GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES

GRADUATE SCHOOL

REQUIREMENTS IN EDUC 202

ADVANCE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
(REFLECTION PAPER)

PREPARED BY:
PULHIN RECHEL M.
MAED- ENGLISH

PREPARED TO:
DR. PORFIRIO C. LIGAYA
PROFESSOR

JANUARY 2021

1. State and Illustrate your Philosophy in Life as:

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Nothing is permanent except change likewise, there is no permanent

philosophy. It was all about and, will be always about living a “near “to perfect life.

Wake up and ask yourselves what is it you desire the most?  (You need to

wish what you really want and understand and come on terms with that, then only

you can finally realize who you truly are). Then ask 'why you want that desire’ - here

you come into terms with what you really can be.

My philosophy of life is regarding how we see the things and the perspective

involved in seeing our holy world!! One of the things I really like about camera is the

manual focus feature. You know when you slowly rotate your camera lenses until

your image is perfectly clear. You go from a blurred, foggy image, slowly turn your

fingers around the lenses, and voila: you have a brand new, crystal clear image,

ready to be captured by a single, gentle touch of your finger.

You’ll be surprised to learn that everybody have this feature, this manual

focus. Only it’s not about photos. It’s about your life, and the way you live it. Most of

the time you live a blurred life. Everything around you is unclear. You just have

enough information to know a little bit about your surroundings, but you are moving

in a foggy world.

By the way, living in a blurred world is frustrating. Not knowing who you’re

really talking to, not knowing where you are really heading, not knowing if the

person in front of you is smiling or frowning, that’s really bad. But this is how it is

and it’s pretty much everybody’s story. I’ve been there, you’ve been there, and even

now, the vast majority of people is there, moving around with a blurred image of

their lives.
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And they have this foggy image because they don’t use the manual focus

feature. Their life camera is not calibrated. In other words, they’re not using their full

potential. They’re looking at a blurred scenery, truly believing that this is all what

they are getting from this life. A blurred job, a blurred relationship, a blurred income.

A life blurred completely. They don’t have the courage to touch the lenses and

really see what’s going on around them.

Whenever you clear your lenses, something magical happens. You start to see

things the way they really are. Some people call this “having an aha” moment.

Some people call this an epiphany and even other people call this “seeing God”. If

you ask me, they’re all right. With the mention that everything was there before,

only blurred. Your real- life mission was always there, only you couldn’t see it

because of the fog. Your perfect partner was there all the time, only she was just

invisible, melted in a sea of dissipated contours. Everything was there before, but

you couldn’t see it, because you were not properly focused.

Now, what could you do in order to start improving your life lenses?

First, make sure it still works. Yes, the most common problem is a broken camera

objective. It doesn’t work anymore. It’s stuck. Only you think it’s still working at full

capacity. The best way to verify your camera integrity is to try moving it a little bit

forward and backward. That translates in what people usually call “pushing your

luck”.

For instance, if you are in a job you don’t like, try upsetting your boss. Or be late

a couple days. Is this really making a difference? Or everything is basically the

same, no difference?
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On the other hand, if you do like the job but you’re unsure if it really fits you, do

allocate some extra time. Work extra hours. Is this really making a difference? How

do you feel? There is any change at all in your life? This type of small steps helps

you verify if the camera is actually working. If it’s not, you’ll experience the same

type of sensation you have in a dream when whatever you do has no

consequences. If there is any reaction at all from your environment, you’re lucky:

you have a working camera. If not, you’re stuck. Your camera objective is broken,

you live a blurred life, and you didn’t even know. You need to take immediate

measures to fix your camera.

Usually, this means buying a new one. Which, of course, translates in starting a

completely new life. Indeed, new camera is perfectly new life.

2. Explain in your own words the Socratic philosophy “The unexamined life is

not worth living”.

It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.”   -

Rene Descartes. It is also true with this line “The unexamined life is not worth living.

