METHODS OF

PHILOSOPHIZING
 OBJECTIVES:

• DEFINE THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY IN DETERMINING

TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE;
• DISTINGUISH OPINION FROM TRUTH
• ANALYZE SITUATIONS THAT SHOW THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN OPINION AND TRUTH
• EVALUATE OPINIONS
SEVERAL SOURCES OF INFORMATIONS

•NEWS PAPERS
•MEDIA
•INTERACTIONS WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ,ETC.

HOW DO WE KNOW IF
THEY ARE TELLING THE
TRUTH?
Philosophers often grapple with the concept of truth. Truth lies at the heart of any inquiry.
Knowledge must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance. However, the concept of truth
remain a highly debated and much-discussed topic among philosophers. Philosophers
consider truth as a kind of quality or value.

For example, when we answer a “True or False” test, we judge if the

statements we read are true or false. This means that statements may have
truth or may not have truth .

Prepositions are statements about the world or reality . It may or may not carry
truth. It’s usually stated as short statements or sentences.
 WHAT IS TRUTH AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

KNOWLEDGE IS THE CLEAR AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF SOMETHING.

IT IS THE PRODUCT OF QUESTIONS THAT ALLOW FOR CLEAR ANSWERS
PROVIDED BY FACT. OUR KNOWLEDGE IS COMPRISED OF IDEAS AND BELIEFS
THAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE.

TRUTH is the property of being in accord with fact or reality. In

everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to
I know that….
represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs,
I know why….
propositions, and declarative sentences. Truth is usually held to be the
I know how…..
opposite of falsehood.
 FACTS – may be understood as information which makes a true sentence true. A fact is
traditionally, the worldly correlate of a true proposition , a state of affairs whose
obtaining make that proposition true.

Example : I know that fish live in water.

CLAIM- is an assertion , that the believe

Truthful statements can be
system hold to be true. However from the
considered as based on
existence of an assertion that belief systems
fact.
holds to be true , it doesn’t mean that the
This means that any claim
assertion is true.
can be proven by
verification and
Example : I know that my school is the best
experimentation.
school in the city.
 HOW DO WE KNOW IF SOMETHING IS TRUE?

Philosophers emphasize the importance of belief as a basis for

determining truth. Ancient Greek philosophers approached the
problem of truth by looking at the nature of knowledge and how we
know what we know. We assume that everything we know about this
world is true. But philosophers who pondered upon the origins of
knowledge doubted everything that there is to know about
themselves and the world.

In doing so, they were able to better understand the means by

which human gain knowledge and determine the truth about
everything. It is being said that there are instances when we have to
unlearn something so that we may learn new. Philosophers
questioned what they knew and even analyzed their methods of
knowing in order to understand themselves and the world much
better.
Example:
I am alive.
I have a body.
I can breathe.

Doubt has very important purpose in

philosophy, systematic as it drives our desire
to discover truth. In philosophy, systematic
doubt is employed to determine truth. This
means that every statement, claim, evidence,
and is scrutinized and analyze.
Nothing is taken as true unless there is
sufficient reason and evidence to prove that is
indeed true.
Am I alive?
Do I have a body? PERSPECTIVE / BASIS ON TRUTH
Can I breathe?

•A belief is true if it can be justified or proven through the use

The obvious answer would
be examined yourself to
determine if indeed you’re
alive, that you have a body
and you can breath.
of one’s senses.
•A belief or statement is true if it is based on facts.
•Getting a concensus or having people agree on a common
belief.

Then you can now say .

I am alive !
I have a body !
I can breathe !
HOW CAN PHILOSOPHY GUIDE US IN
DISTINGUISHING TRUTH FROM OPINION?

• OPINION- AN OPINION IS A JUDGEMENT , VIEWPOINT OR STATEMENT THAT IS NOT

CONCLUSIVE RATHER THAN FACTS , WHICH ARE THE STATEMENT

DETERMINE WHICH OF THESE STATEMENTS STATE FACTS OR OPINION

1. IT TAKES ME 30 MINUTES TO WALK FROM MY HOME TO SCHOOL.
2. 2. LIVING NEAR THE SCHOOL IS BETTER BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE TO SPEND MUCH FOR
TRANSPORTATION.
3. 3. MY SISTER IT THE LAST PART OF PIZZA PIE.
4. 4. MY SISTER IS A SELFISH PERSON BECAUSE SHE ATE THE LAST PIECE OF PIZZA PIE AND DID
NOT SHARE IT WITH ME.
5. 5. THE POLICEMAN FIRMLY PUSH THE SUSPECT TO HIS KNEES AND PLACED HIM IN
HANDCUFFS.
6. 6.THE AGGRESSIVE MANNERS BY WHICH THE POLICEMAN ARRESTED THE SUSPECT IS AN
EXAMPLE OF THE BRUTALITY THAT CHARACTERIZES OUR POLICE FORCE.
OPINION- ARE ALSO THE BASES FOR MAKING ARGUMENTS AND CONVINCING
PEOPLE THAT A CERTAIN CLAIM IS A FACTS.
CONCLUSION- IS A JUDGEMENT BASED ON CERTAIN FACT, THE FACT THAT
FORM THE BASES OF A CONCLUSION MAY NOT BE DISPUTED BUT THE
CONCLUSION ITSELF COULD STILL BE CONTESTED OR QUESTIONED.
BELILIEF- ARE STATEMENT THAT EXPRESS CONVICTION THAT ARE NOT EASILY
AND CLEARLY EXPLAINED BY FACTS.
EXPLANATION- ARE STATEMENT THAT ASSUME THE CLAIM TO BE TRUE AND
PROVIDE REASON WHY THE STATEMENT IS TRUE.
ARGUMENTS- ARE SERIES OF STATEMENT THAT PROVIDE REASONS TO
CONVINCE THE READER OR LISTENER THAT A CLAIM OR OPINIONS IS
TRUTHFUL , IT IS MADE WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE TRUTH OF THE
CLAIM OR OPINION IS STILL THE BE DETERMINED.
• LOGIC IS A BRANCH PHILOSOPHY THAT FOCUS ON THE ANALYSIS OF
ARGUMENTS.
WHAT SHOULD WE CONSIDER WHEN LOOKING
AT ARGUMENTS OR OPINION?

