ETHICS

RYAN BALBUENA KATIGBAK

What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy is the highest form of human
knowledge.
 It is considered as the scientia scientiarum (the
science of all sciences). It is the compendium of
all learnings.
 It asks the simple question like: “Where did the
world come from?”
 It also ask the most exhilarating questions like:
“What is the beginning of the beginning of the
world.”
What is Philosophy?
 It came from two GREEK words, “PHILEIN” which means “to love”
and “SOPHIA” which means “wisdom.”
 Etymologically, it means “love of wisdom.”
What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy is a search for meaning.
 It is a good tool in understanding the human person.
 It is also the means towards the attainment of happiness.
What is Philosophy?
 Are all philosophers pilosopo?
 When a pilosopo does philosophy in order to
ridicule, what he does is a negative philosophy.
But when a pilosopo reasons out in order to
obtain wisdom, that is a positive philosophy.
What is Philosophy?
 According to Socrates: “My wisdom consists in
accepting that I knew nothing.”
What is Philosophy?
 According to Socrates: “What makes the human
person unknowledgeable is the fact that he
know nothing and yet he did not know that he
knew nothing.”
 A sophist claims that he knows everything and
yet ending up with knowing nothing. A
philosopher claims that he does not know
anything and yet, ending up with knowing
everything.
What is Philosophy?
 Philosophy offers the students a chance to
explore the fundamental questions about
human existence.
 It can help us clarify our thoughts.
What is Philosophy?
 It digs into the root causes of the people’s
problems and discovers new solutions and
remedies to human ills.
 It gives us a clear understanding of the
human person and the reason for his
existence.
The Historical Background
of Philosophy
How did Philosophy come about?
 Philosophy began when the human person became aware of the
things around them.
How did Philosophy come about?
 Their curiosity led them to ask the questions: “Where did everything
come from?” and “What is the urstoff (the first principle) of
everything?”
What is Philosophy?
How did Philosophy come about?
 Why seaport town of Miletus?
How did Philosophy come about?
How did Philosophy come about?
 According to the history of Philosophy, the RICH MILESIANS and
IONIANS were considered to be the first philosophers.
 Why MILESIANS and IONIANS?
How did Philosophy come about?
 Why RICH?
The Beginning of Philosophy
Thales of Miletus (624-546 BCE)
(Ang interes ng mga unang pilosopo ay ang
pagtukals ng URSTOFF o ang pinagmulan ng
lahat ng bagay.)
 On the question what was the origin of
everything, his answer was that human
beings developed from the meeting of
sperm and egg. Hence, the beginning of
the human person is in liquid content.
Everything must have come from water.
 Because he was the one who started the
ball rolling, he was considered as the
Father of Philosophy.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Anaximander of Miletus (c. 550 BCE)
 The origin of things must be an apeiron or
boundless/infinite.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Anaximenes (585-528 BCE)
 He asked: “if everything comes from apeiron,
how did we know it?”
 Every water form will end up as AIR.
 Hence, everything comes from air.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Parmenides of Elea (c. 520 BCE)
 His philosophy focused on the PROBLEM OF
THE ONE & THE MANY, i.e., on the problem
of change.
 He claimed, “There is no change. Change is
only an illusion. We are just being deceived
by our senses.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 540-c. 480
BCE)
 His philosophy focused on the PROBLEM OF
THE ONE & THE MANY, i.e., on the problem
of change.
 Unlike Parmenides, he believes that all things
are in the state of flux (Everything is
changing.)
 He claimed that what makes things change is
FIRE. Then FIRE is the URSTOFF.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Empedocles of Sicily (c. 495-430 BCE)
 He said that water, air, fire, and earth are
the origin of everything.
 He tried to put an end to the discussion as
regards where did everything come from by
simply acknowledging the idea of everyone.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Pythagoras of Samos (c. 570-496 BCE)
 According to him, everything can be
numbered. Hence, the first principle of
everything must be numbers.
 He was the one who coined the term
philosophy.
The Beginning of Philosophy
Leucippus (490-430 BCE) and
Democritus of Abdera (c.570-496
BCE)
 Everything that exists is made up of
ATOMS. Hence, the first principle of
everything must be atoms.
 According to Democritus, “If God exists,
then, He, too, must be made up of
atoms.”
The Historical Development of Phi-
losophy
There are FOUR PERIODS OF PHILOSOPHY:
a. ANCIENT PERIOD
b. MEDIEVAL PERIOD
c. MODERN PERIOD
d. CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

