Lesson 2-

Philosophical Tools
and Processes
▫ Philosophy uses reason to arrive at a certain
knowledge or truth.
▫ Greek philosophers gave us how to use our intellect to
understand realities around us. The tools that they
frequently utilized are the following:
1. Philosophical Questions. Philosophy was born
because of ignorance. If one is ignorant, he asks
questions and if he keeps on questioning the more
knowledge he acquires.
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▫ In our daily struggles, one needs to ask questions

simple, serious and deep questions that we have to
cope with. A philosopher is like a child who ha s
a n inquisitive mind who never stops a sking
questions a nd finding a nswers.
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▫ Simple Questions (influenced by curiosity and sense

of wonder):
1. What is this?
2. What does this do?
3. Why are trees tall?
4. Why is the sky so far away?
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▫ Serious Questions (influenced by our experiences and

circumstances):
1. Why do I have to study?
2. What do I need to get better grades?
3. What should I do to achieve my goals in life?
4. What can I do to be better?
5. How do I deal with difficult people?
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▫ Deep Questions (influenced to search for meaningful

answers):
1. Where can one find true happiness?
2. Why do good people suffer?
3. What can we do to make the world a better place?
4. Why do I have to be a good person?
5. Is love worth giving up everything?
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▫ Socrates is considered the foremost

philosopher of ancient times.
▫ He is known for Socratic Method, a form
of cooperative argumentative dialogue
between individuals, based on asking
and answering questions to stimulate
critical thinking and to draw out ideas
and underlying assumptions.
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Socrates went further not just asking

questions for himself but poses
questions to people which is the
beginning of series of questions and
responses from the participants. This
Philosophical question can be best
described from the excerpt from Plato’s
apology of Socrates:
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“But let us examine each one of the

parts of this charge. Now he asserts that
I do injustice by corrupting the young.
But I, men of Athens, assert that
Meletus does injustice in that he jest in
a serious and concerned about things
for which he never cared at all. That,
this is so, I will try to display, to you as
well. Now come here, Meletus, do tell:
do you not regard it as most important
how the youth will be best possible?”
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Dialectics -term used to describe a

method of philosophical argument that
involves some sort of contradictory
process between opposing sides.
(Example: extension of MECQ or
imposing GCQ; life imprisonment or
death penalty)
As a dialectical method, it is a discourse
between two or more people holding
different points of view about a subject
but wishing to establish the truth
Karl Marx known for his
through reasoned arguments. Dialectical Method
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▫ 2. Logical Reasoning. In philosophy reasoning is the

process of thinking about something in a logical way
in
order to form a conclusion or judgement.
Reasoning is the method we use in doing philosophy
All branches of philosophy employ reasoning
in
explaining their arguments.
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▫ One type of logical reasoning is the deductive reasoning:

Example:
Premise 1: All human beings are mortal
Premise 2: But the President of the
Philippines is a
human being
Conclusion: Therefore, the President of the
Philippines is mortal.
DEDUCTIVE- General/
Particular argument- Universal argument to
Conclusion
Specific/
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In order to reflect philosophically, we need to use a framework.
• According to Wilber, everything can be analyzed using a
vertical line. Philosophically, we will need to use framework.
• The framework is called AQAL(all quadrants, all levels)
formulated by an American Philosopher, Ken Wilber.
• In AQAL framework, you will not only think about one
viewpoint, but rather see the situation as a holistic
worldviews.
 The line above divides space into two sides: the left and right. Left
side represents the interior, subjective, aspect of everything.

INTERIOR
Interior and subjective aspect of
everything. It includes one’s
values, dreams, ideas, emotions,
beliefs. Basically the ‘one’s inner
life’. It cannot be seen or
measured but can be experience
directly or first hand.
EXTERIOR
The exterior side, includes the things
we can see, measure and touch.
This include the physical objects
around us including our own body.
In other words, the exterior side
refers to the Physical, something
that we can see and observe
through our senses.
Simple example of the inside and outside distinction is
when a person smiles at you. The big smile is the
exterior aspect, however there is a subjective meaning
behind the smile: maybe the person smiling is happy to
see you.
INTERIOR EXTERIOR

The person smiling is The person displays a big

happy/ in bliss. smile.
Another distinction is the horizontal line that divides the space into above
and below:
Above the line, represents what is singular, individual or one. The space
below represents the plural, collective, many. For example if you are an
individual, but you belong in a family, community, or class (all instances of
the collective).

Singular, Individual, or one( anything that

describes as one).
Plural, collective or numerous.(Anything that refers
to individuals that forms a group).
ME,MYSELF AND I
US AND WE
The interesting part is when we combine the two
lines. The framework will then look like this.

C I
ON
• INSIDE • OUTSIDE
L D • INTERIOR • EXTERIOR
L I • SINGULAR • SINGULAR
EV
CI • INSIDE • OUTSIDE
TD • INTERIOR • EXTERIOR
I U
VA
• PLURAL • PLURAL
EL

The inside and outside of the individual and collective.

The inside and outside of the individual
and collective.
• INSIDE • OUTSIDE
• INTERIOR • EXTERIOR
• SINGULAR • SINGULAR

• INSIDE • OUTSIDE
• INTERIOR • EXTERIOR
• PLURAL • PLURAL
There are many ways to describe the quadrants. We can use simple
location for each quadrant. The interior of the individual is the upper
left quadrant(UL), the exterior of the individual is the upper right
quadrant (UR), the interior of the collective is the lower left
quadrant( LL) and the exterior of the collective is the lower right
quadrant(LR).

UL UR
LL LR
QUADRANTS IN SIMPLE LOCATION
Now lets change it into pronouns to easily remember and understand
the simple location of Quadrants.

I It
We Its

QUADRANTS EXPRESSED IN LANGUAGE

Now that we change it into pronouns, let us apply it to human beings.
The inside of the individual becomes the mind, the outside of the
individual becomes the body, the inside of the collective becomes
culture and the outside of the collective becomes society.

MIND BODY
CULTURE SOCIETY

QUARDRANTS AS APPLIED TO HUMAN BEINGS

When we reflect on the nature of any issue
like poverty, corruption, prostitution, global
warming, we can just put the issue at the
center of the quadrant and analyzed its
mental, physical, cultural, and social
components.
 MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVE

SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE

TOPIC

INTERSUBJECTIVE INTEROBJECTIVE
TOPIC- Issues that will be discourse or argued
SUBJECTIVE- relating to the way a person experiences things in his
or her own mind( opinion based on experience).
INTERSUBJECTIVE- existing between conscious minds; shared by
more than one conscious mind( being aware of something in an awake
state).
OBJECTIVE- existing outside of the mind: existing in the real world
(can be physically felt).
INTEROBJECTIVE- the common world of experience and meaning
which is shared by groups of people and object( in general or as a
whole)
• Poverty has a psychological aspect, it affects the way we think and
what we feel.(UL QUADRANT)

Poverty also affect our bodies,, it affects our nutrition, medication,

and immune system.(UR QUADRANT)

Poverty affects culture, such as art, religion and even the way we
dress. (LR QUADRANT).

Poverty has an economic, political and even technological

components.(LR QUADRANT)
POVERTY IN AQAL FRAMEWORK

SELF- PITY MALNUTRITION

POVERTY

COLLECTIVE
ASPIRATION FOR
A BETTER LIFE INFLATION