thought of
themselves as wise, was that
he knew of his ignorance
Characteristics of a
Philosopher
A Genuine desire to know begins with this Humble
admission of one’s own Ignorance.

With this desire to know comes the courage to ask

questions.

Socrates is a shinning example of someone who bravely

sought for the truth. This is what it means to be a lover
of Wisdom. He loved it even to the point of risking his
very own life.
The story of Socrates’ life poses
a great challenge to all of us. It
reminds us of our fundamental
ignorance which we often forget
in moments of pride or vainglory.

The true meaning of the message

of the gods is this: “anyone can
be as wise as Socrates for as long
as he lives the truth that he does
not know anything.”

With this constant admission,

one will be more open to
learning new things.

This is the beginning of true

wisdom
Pilosopo as
Philosopher
• In the Philippines, the term
“Pilosopo” connotes the image
of comical, and sometimes
annoying, character.

• It often used to describe

someone who plays with
words, or twists
commonsensical reasonings in
order to come across as funny.

• Sometimes the pilosopo is also

described as “KSP” (kulang sa
pansin) because their incessant
questioning gives the
impression that they are
desperate for questioning.
“Pilosopo” as Philosopher

Is a Pilosopo
what we mean by
a Philosopher?
“Pilosopo” as Philosopher

The answer can either

be YES or No
Let us examine the life of Socrates
No, a Philosopher is not a Pilosopo
because he/she does not play with words
or twists reasoning for the fun of it.

Yes, a Pilosopo is a Philosopher if

his/her intention in playing with words
and overturning usual forms of
reasoning is in order to view things in a
different way.

Sometimes, it is when you try to look at things

upside-down or inside-out that you discover things
that would give a sense of wonder and
astonishment
Let us examine the life of Socrates
No, a philosopher is not a Pilosopo if
he/she raises question often with the
intention of showing off that he/she is
singularly smart or inquisitive

Yes, a Pilosopo is a Philosopher if the

question he/she asks stem from a
genuine confusion, astonishment and
wonder.
 A Philosopher has
the genuine desire to
know