INTRODUCTION TO THE

PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON
LESSON 1: THE MEANING,
CHARACTERISTICS, AND
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
 Philosophy can also be treated as
an examination of a particular
area of knowledge. This means
that the principles of philosophy
can be used as an examination of
other disciplines or areas of
knowledge. In the long run, other
areas of specialization may
benefit from the very nature of
philosophy, (Abella 2016).
LASTLY, PHILOSOPHY IN ITSELF IS
A DISTINCT AREA OF KNOWLEDGE.
IT HAS ITS OWN GOALS,
CONCERNS, AND WAYS OF DOING
THINGS, (ABELLA 2016).
DEFINITELY, PHILOSOPHY IS A
DISCIPLINE IN ITSELF.
Philosophy is reflective and reflections arise from our experiences.
-Man is rich with experiences both good and evil. These experiences are
the starting point of wonder and awe. Reason leads to reflection and
that’s what makes us human. We are capable of becoming aware of our
consciousness and daily activities.
-Man, by essence is reflective. However, people nowadays have less
time to think and reflect on their experiences. Man is simply now
becoming a contradiction of his own. (Garcia 2016)
AYN RAND: - “Philosophy studies the fundamental
nature of existence, of man, and of man’s
relationship to existence. As against the special
science, which deals only with particular aspects,
philosophy deals with those aspects of the universe
which pertain to everything that exists. In the realm of
cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but
philosophy is the soil which makes the forest
possible.”
Lesson 2: The Distinction
Between Holistic
Perspective and Partial
Point of View
AT THE END OF THIS LESSON, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO:
1. DISTINGUISH HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE FROM PARTIAL POINT OF
VIEW;
2. IDENTIFY THE WAYS OF LOOKING AT THINGS; AND
3. APPRECIATE THE WAYS OF SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY IN
LOOKING AT THINGS.
“The Story of
the Five Blind
Men and an
Elephant”
“The Story of the Five Blind Men and an
Elephant”
One day five blind men agreed to analyze an elephant to find out what
it was. Reaching out, each touched it in a different spot.

One man touched the side, one, an ear, one a leg, one a tusk, and one
the trunk.
We now know that the elephant is like a wall, said the one who
touched the side.
I believed you are mistaken, sir, said the one who
touched an ear. The elephant is more like a large
fan.

You are both wrong, said the leg man. The elephant
is obviously being like a tree.
A tree? Questioned the tusk toucher. How can you
mistake a spear for a tree?
What? Said the trunk feeler.
A spear is long and round, but anyone knows it
doesn’t move. Couldn’t you feel the muscles? It is
definitely a type of snake. A blind man could see
that said the fifth blind man.
The argument grew more heated for they had a
misunderstanding regarding the truth of an
elephant.
Holistic thinking refers to a perspective that considers a
large-scale pattern in a system. This is often described as
looking at the “big picture” when describing and analyzing
a situation or a problem.

A holistic perspective requires an individual to have an

open mindset and the ability to get the general sense or
impression regarding a situation.
Partial thinking, on the other hand, focuses on the
specific aspects of a situation.
The partial view is an important component in analytical
thinking, as an individual focus on certain areas or aspects
of a problem in order to understand it.
Though partial thinking is useful, Philosophy utilizes
holistic thinking in making sense of problems and issues
related to the human experience. (Abella 2016)
SCIENCE IS
INVESTIGATIVE. THIS
MEANS IT MUST
INVESTIGATE TO
DESCRIBE FACTS AND
EVENTS. SPECIFICALLY, IT
GIVES US KNOWLEDGE OF
PARTICULAR FACTS. THE
METHOD OF SCIENCE IN
PROVIDING DATA IS
BASICALLY OBSERVATION
COUPLED WITH
EXPERIMENTATION. THE
PRODUCT OF SCIENCE IS
SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
Marcelian way of
Philosophical
Reflection
Primary reflection
examines its object by
abstraction, by
analytically breaking it
down into its constituent
parts. It is concerned
with definitions,
essences, and technical
solutions to problems
In contrast, secondary
reflection is synthetic; it
unifies rather than divides.
“Roughly, we can say that
where primary reflection
tends to dissolve the unity
of experience which is first
put before it, the function
of secondary reflection is
essentially recuperative; it
reconquers that unity”
‘The Allegory of the
Cave’ by Plato
The ‘Allegory of The Cave’ is a theory put
forward by Plato, concerning human perception.
Plato claimed that knowledge gained through the
senses is no more than opinion and that, in order
to have real knowledge, we must gain it through
philosophical reasoning.
‘The Allegory of the Cave’ by
Plato
In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato
distinguishes between people who mistake
sensory knowledge for the truth and people
who really do see the truth. It goes like this:
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
THE MEANING
 THE MEANING

• He begins to understand his new world and sees that the Sun is the source of life and
goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers beauty and meaning.
• He sees that his former life and the guessing game they played are useless.
THE MEANING