 Each period has a particular subject of study. It means, philosophers in

different periods had different interests. They studied different
subjects/topics.
The Historical Development of Phi-
losophy
a. ANCIENT PERIOD
 During the this period, the prevailing question in philosophy was:
“Where did everything come from?”
 Because ancient philosophers focused on the origin of the cosmos,
ancient philosophy is, thereby, considered to be COSMOCENTRIC.
The Historical Development of Phi-
losophy
b. MEDIEVAL PERIOD
 Medieval philosophers held that the beginning of the universe must be
coming from an Infinite Being which they called qeoV (theos) or God.
 The question, therefore, that became prevalent was: “Does this God
really exist?” or, better yet, “Is there really a God?”
 For this reason, medieval philosophy is considered to be THEOCENTRIC.
The Historical Development of Phi-
losophy
b. MODERN PERIOD
 Modern philosophers believed that God truly exists. But He is existing
only in the mind.
 The question, therefore, that became prevalent was: “How do we
know that what is in our mind is real?” They, therefore, asked: “Is
knowledge possible?” And “Is man really capable of acquiring knowl-
edge?”
 For this reason, modern philosophy is considered to be IDEOCENTRIC.
The Historical Development of Phi-
losophy
b. CONTEMPORARY PERIOD
 Because of the rising political repression, contemporary philosophers
focused their attention on the dignity of the human person.
 Hence, the question that became prevalent was: “Is there a human
dignity?”
 For this reason, contemporary philosophy is considered to be
ANTHROPOCENTRIC or HOMOCENTRIC.
The Problem of Philosophy
 The rise of modern science brought the human
person to set aside reasoning. Philosophy
became a disinteresting subject.
 People believed that philosophy does not have
a proper object. It appears to be not anymore
focusing on the true and real problems of life.
The Problem of Philosophy
 People would find it easier to resort to faith
rather than on reason because faith does not
require explanations. On the question about
the existence of God, people would rather
resort to theology than to philosophy.
The Problem of Philosophy
 Contemporary philosophy has become
inaccessible to the modern-day students.
Because of its highfalutin terms, people find it
impractical to talk about philosophy.
The Necessity of the Study of Philoso-
phy
Man has been haunted by questions which
philosophy alone can answer:
What is the meaning of life?
Why is there death?
If the Creator is good, why is there evil in this
world?
Is there really a human freedom?
Is there really a God?
Is there life after this life?
The Necessity of the Study of Philoso-
phy
 Philosophy is the only means that is capable of providing a common
ground between believers and non-believers.
 Philosophical training provides the students to help to think, read, and
write; and possibly speak more critically, carefully, and logically.
 If we will be able to apply our knowledge in looking at things, we will be
able to obtain a meaningful living.
Definition of Philosophy
 Philosophy is defined as “a human, and consequently, a social activity
which consists in man a perennial and a disinterested search for the
intelligible structure of the totality of being.”
 Philosophy is first and foremost a human activity. It is only for the human
person.
Definition of Philosophy
 Philosophy is a social activity. Because man is a social being,
philosophy became a social activity.
Definition of Philosophy
 Philosophy is a perennial search. It is a never-ending search for truth.
For as long as there is man on earth, there will always be philosophy.
 Philosophy is a disinterested search because people believed that it
does not provide practical solutions to problems.
Definition of Philosophy
 Philosophy is a search for the intelligible structure. It is using reason in
order to acquire truth.
Definition of Philosophy
 Philosophy deals with the totality of being. It deals with the whole of
creation. It also deals with anything and everything that is under and
beyond the sun. (Lahat ay maaring pag-aralan ng pilosopiya.)
The Branches of Philosophy
How is Philosophy connected with Ethics?
Philosophy can be divided into three major divisions:
1. Philosophy of Thought
2. Philosophy of Reality
3. Philosophy of Morality
The Branches of Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY OF THOUGHT
1. Epistemology (study of knowledge) (Paano umaalam)
2. Logic (the science and art of distinguishing correct from the incorrect
reasoning). (Paano mag-isip ng tama.)
The Branches of Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY OF REALITY
1. Metaphysics (the study of the origin of things). (Pag-aaral sa mga
pinagmulan ngmga bagay bagay.)
2. Theodicy (the philosophical study of God). (Pag-aaral tungkol sa pag-iral
ng Dyos)
3. Cosmology (the philosophical study of the universe / environment).
(Pag-aaral sa mundo o sa mga bagay na walang buhay.)
4. Philosophy of Psychology (the philosophical study of man as
composed of body and soul). (Pag-aaral sa tao bilang binubuo ng katawan at
kaluluwa)
5. Social Philosophy (the philosophical study of the society.) (Pag-aaral sa
tao bilang bahagi ng isang pamayanan.)
6. Political Philosophy (philosophical study of the state and the social
organization). (Pag-aaral sa tao bilang bahagi ngisang politikal na komunidad.)
The Branches of Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY OF MORALITY
1. Ethics (the study of right living) (Pag-aaral sa TAMANG PAMUMUHAY.)
2. Aesthetics (the study of the meaning of beauty). (Pag-aaral sa kahulugan
ng kagandahan. Ang mag halimbawa nito ay pag-aaral sa mga likhang sining.)
3. Philosophy of Person (the study about the dignity of man, truth,
freedom, justice, love, death, and his relationship with other human
beings and with God). (Pag-aaral tungkol sa tao bilang nilalang na may
dignidad, naghahanap ng katotohanan, alam ang katarungan, nagmamahal, alam
ang konsepto ng kamatayan, nilalang na nakikihalubilo sa kapwa, at nilalang na
konektado sa Dyos.)

ANG ETHICS AY SANGAY NG PILOSOPIYA.

the end