WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

ETYMOLOGICAL DEFINITION
The word Philosophy comes from two Greek words: Philo (love) and Sophia (wisdom).
The ancient Greeks used this term to refer to “love of wisdom”.

REAL DEFINITION
The study or discipline that uses human reason to investigate the ultimate causes, reasons,
and principles which governs all things.
WHAT IS THE BEGINNING OF
PHILOSOPHY ?
 WESTERN VS EASTERN
PHILOSOPHY
• Different geographical location.
• Both Philosophies center on virtues.
• They have different views on religion.
• Eastern focuses on spiritual approaches while
Western is more on critical thinking.
• Their concept of life after death is different.
WHO IS A PHILOSOPHER?
SITUATION:
When an atheist visited our church, he tried to provoke
our faith by asking a lot of questions regarding the
existence of God. Fortunately, there were two members of
our church who tried answering the questions of the
atheist.
Person A:
As human beings we are used to seeing cause and effect in our everyday lives, so
this argument is easy to relate to. For example, if you push someone (cause) they will
fall over (effect). Aquinas argued that our world works in the same way. Someone or
something must have caused the world to exist. The cause is God and the effect is the
world.

Person B:
I believe in God because the priest told me to believe in God or else I will go to
hell.
QUESTIONS:
• Among the two, who thinks like a Philosopher?
Why?

• Is a Philosopher and a Pilosopo the same?

 HOLISTIC AND PARTIAL POINT OF VIEW
HOLISTIC THINKING
Refers to the perspective that considers large-scale patterns in systems. This is often
described as looking at the big picture when describing and analyzing a situation or
problem. A Holistic perspective requires an individual to have an open mindset and an
ability to get the general sense of impression regarding a situation.

PARTIAL THINKING
Focuses on a specific aspect of a situation. The partial point of view is an important
component of analytic thinking, as individual focuses on certain areas of a problem to
understand it. Though partial thinking is useful, Philosophy uses Holistic thinking in
making sense of problems and issues related to the Human experiences
ACTIVITY NO. 1
1. Cite a situation where you adopted a holistic view in looking at a problem or situation.
How did adopting a holistic perspective help you make sense of the situation

2. How can having a holistic view help us become better individuals