INTRODUCTION to the

PHILOSOPHY of the
HUMAN PERSON
Quarter 1 – Module 1
The Meaning and Method of Doing
Philosophy

Prepared By: EDMUND M. LAHUYLAHUY

Lesson 1: THE MEANING AND
METHOD OF DOING
PHILOSOPHY
• 1. The Difference Between Holistic Perspective
from a Partial point of View
• 2. The Value of Doing Philosophy in Obtaining a
Broad Perspective on Life
• 3. Doing a Philosophical Reflection on a
Situation from Holistic Perspective
LET’S PONDER: Read & analyze the following
conversation:
• Teacher: Juan, what would you like to be when
you grow up?
• Juan: Ma’am, I want to be happy!
• Teacher: Juan, you did not understand my
question.
• Juan: Ma’am, you do not understand what life is
all about!
TOPICS COVERED:
• Lesson 1: What is Philosophy
• Lesson 2: Methods of Philosophizing
• Lesson 3: The Human Person as an
Embodied Spirit
• Lesson 4: The Human Person in the
Environment
TOPICS COVERED:
• Lesson 5: Freedom of the Human Person
• Lesson 6: Intersubjectivity
• Lesson 7: The Human Person in Society
• Lesson 8: Human Persons as Oriented
Towards Their Impending Death
OPEN-ENDED DISCUSSION:
•What questions about
your life are you
struggling to find
answers to?
GUESS WHO??
The Most Notable
Ancient Greek
Philosophers
PHILOSOPHY
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
• Comes from the two Greek words:
philos (love) and sophia (wisdom). The
ancient Greeks used this term to refer
to “love of wisdom”.
• They soon applied it to the study or
discipline that uses human reason to
investigate the ultimate causes, reasons,
and principles which govern all things.
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
• It is the study of general and fundamental
questions about existence, knowledge, values,
reason, mind and language.
• It is also the study of humans and the world by
thinking and asking questions.
• It tries to answer important questions by coming
up with answers about real things and asking
“why?”
PYTHAGORAS
(570 BCE TO 495 BCE)

A mathematician
and scientist, he was
credited with
formulating the
Pythagorean
theorem.
HERACLITUS
(535 BCE TO 475 BCE)

He proposed that
everything that
exists is based on a
higher order or plan
which he called
logos.
DEMOCRITUS
(460 BCE TO 370 BCE)

He devoted
himself to the
study of the
causes of natural
phenomena.
 DIOGENES of
SINOPE
(412 BCE TO 323 BCE)

He was a known
advocate of living
a simple and
virtuous life.
EPICURUS
(341 BCE TO 270 BCE)

He believed that
philosophy could
enable man to
live a life of
happiness.
SOCRATES
(470 BCE TO 399 BCE)

He was credited
with formulating
the Socratic Method
– means of
examining a topic
by devising a series
of questions
 PLATO
(427 BCE TO 347 BCE)

His most significant

ideas included his
Theory of Forms
and his dialectic
ARISTOTLE
(384 BCE TO 322 BCE)

The prominent student

of Plato. For him, all
ideas and views are
based on perception
and our reality is
based on what we can
sense and perceive.
TWO (2) DIFFERENT
TYPES OF THINKING
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
THINKING
1. HOLISTIC THINKING
- refers to a perspective that considers
large-scale patterns in systems. A holistic
perspective requires an individual to have
an open mindset and ability to get the
general sense or impression regarding a
situation.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
THINKING
2. PARTIAL THINKING
- Focuses on specific aspects of a situation.
The partial view is an important
component of analytical thinking, as an
individual focuses on certain areas or
aspects of a problem in order to
understand it.
LET ME APPLY ON IT:

Discuss with your group and your teacher a

problem or issue important in the school.
Write down your view and use them as bases
to come up with a solution based on a holistic
perspective.
Use a graph as a guide in conducting the
discussion.
ASSESSMENT:
Answer the following:
1. & 2. – The 2 Greek origin words of
“Philosophy”
3. He believed that philosophy could enable
man to live a life of happiness.
4. The prominent student of Plato.
5. It tries to answer important questions by
coming up with answers about real things
and asking “why?”
AGREEMENT:

Make a reflection journal with

this question: What
philosophical questions do you
wish to be answered as you study
this course? List down five.
INTRODUCTION to the
PHILOSOPHY of the
HUMAN PERSON
Quarter 1 – Module 1
The Meaning and Method of Doing
Philosophy

Prepared By: EDMUND M. LAHUYLAHUY

THINK:
Let the students reflect the following situations through
simple and serious questions:

1. You go into a restaurant and the waiter hands you a

menu. You are deciding which dish to order.

2. You open your wallet

and saw that you still have a hundred pesos left from your
weekly allowance.
GUESS WHAT:
 WHY DO WE
PHILOSOPHIZE?
 PLATO
• He traced man’s need to
philosophize to his sense
of wonder. Whenever
we are confronted with
an experience, we
always wonder how it
came about.
RENE DESCARTES
• A French philosopher who
traced the need to
philosophize to doubt. In
life, we will be faced with
several ideas and
arguments which present
themselves as “truths”.
 KARL JASPERS
• A Swiss-German
philosopher who saw the
need to philosophize
because of experience.
These experiences limit
situation.
BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
BRANCH OF PHILOSOPHY CONCERN QUESTION

Study of action &

ETHICS What ought I do?
dilemmas
Study of reality &
METAPHYSICS What is being?
existence

EPISTEMOLOGY Study of knowledge What can I know?

AESTHETICS Study of art What is beautiful?

What is correct
LOGIC Study of correct reasoning
inference?

Study of power, What makes a just

POLITICS
government, & justice society?
• Is an area in PHILOSOPHY
philosophy that of the HUMAN
understand the PERSON
human person
from a
philosophical
perspective
 DOING A
PHILOSOPHICAL
REFLECTION
• It requires a person to be
willing to examine one’s
thoughts, feelings, and action
and to learn more about one’s REFLECTION
life and experiences.
• Human self-reflection is the
capacity of humans to exercise
introspection and to attempt to
learn more about their
fundamental nature and
essence.
• Philosophy has an
important place in our PHILOSOPHICAL
daily lives.
REFLECTION
• Engaging in philosophical
reflection leads to the
development of beneficial
skills that individuals can
apply in everyday
situations.
Examples of Activities that Emanated
from a Deliberate Reflection
• Learning from your previous mistakes and not
repeating them again
• Evaluating and knowing the best choice from a
set of options
• Gaining a holistic point of view first before
making any conclusion
WRITTEN WORKS
& TASK
PERFORMANCE
Questions and activities
are provided in your
module – Introduction to
the Philosophy Quarter
1- Module 1