Yes, indeed, unexamined life is not worth living”, comes from Plato’s

Apology, which is a recollection of the speech Socrates gave at his trial. Socrates is

attributed with these words after choosing death rather than exile from Athens or a

commitment to silence. Socrates’ claim that the unexamined life is not worth living

makes a satisfying climax for the deeply principled arguments that Socrates

presents on behalf of the philosophical life. The claim is that only in striving to come

to know ourselves and to understand ourselves do our lives have any meaning or

value. The claim exemplifies the need to lead a philosophical life, because it is a

call for individuals to think more critically about the lives that they lead. Examining
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the life that one live represents a degree of nobility, it is an encouragement to be

fully human, to use our highly developed faculty of thought to raise our existence

above that of mere beasts. For if we don’t think, we are no more than animals,

simply eating, sleeping, working and procreating. And though it may be a bit strong

to say such lives are not worth living, all but a minority of ethical vegetarians would

agree that they are much less valuable than fully human ones.

It seems that Socrates promotes the idea that people who don’t examine

their lives should not live. He seemed to overlook other factors that account to our

happiness and give worth to our lives. We must all contemplate now and again but

only to a certain extent, as it can be disastrous to overthink and reconsider every

aspect of our life. The decisions of what a person likes or dislikes, how a person

decides to live their life and whether to live or not, are all examinations of life and

life's events. Some says that a person who does not examine his life still continue

to exist, indeed. However, examining his actions will make his life much more

fulfilling. Without the thorough examination of life, it is almost worthless. If a person

does not examine his life, he may keep making the same mistakes and never

change. He would go on in sin and error, not realizing or caring about his

mistakes. A person who does not recognize his own sin will never be able to fix it,

whereas a man who examines his actions and realizes his mistakes is able to

improve upon them. 

For me, Socrates statement does not necessarily apply to everyone’s way of

life and what makes or doesn’t make their life worth living. For me, it is about the

purpose and how do we live our lives. It tries to emphasize that everyone has to live

a life that they should be proud of, a life that they can look back to what they
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achieved and say yes, indeed I made something remarkable or I have not lived up

to my expectations, so I need to make amends. Such life is unworthy and fruitless.

It means that everyone should guide themselves and make them accountable and

make sure that they set goals and work towards achieving them but not to the

extent of forcing and being outrageously critical on their every movement in life. The

theory that all lives that are unexamined don’t have a purpose and should not be

lived is unreasonable and simply not true.

If you appreciate and accept yourself and the things around you, you are

having in worth living. All men seek happiness and the feeling of belongingness. It

lies within oneself. Try to reflect on yourself. Meditate, then, reflect on what is in

your heart and mind. Then you will find the meaning and essence of your existence.

At the end you can say that you have a worth living.

3. Comment on the foundational philosophy on Morality “Do Good and Avoid

Evil”.

One day you are going to die, and before you realize that, you will never truly

live. Meditate on your insignificance in the whole universe; it will make your

problems seem insignificant too. Realize that nothing happens to you, it just

happens. All events are neutral, which means it is only good or bad in your mind,

and it is up to you to find the silver lining. We live in a world obsessed by youth, and

we forget that we too will die someday, which makes us waste a lot of time.

Each of us is unique and might bring up from different unique environment.

Hence, this might influence how we interpret good and evil. Evil to someone might

perceived as good to another and vice versa, there are some levels of subjectivity

depending on the person’s interpretation.

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Life is like a question that has a choice. It is up to you if your going to choose

the wrong or the right one. It is true that everything that happen in our life is

depends in our every decision. We can’t complain on the result of our action the

only thing we can do is to face the consequences without any regret. Choosing

between good and bad is like choosing your own future. You don’t know if it will be

nice or not but still you will choose and you will stand for what you decided.

We should always believe that doing good is the best way to avoid evil even

if temptation is always there to test our loyalty. We should remember that if we do

good to other people something good will also back to us anytime especially to

those time that we didn’t expect that it will happen. Just continue believing that

good is better than evil no matter our reason is.

I strongly believe that the word good and evil really exist in this competitive

world. Competition everywhere that bring an individual to do bad or good. I can’t

say that there is a good thing if there is no bad thing because there will be no

comparison and basis that it exists. In my life I experience good and bad. I did

some bad thing like being selfish to others. I am a person that when the person is

really important on me, I always want his/her attention. I become jealous when I feel

that the time that they are giving to me is not the same like what they gave before. I

know I shouldn’t be like that but what can I do, I can’t stop to be like that because

that is me. It so hard to avoid doing evil even if I know that it is not the right thing to

do.

Nevertheless, discerning what is right in each moment is a never-ending task.

