INTRODUCTION TO

PHILOSOPHY OF
HUMAN PERSON

WEEK 1 TOPIC:
PHILOSOPHY
The term philosophy was introduced by
Pythagoras.

Philos and Sophia

Philos, Sophia

Philos, Sophos
Formal definition:

Philosophy is a science of being in their ultimate

causes, reason and principles as known by the aid of
human reason alone
FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDES OF A
PHILOSOPHER
1. Wonder/ Curiosity
2. Critical Thinking
Why do we engage to a philosophical inquiry?

1. An unexamined life is not worth living

2. Life is measured not by quantity but by quality
3. Philosophy satisfies our higher need
 HOW DO WE ENGAGE IN A
PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY?
1. Look for the issues
2. Look for the main idea
3. Look for the secondary source
4. Relish
5. Do not be disturbed by the dating
6. Identify the themes/Assumptions
7. Understand the language of the philosopher
8. Do not pre-judge
9. Read and re-read
10. Fun
11. Do not be discouraged by disagreements
12. The strength of philosophy are the questions
 DISCIPLINES OF PHILOSOPHY
1. Philosophy is a discipline of questioning

 An unexamined life is not worth living

 Life depends on quality and not on quantity
 Self-actualization
2. Philosophy is a discipline of liberation

Philosophy liberates us from:

 Simplistic explanation
 Unquestioning acceptance
 False dogmatism
3. Philosophy is a discipline of acting and behaving

Dangers of philosophy if it is purely thinking and

reasoning:

 Myopic
 Sterile
 Elitist discipline
Philosophy = thinking and reasoning + doing, acting
or behaving

“ A true philosopher is he who acts before he

speaks and speaks according to his acts.”
- Confucius
 Philosophy originated from ancient Greece and the
first philosophers were pioneers in the study of
various disciplines such as history, biology, medicine,
mathematics, astronomy, and physics.
From MYTHOS TO LOGOS
ANCIENT WESTERN PHILOSOPHERS
1. Thales
2. Anaximenes
3. Anaximander
4. Pythagoras
5. Heraclitus
6. Democritus
7. Diogenes of Sinope
8. Epicurus
9. Socrates
10. Plato
11. Aristotle
12. Archimedes
HISTORICAL PERIOD SCHOOL OF THOUGHT MAIN FEATURES/ NOTABLE
BELIEFS PHILOSOPHERS

Ancient Rome Stoicism Emphasis on  Seneca

morality, virtue,  Epictetus
(1st-5th century CE) calmness, and  Marcus Aurelius
emotional
fortitude.
Medieval Period Scholasticism Application of  St. Thomas
(5th-15th century philosophy to Aquinas
CE) define and explain  St. Augustine
religious doctrine

Renaissance Humanism Emphasis on the  Petrarch

14th-17th century human person; use  Desiderius
of philosophy to Erasmus
understand  Nicolo
society, nature and Machiavelli
 HISTORICAL PERIOD SCHOOL OF THOUGHT MAIN FEATURES/ NOTABLE
BELIEFS PHILOSOPHERS

The Enlightenment Rationalism Reason and logic are  Rene Descartes

considered as the bases of  Immanuel Kant
knowledge and belief; man  Gottfried Leibniz
has innate knowledge that
can be accessed through
intuition and deduction

Empiricism Knowledge is gained  David Hume

through the senses and  Francis Bacon
experience ; reliance on  John Locke
inductive reasoning to
arrive at generalizations.

Social and Political Discussion on the ideal  Voltaire

Philosophy human situation and
society; emphasis on
individual rights and
liberties
Modern Period Existentialism Human experience is defined
by the views, emotions, and
(19th to 20th century) actions of the individual
 Jean Jacques Rousseau
 Thomas Hobbes
 John Stuart Mill
 Soren Kierkegaard
 Friedrich Nierzsche
 Martin Heidegger
 HISTORICAL PERIOD SCHOOL OF THOUGHT MAIN FEATURES/ NOTABLE
BELIEFS PHILOSOPHERS

Modern Period Pragmatism Emphasis on the practical  Charles Peirce

(19th to 20th century) use of knowledge and  William James
ideas  John Dewey
Phenomenology  Edmund Husserl
Experience is studied
based on the subjective
viewpoint of the individual
Absurdism  Albert Camus
Man will never understand
the human condition and
the meaning of life
Postmodernism, Post-  Jacques Derrida
structuralism Analysis on how  Michael Focault
knowledge, ideas, and
power relations are
defined