Arguments often take the form of statements that are either claims or facts
and are phrased in such a way that they seem reasonable. However a
number of arguments may be based on faulty reasoning. This kinds of
arguments are called fallacies. Some of this fallacies may be intentional as
the person making the claim is disparate to convince you to accept his or
her argument.
 Fallacy Characteristics Examples

Ad hominem Attacking the person presenting the “Of course, he believes that the
argument instead of the argument government is flawed, he is a rebel
itself. and a Communist!”

Appeal to force Using the threat of force or an If this peace agreement will not be
undesirable event to advance an signed by the government then we
argument. will have no recourse but to go to
war.

Appeal to emotion Using emotions such as pity or “All this charges are baseless; this
sympathy. is just plain harassment, can’t you
see how this is affecting my family?

Appeal to the popular The idea is presented as acceptable "Every boy your age already has a
because a lot of people accept it. girlfriend you should go find one!”
 Fallacy Characteristics
Appeal to tradition The idea is acceptable because it has
been true for a long time
Begging the question Assuming the thing or idea to be
proven is through also known as
circular argument
Cause and effect Assuming a cause-and-effect
relationship between unrelated
events
Fallacy of composition Assuming that what is true or a part
is true for the whole
Fallacy of division Assuming that what is true for the
whole is true for its parts
Example
“Marriage should be between a man
and a woman which should remain
so today and in the future.
“I have a right to free speech,
therefore you cannot stop me from
talking.
“Ever since you bought that sweater
everything has been going wrong in
your life so you should get rid of it.”
“This cases of robbery in this district
have convinced me that the city has
become a den of thieves and
criminals.”
“You come from a family of doctors
and intellectuals! Surely you can do
better in this course!”
 Types of Bias
Bias Characteristics
Correspondence bias or attribution Tendency to judge a person’s
effect personality by his or her actions
without regard for external factors
or influences
Confirmation bias Tendency to look for and readily
accept information which fits one’s
own belief reviews and reject ideas
or views that go against it
Framing Focusing on a certain aspect of a
problem while ignoring other
aspect
Example
“this soldiers fought in the war are
all bloodthirsty murderers!”
“How can I accept this view that
there is no god! I am a Christian!”
“preliminary evidence has still not
pointed out the actual cause of the
plane crash, but investigators
currently focusing on the
possibility of pilot error.”
 Bias Characteristics Example

Hindsight The tendency to see past events as
predictable or to ascribe a pattern to
historical events
Conflict of interest A person or group is connected to or
has a vested interest in the issue being
discussed
Cultural Bias Analyzing an event or issue based on
one’s cultural standards
“Magellan’s assault on Mactan Island
was a full hardy venture made by an
overconfident, careless man who
underestimated the valor of the native
Filipinos.”
“As the daughter of the accused I
believe I have the right to express my
opinion on the issue of his alleged
corrupt practices.”
“agree with this Western practice of
placing age parent in retirement
homes. We filipinos take care of our
family members.
HOW CAN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUTH AND OPINION
LEADS US TO WISDOM?
• TRUTH- IS THE STATE OF BEING IN AGREEMENT WITH REALITY , IT
EXISTS WELL
• OPINION IS A PERSON; VIEWS OR JUDGEMENT OF SOMETHING.
• AN UNDERSTANDING OF OPINIONS AND FACTS IN THE MEANS TO
DISTINGUISH ONE FROM THE OTHER CAN FURTHER IMPROVE OUR
UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF VARIED VIEWS AND IDEA. THE
ABILITY TO DETERMINE TRUTH GOES HAND IN HAND WITH THE
HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE ENABLE US TO MAKE WISER DECISIONS ,
ESPECIALLY IN CHOOSING THE IDEAS AND VIEW WHICH WE HAD
ACCEPTABLE.
Review !!!
• Philosophy is concerned with determining truth since it lies at the heart of any
inquiry.
• The discussion on truth is part of philosophical studies or knowledge where
philosophers explore the nature of knowledge and the ways of knowing.
• Facts are statements that are observed to be real or truthful. Claims are statements
that require further examination to determine their truthfulness.
• There are various philosophical views regarding truth. Philosophers consider
something as truthful if it corresponds with observable fact or reality. Is also true if it
can be justified through experience and the use of one’s senses. Another view believes
that truth is a product of agreement or consensus. Another perspective considers a
claim as truthful if it can be tested and verified.
• Opinions are comprised of statements which not only give facts but also provides
conclusions or perspectives regarding certain situations. Opinions may advance a
belief about certain things or provide explanations.
• Arguments are a series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader or
listener that a claim or opinion is truthful.
• Some arguments may contain fallacies. This means that
they are products of faulty reasoning. Must be aware of
the various kinds of fallacies as these affect the validity of
arguments.
• Opinion are often influenced by bias. This means that a
person having the opinion may have used and tendencies
that affect the way he or she sees reality. We must be
aware of bias so that we can objectively and critically
examine points of views.
• Philosophy can help us examine various views on
relevant issues in our lives. An objective evaluation of
opinions and an awareness of our own personal biases
can help us make wise choices regarding the most
acceptable views to adopt and the right actions to
undertake.