Since man strive to be ruled by the rational, to rule our impulses and instincts and

rise above them. If we are awakened to our duty in life, called to do good and avoid

evil, we refuse to act mindlessly or, simply go along with what others think. When
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considering any action, we keep in mind our goal, our happiness and the happiness

of those around us.

To know what is right, we certainly need to use basic principles of logic and

think rationally; understanding the situations around us without doubting what is

clearly presented to our mind. What is right for us to do remain right for us to do,

whether we know it or not, whether we do it or not.

Since God created us with the ability to reason, with the freedom to choose

what actions to take in this world, and the ability to act voluntarily, once we are old

enough to think for ourselves, we are responsible for and will be held accountable

for our actions. If we are awakened to our duty in life, called to do well and avoid

harm, we refuse to act mindlessly or simply go along with what others think. When

considering any action, we keep in mind our ultimate goal, our happiness and the

happiness of those around us - which is found in God - and choose what is pleasing

to Him.

Whereas, in life we make many choices. Some are important and some are

not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make,

however to a large extent determines our happiness or our unhappiness, because

we have to live with the consequences of our choices. Making perfect choices all of

the time is not possible. But it is possible to make good choices that we can live

with and grow from. It is never enough to simply try to do the good! We must also

avoid evil with each step we take. Avoiding evil includes avoiding the bad decisions

that are certain to result from an action. The dear Lord taught us that the greatest

decree is to love. We all know as well that to love God and one another are the

fulfilment of the goodness of his words.

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Though man throughout history has not done what is right to be done. We all

get it wrong. Through greed for power, status, pleasure, wealth or even knowledge,

or reckless curiosity, man has caused terrible suffering for others. Man has grown

evil through materialism, the need to have ownership over everything. Ownership

means control, and control means power. Man's choices have consequences and

quite often, man seeks to act in this world without acknowledging God, and

arrogantly attributes all credit for whatever he achieves to himself alone. Even

though we know that trying to achieve something good by doing something bad is

never the right thing to do.

Going where others have gone is competence, where few have gone is

excellence, and where none have gone is transcendence. Les us always create the

best vision of who we are. Create the best trademark is, indeed, good deed.

4. Explain your reason why man is consider a rational being”.

God created everything in this world. He created the day and night, nature,

animals and most especially is human. He made sure that human will have the

highest form of thinking. He assigns human to take care everything he made of.

People has the capacity to do everything base on what they are thinking that is why

God is so good by giving those ability.

I believe that man is considered a rational being because man has a highest

IQ to think, visualize, understand and do different things. People can think in every

different way but because of that human is also the reason behind all the bad

happenings in this world. We do things that is bad for the others just for the sake of

ourselves. We became greedy in everything because we always want the best and

on top without thinking that we may hurt others. We are getting selfish in a way that
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even our family or relatives are not exempted to what we are doing. We have the

guts to do bad things but some of us are afraid to face the consequences of our

action and that is very unreasonable.

It is our nature that we are not contented for whatever we have in our life.

We are always seeking for something new, even if we don’t afford it, just to show

that we are famous because we have that. Some of us has an ability to think into

the highest level but do it for a bad thing like what I watched on the news that there

is a man that can produce a plant even if it is in the room. It doesn’t need to expose

in sunlight because he already produced it but the bad thing there is the plant that

he is taking care is marijuana, which is bad for our health if it will not be used

properly. Human is very creative in creating many things and that is nice but it is

bad when their creation is not good for the majority. We should enhance our ability

in a good way so that many people may benefit on it.

I, as a teacher, should do the right thing as a human. I should act more than

the ordinary people because many eyes will observe and judge me. They see me

as a model that should inspire others in many things. They see me as a perfect

human in where I should not commit mistakes and it is very hard but I should be like

that, because they believe that is how rational being is. Being rational as a human

may be very hard, in where your action should be appropriate to your status in the

society but still we should be like that because it is the basis of being a rational

being as a man.

It is our nature that we are not contented for whatever we have in our life.

We are always seeking for something new, even if we don’t afford it, just to show

that we are famous because we have that. Some of us has an ability to think into

the highest level but do it for a bad thing like what I watched on the news that there
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is a man that can produce a plant even if it is in the room. It doesn’t need to expose

in sunlight because he already produced it but the bad thing there is the plant that

he is taking care is marijuana, which is bad for our health if it will not be used

properly. Human is very creative in creating many things and that is nice but it is

bad when their creation is not good for the majority. We should enhance our ability

in a good way so that many people may benefit on it.

