Methods of Doing Philosophy

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON | COR13

 Learning Objectives:

 Identify methods of doing philosophy.

 Identify real-life situations where methods of
philosophizing can be practically applied.
 Apply methods of doing philosophy in real-life
situations.
ANALYSIS

o What is truth?
o How do we know if something is
true?
INTRODUCTION

Philosophers often grapple with the concept of

truth. They consider truth as a kind of quality or value.
Philosophy being the way of knowledge and truth is
concerned with determining the truth since it lies at the
heart of any inquiry. Philosophizing is to think or
express oneself in a philosophical manner. It considers
or discusses a matter from a philosophical standpoint.
cont..

As humans, we all have the potential to

philosophize since we have the tendency to wonder and
doubt. We have the capacity to reflect on our experiences
and we have a never-ending need to learn and discover.
The need to philosophize is traced to a person’s sense of
wonder (Plato) and doubt (Descartes). A method of
philosophizing is a process of determining the truth or
drawing conclusions using various philosophical methods
such as Socratic, Dialectic, Scientific, and Historical.
Doubt has a very important purpose in Philosophy as it drives our desire to discover the truth.
Complete the chart below by writing down your doubts/questions about the world.
 METHODS OF PHILOSOPHIZING

I. Socratic Method
The Socratic Method originates with Socrates,
Athenian philosopher who lived around 470 B.C. He
was well known for engaging others in conversations
whose goal was to define broad ideas such as virtue,
beauty, justice, courage, and friendship by discussing
their ambiguities and complexities.
 Cont…
I. Socratic Method
Socratic Method is a philosophical method of “inquiry” where both
parties involved push the dialogue forward through questioning. Its objective is to
arrive at the truth by reasoning correctly to questions and arguments being
presented. Socrates intended to create each person being a master of his
own mind and being state. It can be learned from him that only the knower
and true understanding along with self-developed reasoning can survive the
attacks of persuasion, eloquence and any other authority. This may
influence the development of critical thinking as Socrates’ students,
through appropriate and repeated questioning, developed self-regulating
knowledge and the ability to regulate their own thoughts (Douglas, 2014).
Essentially, Socratic Method leads a person step by step in gaining knowledge
through series of questions. The emphasis is on asking well-formed questions
and continuing the investigation, not on automatically finding absolute answers.
 Stages of Socratic Method
1. Wonder (posing questions such as: what is courage, what is virtue,
etc.);
2. Hypothesis (an answer to the wonder, one gives his opinion or claim
about the question which becomes a hypothesis of the dialogue);
3. Elenchus, refutation and cross-examination (the core of Socratic
practice; the hypothesis is called into question and the
counterexample is given to prove or disapprove the hypothesis;
4. Acceptance/Rejection of the Hypothesis (participants accept or reject
the counterexample);
5. Action (acting on the findings of the inquiry)
II. Dialectic Method
Dialectic comes from the French word “dialecte” which means
the art of investigating the truth of opinions. This method is named
after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates and was expounded by
Plato; this is based on the philosophical view that every thing (every
object and every process) is made of opposing forces/opposing sides.
Basically, Dialectic method is a form of reasoning based upon
dialogue of arguments that involve some sort of contradictory process
between opposing sides. The back-and-forth debate between
opposing sides produces a kind of linear progression or evolution in
philosophical views or positions: as the dialogues go along,
interlocutors change or refine their views in response to challenges
and come to adopt more sophisticated views.
Cont…
Basically, this method is based on discourse between two or
more people holding different points of view about a subject but
wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments. Arguments
are series of statements that provide reasons to convince the reader
or listener that a claim or opinion is truthful.
“I only know that I know nothing.” This simple phrase uttered by
Socrates encapsulates the core of his wisdom, and forms the roots
from which the dialectic method has grown. Dialectic method is not
only a means of determining arguments, but also critiquing and finding
strong evidence efficiently infused with research and logic to best
inform and defend ones arguments.
The Dialectical Stages of Development
1. Thesis. This stage refers to the intitial take, stance, or argument in
approaching a dialogue. According to Hegel’s dialectic, any thesis will
inevitably be one-sided, inconsistent, and imbalanced in some way which
in effect, will always promote a push against it tension, resistance, or
backlash of sorts.
2. Anti-thesis. This stage works as the opposition to the thesis. Anti-thesis
seeks to negate the initial thesis in some way through counter-arguments.
In other words, these are statements that disagree with a thesis.
3. Synthesis. The last stage is when the thesis and anti-thesis resolve or
abolish or transcend or preserve (depending on the nature of the
argument) at a “higher level.” The two oppositions (thesis and anti-thesis)
are combined, transformed, and transcended. The idea then is that the
new synthesis is made more sophisticated, unified, and refined.
III. Scientific Method
In a philosophical view, Scientific method (also called an
empirical method) is a process of determining the truth or knowledge
through experimentation, inductive and deductive reasoning, and
hypothesis or theory testing. The history of Scientific method can be
traced from Aristotle during the classical period giving the earliest
structured theory on the scientific approach. The process begins with
an idea about any given topic. Hypothesis testing is done to prove the
validity of this idea. In this method, the means of hypothesis testing and
its results are considered the most important feature of the method.
Furthermore, this method values observation as an important aspect
because it contributes to further understanding the results of the
hypothesis testing.
Stages of Scientific Method
IV. Historical Method
Historical method deals with examining the past (history) to
come up with present facts or arrive at the truth. The word history
comes from the Greek word “iotopia” which means to ‘to find out’ or
‘to investigate’. Anderson (1876) defined history as “the narration of
events that have happened among mankind, including an account of
the rise and fall of nations as well as of other great changes which
have affected the political and social condition of the human race.”
Philosophers have sometimes turned their attention to examine
history and the nature of historical knowledge.
Cont…
In Philosophy, Historical method is the process of gathering
evidences, examining them, and formulating ideas about the past to
come up with present truths. In this method, history is considered as
more important than logic and more valid source of the truth. This
method emphasizes that history has a “divine order” or progressive
pattern that enables events to repeat themselves. The process of
learning the truth is simply through looking at past records to
validate a present hypothesis. In other words, reviewing what has
been done or happened in the past is the primary method of looking
at a solution for a problem in the present.
Give at least two real-life situations where the methods of philosophizing can be practically
applied. Briefly explain how the method will be used in your chosen situations.