Unit 1

Humanity and Wonder

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

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LEARNING TARGETS

At the end of this unit, the learners should be

able to do the following:

● Explain the beginnings of philosophy.

● Practice engaging in philosophical thought.
● Determine how to gain a more holistic perspective through argumentation.
● Recognize the value of philosophy in thinking about the nature of reality.

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VALUES AND ATTITUDES

In this unit, the learners should be able to do the

following:

● recognizing the difference between right and wrong

● exercising intellectual curiosity
● practicing thought awareness
● improving communication skills

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Lesson 3
Our Minds at Work

Unit 3| The Value of Human Knowledge

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person

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DIG DEEPER

How can we recognize

truth from belief?

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Would you be able to get out of your own
cave?

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Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

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Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" is a concept devised by the
philosopher to ruminate on the nature of belief versus
knowledge. The allegory begins with prisoners who have
lived their entire lives chained inside a cave. Behind the
prisoners is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners are
people carrying puppets or other objects. These cast
shadows on the opposite wall. The prisoners watch these
shadows, believing this to be their reality as they've known
nothing else.

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Plato posits that one prisoner could become free. He finally
sees the fire and realizes the shadows are fake. This
prisoner could escape from the cave and discover there is a
whole new world outside they were previously unaware of.

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This prisoner would believe the outside world is so much
more real than that in the cave. He would try to return to free
the other prisoners. Upon his return, he is blinded because
his eyes are not accustomed to actual sunlight. The chained
prisoners would see this blindness and believe they will be
harmed if they try to leave the cave.

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Philosophy and Reality
1. Why is it important to understand how philosophy relates to reality?
2. How can we distinguish between truth and belief?
3. How does the Allegory of the Cave help us understand reality and knowledge?

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Stoplight

STOP CONTINUE START

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PHOTO CREDITS
Slide 5: Magnifying glass tool vector icon by Openclipart is licensed under CC0 via Public domain vectors.

Slide 6: Stone cave by Public Domain Vectors is licensed under CC0 via Public domain vectors.

Slide 7: File:An Illustration of The Allegory of the Cave, from Plato’s Republic.jpg by 4edges is licensed under CC BY-SA
via Wikimedia Commons.

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REFERENCES
Audi, Robert. “Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates.” American Philosophical Association, 2017.
https://www.apaonline.org/page/undergraduates.

Smith, Nathan. “Introduction to Philosophy.” OpenStax, 2022.

https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/Introduction_to_Philosophy-WEB
_cszrKYp.pdf
.

Solomon, Robert C. and Kathleen M. Higgins. The Big Questions. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, 2006.

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