5. Which Philosophy do you think is best suited to modern Philippine

education? Progressivism; Existentialism; or Essentialism.

“EXISTENTIALISM”

There are many philosophical beliefs that we may use in education. Each

philosophical belief has its own use in our society especially in education. The

question is “Which philosophy is best suited to modern Philippine Education for us?

We may have different for we have our unique individual. I personally, choose,

Existentialism a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence

of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own

development through acts of the will. In education it is the freedom of human being

to make choices of what, how and why she/he teach.

Furthermore, in this modern Philippine education I can say that it is better to

acquire first the basic knowledge, skills and values which of these Essentialists

offer and believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be

transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this

conservative perspective is on intellectual and moral standards that schools should

teach. The core of the curriculum is essential knowledge and skills and academic

rigor. Although this educational philosophy is similar in some ways to Perennialism,

Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Schooling
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should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society. It

should focus on facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training

students to read, write, speak, and compute clearly and logically. Schools should

not try to set or influence policies. Students should be taught hard work, respect for

authority, and discipline.

They want to explore beyond their imagination that will bring to the world of freedom

once they build their true and unique identity. They want a free will for everything

they want especially when it comes to education. Teachers in this kind of

philosophy is just a facilitator that needs to guide the students that they should

know the consequences of their freedom. They should be responsible in their

action. Existentialism helps students to be independent and to experience learning

in their own way. The teacher in existentialism education is there to provide

pathways for the students to explore their own values, meanings and choices.

Students in this generation always want spice in learning in other words they

want their learning to be fun and enjoyable not to be dull and boring. They learn by

their own experiences. K-12 curriculum make the students learn by discovering

everything not like the old curriculum in where the teacher is the one who is spoon

feeding the answer without giving a chance to the learners to develop their selves in

finding out the answer. That is why I choose existentialism because I really believe

that it really has a big impact in the modern Philippine Education when it comes in

teaching and learning process. For me, learning will be achieved if we as a teacher

will allow our students to have more options to choose like for example in

groupings, we should give them a chance to decide if what activity they can do that

they may show their skills and talents in short, we should know their individual

differences. Adapting this philosophical belief in my teaching and my students

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learning process made me easy because I can easily know that they are learning in

my given strategy.

In order to do this, learners need to be aware of as many options and

choices as possible. They need to empowered and free to determine their own

values and identities and they need a multiplicity of experiences to enhance their

self-awareness. The teacher’s primary responsibility is to provide all these things,

and to maintain a learning environment where students feel encouraged to express

themselves through discussion, creative projects and choice of study areas.

Thus, Existentialism, the main concern of the existentialists is “to help

students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept

complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings and actions”. Since “existence

precedes essence”, the existentialist teacher’s role is to help students define their

own essence by exposing them to various paths they take in life and by creating an

environment in which they freely choose their own preferred way. Lastly is the

Essentialism, this philosophy contends that teachers teach for learners to acquire

basic knowledge, skills and values. Teachers teach “not to radically reshape

society” but rather” to transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual

knowledge that students need to become model citizens.”

6. For some philosophical thinkers, pragmatism is more inclined to attitude

and method rather than a philosophical doctrine. What is your comment on

this statement?

Some philosophical thinkers say that pragmatism is more inclined to attitude

and method rather than philosophical doctrine, but let us know first if what is the

difference between attitude, method and doctrine. Attitude is a feeling or way of

thinking that affects a person’s behavior. Method is a way of doing something and
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Doctrine is a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true. Attitude

and method are more applicable in pragmatism than doctrine because like what its

definition it is more on concepts not an action to be taught.

According to John Dewey pragmatism is “learning by doing”. He said it is all

about experiences. Attitude and method are the same that deals with the way

people think and do about something. Charles Sanders Pierce understood

pragmatism, not as a philosophical doctrine, but a method by which we can clarify

the meaning of concepts. He tried to define the meaning of philosophical concepts

by their practical effects. It’s true that our learners learn a lot not just in the four

corners of our room by giving them an idea about the lesson but definitely through

experiences like groupings, demonstration, exhibit outside the school and

educational fieldtrips.

Pragmatism is the philosophy behind the TESDA because it is more on

skills. In this type of schooling practicum is more highlighted than concepts that you

need to learn. It is not enough that you know the certain skills but you should know

how it is performed. You will not learn it, if you won’t experience it. This

philosophical belief is not just applicable in education but also in our daily living.

Everyday we experience a lot of things, in where we encounter many ups and

downs and we always learned on it. We tried not to do it again to avoid committing

another mistake. Like what others always say that “experience is the best teacher

in our life”.

Experiences always taught me that my action has a big impact or effects in

my life. It made me who I am now. I won’t be a teacher if I haven’t experienced all

the struggles in my life. I faced many ups and downs but I never give up. My faith

maybe be lessened but it never fades that I can conquer all the hindrances in
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pursuing my dream. My experience measure how brave I am and how I will learn on

my strengths and weaknesses. Every step maybe be hard to reach but I still believe

in God that he gave it for a perfect reason and that is to test my faith on him in spite

of what I have experienced. That is why I really believe that pragmatism is more

inclined in attitude and method rather than a doctrine because it is more on learning

by doing than learning by only ideas.

Pragmatism is an approach to things that focuses on the practical or logical

response. It means addressing or solving problem logically and practically. Base on

that explanation, it somehow agrees to some philosophical thinkers that

pragmatism focuses on attitude and method rather than philosophical doctrine.

The importance of pragmatism focuses on the humanistic philosophy to

ensure that man creates his own values in all his actions. The validity of certain

matters can be proven by having concrete evidences and proof. Thus, the

application and practice of certain facts help in addressing its validity. Pragmatism

focuses on practicality of facts. Also, some pragmatist believes that a certain

problem is associated by attitude towards it and the process on how it will be

solved. It is not just an idea that is said to be true. Pragmatism is more often not just

associated with its theory, it is sometimes a method that has no particular results,

but only an attitude of orientation relying on that theory. It is a way of approaching

or assessing situations of solving problems. In a manner of addressing an idea of

truth, pragmatism is more likely about practical and cognitive thinking. However, we

should not overlook that pragmatism, aside from a method and a philosophical

movement, also focuses on the process of theoretical approach.

For me, it is not about claiming that seeing pragmatism as an attitude is the

only way to conceive pragmatism. It means that being pragmatic is doing whatever
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is necessary and not following a strict doctrine. Pragmatism focuses more on the

end result of a function. Doctrine only exists as a tool to pragmatism, not a real

philosophical belief.

Therefore, it should not be seen as in any way trying to mold the whole

tradition of pragmatism into one doctrine rather be seen as an attempt to formulate

one version of the attitude behind pragmatism. It may also state that there is no

"philosophy" in pragmatism - that is to say, there is neither the intent not the

disposition to gather concepts that will be useful in the future. Each "event" is

judged purely on the basis of its outcome and attempting to relate such outcomes to

some conceptual whole is considered useless. So, if it works today it is "good"; if it

doesn't work tomorrow it becomes "bad".

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REQUIREMENTS IN EDUC 202

ADVANCE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
(Guide Questions by Chapter)

PREPARED BY:
PULHIN RECHEL M.
MAED – ENGLISH

PREPARED TO:
DR. PORFIRIO C. LIGAYA
PROFESSOR
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JANUARY 2021

CHAPTER I
PHILOSOPHY AS FIELD OF STUDY

1. What is the importance of philosophy in a person?

Philosophy belongs in the life of everyone. Yet, it must be the first to clear all
the confusion in foundation of thinking seriously and explore the new territory of
thinking creatively so that rest of us could work on it. It serves as or gear on how we
will in live and how we can create out our own life story.

2. Differentiate philosophy as a field of study from science?

Science is concerned with natural phenomena, while philosophy attempts to
understand the nature of man, existence, and the relationship that exists between
the two concepts. Science also takes answers and proves them as objectively right
or wrong.

3. Why philosophy considered the “Parent Science”?

Philosophy and science are both ways of learning about ourselves and
about the rest of the world.  It preceded all sciences as our first structured method
of seeking the truth. Philosophy teaches one how to assess a claim/truth/fact.
Therefore, philosophy has created science.

4. What is metaphysics? Explain your answers.

Metaphysics can be defined as an attempt to comprehend the basic
characteristics of reality. It is in fact so basic that it is all inclusive, whether
something is observable or not. It answers questions of what things must be like in
order to exist and how to differentiate from things that seem real but are not. A
common thought is that reality is defined as what we can detect from our five
senses.

5. What is axiology? Explain your answer.

Axiology is the study of values and how those values come about in a
society. Axiology seeks to understand the nature of values and value judgments.
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Axiology and the mortality of the human being It is closely related to two other
realms of philosophy: ethics and aesthetics. All three branches deal with worth.

CHAPTER II
PHILOSOPHICAL FIELDS OF STUDY

1. What is cosmology? Explain Your Answer.

Cosmology deals with the physical situation that is the context in the large for
human existence: the universe has such a nature that our life is possible. It has
crucial connection to human life. Likewise, philosophy, cosmology value the origin
of life and existence. It is also the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin and
general structure of the universe, with its parts, elements, and laws, and especially
with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality, and freedom.

2. Is the existing reality of a thought dependent upon our mind, or upon our
external world?
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system,
as opposed to that which is only imaginary. There is significant connection between
our mind and the reality. Our mind has the ability to form ideas based on what we
experienced, what we saw, what we heard, and what the world obviously shows us.
But the separation of imagination from reality should be done effectively by our
mind. We should allow ourselves to be part of the real world and act according to
the concept of reality.

3. What is the Focal interest of philosophical psychology?

Philosophical Psychology is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to developing
and strengthening the links between philosophy and the psychological sciences by
publishing original, peer-reviewed contributions that advance these fields of
research. Philosophy creates philosophical systems or categories that serve to
explain reality. Psychology, instead of studying a whole like philosophy, seeks to
isolate individual variables of human behavior.

4. What is the Soul? Is it a part of the physical body?

 The soul consists of appetite, spirit (courage), and reason. Reason and
courage must control the appetites. The highest form of human existence is when
people exercise their reason. People are fundamentally social and need others for
physical and mental needs. The soul is the most precious part of the human
because it is more important than life itself. The soul stays with a person for all of
eternity. It is something that is grown with a person as they move through life. When
you finally leave something for good you want everyone and everything to have a
good last impression of you.
5. What is a method? What is the difference between a philosophical method
and a scientific method?
A method id a particular form of procedure for accomplishing or
approaching something, especially a systematic or established one. Philosophical
method uses thought experiments and modal logic that don’t have to be real world
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situations to do its work.  Scientific method always has to look at the real world to
do its work.  In fact, philosophy wants to take things out of the real world to
effectively examine their concepts while science wants to situate things as much
as possible in the relevant real-world situations to do its work.

CHAPTER III
THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

1. Why are philosophers very much concerned with the nature, methods and
limits of human knowledge?
Philosophers are very much concern with the nature and limits of human
knowledge because according to one influential philosophical tradition, to
understand human nature is to grasp the essence of what it is to be human. As
typically understood, an “essence” is the fundamental being or reality that a
particular thing embodies. An essence explains the traits that a thing has.

2. How did you come to know many things? Explain your answer.
Being a keen observant of what is going on in the world where I belong this
made me know, understand, and learn to accept those knowledges, information or
even practices. As a human, I can say that I came up to know many things once a
certain matter is introduced to my understanding. Once I saw something, there is a
curiosity that triggers my mind to know more about that. But we cannot deny the fact
that we can easily learn a thing, if there someone teaches us to do so.

3. How can we test the truth and Falsity of what we know?

This is a crucial question in today’s world of confusion so for us to test the
truthfulness and falsity of one thing we must abreast to what is happening around
us. It calls for us to educate ourselves in various ways. One thing is reading that will
us a full man.

4. What are customs and traditions? Can they be sources of knowledge?

Yes, indeed it can be a source of knowledge and that was very true among
our forefathers and it had handed us or handed down generation by generation. A
great factor for us to understand the society where we belong.

5. Why is authority an accepted source of knowledge?

Authority is a source of accepted knowledge for they had built their own way of
identity. Identity that requires a lot of qualifications. With that they are considered
experts, specialist in different field of knowledge.
CHAPTER IV
MAN: ITS NATURE, DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY

1. What is the importance of the study of the nature of man?

According to Aristotle, human beings have a natural desire and capacity to
know and understand the truth, to pursue moral excellence, and to instantiate their
ideals in the world through action. This understanding gives us critical insight into
what works for humans, as well as what doesn't work.
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2. Identify the endowments of man that make him different from other forms
of animals.
There are many traits and behaviors that make humans exceptional. One
important difference between humans and animals is the extent to which humans
employ huge amounts of knowledge and technology. Man is considered unique
because of his ability to think. Because of that, man can communicate and discover
amazing inventions and exerts efforts from their creativity as a product of their
mind. Man has the innate ability to use his senses to live consciously in this world.

3. Explain the reasons why man is regarded as a rational being.

Man is considered a rational being because of his ability to reason out and
use his mind in decision making. A man is rational in his actions if they are
performed in accordance with some sensible reasons which make the aim he
pursues possible of attainment. As a rational being, he is able to take responsibility
for his actions because he knows out of reason and not instinct.

4. Explain the role of the family and the school in shaping the personality of
man.
One point in favor of the role of schools is that it is at school where children
first learn to socialize. Socialization associates with one’s personality to a certain
extent. At school, children learn how to interact with other individuals and get along
with the classmates. Even though one can socialize in family, that is,
communicating with siblings, the exposure to the diversity of different personalities
is limited compared to school.

5. What is the meaning of happiness? Do all men seek happiness? Explain

Your Answer.
It considers “happiness” a transient, even trivial kind of pleasure,
usually derived from circumstances. They reserve the term “joy” for
deeper, more substantial, and durable pleasures. Yes, All men seek
happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they
employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of
others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different
views. 

CHAPTER V
CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHIES

Question: Among the philosophies that have meaning and implications to

education, which give importance to the individual learner? Which do you think
should promote the well-being of the child? Explain your answer and cite some
instances.
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather
than on the content or the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses tat
students should test ideas by active experimentation. The emphasis is on the
process-how -one comes to know.
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It focuses on continuous learning by allowing students to experience things in
their environment and use that a source of knowledge. Progressivist teachers teach
to develop learners into becoming enlightened and intelligent citizens of a
democratic society. For the progressivists, everything else changes. Change is the
only thing that does not change. Hence, progressivist teachers are more concerned
with teaching the learners the skills to cope with change. Instead of occupying
themselves with teaching facts or bits of information that are true today but become
obsolete tomorrow, they would rather focus their teaching on the teaching of skills
or processes in gathering and evaluating information and in problem-solving.
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than
on the content or the teacher. Through experimentations, students can test ideas
and knowledge. Students find solution to a problem by exploring the real world and
understand the true meaning of experiential learning. The students interact with one
another and develop social qualities such as cooperation and tolerance for different
points of view. In addition, students solve problems in the classroom similar to those
they will encounter in their everyday lives. For example, students can learn how to
plant by having them experience actual planting or gardening setup rather than just
reading information on the book. Likewise, students who studies economics can
learn more by experiencing actual market situation through selling.

CHAPTER VI
THE WORLD’S GREATEST PHILOSOPHERS

Question: What is meant by “the good life for man is a life of happiness’? Explain
this philosophical thought of Aristotle.
Philosophers have been inquiring about happiness since ancient times.
Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western science and
philosophy, making contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics,
biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre.
Philosophers believe that happiness is not by itself sufficient to achieve a
state of wellbeing, but at the same time, they agree that it is one of the primary
factors found in individuals who lead a ‘good life’.
From a philosophical perspective, a reason to be happy is a person having
the opportunity to do what they do best. Using strengths for the greater good is one
key to a more meaningful life. As an example, a musician can derive happiness by
creating music and a sports-person can feel happy by training or participating in
competitions. Meeting our potential also contributes to wellbeing.
“Happiness depends on ourselves.” More than anybody else, Aristotle
enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal. According to
Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all
the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to the perfection of
human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make
choices, some of which may be very difficult. Often the lesser good promises
immediate pleasure and is more tempting, while the greater good is painful and
requires some sort of sacrifice. For example, it may be easier and more enjoyable
to spend the night watching television, but you know that you will be better off if you
spend it researching for your term paper. Developing a good character requires a
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strong effort of will to do the right thing, even in difficult situations.
Our existence becomes more meaningful if we live with happiness and
contentment. Every decision we make should be made in consideration of which
choice will enhance the total amount of happiness. Living a virtuous life requires us
to do what is right, and feel good about those decisions that we have made. If we
feel good about our decisions, we increase our happiness and, often those affected
by our actions will feel good too.